Stephen King Says This Is the Worst Movie Adaptation of a Book Ever

When it comes to movies made from books, few people know more than Stephen King. He’s one of the most famous writers ever, and many of his stories have been turned into movies, over 55 adaptations, to be exact. Because of this, he’s the perfect person to say when a movie based on a book just doesn’t work.

King’s name is attached to some of the greatest films ever made. Movies like The Shawshank Redemption, The Shining, Misery, and The Green Mile are loved by many. But he’s also seen some real disasters on the big screen.

One example is Maximum Overdrive, which is often called one of the worst book-to-movie adaptations. Another is Tobe Hooper’s The Mangler, which King thought was a complete mess. Even one of the most famous films based on his work, The Shining, caused him some frustration because he felt director Stanley Kubrick didn’t capture his main character, Jack Torrance, the way he imagined.

Because King has been through both good and bad movie experiences, he has a unique view on how books should be turned into films. In an interview with Feast of Fear, King talked about whether it bothers him if a movie sticks closely to his book. He said, “I love the movies. I love to go to good horror movies. As for my own books, well, you have to make a basic decision: do you want to sell to the movies or not? What it comes down to is, you have to take a ‘worst case’ attitude—if they screw this up, how am I going to feel?”

That’s a smart way to think about it. For many writers, it’s tough to watch someone else change their work. The idea of casting different actors or changing the story can be scary. But King explained he doesn’t worry about that because “I don’t care if they destroy it, if they make a terrible movie out of this book, because they can’t destroy the book. The book stands.”

Even though King loves movies, he still thinks books are better art. He said, “I’m a book person. Movies are very nice, but they’re not high art the way I think books are high art.”

Still, King knows that some movies can make people feel differently about the books they are based on. He talked about one movie he thought ruined a good book, The Day of the Dolphin.

The film, based on Robert Merle’s novel, starred George C. Scott and came out in 1973. King said, “Sometimes a perfect book becomes a terrible movie. My favourite example of that is The Day of the Dolphin; I thought it was a lovely book, but Mike Nichols just didn’t do it right.” The movie tried to stay close to the book, even including talking dolphins, but many critics felt it failed. The director himself said it was the hardest movie he had ever made.

Stephen King’s opinions carry weight because he has seen both the highs and lows of adapting books into films. When he points to movies like Maximum Overdrive or The Day of the Dolphin as some of the worst adaptations ever, it shows he knows exactly what makes a movie work, or fail, when it comes from a book.

If you’re curious about who really understands movie adaptations, Stephen King is definitely someone to listen to. His experience as a writer and the success and failures of his own stories on screen give him a unique and honest perspective on what works in book-to-film adaptations, and what doesn’t.

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