Stephen King Was Very Involved In Upcoming Mike Flanagan Movie Adaptation To The Point Of "Enormous Amount Of Approvals"

Stephen King was highly involved in the making of Mike Flanagan’s movie adaptation of his novella, The Life of Chuck. The drama stars Tom Hiddleston as Charles “Chuck” Krantz, with the movie exploring various chapters of his life, including being raised by his grandparents in a seemingly haunted house to his eventual death, and a seeming undercurrent of an impending apocalypse. Alongside Hiddleston, The Life of Chuck‘s ensemble cast includes Mark Hamill, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Jacob Tremblay. The movie marks Flanagan’s third King adaptation, though a departure from his horror trend into strictly dramatic fare.

During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in honor of the movie’s Toronto International Film Festival premiere, Flanagan spoke about King’s involvement in the making of The Life of Chuck. Apparently, the author had a lot of input during pre-production, but once filming started, he stepped back and let Flanagan run with his vision:

When we were doing
The Life of Chuck
, we talked a lot before production. He has an enormous amount of approvals on things like casting and other details. But when the movie goes, he stays very far away. He says, “The movie’s yours and the book is mine.”

King and Flanagan have built their working relationship over time. Previously, Flanagan adapted the author’s Doctor Sleep. When they watched the film together at King’s hometown theater in Bangor, Maine, Flanagan didn’t even watch the screen — he kept his eyes on King:

I just kept trying to subtly gauge any reaction. If he nodded, I thought, “Great, it’s working!” If he sighed or shifted, it was like, “Oh, he hates it!” And that was a
long
movie.

But when the movie ended, King leaned over to tell Flanagan he’d done a great job. “I just about died,” said Flanagan. “Then he drove me to his house. We ate pizza and chatted in his library. He’s the nicest.”

What Stephen King’s Involvement Means For The Life Of Chuck

The Director And Author Work Well Together

Flanagan says King had “an enormous amount of approvals on things like casting and other details.” The author hasn’t directed a film since his debut with Maximum Overdrive, but being a regular film adaptation collaborator, he’s not a stranger to that side of the industry. His film industry knowledge paired with his deep understanding of his books would make him an asset to bounce casting and filming ideas off of. And it sounds like King did more than that for The Life of Chuck, up until the moment the camera started rolling, at which point he fully gave the reins over to Flanagan.

King’s Involvement Will Make The Life Of Chuck A Better Movie

Each author/filmmaker relationship is different when it comes to making a movie adaptation of a book. Each project needs to find its sweet spot for author involvement. It’s clear that Flanagan values King’s input and views it as an asset, involving him in casting and other pre-production tasks, as the author who would understand the characters and story better than anyone. At the same time, it seems King values Flanagan’s skills as a filmmaker, stepping away from the project once filming begins. The author and director appear to have a copesetic working relationship that we’re hoping to see shine through in The Life of Chuck.

Source: THR