Tag: Featured

News From The Dead Zone #44

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Some great interviews and features and reports:

Here’s a nice overview of critical response to Lisey’s Story.

I’ve had an unconfirmed report that King will be on BBC4’s Desert Island Disks on Sunday, November 19th. This program will likely NOT be archived on the BBC site after it is presented due to rights restrictions.

The new Carrie stage play runs off-Broadway at P.S. 122 in New York from December 2-30th. Tickets, priced $18, are available by calling (212) 352-3101. P.S. 122 is located at 150 First Avenue at Ninth Street.

After about a week on eBay, the bench King signed for charity went for a little more than $2,000. Someone in Virginia bought it. The money goes to the Maine Discovery Museum in downtown Bangor.

Don’t expect esteemed filmmaker Frank Darabont to make nice with The Mist. “This one’s more angry than what I’ve done before,” he tells the Los Angeles Daily News. “To get my ‘shoot fast and loose’ legs under me, I did an episode of The Shield. I had such a blast. I put aside everything I know about filmmaking, the whole Kubrick wannabe approach and shook things up.”

Here’s the official announcement about the Dark Tower graphic novel series debut, and a profile of artist Jae Lee:

DARK TOWER: THE GUNSLINGER BORN #1 (of 7)
COVER BY: JAE LEE
WRITER: ROBIN FURTH
PETER DAVID
PENCILS: JAE LEE
COLORED BY: RICHARD ISANOVE
LETTERED BY: CHRIS ELIOPOULOS

THE STORY:
“The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.” With those words, millions of readers were introduced to Stephen King’s Roland—an implacable gunslinger in search of the enigmatic Dark Tower, powering his way through a dangerous land filled with ancient technology and deadly magic. Now, in a comic book personally overseen by King himself, Roland’s past is revealed! Sumptuously drawn by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove, adapted by long-time Stephen King expert Robin Furth (author of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: A Concordance) and scripted by New York Times Best-seller Peter David, this series delves deep into Roland’s origins—the perfect introduction to this incredibly realized world, while long-time fans will thrill to adventures merely hinted at in the novels. Be there for the very beginning of a modern classic of fantasy literature!
48 PGS./CARDSTOCK COVER/Parental Advisory …$3.99

PRICE: 3.99
IN STORES: 2007-02-07

News From The Dead Zone #43

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

According to Lilja, the newly discovered Bachman manuscript I mentioned last time is Blaze, written in the early 1970s. Visit Lilja’s site to read about his meeting with King in the UK. Blaze is about a huge, almost retarded criminal who kidnaps a baby and plans to ransom it back to the wealthy parents, but falls in love with the child instead.

Here is author John Connolly’s interview with King from the New York appearance. Here is a Podcast of King’s appearance on Simon Mayo on BBC Five Live. This file will not remain online for very long, so grab it while you can.

While in San Francisco, King visited the offices of YouTube. They taped him talking to employees, and then reading from Lisey’s Story. While he was in the UK, he reportedly joined British acid house blues band ALABAMA 3 on stage for a jam session. My pal Ali writes on his blog about meeting King, and here’s a write-up about his appearance in Seattle.

News From The Dead Zone #42

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

The deadline to get your name in the back of the new limited edition of The Green Mile is Monday, November 13, 2006 at 5:00 EST. Visit Subterranean Press’s website for full details. In unrelated news, the movie version of The Green Mile has been voted the most tear-jerking film, beating Ghost and Titanic in a poll by the British Heart Foundation.

The issue of Playboy (December 2006) containing the new short story “Willa” is on many newsstands now.

At his Battersea Park appearance in the UK, King revealed that a new Bachman novel had been discovered. Too cool! The book was supposedly written back in 1973. Here’s a photo of him holding up a copy of the UK edition of Lisey’s Story.

Here’s an interview with Frank Darabont about his plans for filming The Mist in a few months.

Here is the eBay link for the signed desk auction mentioned last time. The bid is currently over $800 with four days remaining.

Rocky Wood interviews Glenn Chadbourne about Secretary of Dreams.

News From The Dead Zone #41

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Lisey’s Story entered the USA Today mixed fiction/non-fiction bestseller list at #1.

Craig R Baxley (Kingdom Hospital, Storm of the Century) hopes to direct a film version of Gerald’s Game starring Nicole Kidman, adapted by King.

If you’re looking for one of the oddest Stephen King collectable items, check out an auction starting today for a signed bench.

At his appearance in New York last week, King said the he has spoken with Peter Straub about the final book in the Talisman trilogy. He sees the story as “sort of a 24 thing” where Jack can only travel back to our world for brief periods because it accelerates his death.

Marvel Spotlight: Dark #14, on sale on January 17, will have a feature on the Dark Tower graphic series. “We’ll talk to the creative team that will unite Marvel Comics with the concepts of one of the giants of modern fiction, getting an inside look at Robin Furth, Peter David and Jae Lee and we’ll even talk to Stephen King himself! So if you’re a longtime fan of DARK TOWER or curious as to what it’s all about, you’ll want to check out this issue.”

News From The Dead Zone #40

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

There’s just one week left to take advantage of the promotion to get your name in the back of the new limited edition of The Green Mile from Subterranean Press. Don’t forget to check out the calendar below for details about King’s upcoming book tour on the West Coast and in the UK. Always check with the venue before committing yourself to a trip, because some events have changed and many may be sold out.

If you missed King’s appearance on Good Morning America last week, the streaming video is available at ABC. Also, check out John Connolly’s blog about interviewing King last week. It’s the October 26th entry. During the interview, King described an idea he had for another novel. Read how SKEMER Noah described the plotline here.

In the current Entertainment Weekly, King discusses his favorite audiobooks. Hail to the Spoken Word.

Here’s another batch of Lisey’s Story reviews:

News From The Dead Zone #39

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Well, here it is—the day we’ve all been waiting for. Not only does Lisey’s Story come out today, but the DVD set of Nightmares and Dreamscapes is also available starting today. The London Times has a Stephen King special that has reviews, excerpts, interviews, commentary and an exclusive PODcast. King is interviewed in a Financial News segment.

Here is a batch of reviews, which you should read at your own risk. Some of them will likely contain discussions of plot that may spoil the fun of reading Lisey’s Story:

King’s essay “My Little Serrated Security Blanket” will be reprinted in Stephen King: The Non-Fiction from Cemetery Dance.

Thomas Jane will star in The Mist, directed by Frank Darabont from his own script. “It’s a project Stephen King and I have been talking about doing for almost 20 years now. In fact, it almost was my first directing project many years ago, but I went classy and did The Shawshank Redemption instead. It’s time to get down and dirty and make a nasty little character-driven gut-punch horror movie,” Darabont said. Read Darabont’s longer statement about the adaptation at Ain’t It Cool News. Dimension co-chairman Bob Weinstein and production president Richard Saperstein have set a spring production start for the film, which Darabont will produce with Castle Rock’s Martin Shafer and Liz Glotzer. Contrary to early reports, the film will not be shot in black and white. Jane said, “Nah, this is gonna be all-color and pretty amazing. I can’t wait.”

AICN reports that Eli Roth has chosen writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski to pen the screenplay of Cell.

News From The Dead Zone #38

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Subterranean Press has an interesting offer as part of their 10th anniversary edition of The Green Mile. If you buy any version of the commemorative six-volume set directly from them, you’ll get your name included in a special section included at the end of Volume Six—Those Who Walked the Green Mile—that lists all those who met their end seated in Ol’ Sparky. If you’ve already ordered this special edition, you’re already on the list.

Two reviews of Lisey’s Story. Caution; reviews may contain spoilers. 1) Dale McGarrigle, Bangor Daily News 2) Chris Barsanti, PopMatters

In a movie round-up article at MTV, Thomas Jane (Dreamcatcher) says, “Frank Darabont and I are supposed to be doing Stephen King’s The Mist.” No schedule or anything, but it’s the first indication that someone beyond Darabont is attached to the project.

Another UK tour update: Wednesday Nov. 8th: 1-2 PM  Signing at Waterstones, Leadenhall Market, London.

Also, here are the details of King’s appearance in Los Angeles: We love Stephen King because he makes the ordinary extraordinary in every possible way. His books turn on ordinary situations, and feature characters that we all can understand—who face the inexplicable. From high school in Carrie to his new novel, Lisey’s Story, King brings fear, from the unconscious to the visceral, right to the surface. He has stated that he’s the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and Fries, and we couldn’t disagree more. Big Macs are empty calories indeed, and furthermore, not recommended for anyone’s health. King is another story entirely—because the best stories are the best medicine, and no one is a better storyteller. David Ulin is the editor of the Los Angeles Times Book Review, and is the editor and author of several award-winning books.  Tickets are $20. Make a Reservation to this Event The Fine Arts Theatre is located at 8556 Wilshire Blvd. in Beverly Hills. It is: 1 block West of La Cienega Blvd.; On the South side of Wilshire Blvd.

News From The Dead Zone #37

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

No Quills awards for King this year, but the MWA (Mystery Writers of America) endowed upon him the highest award bestowed on an individual by the organization: the coveted Grand Master Award.

I hear from Brian Freeman that the final production hardcovers of Lisey’s Story are a delight to behold. The shovel depicted on the dust jacket is a die cut, revealing a portion of the full-cover wraparound art that is physically on the book’s boards themselves. I’ve seen a few books recently that are using similar effects—one by Jonathan Kellerman springs to mind. This design makes for attractive books with or without the dust jacket in place. According to the artist’s web site: “Readers will soon discover the significance of the shovel and later understand the image revealed through the di-cut. King fans should find this amongst his best work.”

Here’s a short interview with King at Book Page. Here’s his most recent Entertainment Weekly column.

More details about King’s UK visit have been released.  He will appear at Battersea park Events Arena on November 7th at 7.00pm in an event sponsored by The Times, Hodder & Stoughton and Waterstone’s. Ticket information available at King’s web site. Information is also available concerning his November 10th appearance.

News From The Dead Zone #36

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

This is Lisey’s Story month. You can hear an excerpt of Mare Winningham performing the audio version here.

Wouldn’t Christine look great parked in your garage? One of the sixteen cars used during filming of the John Carpenter adaptation is up for auction on eBay. The buy-it-now price is a mere $175,000. As one news report said: “Even though on film they rebuilt themselves, only three actually survived, including the one now being offered. She’s been smashed, crashed, and burned but keeps coming back. Hell hath no fury like Christine.”

King had an essay in The Washington Post yesterday entitled The Writer’s Life. You can read it online. He has columns in two consecutive issues of Entertainment Weekly. One is a special two-page piece about the series LOST, while the more recent one tackles Nancy Grace, drawing comparisons to the Richard Bachman novel The Running Man, though I haven’t found either online yet.

Here’s an article about the campaign fundraiser King and John Grisham attended recently. And here’s a review of the Collector’s Edition DVD of David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone.

News From The Dead Zone #35

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Newsarama reports that comic stores will be giving away copies of  The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born Sketchbook starting in December. It features character designs, penciled pages, commentary, and a primer on the world of the Dark Tower. The Sketchbook comes out two months before the Marvel Dark Tower graphic novel launches.

For people wanting to attend King’s Literary Arts benefit appearance in Portland, Oregon on November 2, here is a link that will get you right to their box office.

Cemetery Dance has been secretly working on three new projects: Stephen King: The Non-Fiction and Stephen King: A Primary Bibliography of the World’s Most Popular Author are going to the printer this week and Stephen King’s The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance will be going next month. All three will be out at the end of the year. Find out more at their Breaking News page.

News From The Dead Zone #34

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

At the Scribner web site you can

News From The Dead Zone #33

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

At the Scribner web site you can

News From The Dead Zone #32

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

King’s official web site now lists four UK dates for his book tour to promote Lisey’s Story. The first event is November 7th at Borders Books and  Music, Oxford Street, London. The only other confirmed event is November 9th at Asda supermarket in Watford, but he will also be making appearances on the 8th and 10th.

Note that the September 1st entry (below) originally said that John Irving would be appearing with King, when in fact it should have said John Grisham.

News From The Dead Zone #31

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

More Lisey’s Story reviews are starting to appear. Publishers Weekly gives the book a starred review, and the print issue that contains the review has a short interview with King that you can also read online here. You can read reviews from Kirkus, PW, Booklist and Nora Roberts at the Lisey’s Story page at Amazon.

Stephen King and John Irving plan to appear at a Sept. 24 fundraiser for fellow writer Jim Webb’s Democratic U.S. Senate campaign at the 1,000-seat Paramount Theater in Charlottesville, VA. “It will be a lot of fun,” Grisham said of the event at which Webb will speak and also read from some of his works. Grisham said he will talk for a few minutes about the campaign and politics before reading from his new nonfiction book, An Innocent Man, due out in October. Tickets for the Webb fundraiser will be tiered at $100, $500 and $2,100, Grisham said. Webb is challenging U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., in the November election. Allen’s campaign manager disparaged the Webb event, saying, “Since his whole campaign is based on fiction, having two fellow fiction novelists campaign for him is not a surprise.”

Bett’s Bookstore has just taken delivery of a huge Stephen King collection to sell on behalf of a collector. Proprietor Stu Tinker has listed the lot on eBay to generate some interest in it. Check out the Betts web page next week for an inventory listing of the 1600+ items, some of which are extremely rare.

Here is King’s newest Entertainment Weekly essay: Setting off a Wire Alarm.

For those of you who attended Harry, Carrie and Garp, I’ve heard that the signed books associated with the deluxe package are starting to arrive.

News From The Dead Zone #30

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Breaking News from the Dead Zone

Cell was nominated in the science fiction/fantasy/horror category of the second annual Quills awards. Through Sept. 30, voters can make their picks online at http://www.quillsvote.com and at http://www.quills.msnbc.com. The awards will be handed out at an Oct. 10 ceremony at the American Museum of Natural History. Admission will range from $1,000 for a single ticket to $75,000 for a “Platinum Sponsorship.”

TNT’s Nightmares and Dreamscapes and ABC’s Desperation were both nominated in the “Killer Television” category of the Chainsaw Awards. The first-ever televised fuse Fangoria Chainsaw Awards will be held Sunday, October 15th at the Orpheum Theater in Los Angeles and will premiere on fuse Sunday, October 22nd at 9:30 p.m. EST.

People in the UK will get a chance to see the Nightmares and Dreamscapes series on the digital channel Five US, launching October 16, airing daily between 16:00 and 01:00.

Picture a hand reaching through the earth from beyond the grave to grip at someone visiting the cemetery. Yes, like that famous hand, Carrie is rising from the dead to a second life as a musical. Originally a three-day wonder on Broadway, this new version is called Carrie: A Period Piece. It will debut Off-Broadway at P.S. 122 on Dec. 6 and run through Dec. 30. “It will definitely be very black comedy,” Theatre Couture leader Eric Jackson told Playbill.com. “But that’s inherent in the novel. It’s a very serious take on the pressures and pain of adolescence. But Carrie is also so well known in our culture; we all know the story. Everybody feels it’s their story. Because of that collective unconscious, there’s a way to have fun with the story. There will be comedy and camp, and some horror, and maybe a little blood.” Drag performer legend Sherry Vine will star and Basil Twist (Symphonie Fantastique) will create special puppets.

Classify this one under the heading “wild, unsubstantiated rumor.” Cinescape online is reporting that Michael J. Fox is up for a role in DreamWorks’ long-delayed The Talisman. Quoting a source by the name of Scooper Squirrel (Deep Throat was already taken, apparently) “Steven Spielberg is apparently involved with it—in some capacity. I have no idea—either do they—whether he’s going to be playing the main role, or just a role, it was something he apparently mentioned in a meeting….in conversation… and nothing more was said of it.” There you have it—it doesn’t get any more reliable or specific than that!

Peter Straub tells me that the broadcast date of his second appearance as blind detective Pete Braust on One Life to Live is September 21.