Lilja's Library

by Hans-Ake Lilja

  What I do like, though, is the overall vibe of Popsy and, of course, the scene at the end when Popsy slit Sheridan’s throat and let his grandson drink. Very well done for a “Dollar Baby”.

  Lilja’s final words about Popsy

  So, for a “Dollar Baby”, Popsy is definitely above average. Brian has done a good job with it and I sure hope it will reach more people in the future. With the number of “Dollar Babies” out there it’s definitely time for a DVD with the best of them collected…and if that happens, I bet you will find Popsy included.

  ****

  I Know What You Need

  Posted: August 15, 2007

  A couple of days ago a DVD appeared in my mailbox. It was a copy of the “Dollar Baby” I Know What You Need by Shawn Lealos. When I opened it I was happy to see that it was one of those “Dollar Babies” that had been packed properly. By that I mean that it came in a DVD box with a decent cover, menus, bonus material and so on. It’s so much nicer than the ones that are just a file that you have to watch on your computer.

  Both the way the film is presented and the script show that Shawn really loves to make movies. It’s also very clear after listening to the commentary tracks to the film that he worked very hard to make this “Dollar Baby”. The script seems promising, but unfortunately the acting isn’t very good. You can tell fairly easily that all the actors are amateurs as well as that I Know What You Need is a low-budget movie, especially judging from the interior. I guessed (and also got it confirmed in the commentary tracks) that it’s shot in a private home and not a studio.

  Low budget is normal for these “Dollar Babies” though, so I won’t be too hard on Shawn about that, but most of the actors and actresses are really bad. I’m sorry to say that, but no matter how much I want to say they are believable in their roles I can’t. I know from listening to the commentary tracks that Shawn is happy with them, but I’m sorry…they aren’t doing their jobs.

  As mentioned earlier, the DVD has a rather interesting commentary track. The only thing I don’t like with it is that Shawn had a cold when he recorded it and from time to time you can realize that all too well…

  Besides having a commentary track, the DVD also has deleted scenes (with commentaries) and an introduction to the movie that was probably made for a “Dollar Baby” festival.

  Lilja’s final words about I Know What You Need

  Take the chance to see I Know What You Need if you get it. Even though it’s not the best “Dollar Baby” I have seen, it’s done with love and you can tell that a lot of work has gone into making it.

  ****

  El Sueño de Harvey

  Posted: September 25, 2007

  I have just seen El Sueño de Harvey, or Harvey’s Dream, as the original title is. Unfortunately, this one is in Spanish and the first time I saw it I didn’t know it had English subtitles. I didn’t understand a thing, and with a non-action based movie like this filmmakers are bound to lose everyone who doesn’t speak Spanish…

  I did find the subtitles option, but unfortunately it’s still very slow and not much really happens during the approximately fifteen-minute runtime.

  Still, I really don’t think this movie would have been better if it were done in English. I really doubt if this is the right story to turn into a movie. I have no doubt that Rodolfo Weisskirch is a talented filmmaker, or will be through more practice, but if a story is rather slow anyway maybe it’s better if it stays on paper and not wander off to the movies. I think Harvey’s Dream is that kind of story.

  For those of you who don’t know, I can tell you that Harvey’s Dream is the story of Harvey, who has a very bad dream in which his daughter calls him to tell him that his sister has died. A very dramatic, but not cinematic story, I’m afraid.

  Lilja’s final words about El Sueño de Harvey

  Even if this movie is quite nicely shot, it has everything else going against it. It’s based on a story that might not be the best/easiest one to turn into a movie, it’s in Spanish and it’s really slow. All that is very evident when you watch it, and it also makes it very clear how important it is to choose the right story to adapt…

  ****

  Suffer the Little Children

  Posted: September 25, 2007

  Many “Dollar Babies” aren’t that good, but from time to time there is one that really stands out and grabs you. Suffer the Little Children is one of those grabbers. The story is easy to translate to a movie and it doesn’t really demand much.

  There are some special effects in it and they are handled surprisingly well. We get to see a kid with black eyes and also how he transforms into some kind of monster. That transformation is one of the best special effect scenes I have seen in a “Dollar Baby”.

  I was really surprised to see that it was done so well and that they showed so much of what was happening.

  I also really liked the teacher, played by Angela Pietropinto. She really looks crazy and works very well in the movie.

  Suffer the Little Children is the story of a teacher who starts to see changes in one of her students. His eyes are turning black and he is acting creepy. After a while he also shows her that he can transform. That’s where the special effects happen.

  Since she knows nobody will believe her, she decides to take matters into her own hands. One by one she leads the children to a private room. Here she plans to shoot them all to death…one after the other. The only problem is that she doesn’t really know if she’s right or if she’s crazy…

  Lilja’s final words about Suffer the Little Children

  Suffer the Little Children is a “Dollar Baby” you should definitely see if you get the chance. It’s a good story that has good acting and superb special effects.

  Section 5—The Scripts

  Insane Clown Poppy

  Posted: August 7, 2000

  This isn’t really a King work, but rather, this is a work with King in it. In this episode of The Simpsons, King appears as himself for a short while.

  First, I would like to say that this is like any other episode of The Simpsons: either you like it or you don’t. It’s not a Stephen King special.

  The episode is about how Krusty the Clown finds out he has a daughter (Sophie) who is now ten years old. Since he has absolutely no idea about how to raise a child, he turns to the one man who would know. Yes, you guessed it, Homer Simpson.

  The episode then tells the story of how Krusty loses his daughter’s violin and has to get it back from a mob with Homer’s help.

  Where does Stephen King fit into all of this, then? Well, the episode starts with a trip to a “Springfield Festival of Books” where King sits and signs books. This is where Krusty finds out he has a daughter. How did author Stephen King find his cartoon way into an episode of The Simpsons?

  Well, there could be many reasons…1) King is a famous person, 2) You can’t do a book festival and not include King and 3) King and the creator of The Simpsons, Matt Groening, both play in the same rock band, The Rock Bottom Remainders. Unfortunately, King only has three lines and then he’s gone from the cartoon.

  The episode will air on FOX on November 12.

  Lilja’s final words about Insane Clown Poppy

  If you like The Simpsons, you will probably like this episode, but if you don’t care for this cartoon series, you probably won’t like this one either, King or no King. If you don’t think you’d like it, but you enjoy Stephen King, I think you should check it out anyway. If for no other reason than to see how King looks as a cartoon—as drawn by a fellow band member!

  ****

  Hearts in Atlantis

  Posted: August 29, 2000

  So, Hearts in Atlantis is being turned into a movie? Well, part of it is. The movie is only based on “Low Men in Yellow Coats” and “Heavenly Shades of Night Are Falling,” so I guess the title should be Low Men in Yellow Coats instead of Hearts in Atlantis. But then, that title isn’t as well known as Hearts In Atlantis, the book’s title…

 
How is the script, then? Well, William Goldman has a wonderful way of writing scripts, very detailed and descriptive. You wonder how much of that writing magic will be lost to the movie audience who can’t read the script though. It’s really important that his ideas and visions translate into film and end up on the screen.

  Very much of the script follows King’s book as well as can be expected. Some lines are directly from the book. There are some changes though. All of the references to The Dark Tower and The Crimson King are gone. This is sad, but I guess necessary. Let’s face it—the world of The Dark Tower and The Crimson King isn’t something the average reader and moviegoer are familiar with. It would be too complicated to explain it in the movie and it would be too weird (for those who don’t know about it) if it was just put into the movie the way it was put into the book.

  Unfortunately, there are some changes that aren’t so good. Goldman has also removed all of the references to the book Lord of the Flies, which in Mr. King’s book plays a big part in the relationship between Bobby and Ted. [Note: This may have been done for copyright reasons.]

  There are also some scenes that have been changed, but are still in the script. Unfortunately, they are not changed for the better. [SPOILER ALERT!—Jump ahead to ‘Lilja’s final words’ if you haven’t read the book yet!] One scene is when Bobby and Carol are attacked by the St. Gabe’s boys. In the book there is a woman who saves them, but instead of using that, Goldman has Ted doing it. This I can live with though, but…

  …What’s harder to live with is the finale. The scene where Ted (followed by Bobby) goes to get the money he won on the boxing match has been changed, big-time. The result is the same, but it happens in a different way, a way that goes too fast and loses the feeling King’s version has. It’s just wrong…

  Lilja’s final words about Hearts in Atlantis

  This is a pretty good script, though it seems a bit short. There are some changes that have been made from the book—some I can live with, but others…oh, well, you know how I feel if you’ve read this far. This is only a second draft and I hope there will be some rewriting before it’s filmed.

  Oh, and I also have a hard time picturing Anthony Hopkins as Ted. Hopkins is a fantastic actor but, in my opinion, no Ted. Hope Davis will be perfect as Liz Garfield though!

  ****

  Stud City

  Posted: May 24, 2001

  For most of us, Stud City is the short story King added to the story “The Body” (from Different Seasons), but that is not all it is. Stud City is actually much older than “The Body.” It first appeared in the magazine Ubris in 1969, thirteen years before it was published in Different Seasons.

  What is Stud City about, then? Well, it tells the story of Chico and his life—how he struggles to live a normal life, which isn’t easy. His brother is dead and his stepmother molests him. The story itself is only about five pages long, and in my opinion is not one of King’s best.

  Because of this, I was a bit skeptical about the fact that it was going to be turned into a movie. I remember thinking that it couldn’t be done. Later I learned that it was meant to be turned into the pilot of a TV series called Night Moves. This, I thought, might work, even though it would be hard.

  A bit after this I came in contact with Sean Parlaman, the fellow who was going to write the script for it. He agreed to send me a copy and that is what I read last night.

  So, how did he do, then? Well, not bad. Not bad at all. The story is told in two different years: in 1959 when Chico’s brother Johnny is still alive and everything seems to be fine, and in 1963 when Johnny is dead and Chico’s world is falling apart.

  At the beginning of the movie (script) there are some passages between the two timeframes that are done very nicely. When it’s 1959 (the bright and happy time) it’s summer, daytime and the sun is shining like crazy. When it’s 1963 (the sad time) it’s winter, night and really bad weather. This is really setting the mood of the movie right from the start.

  Sean is telling the story almost identically to King, with the exception of two big differences. One of the changes that he has done is that in the movie Johnny isn’t killed after joining the Marines, like in King’s story. Here he is killed in a car accident. The other thing is that he gives Johnny more room in the story. Here we get to know him in a way that we don’t in King’s version. I guess that part of the reason for this is that King’s version is far too short for a movie, even if it is a pilot on TV.

  Another thing that Sean has done is that he has used the connection King used between Stud City and “The Body.” Chico’s girlfriend is named Jane Tessio and is thereby sister to Vern Tessio, one of the boys in “The Body.”

  On one occasion we get to hear a voice from the radio talking about the missing Ray Brower, the same boy who is lost and later hit by a train in “The Body.” And, there is more. In one scene we see four silhouettes walking on a railroad track. This can’t be any other boys than the ones from “The Body.”

  Combined with that, Sean also tries to create the same atmosphere as that in the movie version of “The Body,” Stand By Me.

  Lilja’s final words about Stud City

  Personally, I think Sean did a good job turning this really short story into a script. If I were to try something like that, I wouldn’t choose Stud City though, but that’s just me.

  The fact that he has changed Johnny’s death from happening in the Marines to happening in a car accident feels a bit wrong. I can understand that it might have been easier to extend his background that way, but still…I think it could have been done without changing that.

  I like the fact that he linked Stud City to “The Body.” I’m one of those people who really enjoys it when King is linking his stories together, so this was a bonus for me.

  To conclude, I would like to say that I hope this movie gets done. Not as a motion picture though, but as a TV pilot. The script deserves that!

  Note: Before I read the script for Stud City I read the older version of King’s story. This is the version that was published in Ubris back in 1969. Because of that and because this version is a bit different from the one that is in Different Seasons, all of my points aren’t correct if you compare it to the Different Seasons version of the story. Please keep that in mind when you read the review.

  Section 6—The Rest

  Territories (audio)

  Posted: July 19, 2003

  Earlier this week a CD called Territories fell into my lap. This is a CD with New Age music based on King’s The Dark Tower series and The Talisman. At first I was a bit surprised. Is it possible to do music based on a book series or an individual book? Well, I guess it is, because that is exactly what Dennis Downing has done.

  The CD contains eleven tracks and as far as I can tell one is inspired by The Talisman and the rest by The Dark Tower series. Among the titles you can find names like “Crossing Over,” “Along the Path of the Beam” and “Court of the Crimson King.”

  This CD is really special. It’s nothing you would put on if you were having a party with some friends (this is not your typical party music), and it’s not something you put on when you’re going to sleep or for relaxation (the music is too intense for that). This is something you put on to get in the mood for The Dark Tower, and here is where it really works!

  I have listened to the CD numerous times and I was determined to give it quite a few listens before I sat down to write this review. I’m no music reviewer and was quite nervous to see if I would be able to do a fair review of a music CD (I guess you will have to be the judge of that). The first time I heard it, it did sound a little like elevator music to me, but I think that is because I’m totally new on New Age music. I don’t think I can name one other CD or artist which delivers New Age music. I hang my head in shame…

  One of the things that I found out when I listened to the CD, though, was that it gets better and better the more you listen to it. This isn’t uncommon when it comes to music, but it was a big difference betwe
en the first and last listening. I also found out that no matter what you do when you listen to it, you get an urge to read about Roland. I’m not sure if this is because I know The Dark Tower books influenced it, or if it would be the case even if I didn’t know that, but the fact remains: I want my Dark Tower fix when I listen to this CD.

  The only objection I have to this CD is that I think the title should have been something connected to The Dark Tower and not The Talisman, since almost every track is inspired by The Dark Tower series. I know, I know, The Talisman is also connected to The Dark Tower series and it’s no big deal, but still…

  Lilja’s final words about Territories (audio)

  Territories is a special CD that probably isn’t for just anybody. It’s not mainstream music, but it’s still worth checking out, especially if you’re a Dark Tower fan!

  Just don’t expect to hear the latest KISS or Ricky Martin tunes on it…

  ****

  The Gunslinger (influenced by) (audio)

  Posted: November 1, 2004

  I have just finished listening to John Flynn’s CD, The Gunslinger. This is a CD full of music based on King’s first book in The Dark Tower series. This is the kind of music that has no lyrics, just music. You’ll recognize it from several movies. And even though the music itself is good, there are two major problems with this CD.

  The first is that I have a bit of a problem knowing when I should listen to it. When you have this kind of music in movies it is used to set the mood in the movie. Then, when they are released on CD, only the hardcore fans get it (at least, that is my understanding).