The Stephen King script rejected by David Cronenberg: “The worst”
With a back catalogue of 65 books, it’s not shocking that Stephen King comes in second, just after Shakespeare, for the most book-to-movie adaptations. In total, his books have been adapted 51 times, yet the writer himself has only penned 11 screenplays – not all of them successful.
One of these unsuccessful screenplays was rejected by none other than body horror pioneer David Cronenberg. Tasked with adapting King’s novel, The Dead Zone, for the big screen, Cronenberg was presented with five scripts, one of which was written by the novelist himself. And what could be better than the pairing of the King of Horror and the Baron of Blood? Well, a screenplay by someone else it turns out.
While the film was based on the 1979 novel, that was as far as King’s involvement went. When asked by Film Freak Central if he was daunted by the task of adapting King’s book, Cronenberg, in his usual assured manner, claimed that out of all the screenplays, “Stephen’s was the worst, I have to say”. And not for the reason you might think.
Many book-to-movie adaptations are criticised for straying too far from the source material or for directors taking too much creative license. Sometimes, the details that are enabled by the medium of the novel don’t adapt well to the screen, or filmmakers just think they have a better story to tell. However, it didn’t seem that this was the issue Cronenberg had with King. For once, it was the other way around.
Cronenberg explained King’s screenplay was the worst because it was the least like the book. He then goes on to give a generous reason for not liking King’s approach. “I don’t know if he was bored with it, but he turned it into a kind of a slasher movie with the lead character being Frank Dodd.” And, after all, Cronenberg isn’t known for adapting slasher films. This time, Cronenberg knew that King’s original story was better for the screen and stuck to his gut.
His adaptation follows a triptych inspired by the psychic, science-fiction thriller, with Frank Dodd playing a minor character in one of the stories. If King’s script had been chosen, it’s clear it would have ended up being a very different film. But sometimes, great authors just don’t make the best screenplays.
In the end, it must have been the right decision, with many viewing Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone as one of the best Stephen King adaptations behind the likes of Carrie and The Shining. Although the latter adaptation was famously disliked by the horror author.
