NEWS -

Fire at the set of Desperation

Posted: December 12, 2004, 00:06

A fire started at the set of Desperation on Friday and reports say that 5 people where injured and 2,000 evacuated. Here are some articles about it:

- Arizona Daily Star
- Arizona Daily Star
- 4 KVOA (with clips)

Thanks to Audrey* and Carla

2004: The Year in Books and more

Posted: December 9, 2004, 00:00

Here is an interview with King.

Thanks to Audrey* and Bev Vincent.

It seems that the UK edition of The Dark Tower concordance by Robin Furth has been pushed to summer 2005. The US edition is still scheduled for March 2005 though.

The Dead Zone trading cards from Rittenhouse are on the market now. Here are two links for you to check out: Scifi Hobby and Warp 9.

Faithful is now out in both hardback and on audio. You can order the different editions here:

Hardback
CD
Cassette

You can also listen to a clip here.

About the Today Show clip I reported about on Dec. 9. This isn't just an audio clip but you need to get a DivX codec to see it.

Thanks to jthodges.

Now you can read King's latest column, 2004: The Year in Books, online.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

More photos from Desperation

Posted: December 2, 2004, 00:03

Here are even more articles with photos (and clips) about the filming of Desperation:

- Kold News
- KVOA (with clips)
- Arizona Daily Star
- Arizona Daily Star

Riding the Bullet cable debut and more

Posted: December 2, 2004, 00:00

FANGORIA has learned that Mick Garris' Riding the Bullet will make its cable television debut on the USA Network Sunday, January 23. Sister station Sci Fi Channel will share broadcast dibs on the film and air Riding the Bullet later in 2005. Lions Gate retains the North American video rights to the movie.

Thanks to Randy Ford

Here is an article about Faithful with a picture of King and O'Nan.

Here is a transcript from King's interview with Aaron Brown on CNN's Newsnight.

Here is another article about Desperation from Tucson Citizen.

Check out Collin

Posted: December 1, 2004, 00:00

Here are some really cool photos from the filming of Desperation:

- An article
- and another one

Thanks to Bev Vincent and Rocky Wood.

Release dates and reviews

Posted: November 30, 2004, 00:00

Here are the US and UK trade paperback covers for The Dark Tower 5 and 6. You can pre-order by clicking on the covers.

The release dates for the last 3 books in trade paperback are:

- Wolves of the Calla -- Jan. 2005

- Song of Susannah --- April 2005
- The Dark Tower --- July 2005

I have listen to John Griffit's music that is inspired from The Gunslinger and The Drawing of the Three. You can read what I thought about it here.

Campbell Scott would narrate the audio edition of The Shining that is being released in August 2005.

News about Desperation

Posted: November 29, 2004, 23:57

Here are some interesting articles about the filming of Desperation, both from Tucson Citizen.

- STEPHEN KING MINISERIES: 'Desperation' sets in downtown

Largest King limited ever and much more

Posted: November 25, 2004, 00:00

Here is the signed numbered edition (left), the signed Deluxe edition (right), in comparison to a 1st edition, 1st state Doubleday edition (center).

Here are some info about the limited edition of 'Salem's Lot that Centipede Press is releasing.

The limited is by far the largest King limited ever produced. Limiteds such as Doubleday's "coffin" The Stand, and Cemetery Dance's From a Buick 8 are dwarfed in comparison to this publication.

One of the finest (if not the finest) quality King limited, this one sets the benchmark for craftsmanship. Any King collector that has ordered one of these masterpieces will be very impressed. The leather bound deluxe edition weighs over 13 pounds, is over 4 1/4" thick and is housed in a beautifully constructed traycase.

All King collectors will understand why this book had a high price tag and why shipping was so expensive once they receive it.

The unsigned editions will be the exact same size as the numbered edition, however, the book will have only one of the photographic printed pieces and the book will be thinner due to the less expensive paper stock. The unsigned edition does not come with a slipcase. The unsigned editions will start shipping in 5 weeks and there are very few copies left to purchase.

Thanks to Robert Drew at Rare*Collectible*Books.

The WCRB Horn of Plenty Cookbook II has been released in time for holiday giving. Boston radio station Classical 102.5 WCRB has produced a sequel to the very successful 1990 edition of their cookbook, and the proceeds again benefit Project Bread. Recipes were donated by WCRB listeners, by celebrities such as Boston Pops Music Director Keith Lockhart, author Stephen King, and by chefs from many area restaurants. Read more about it on their website.

Thanks to Rocky Wood.

A second sequel to The Mangler is on the way. It's tentatively called The Mangler Reborn and tell the tale of a man and his machine - one he creates, obsesses over and is ultimately possessed by. Matt Cunningham and Erik Gardner are penning the script with the intention of directing the film for Barnholtz Entertainment. If everything runs smoothly we can expect (or fear) to see The Mangler Reborn in late '05. Scott Pearlman is producing with Lions Gate likely to distribute.

Source: Bloody Disgusting.

Here are the two covers for the upcoming The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book by Brian Freeman and Bev Vincent. You can pre-order you copy either at Amazon.com or at Cemetery Dance.

In December the third edition of The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King will be released. This one has been Fully Revised. All Indexes and reference Chapters updated as of October 2004 and there are now 297 Chapters in the 'Guide'.

Also, keep an eye out at www.shocklines.com and www.horrorking.com, as copies will be available to order from these sites this coming week.

A photo from King's signing

Posted: November 22, 2004, 00:00

Here is a photo from King's signing at the Briar Patch Bookstore on November 20th. You can see more here.

Thanks to Tyler over at TheDarkTower.net.

More info about upcoming publicity events for Faithful has now been revealed.

The Shining will be released on audio in August 2005.

Novella: The Things They Left Behind

Posted: November 21, 2004, 00:00

King will be on both The Today Show and The Daily Show on December 2nd. That is all the info I have at the moment but when I hear more you'll be the first to know.

Thanks to Miss X.

Now you can pre-order Ed McBain's anthology with a new King novel in it. The anthology is called Transgressions and King's story The Things They Left Behind.

There will also an audio release of some of the stories and King's is among them. You can pre-order the audio edition (with the title Terror's Echo : Novellas from Transgressions) here.

Here is a description of King's story:

"The Things They Left Behind" by Stephen King: In the wake of the worst disaster on American soil, one man is coming to terms with the aftermath of the Twin Towers-when he begins finding the things they left behind.

Thanks to Kevin Etheridge.

Here are the two first reviews of Faithful. One is from Boston.com and the other from Boston Herald. And here is my review of The Dark Tower VII.

Here is a short (and I mean short) article about King's signing yesterday.

Concordance vol. 2 release info and Faithful audio

Posted: November 20, 2004, 00:00

King's official site (in the message board) state that The Dark Tower Concordance vol. 2 by Robin Furth won't be out until January or February 2005.

Here is the final CD cover for Faithful.

Stewart O'Nan will be signing the new book Faithful at Borders in Boston on Dec. 1st. The bookstore's address is 10 School Street, Boston, phone is 617-557-7188 and O'Nan will be signing at 12:30 on Dec. 1. Read more here.

Sylvia Kelegian in Desperation

Posted: November 18, 2004, 23:56

Sylvia Kelegian joins the cast for Desperation. She will play Ellie Carver.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Interview with Stewart O'Nan

Posted: November 18, 2004, 00:00

As you all know the book Faithful by King and Stewart O'Nan will be out on November 21 and I though it would be interesting to hear how the book was written. To find out I contacted Stewart and asked if I could get a minute of his time. He said yes! In the interview he speaks about Faithful, King, Red Sox and more.

The Bangor Daily News is reporting that King will be doing a small booksigning at the Briar Patch Bookstore on Saturday, November 20th from 12:30-2:30pm.

Thanks to Tyler over at TheDarkTower.net.

Mississippi Ghost Brothers is the real title

Posted: November 14, 2004, 12:56

I got the correct title for the collaboration between King and Mellencamp and it was Mississippi Ghost Brothers. The full quote from Mellencamp from Rolling Stone is:

“Right now, he’s preparing for another tour and working on blues and Cajun songs for Mississippi Ghost Brothers.

A stage musical he’s writing with Stephen King. In it, a quarreling Southern Family goes on vacation to the haunted cabin where two uncles killed each other; it’s set in the present day and in the 1940’s.” .

Thanks to John Palisano.

The Pop of King: A Dozen Thanks

Posted: November 14, 2004, 00:00

King's next column for Entertainment Weekly will appear in the November 19th issue and have the title The Pop of King: A Dozen Thanks.

Thanks to Paul Poroshin.

Kelly Overton joins Desperation

Posted: November 11, 2004, 23:54

Kelly Overton has joined the cast of Desperation. She will be playing Cynthia Smith.

Thanks to Gary Shaw.

Ghostbrothers

Posted: November 11, 2004, 18:20

In a recent article about Mellencamp or about the collaboration between King and Mellencamp (or something like that) a title for their collaboration was mentioned and it was Ghostbrothers (all one word). It remains to be seen if that will be the final title though.

Thanks to Justin Brooks.

Casting and prints

Posted: November 11, 2004, 00:00

Kelly Overton has joined the cast of Desperation. She will be playing Cynthia Smith.

Michael Whealen has put up the cover art for The Dark Tower VII prints for sale on his website.

Thanks to Mike Cahill.

Even more Desperation casting news

Posted: November 8, 2004, 23:53

King's official site states that Henry Thomas (E.T.) will play Peter Jackson in Desperation.

Plans for Talisman 3?

Posted: November 8, 2004, 23:33

Here is more info in the ongoing question if there will be a Talisman 3. This is from the message board on King's official site:

Question I recently read an interview in which Peter Straub said there will be a third book in the Talisman series.

Response from Moderator Stephen would agree that there are plans for one--it’s more a matter of when.

Popup signed by King

Posted: November 5, 2004, 00:00

To the right is a picture of the cover of the limited edition of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon popup as well as a close-up on King's signature. The difference between the limited and the trade is not as big as you may think. The limited edition has the exact same interior as the regular edition (same number of pages, etc.). The binding is different though -- it has a full cloth cover with an extra pop-up that is not in the trade edition; this extra pop is embedded into the front cover.

The popup is also signed by Stephen King and numbered and there are only 125 copies of it. The biggest difference though is the price. The trade cost just below $20 and the limited will cost you $1,000 to own. You decide if that's reasonable.

You can also read my review of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, one of the coolest King books ever done if you ask me.

And if you haven't already bought the book you can get the trade edition from either Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

New Faithful cover again and more

Posted: November 3, 2004, 00:00

Here is the final cover for Faithful and please not that is doesn't say Stewart O'Nan with Stephen King any more, just both authors names. The book will be released on November 21 and you can pre-order here.

The paperback edition of the book will be released on June 1, 2005 and you can pre-order here.

Here is the cover for McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories that contains King's new short story Lisey and the Madman. You can pre-order
here. It will be released on November 16.

Stephen King and Gahan Wilson were given Life Achievement Awards at the World Fantasy Awards banquet in Tempe, AZ on Sunday afternoon.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Music based on The Gunslinger

Posted: November 1, 2004, 00:00

To the right is a picture of the limited edition of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon popup.

Faithful will now be released on November 21, which is a lot earlier then expected. I also got confirmation today that narrator of the audio edition will be Ron McLarty and Adam Grupper.

You can also read my reviews of Building Bridges and music based on The Gunslinger.

More Desperation casting news

Posted: October 29, 2004, 23:52

I just spoke to Mick Garris and he confirmed what I thought. That Tom Skerritt will play Johnny Marinville in Desperation. He also told me that Since Cliff Robertson recently had back surgery, and is recovering, he has been replaced by Charles Durning.

Cast for Desperation

Posted: October 28, 2004, 23:46

The cast for Desperation is starting to take shape. Here are the first names. Ron Perlman (Hellboy) will play Collie Entragian, Tom Skerritt (don't know who he will play) Steven Weber (The Shining) is Steve, Annabeth Gish (The X Files) takes the female lead as Mary, Cliff Robertson (Riding the Bullet) is Tom the veterinarian, Shane Haboucha (THE O.C.) stars as young David and Matt Frewer (Riding the Bullet, The Stand) is Ralph. There are also some articles available online.

Ron Perlman as Collie Entragian

Thanks to Randy Ford and Jonathan Kennedy.

Pet Peeves of 2004

Posted: October 27, 2004, 00:00

King has a new column out. This one is called Pet Peeves of 2004.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Enter a contest for a chance to win two tickets to a screening of "dailies" of the short film adaptation Gotham Cafe. Details at http://www.gothamcafethemovie.com (mid-way down the page, under What's new).

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

An article about Faithful and the Red Sox is online. On the image to the right you can see King and O'Nan at a game.

I get a lot of mails from readers asking if I know why the price of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon got so much more expensive then expected. So, I asked Little Simon about why the price of the popup book was raised and here is their answer:

The original price was tentative and was set before we knew exactly how many limited editions there were going to be--and what exactly the production costs for the small run would be.

Dead Zone season 3 review and more

Posted: October 20, 2004, 00:00

Now you can see what I think of season 3 of The Dead Zone. I have put my review of the third season online.

Some of the pictures from the popup edition of The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is now online.

There are some really cool images from Gotham Cafe online now.

Here is the official site for Warner's remake of 'Salem's Lot.

New Faithful cover and Kingdom Come essay

Posted: October 15, 2004, 00:00

Here is what seems to be the new cover for Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the 2004 Season. On Stewart O'Nan's site there is also an article about the collaboration with King.

The Region 1 DVD set of Kingdom Hospital also contains a booklet that has a two-page essay by King entitled Kingdom Come. You can buy it here.

Thanks to Paul Poroshin.

There is virtual game based on Riding the Bullet online now.

Carrie cover and Dollar Babies goes to Australia

Posted: October 12, 2004, 00:00

Here is the cover for the audio edition of Carrie that will be released in 2005 and read by Sissy Spacek.

Joel Sadilek has left Gotham Café and Jack Sawyers is now directing.

Shawn Lealos has left an update on the progress of his movie version of I know what you need.

Good news for King fans down under. The short movies that played at the 1st Annual Dollar Baby film fest will be screened in Freemantle, Australia for a festival put on by the Australian Film Commission and Screenwest. It is scheduled for November.

Grants deluxe edition and Lighthouse Magazine

Posted: October 11, 2004, 00:00

Here are the front and back of Grant's deluxe edition of The Dark Tower VII. It's divided into 2 parts.

The Cedar Lee theater will host the Cleveland Premiere of All That You Love Will Be Carried Away on Thursday, October 28th. Screenings will be at 7PM and 8:30PM. There will be a Q&A with the director, producers, and ACTORS following the 7PM show.

Tickets are $7, which includes a ticket into our after party at Parnell's next door. Seats are limited, so please RSVP by sending an email to BeCarriedAway@hotmail.com

Lighthouse Magazine are working on issue 4 which will be a Stephen King issue (due out early next year) and are looking for interesting contributions – essays, articles, or anything of interest relating to King. All published contributors will receive a contributor's copy of the magazine. Incidentally, issue 4 will be in a paperback format (with ISBN number). Interested? Please contact Light House on lmo@lighthousemediaone.co.uk

A review of Riding the Bullet is now online.

King opening up for a third Talisman?

Posted: October 7, 2004, 23:30

Is King opening up for a third Talisman book? Well, this quote is from the message board on King's official site and is the answer to all the questions about Jack Sawyer they get:

Since there have been so many inquiries, I asked Stephen about this and his response is: "People who are interested in Jack Sawyer, don’t lose hope that you will see him again."

Interview with Garris

Posted: October 6, 2004, 23:44

An article about Desperation as well as an interview with Mick Garris is now online. In the interview he talks about Riding the Bullet and Desperation.

The article state that shooting will begin in November.

Thanks to Bev Vincent and David Sjödin.

New column, poster and more

Posted: October 6, 2004, 00:00

King has a new column, Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, in the next issue of Entertainment Weekly. This time it has to do with Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and others who are using their music to raise political awareness about the upcoming election.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

To the right is the poster for All That You Love Will Be Carried Away.

USA Today will have an article about the Red Sox featuring Stephen King in tomorrow's issue. It supposed to be on the front cover.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Another interview about Riding the Bullet and Desperation
with Mick Garris is now online.

Thanks to Bloody Disgusting.

Some photos from day one of filming Gotham Café (including Mick Garris' cameo) can now be seen online.

King comments on (not) retiring

Posted: October 2, 2004, 00:00

King comments on (not) retiring in the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly:

From Our Contributors

EW contributor Stephen King publishes new novel -- The horror author discusses completing the final book in his "Dark Tower" series
by Gilbert Cruz

Thirty-four years ago, Stephen King sat down and typed the following line: "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." As the ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY columnist recalls, "That's probably the best single line that I ever wrote and maybe it deserved a book. I'm not sure it deserved seven of them." Nonetheless, here we are, greeting the publication of Dark Tower VII: The Dark Tower, "a whopper" that King also insists is the end of gunslinger Roland Deschain's saga. At least for now. After all, this is a man who told this magazine two years ago that he would retire after finishing Dark Tower. Now he admits there's a brand-new novel sitting on his shelf: "I'm looking at it right now and that's where it's going to stay for the time being." So, is he retired or not? "I was deeply sad to finish with these books, and I had a period of real creative depression, to the point where I told people I was going to quit...[but] I can't be held responsible for anything I said in the course of the last two years." That, Constant Readers, is a no.

Thanks to Paul Poroshin.

Faithful in color

Posted: October 1, 2004, 00:00

Here is a color version of the upcoming Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the 2004 Season. It will be released in December and you can pre-order it at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Ehren Kruger talks The Talisman

Posted: September 29, 2004, 23:25

Ehren Kruger talks about The Talisman in an interview with Dread Central.

So what can you tell us about your work on The Talisman script?

EK: I wrote a few drafts of The Talisman (an adaptation of the Stephen King/Peter Straub novel) last year. A couple writers worked on the project before me, and a couple writers have worked on it since. However, the producers and studio were pleased enough with my version to expose it to filmmakers. Two directors signed on and later signed off, after being unable to agree with the studio and producers on what the precise tone and style of the movie should be. This is usually called "creative differences," which is not a euphemism but a very real and worthwhile reason to part ways on a project.

The reason the project has spent such a long time in development is that it is no easy task to condense an 800-page odyssey of a horror-fantasy novel into a single two-hour movie. To adapt the book faithfully would require an 8 or 10 hour miniseries. And yet there is a wonderful, simple story at the novel’s core that a feature film could certainly do justice to. Hopefully the right director will come along and make the project a reality. As for now, I’ve moved onto other things and am not actively involved with the script.

JB: Since you're not actively involved as of now, can you give us an idea of what was different in your version, or what you had focused on the most in your draft?

EK: In my drafts, a lot was changed from the book. The focus was on the book’s strength (in my opinion) – Jack’s cross-country quest to save his mother’s life and his unlikely alliance and friendship with Wolf. The time frame was condensed to a few days to get from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and so a number of Jack’s stops along the way and many secondary characters were excised entirely. The novel is a horror/fantasy hybrid and my drafts emphasized the latter. My mandate was to write a two-hour PG-13 movie, so most of my story choices were made with that in mind. If my mandate had been to write an R-rated cable miniseries, my drafts would have been notably different.

JB: I had heard a lot of the quest stuff was removed from your draft, like you said some of the stops made and so forth. What about The Territories? Was there any action taking place there or was it more focused on our side of things?

EK: Sounds like you are pretty familiar with the book. In my drafts, the Territories were visited on several occasions, but not as often as in the novel. It covers much more ground than we possibly could. Some of this was for budgetary reasons, and some was due to the fact that the novel’s "parallel world," of course, affects the real one. Since the movie’s focus was to be on Jack and Wolf, many of the most valuable parts of the book for our purposes involved those where Wolf was a stranger in Jack’s world. And of course, I can only speak to the drafts I was involved in; subsequent writers may have changed my choices of what to keep or discard quite thoroughly.

JB: I really hope that if and when it does get off the ground they're able to treat it with the respect it deserves. From the sounds of it you had the right idea for condensing it to its barest essentials, which would be necessary to make such a long book into a two-hour film...

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Revival of Pet Sematary

Posted: September 29, 2004, 00:00

Variety reports that Paramount has hired horror specialist Dave Kajganich to write its revival of Pet Sematary, produced by Alphaville.

There will be a brand new lengthy interview with King in the November 2004 issue of Fangoria, which is issue #238, hitting newsstands October 21.

Thanks to Suspiria13.

Now you can see all the covers of Entertainment Weekly that King has had his column, The Pop of King, in. Thanks to Paul Poroshin.

Now all of you that couldn't get a copy of the Centipede Press edition of Salem's Lot has a new chance. Here is the info:

Stephen King has given Centipede Press permission to do another 600 UNSIGNED copies of 'SALEM'S LOT, bound in cloth.

The size of the book is still 9 x 13, and includes all the text from the limited edition, including the deleted scenes. There will not be any interior photographs.

This edition will ship in early December. The price is $95 + $15 shipping. We are accepting ONLY checks and money orders at this time, no credit cards or PayPal payments. If you live overseas, please contact us before ordering so that we can determine a shipping and payment method. Colorado residents will need to add $3.99 for state sales tax.

Payment should be mailed to:
Jerad Walters
Centipede Press
2760 Harlan #4
Wheat Ridge, Colorado 80214

Thanks to Brian Freeman and Marco Lammers.

Here's a couple articles reviewing the Dollar Baby Fest:
Maine Campus
Bangor Daily News
Bangor Daily News

Thanks to James Renner, Stephen King Short Movies and Audrey Sparkes.

Darabont start on The Mist next week

Posted: September 24, 2004, 13:50

Frank Darabont still plan to do The Mist. He'll start work on The Mist script "next week," but wasn't sure when it would get made.

Frank Darabont confirmed to SCI FI Wire that he plans to write and direct a film version of Stephen King's horror tale The Mist, which appeared as a short novel in King's Skeleton Crew collection. Darabont previously scored successes with The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, both of which were based on King stories. "I love the fact that The Mist is a pressure cooker that's character-driven and that's a down-and-dirty monster movie," Darabont said in an interview while promoting the upcoming 10th anniversary special-edition DVD of The Shawshank Redemption. "I just love it."

Darabont added, "It's that wonderful Steve King taste in the mouth. I'm excited about getting back to my horror roots. I'm also excited about getting in there and shooting something down-and-dirty. I envision the monster barely glimpsed, just like in the story. These are things that you don't quite ever fully see. So I'm going to take a cue from everybody's godfather, Mr. Spielberg, and show the shark as little as possible," he added, referring to Steven Spielberg's Jaws.

The writer/director added that he'll start work on the Mist script "next week," but wasn't sure when it would get made, as he's already attached to direct a Fahrenheit 451 remake and may also take on Mine, a thriller to be based on a Robert McCammon novel in which both the hero and the villain are female. "That one may go first," Darabont said. "It's all in the hands of the film gods."

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book info

Posted: September 24, 2004, 00:00

TheDarkTower.net now has the illustrations from The Dark Tower VII on their site.

Now it's time to order your copy of The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book. Cemetery Dance told me that they only have a few copies left of the Lettered Edition so order one ASAP if you want one. Oh, and if you order the book please mention that you heard about it from Lilja's Library in the comments section of the checkout form. That will get me on extra good terms with the folks over at CD :-)

Here are more info about this book:

The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book will feature over 1,000 questions to test your knowledge of the King of Horror (covering topics right up through the last Dark Tower book!), along with dozens of special illustration-based questions from Cemetery Dance favorite artist Glenn Chadbourne! Edited by Brian Freeman (founder of StephenKingNews.com) and Bev Vincent (author of The Road To The Dark Tower and the "News from the Dead Zone" column in Cemetery Dance magazine), The Illustrated Stephen King Trivia Book will also feature a special afterword by Michelle L. Revelle (Founder/Co-President of SKEMERs, the largest Stephen King fan group on the web).

The Deluxe Traycased Lettered Edition is limited to just 52 signed and lettered leather-bound copies, and each copy will feature a piece of Glenn Chadbourne ORIGINAL artwork from the book inlaid into the cover of the traycase, making each copy of the Lettered Edition unique. By original artwork, we mean we're taking THE ACTUAL pieces of artwork off his easel and incorporating it into the traycase -- that means none of these traycases will have exactly the same look!

The Dark Tower VII review

Posted: September 22, 2004, 00:00

My review of The Dark Tower VII is now online and it's spoiler free.

A new installment of Needful King's Online is now online. It's the longest installment so far and it's titled; The Road to the Dark Tower Ends; A Look Back at Dr. Hook's Medicine Show; A Ride on a Stationary Bike; An Interesting NBA Event; plus Some Interesting Other Things.

King turns 57

Posted: September 21, 2004, 00:00

First I would like to congratulate King who turns 57 today, congratulations!

Here are two articles from the signing at Just Books. One from Greenwich Time and one from Connpost.com.

Thanks to Bev Vincent and Jonathan Reitan.

As you know The Dark Tower VII is released today. Because of this Simon & Schuster have put some fun stuff on their site including a screensaver.'

Thanks to Bev Vincent and Ariel Bosi.

An interview with Mick Garris about Riding the Bullet is now online.

The 1st Annual Dollar Baby Film Fest takes place on Saturday Sept. 25th, 2004 at Corbett Business Building Theater, University of Maine, Orono. 7PM. $5 at the door! It will contain 2 hrs. of rarely-seen Stephen King short films.

Here is the REVISED list:
- The Woman in the Room (Frank Darabont)
- The Lawnmower Man (based on the short story, not the movie!!)
- Strawberry Spring
- The Man in the Black Suit
- Paranoid
- The Last Rung on the Ladder
- Luckey Quarter
- The Dark Tower: Roland meets Brown
- All That You Love Will Be Carried Away
- Q&A with directors to follow and other surprises!!!

Lisey's Story

Posted: September 20, 2004, 23:18

As you know there has been reports that King has written a new book. Well, it now seams that the short story I have reported about earlier, Lisey and the Madman is an excerpt from that book. Here is what it says in the author notes in the book:

[King] has promised to retire but "Lisey and the Madman" is from what may eventually be a new novel called Lisey's Story. In his own defense, King points out that all novelists lie--sometimes to others, almost constantly to themselves.

The story is about 30 pages long and about a writer who gets shot during a public appearance, told from the point of view of his wife.

Here's what King says about the book (that I'm guessing is the one called Lisey's Story) in his Guardian interview:

He has another book written, though he says it's "a mess", and has yet to decide whether anybody else should read it. It is about a writer's widow, and came about when he returned home from his hospitalisation for pneumonia to find his wife redecorating his office. "My wife says to me: 'Don't go in your office'. Like Bluebeard or something. I said 'Why not?' She says: It's just a mess in there and it will really upset you. One night I couldn't sleep and I went out there and she was right - it upset me. The furniture was all gone. The books were off the shelves. Everything was in boxes. It was just like a room that has been cleared out following an old person's death. It got me thinking about my own death and what would happen afterwards."

The entire interview can be found at guardian.co.uk.

Thanks to Bev Vincent and Rocky Wood.

King's appearance on the Today show

Posted: September 20, 2004, 00:00

Rocky Wood, David Rawsthorne and Norma Blackburn has put a signed first edition of their book The Complete Guide to the Works of Stephen King up on eBay and they are donating all the money they get for it to Lilja's Library. Do I need to tell you all how honored I am? Check it out here.

Now you can see a clip from King's appearance on the Today show here (Click on the arrows to get video #2).

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

I got an email from Mick Garris in which he told me that the theatrical release for Riding the Bullet has been pushed back one week to October 15th, in LA/Orange County and nine other cities. He also sent me the correct poster for the movie. You can see it to the right.

FilmForce has an exclusive trailer for the movie, check it out at their site.

Thanks to Bev Vincent.

Grant's cover and signing info

Posted: September 16, 2004, 00:00

Here the cover for Grant's artist edition of The Dark Tower VII.

Thanks to TheDarkTower.net

The owner of Just Books (the store King will be doing a book signing on 9/20) emailed Tyler over at TheDarkTower.net and asked him to post the following info for everyone who's planning on attending.

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Hi there

We have confirmed that Michael Whelan will join Stephen King on September 20 to sign Dark Tower VII. He will be arriving at 10:30 AM on the 20th and staying until 2 PM. Book signing limits will be set that day, depending on the availability of stock. Prints will also be available.

For anyone who is curious (some forums seem curious), the bookstore is literally behind the train station. There is limited parking in town and no paid lots (or meters for that matter). There is a large lot behind the store but all if it is 2 hour parking.

We will be at the store through Sunday night and expect police to either be heavily patroling or crowd controlling through the night. Standing on-line in the wee hours of the morning is probably a given, at this point, but pitching a tent is not something that the police would be in favor of.

We will give tickets out at 6 AM so that people can roam about with the expectation that people return to the line by 11:40 AM!
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Thanks to TheDarkTower.net

The official site for Riding the Bullet has been updated with this interesting poster among other things.

Dead Zone season 4 is coming and Dollar Baby Film Festival play list

Posted: September 13, 2004, 00:00

A fourth season of The Dead Zone has now been announced. 22 new episodes has been ordered. The series is set to resume production this November but no date has been mentioned for when the season starts to air.

Here is the play list for the 1st Annual Dollar Baby Film Festival held on September 25 in Maine:
* The Woman in the Room
* The Lawnmower Man
* Strawberry Spring
* The Road Virus Heads North
* Paranoid
* Last Rung on the Ladder
* Lucky Quarter
* All That You Love Will Be Carried Away (World Premiere)
* Q&A with directors.

Lisey and the Madman scan

Posted: September 12, 2004, 23:15

Here is a scan of McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories with King's Lisey and the Madman in it.

Miscellaneous news

Posted: September 12, 2004, 00:00

Cemetery Dance's book Stephen King - Unpublished and Uncollected is set for a December release.

According to my friend Justin who talked to Ed McBain about the anthology that will contain King's novella The Things They Left Behind the book will have the title Crimes and it will be released (by Tor) in the spring of 2005.

Thanks to Justin.

King has a new column out in Entertainment Weekly's September 10 issue, the title is Paint it Black.

Thanks to Rocky Wood.

Lisey and the Madman

Posted: September 9, 2004, 23:13

King's official site reports that a new work of fiction by Stephen titled Lisey and the Madman will be included in McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories, an anthology edited by Michael Chabon and published by Vintage. The anticipated publication date is November 2004.

Stephen King - Unpublished and Uncollected

Posted: September 3, 2004, 00:00

Cemetery Dance will release the book, Stephen King - Unpublished and Uncollected by Rocky Wood with David Rawsthorne and Norma Blackburn. The book will include coverage of 51 unpublished and 46 uncollected works of fiction but that isn't all. The book will also include TWO pieces by King himself.

The first work is the first and only publication of an entire Chapter from King's unpublished 1970 novel Sword in the Darkness. This Chapter features a stand-alone based horror story set in pre-War Gates Mills, Maine. Rocky Wood describe the Chapter as "one of the early King classics". The second work is the first book and mass market publication of King's very obscure poem Dino. This was originally published in Syracuse University (New York) literary magazine, 'The Salt Hill Journal' in 1994 and was only recently rediscovered.

All this is, as I mentioned, of course in addition to the massive research that has gone into Chapters covering 51 unpublished and 46 uncollected works of fiction. These 97 Works include novels, shorter works of fiction, 24 screenplays and 9 poems.

They also release information about a Work previously unknown by the King community, Molly. Molly was King's original screenplay submitted for The X-Files but is a completely different story from that later produced for the series as Chinga.

The price is $75 for the Limited Edition (2,000 signed and numbered copies) and for the $500 Lettered Edition (52 signed and lettered copies). You can read more here.

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With only 18 days left until the release of The Dark Tower 7 Ain't it cool News, Kirkus Reviews and Publisher's Weekly has reviews of it online. People tells me that there are spoilers though so read it at your own risk.

Desperation delayed

Posted: August 25, 2004, 00:00

Mick Garris tells me that Desperation has been a bit delayed and will probalby begin filming at the end of October instead of September at reported earlier.

Tyler Hall, author of the book Towerpent, and Lilja's Library can now offer everyone that want to buy the book a 10% discount. All you have to do is pay $17.99 instead of $19.99. At the moment this offer is only open to residents in the US. Later on it will also aply to international orders.