“The Mist” Update: A New Ending for the Film
If you’re looking forward to next week’s premiere of The Mist (recently featured on Movie Poster Monday), chances are you’re a fan of Stephen King’s novella. Well forget it. The ending has been changed for the movie, courtesy writer-director Frank Darabont. We’re skeptical.
Our friends at Late Film pointed out a Darabont interview on Sci-Fi Wire, in which the filmmaker discussed his ‘very different’ decision. The director says he preferred a “definitive ending,” rather than King’s open-ended chiller (the last line of the story still hangs in my memory, frankly).
Darabont: It’s not a judgment on Steve’s story as much as … I just don’t think it works in a film.” Darabont, who also directed King adaptations The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, claims the author loved the changed ending saying, “If I’d thought of it, I’d have used it in the story.”
THE LOBBY TAKE: We figure Mr. King is, at best, sincerely excited… at worst, he’s just polite. The guy certainly understands the structure of a powerful story, but he’s never been a good screenwriter. Storm of the Century was solid, but Maximum Overdrive? The TV versions of The Stand, The Shining? Hopefully, he can judge ‘em better than he can write ‘em.
QUESTION: What book has most been ruined by a subpar movie?
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Other Posts of Interest
- MOVIE POSTER MONDAY: Stephen King’s “The Mist”
- PREVIEWS, TRAILERS: “The Signal” and Stephen King’s “The Mist”
- Demand for “The Mist” Spoiler
- Two “Killer” Endings Now on DVD
- Debate: “No Country for Old Men” Ending
11 Comments
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[…] here for full […]
Congo by Michael Crichton
- Gin -
Funny you should mention Congo. While I was reading the book, Crichton was super-popular and I kept thinking there was no way they’d try a film adaptation since it’d be difficult to make the gorilla interaction believable. How wrong I was. And how right you are.
-Norm S.
I was going with Michael Crichton, too, but the y botched Timeline even worse than Congo. You knew Congo was stupid to try to make, but Timeline had soooo much potential. Heath Ledger simply didn’t work, and making the character go to “save his dad” completely ruined the motivations behind the characters’ actions. The changes were just awful.
- James -
After reading your comment, I thought of another screen disaster of a Crichton novel: Sphere. The guy’s ideas just don’t lend themselves to literal visualization. They only live really well in the brain, not the screen.
-Norm S.
[…] in disappointment as the final scene fades to black. So as Lobby readers continue discussing The Mist ending, sound like No Country is worth talking about too. (No spoilers, of […]
Well, the film has been out over a month…I hate the ‘new ending’, so Im planning a ‘Novella Cut’ of the film, once its on DVD…have a peek at the test footage for the recut ending, which will reflect the great book ending…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMhglG0M4Tw…also, for fun, I did an animatic of the ‘Family Guy’ version of the ending…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMhglG0M4Tw
Hmmm…looks like dem links didnt go in right…lets try again…Novella Ending–
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMhglG0M4Tw
FG Spoof Ending–
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GKYR3Kh9rM
UPDATED Novella Cut Ending…
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygjScJBgKr4[/url]
K
[…] New Ending for THE MIST: Not Good News […]
[…] about the ending! Courtesy Pete Hammond at Maxim, who falls at the feet of just about every movie. Here’s our original post on the freaky finale (we still won’t give it […]