Message 1290 of 3899

"The Dome" To Be Spielberg MiniSeries



Last week we learned that Stephen King's brand new book Under The Dome, about a town sealed off from the rest of the world, is getting a miniseries. Now Steven Spielberg has stepped in to make sure it's a success.

DreamWorks TV and Spielberg will executive produce the miniseries based on the 1088-page book. And it's good that they are trying for a miniseries, because this novel is big and full of characters. There's no way it could be a one-night affair. Under The Dome takes place in a little Maine village which is quickly and forcibly sealed off by an invisible force field.

Synopsis:
On an entirely normal, beautiful fall day in Chester's Mill, Maine, the town is inexplicably and suddenly sealed off from the rest of the world by an invisible force field. Planes crash into it and fall from the sky in flaming wreckage, a gardener's hand is severed as "the dome" comes down on it, people running errands in the neighboring town are divided from their families, and cars explode on impact. No one can fathom what this barrier is, where it came from, and when - or if - it will go away. Dale Barbara, Iraq vet and now a short-order cook, finds himself teamed with a few intrepid citizens - town newspaper owner Julia Shumway, a physician's assistant at the hospital, a select-woman, and three brave kids. Against them stands Big Jim Rennie, a politician who will stop at nothing - even murder - to hold the reins of power, and his son, who is keeping a horrible secret in a dark pantry. But their main adversary is the Dome itself. Because time isn't just short. It's running out.

[Variety]
ponytail's profile
I gave up on King when it became evident that he was getting paid by the word. So much of his writing these days is just filler to make the books, and himself, fatter.
CaptainSacto's profile

over 2 years ago
It sounds wonderful, but I'm entertaining the (probably futile) hope that it'll not become yet another King ADS potboiler.

Sorry, but I continue to view Stephen King's work as inherently verbal as opposed to visual. He's too good at detail, mood and nuance to make more than a superficial transition between novel and movie. Some of his stuff kinda made it, none of it succeeded 100%.

A couple of productions are fairly decent standalones for those who either haven't read the originals or are able to compartmentalize the media, but IMO, King is mostly a player in the Theater of the Mind.

I'm confident that there are people who vigorously disagree. :-)
Macaroo388's profile

over 2 years ago
Comment deleted by an Administrator
I'm definitely not going to read the book. I like Mr. King, but not 1088 pages' worth.

Whether I watch the miniseries or not will depend on factors like what else is on, whether or not I'm busy those nights, etc. I'm not all that enthusiastic about it, I just thought maybe folks would want to be aware of it.

I do think it's funny that he stole the plot idea from The Simpsons Movie! :-)
ponytail's profile

over 2 years ago
Since I had not read "The Green Mile" another one of King's books that has been made into a movie is on today on AMC channel. The movie did not pan out well with audiences but it happens to be one of the few movies made from a King novel that the critics did like.
SnowWolf's profile

over 2 years ago
The Green Mile was originally published as a serial. I have a set of the originals. I remember buying them, reading them, and then passing them around the department to about 5 other people. The movie is one of the handful of King books that turned out fairly well. Carrie, Stand By Me, Misery, and the Shining are 4 others. Some people liked The Stand miniseries. I was neutral. Anyone else? Shawshank Redemption? The Mist? It? Rose Red? Storm of the Century? Salem's Lot? Creepshow? Maximum Overdrive? Children of the Corn? Tommyknockers? Cujo?
Jessamy's profile

over 2 years ago
Christine.

My favorite of the movies, and the last of Mr. King's books that I read all the way through.
CaptainSacto's profile

over 2 years ago
My favorite King movies are Carrie and Silver Bullet. I loved both the books and the movies in both cases. Others I'm fond of: Salems Lot (the book, and the first version by Tobe Hooper) and Firestarter; with "The Shining" and "Cujo," I thought the books were infinitely better than the movies, though Kubrick's "The Shining" grew on me on the small screen. In the theater I found Nicholson and Duvall's mugging way over the top.

For a few years now, I've only read King's short stories. I read constantly, but I don't like epic-length books-- never have -- unless it's someone's "Collected Poems" or something like that, a lifetime of work. If it takes a lifetime to write it, I don't mind spending more time reading it. Weird, I know, but it's a quirk of mine.
ponytail's profile

over 2 years ago
You guys know where I stand on this issue. My favorite King movies are The Stand (my personal favorite and my favorite book), Dead Zone, and Silver Bullet. My least favorite is Christine (hated the book and the movie). Another one I disliked very much was Pet Semetary (the book was much better than the movie). My opinion, of course.
Damefalke's profile

over 2 years ago
"Pet Sematary" was the first King story where I saw the movie and DIDN"T read the book, so I can't compare them. I liked the movie, mostly because I loved Fred Gwynne in it (and yeah, I found the premise very evocative).
ponytail's profile

over 2 years ago

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