King on the Kindle
Posted: April 6, 2010, 10:58
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NEWS -
Billy on audio
Posted: April 5, 2010, 23:50
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Cemetery Dance also tells me that the first edition/first printing with the bonus Blockade Billy limited edition baseball card is now over 50% sold out. This edition will not be in stores so if a collector wants one, they need to order through their website. This first edition/first printing will easily have the lowest first printing of any Stephen King trade edition in a very long time.
Premier set for Haven
Posted: April 4, 2010, 22:53
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American Vampire; issue #2
Posted: April 4, 2010, 22:50
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Thanks to willowlove.
More Blockade Billy
Posted: April 4, 2010, 17:38
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Order here.
Story Titles & Plot Synopses for Full Dark, No Stars
Posted: April 3, 2010, 15:18
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1922
The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father.
Big Driver
Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences.
Fair Extension
Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay.
A Good Marriage
Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of over twenty years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles literally upon a box under a worktable in their garage.
Order Blockade Billy NOW!
Posted: April 3, 2010, 15:16
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You can order here.
More Haven
Posted: April 1, 2010, 13:36
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Stephen King's novella "The Colorado Kid" is coming to Syfy as Haven, and its leading lady, Emily Rose, recently spilled some beans about the show, which will premiere in July.
"It's definitely based on the characters of 'The Colorado Kid,' but I would say it's about a girl named Audrey [Parker], who's an orphan and becomes an FBI agent," Rose (Jericho, John From Cincinnati) said last week in an exclusive interview at Syfy's upfront session for advertisers in New York. "She ends up getting sent on this case up in Maine. When she goes up there, she kind of starts having these things happen to her, and she sort of starts feeling like she's been called home. Paranormal things happen, and some exciting things happen for her, and it's not only her unraveling this murder case, but kind of unraveling the case of herself, honestly. It's pretty fascinating."
More specifically, Haven is a small town in Maine that is literally a haven for cursed people, many with supernatural powers, and when the curses start kicking in again, it's up to Parker to help put a halt to them. In addition to Rose, the cast includes Lucas Bryant (Odyssey 5, Queer as Folk) as Parker's wry partner, Wuornos, and Eric Balfour (24) as Duke Crocker, a mysterious local.
"She's a strong-willed girl," Rose said of Parker. "In order to identify with her, I have to think, 'What's it like to really not have a family, to not have a place to go home to for Christmas or not have anyone you belong to?' And she ends up finding belonging within the FBI, and that's kind of fascinating to me. That drives her, the mystery of self, the mystery of belonging somewhere."
The show, which has a 13-episode commitment from Syfy, will be executive-produced by the Dead Zone team of Lloyd Segan and Shawn Piller, while their Dead Zone partner Scott Shepherd—who also worked on Tru Calling—will serve as show runner. Production on Haven is set to begin soon in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the series should premiere on Syfy this summer.
Haven will represent Rose's first major credit, with her name at the top of the call sheet. It's a challenge she welcomes. "It's a big responsibility," she said. "The great part of that responsibility is that you really get to set the tone for the show. You get to set an excitement to be there at work, to look around you and really rally everyone. It's a huge responsibility, but one I am so excited to take on."
Thanks to Al Mattice.
New book by King released April 20
Posted: March 29, 2010, 18:13
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Cemetery Dance Publications Announces Blockade Billy by Stephen King
Includes an Authentic William "Blockade Billy" Blakely Baseball Card
BALTIMORE -- March 29, 2010 -- Cemetery Dance Publications, the world’s leading independent publisher of collectible horror and suspense books, has just announced Blockade Billy by Stephen King, an original, never-before-published novella that only the King of Horror could have dreamed up. The Cemetery Dance exclusive hardcover will ship mid-April.
"I love old-school baseball," Stephen King said, "and I also love the way people who've spent a lifetime in the game talk about the game. I tried to combine those things in a story of suspense. People have asked me for years when I was going to write a baseball story. Ask no more; this is it."
Cemetery Dance and Stephen King kept Blockade Billy under tight wraps so it could be a surprise publication for the beginning of the baseball season. Even diehard baseball fans don't know the true story of William Blakely, but in just a few weeks readers will be holding this dark tale in their own two hands.
"As a lifelong baseball fan -- and long suffering Orioles' fan -- I can't think of a better way to open the 2010 season than publishing Blockade Billy," said Cemetery Dance Publisher Richard Chizmar. "Stephen King and I have corresponded about baseball and books for almost 20 years now... So to combine the two is a dream come true for me."
Chuck Verrill, King's agent, said: "Any time a Red Sox fan, an Orioles fan, and a Yankees fan can cooperate on something, the result is bound to be fantastic."
For a very limited time only, Cemetery Dance Publications will include an authentic William "Blockade Billy" Blakely baseball card with every copy of the trade hardcover.
Please visit http://www.BlockadeBilly.com, http://www.CemeteryDance.com or http://www.stephenking.com for more information.
Bryant and Balfour ready for Haven
Posted: March 26, 2010, 22:40
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SYFY'S HAVEN WELCOMES LUCAS BRYANT AND ERIC BALFOURNew York, NY - March 25, 2010 - Lucas Bryant (Queer as Folk, Dollhouse) and Eric Balfour (24, Six Feet Under) have been cast in Syfy's new drama series Haven, based on the novella The Colorado Kid from renowned author Stephen King.
Bryant and Balfour join Emily Rose on the series, which is slated to air on Syfy this summer. Haven follows FBI agent Audrey Parker (Rose), who arrives in the small town of Haven, Maine on a routine case...only to discover that this curious enclave has served as a longtime refuge for people who are afflicted with a remarkable range of supernatural abilities.
Bryant will play Nathan Wuornos, the wry local cop who soon becomes Audrey's partner. Bristling under the thumb of his father, the Chief of Police, Nathan has a quiet, controlled demeanor that often clashes with Audrey's feisty one: a dichotomy that also makes them perfect complements. As events in the town begin to unfold at a surprising pace, Nathan's usual controlled sense of calm is put to the test.
Also among the citizens of this eccentric town is Duke Crocker (Balfour), a charming yet mysterious jack-of-all-trades. Though Duke outwardly appears to be a free spirit who lives an unobtrusive life on his boat, it becomes apparent that his mellow demeanor may conceal a much darker agenda.
Production on Haven is expected to commence in Spring 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.Haven, from E1 Entertainment in association with Pillar, Segan and Shepherd, will be the first property to be produced for Syfy Channel in the US and NBCU Pay channels around the globe (excluding Canada and Scandinavia). The series has been co-commissioned by Syfy with Canwest Broadcasting (Canada). International distribution is handled by E1.
The impressive creative team behind Haven includes showrunner Scott Shepherd (Tru Calling, The Dead Zone) who is joined by E1 Entertainment's John Morayniss (Hung, Copper) Noreen Halpern (Hung, Copper), Laszlo Barna (The Bridge) and Michael Rosenberg (Hung, The Riches) as well as his partners, Executive Producers Lloyd Segan and Shawn Piller (The Dead Zone, Wildfire, Greek). The pilot is written by Sam Ernst (Shrek the Third, The Dead Zone) and Jim Dunn (Shrek the Third, The Dead Zone) who will also serve as executive producers on the series.
Thanks to Al Mattice
My review of Soul Survivors
Posted: March 24, 2010, 23:17
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Stand covers
Posted: March 24, 2010, 14:01
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Here are the variant cover for issue #5 of Soul Survivors and issue #1 of Hardcase (the fourth arc).Issue #2
Posted: March 24, 2010, 13:57
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Here are the cover for issue #2 of The Gunslinger.4 covers for UK paperback edition of Under the Dome
Posted: March 24, 2010, 13:12
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Hot on the heels of the news that the creative team at Hodder has won the Book Marketing Society’s Best Campaign Award for Stephen King’s latest hardcover, UNDER THE DOME (published in November, 2009), and nominated as finalist in the Revolution Awards 2010, Hodder is proud to announce plans to take the paperback to an even greater audience when it is published in July.
The strategy behind the summer publication is to generate the excitement usually expected from a major television or film launch, and the campaign is designed to reach a raft of new readers, challenging people’s perception of Stephen King and connecting with an audience usually outside the reading culture.
Hodder are unveiling a radical new package featuring four different covers, each reflecting in a filmic way characters from UNDER THE DOME. The marketing campaign supporting publication will seek to bring to life individuals featured on these covers. Media used will include national outdoor posters, on-line advertising and a dedicated website with stories and recordings from characters in the book. The plan is very much to reach a bigger audience than for any previous King paperback whilst involving the reader in a very personal and intimate way.
UNDER THE DOME is the most successful and biggest selling King hardcover this decade and Hodder expects that their innovative and energetic approach to the paperback will reap similar rewards.
King comments Ullmann
Posted: March 17, 2010, 22:13
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Message from Steve re Ghost Brothers of Darkland County
Liv Ullmann? Probably but don't believe it until you see it here. Remember, stephenking.com is the horse's mouth, the rest is just rumor.
Steve
Thanks to herbertwest
My review of American Vampire
Posted: March 17, 2010, 22:11
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Here are my review of the first issue of American Vampire that was released today.Cover for issue #5
Posted: March 16, 2010, 19:42
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Here is the cover for issue #5 of Soul Survivors.Lilja's Library in July
Posted: March 15, 2010, 22:46
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We're pleased to report that Lilja's Library: The World of Stephen King by Hans-Ake Lilja and illustrated by Glenn Chadbourne is rolling at our printer and is now scheduled for a mid-summer publication date. Also, collectors should take note that the Lettered Edition, which features original artwork by Chadbourne, is almost sold out! Don't wait to order or you'll miss out on that very special edition of this very cool book.
And just to be clear, mid-summer spells J-U-L-Y.
Liv Ullmann to direct Ghost Brothers
Posted: March 15, 2010, 22:37
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Thanks to Anders Jakobson
Two days to American Vampire
Posted: March 15, 2010, 22:19
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Thanks to Maria Pia and herbertwest
Less then 5 copies left
Posted: March 10, 2010, 23:49
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"...a must have for the Constant Reader."— Fangoria #236 (Book of the Month)
Stephen King on the Academy Awards
Posted: March 10, 2010, 23:47
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Thanks to Maria Pia
A new Pet Sematary in the making
Posted: March 5, 2010, 22:54
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Stephen King’s Pet Sematary Movie To Be Resuscitated
Matthew Greenberg, who wrote the Stephen King adaptation “1408,” is heading back to King territory with “Pet Sematary.”
Lorenzo di Bonaventura recently boarded as producer on the long-gestating project, which is set up at Paramount. Steven Schneider also is producing.
Published in 1983, King’s creepy tale centered on a family that trades the city life for the country life in Maine, then discovers that they have moved near a pet cemetery that rests on an ancient burial ground. When the husband’s toddler son is killed in an auto accident, the father takes the boy’s body to the cemetery, where it is resurrected in demonic form.
Paramount brought the book to life in 1989, with a feature version adapted by King that starred Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby and Fred Gwynne.
Film group president Adam Goodman, looking over library titles, deemed it worthy to resuscitate.
Mark Vahradian and David Ready are overseeing for Di Bonaventura Pictures.
Thanks to Anders Jakobson, Larry Fire and Al Mattice
Cover for issue #5
Posted: March 4, 2010, 22:47
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Here is the cover for issue #5 of The Battle of Jericho Hill.It has all led to this: The climactic battle for all the Mid-World marbles! On one side, with their backs to Jericho Hill are Roland, his ka-tet and the surviving members of his father's Affiliation. Arrayed against them, thousands of soldiers and slow mutants armed with the most horrific selection of weapons that the Good Man, John Farson could provide them. A few will live and many will die, and no reader will ever forget the intensity of the struggle or its heart-wrenching outcome. You must not miss the shattering conclusion that will alter the balance of power in Mid-World in unthinkable ways. You have been warned.
Thanks to Sebastian Rahm
Some reviews
Posted: March 4, 2010, 22:42
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Shooter Jennings and Stephen King team for 'Black Ribbons'
Posted: March 1, 2010, 13:11
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The effect of "Black Ribbons" is heightened considerably by King's droll, seemingly off-the-cuff riffs, full of righteous indignation and underlying humor as he rails against mounting government oppression and champions the importance of the voice of the individual to counter it. The album's conceit is that Will O' the Wisp is about to be shut down by the forces of conformity; he's making his last stand playing music by Hierophant, the fictional name Jennings has given the .357s for this project.
"It's a tremendously spooky idea," King, who had admired the .357s music he'd heard, said in a separate interview about his reasons for volunteering his services. "He sent me a draft, and it was just about perfect. I altered a few things and expanded some of it, but he knew exactly what he wanted. . . . To me, it was brilliant, the way the talk and the music weave in and out. I haven't heard the final version, but I heard a rough mix I thought was pretty good, even though I'm not in love with the sound of my own voice."
Not only hasn't King heard the finished version of the album, he and Jennings have never met, nor spoken by telephone. Jennings, a longtime fan of King's writing, originally reached out to the author by e-mail, which is how their whole collaboration was conducted. King recorded his bits at a studio in Florida and sent the digital files back to Jennings, who inserted them into the music he'd crafted at his home and at album producer Dave Cobb's home studio in Silver Lake.
Read the full story here.
Thanks to Bev Vincent
King on music
Posted: March 1, 2010, 13:11
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What scares horrormeister Stephen King?
How about terrestrial radio?
The prolific author has always been a passionate music fan, even moonlighting as a rock star on occasion as a part-time member of Dave Barry’s ad hoc literary rock band, the Rock Bottom Remainders. But over time King found less and less that caught his ears when he would spin the radio dial, which is part of what led him to take on a key role in Shooter Jennings’ ambitious new concept album, “Black Ribbons,” a project that's explored in a full Calendar feature in Saturday's paper.
“I'm a big alt-country fan, but I got to a place in my own musical listening where I was starting to not listen anymore,” King said when he called the other day to talk about volunteering his voice as narrator of Jennings’ atmospheric tale of a late-night radio talk show host who is the last voice of freedom in an increasingly restrictive society.
“I didn’t buy much music anymore, then I got an XM radio and discovered this show, ‘Outlaw Country,’ hosted by Mojo Nixon, and to me that sounded like the way rock 'n' roll used to sound back in the day when I was a kid. It didn’t sound like country, it didn’t sound like rock, it sure didn’t sound like the country that’s on the radio where I come from.”
“Shooter was one of the artists they played, and I liked the thing he was doing, the playfulness of it,” King said. “I still don’t remember how he got my e-mail…but he sent me a note saying ‘I have this idea — would you be interested?’”
“He had visualized the last disc jockey in the world doing this kind of pirate radio thing — he’s going to be shut down, and he knew he was going to be shut down," said King, noting that he owns two radio stations himself: "one rock, one talk." "So on his last show he’s playing cuts from his favorite group, which was this [Hierophant] group Shooter had envisioned, and he’s playing all the songs on their record.... I heard that and said, ‘I want to be part of it.’”
King sounds like he’s having a great time with his role as a deejay named Will O’ the Wisp on “Black Ribbons,” which comes out Tuesday. Jennings, the son of Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter, had gotten the idea “to make a record that’s carried by one voice,” and as a longtime fan of King’s writings, he quizzed friends and associates for six months until one of them produced an e-mail address so he could send off his pitch.
In fact, the whole collaboration between Jennings and King was conducted by e-mail. The two still haven’t met, or even spoken by phone. “We’ve exchanged pictures of our children and [my] grandchildren,” King said. “I hope we get to meet one of these days.”
Thanks to Bev Vincent
Press release for Full Dark, No Stars
Posted: February 26, 2010, 11:45
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STEPHEN KING HAS MAJOR DARKNESS IN MIND FOR 2010 UNDER THE DOME, published in November 2009, reached more readers then any other King hardback novel published in the UK in the last decade.
Its publication, with a winning marketing campaign, demands a worthy successor for 2010, and Hodder & Stoughton are delighted to announce the acquisition from US agent, Chuck Verrill, of FULL DARK, NO STARS.
The November publication month that has proved so successful for UNDER THE DOME and JUST AFTER SUNSET will again provide a perfect position to launch this volume of four all-new novellas for Christmas 2010.
These darkly thrilling stories are all linked by the theme of retribution, and are a showcase for the power of King’s inimitable imagination – satisfying established readers whilst enticing new ones. Visceral, immediate and featuring just a few characters, this is the other side of King’s writing; contrasting intimate portraits after the huge canvas that was UNDER THE DOME.
For further information about FULL DARK, NO STARS please contact Kerry Hood on 020 7873 6l73. And for more information about Stephen King visit www.hodder.co.uk and www.stephenking.co.uk
Cover
Posted: February 26, 2010, 00:18
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Here is the variant cover for issue #4 of Soul Survivors.Jae Lee steps aside
Posted: February 26, 2010, 00:09
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Jae Lee steps aside for a new artist on the upcoming Gunslinger seriesFebruary 24, 2010 - Marvel is proud to announce that Eisner Award-winning Sean Phillips (Incognito, Criminal, Marvel Zombies) has joined the New York Times best-selling Dark Tower creative team! Philips joins the acclaimed team of Peter David, Robin Furth and Richard Isanove in the select group of creators entrusted by Stephen King himself to bring the adult adventures of his most personal creation to life in Dark Tower: The Gunslinger! Philips exclaims, "Well, I've bought the hat and the gun and holster. And I've got the lead pencil right here that'll do the job!"
Phillips' fellow Dark Tower collaborators couldn't be more pleased with their new teammate. "Here's to the beginning of our new Dark Tower adventure! Sean is a wonderful artist, so I can't wait to see his depictions of Mid-World. We will all miss Jae [Lee], but we're really lucky to have Sean. Peter and Richard will continue their amazing work, so I think Roland is ready to saddle up and move forward to the Mohaine Desert. Readers, bring plenty of sunscreen. You're going to need it" said Robin Furth.
Peter David added, "I'm very much looking forward to seeing Sean's depiction of Mid-World and the superb manner in which he'll be telling Robin's stories. Jae left him sizable boots to fill, but I have every confidence that Sean is more than up to the challenge, and I'm looking forward to dialoguing his peerless pencils."
"The past four years spent in Midworld have been the most enjoyable and creatively fullfiling of my professional life. Jae has taken me further than I thought possible in the artistic field and I am ecstatic to now have Sean along for the ride. I'm sure he'll quickly feel at home within our little functional family, with the wise guidance of Robin, Peter's perfect prose and under Ralph's despotic thumb" explained Richard Isanove.
Ruwan Jayatilleke, Marvel's Senior Vice President, Development & Planning, Print, Animation and Digital Media, said, "Marvel is absolutely psyched to have Sean Phillips join the Dark Tower creative team. Though Jae's artistry will be missed, Sean's gift of phenomenal storytelling and visual fireworks will keep the Dark Tower: The Gunslinger compelling, stunning, and true to its canon. Fans will have much to rave about in the coming months."
A bold new chapter in Stephen King's Dark Tower saga begins in Dark Tower: The Gunslinger #1, as Sean Phillips brings you a vision of Gilead like you've never seen before!
DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER #1 (of 5)
Written by ROBIN FURTH & PETER DAVID
Art & Cover by SEAN PHILLIPS & RICHARD ISANOVE
Variant Cover by JAE LEE & RICHARD ISANOVE
Parental Advisory …$3.99
ON-SALE MAY 2010
Vampre covers
Posted: February 24, 2010, 00:24
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Thanks to Herbert West
Variant cover for issue #5
Posted: February 24, 2010, 00:21
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Here is the cover for issue #4 of Battle of Jericho Hill.Thanks to Sebastian Rahm
UR winners selected...
Posted: February 22, 2010, 12:32
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Read the complete text
New Dollar Baby
Posted: February 18, 2010, 09:06
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Thanks to Bev Vincent
More info about the next book
Posted: February 18, 2010, 09:04
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Steve has told me it's okay to say that one of the novellas is about Hemingford Home.
Interview with Marc Guggenheim
Posted: February 17, 2010, 22:18
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Here is an interview with Marc Guggenheim who's adapted N. for the upcoming comic.Here is also the cover for issue #3.
Thanks to Daniel Taylor
Full Dark, No Stars next
Posted: February 17, 2010, 08:48
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I have been given permission to announce that Steve's next book titled FULL DARK, NO STARS, is a collection of 4 previously unpublished novellas and is expected to be released in November (possibly 9th, but that is subject to change). We will announce more details as they become available.
Thanks to Brian Freeman
King on Leno
Posted: February 17, 2010, 00:27
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Thanks to Sonia Rodríguez Riveiro
Bag of Bones heading for TV
Posted: February 8, 2010, 22:48
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N. covers
Posted: February 8, 2010, 22:40
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Thanks to Sebastian Rahm.
Latest on Haven
Posted: February 5, 2010, 20:53
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SyFy announced it has cast Emily Rose ("John From Cincinnati") as the lead in its upcoming series "Haven," which the network said will premiere later this year.
Based on the Stephen King novella "The Colorado Kid," "Haven" will begin production in the spring in Canada.
Rose will play FBI agent Audrey Parker, who investigates a murder in the small town of Haven, Maine, and finds herself caught up in a web of supernatural activity among its citizens.
Rose has had several key recurring roles since appearing as Cass on "John From Cincinnati." She played Lena Branigan on "Brothers and Sisters," Trish Merrick on "Jericho" and Tracy Martin on "ER." She was also the lead in the USA pilot "Operating Instructions."
E1 Entertainment is producing "Haven," which is co-financed by Universal Netwowrks Intl. and is the first series to be produced for SyFy's international outlets (except in Scandinavia and, ironically, Canada). E1 is handling international distribution.
Scott Shepard ("The Dead Zone") is the series' showrunner, with Lloyd Segan, Shawn Piller and E1's John Morayniss and Noreen Halpern exec producing. Pilot scribes Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn also are exec producers.
Thanks to Bev Vincent.
New column
Posted: February 5, 2010, 20:52
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Thanks to Bev Vincent
A quote from Frank
Posted: February 1, 2010, 23:03
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"Hans-Ake Lilja, the most dedicated Stephen King fan I know, takes the reader on a joyous, wide-ranging journey through King’s world and influence. Part scholarly in its approach, but in greater part a fan's love letter to King, it is an absolute must for the Stephen King completist."
Stephen to appear in Charlotte County, FL
Posted: February 1, 2010, 16:24
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Tickets (400 will be available) are being distributed by a random lottery drawing. For more information about the event and to fill out the email form for the lottery drawing, please visit their web site.
King pays tribute to J.D. Salinger
Posted: January 29, 2010, 23:29
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Stephen King on J.D. Salinger: 'The last of the great post-WWII American writers'
by Stephen King
Categories: In Memoriam, Stephen King
I wasn’t a huge Salinger fan, but I’m sorry to hear of his passing — the way you’d feel if you heard an eccentric, short-tempered, but often fascinating uncle had passed away. Not as great a loss as Beverly Jensen (her marvelous The Sisters from Hardscrabble Bay will be published this summer), who wrote only one book before dying of cancer at the age of 49, or of Raymond Carver, who was barely into his 50s; Salinger was, after all, in his 90s.
But it is a milestone of sorts, because Salinger was the last of the great post-WWII American writers, and in Holden Caulfield — maybe the greatest American-boy narrator since Huck Finn — he created an authentic Voice of the Age: funny, anxious, at odds with himself, and badly lost.
Salinger’s death may answer one question that has intrigued readers, writers, and critics for nearly half a century — what literary trove of unpublished work may he have left behind? Much? Some? Or none? Salinger is gone, but if we’re lucky, he may have more to say, even so.
Decodes Movie Blurbs
Posted: January 27, 2010, 22:31
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Thanks to willowlove
Time talks on video
Posted: January 27, 2010, 22:27
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Two books done
Posted: January 27, 2010, 08:52
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UR
Posted: January 27, 2010, 08:49
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Costello interview
Posted: January 22, 2010, 12:40
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SEE: What is “The Shape”?
Elvis: “The Shape” is the name of a character that I’m portraying in a piece which is being constructed. It’s an unusual form. It’s a sort of a radio play, as it were, except it’ll be on record. It’s a collaboration between John Mellencamp and Stephen King, produced by my friend T-Bone Burnett, and a number of singers, some of whom are friends like Roseanne Cash and people that I’ve recently met through Spectacle like Neko Case, Cheryl Crow, likewise, and Kris Kristofferson. There are actually a number of people that have been on Spectacle but that’s purely, completely coincidental. But we happen to be all characters in this story, and “The Shape” is this sort of demonic, satanic I suppose, demonic rather than satanic, the provocateur character that nobody sees but whispers in everybody’s ear. Typecast again. But it’s interesting to do. I think some people got hold of the wrong end of the stick and imagined it was going to be a Broadway musical, but I think it would be pretty tough to imagine all those people showing up for Broadway.
SEE: A little, yeah.
Elvis: But this is another way to do it, I think it’s an interesting way to do it, get people into the studio and record. It’s kind of like a collage almost of dramatic performances, and a lot of the songs are written in character voices. I’ve written a number of songs where I’m not that person that’s singing, there’s even reprehensible characters in songs where I wouldn’t want to be that person. But here I’ve got a little more licence to go a bit further with that, because it’s somebody else’s character that’s been created and I have to sort of try and bring it to life in some way that made sense to me and I hoped that they liked it. People are trying different things. The record company relationship with artists is less dominant than it used to be. People are able to sort of try some different forms without being worried about losing radio play in Idaho. Nobody cares about that anymore. If there’s a good station in Idaho, then they can have a direct conversation with you. If there isn’t, then you’re not losing anything by doing something that’s interesting to you. It’s probably a good idea to give it a try, see what happens.
Thanks to Bev Vincent
