Firestarter
Legendary directorJohn Carpenterwas in the first place set to helm the movie adaptation of Stephen King’sFirestarter , but he in the end lost the fizgig . Carpenter is of course best get laid for create the enduringHalloweenslasher franchise , as well as target 1982 ’s first-class remake ofThe Thing , a reliable sci - fi / horror classic . His filmography is full of large stuff though , much of which were n’t hitting at first , only for people to realize how worthwhile they were on home telecasting . Not that that was great for him in the moment , manifestly .
To date , Carpenter and King have only crossed way one time , thanks to Carpenter directing 1983 ’s quite popular adaptation of King ’s malign car novelChristine . While such a story seems a morsel silly on paper , King was able to make it very effectual , as is his elbow room . In routine , Carpenter did the same , turning Christine from just a prop into an actual character , one that seemed to almost show emotions , mostly ire and hate .
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Christinewas both a critical and commercial-grade hit , which logically might lead some to believe that ’s what led to Carpenter being offer the job directingFirestarter . That ’s really not the typeface , however , as the offer came before he had even finished production onThe Thing .
Why John Carpenter Didn’t Direct Stephen King’s Firestarter
Universal Pictures circulate bothFirestarterandThe affair , and belike impressed with what they were seeing , recruited Carpenter to engineer the former after the latter . Carpenter brought in screenwriter Bill Lancaster - boy of acting legend Burt Lancaster - to write a script , which was then given approval by Stephen King . A few months later , a retool script was commissioned by a new writer , and plans were made to possibly castJaws’Richard Dreyfussas Andy McGee . regrettably , it all fell apart whenThe Thingwas released in theatre of operations . While it ’s regarded as a masterpiece now , it by all odds was n’t at first .
Critics battered and bruisedThe Thing , and the box place was awful , disappointing Universal on all fronts . It probably did n’t help thatThe Thingreleased in the same summer asE.T. , a Universal movie about a much friendlier alien that made boatloads of money . Anyway , Universal was disappointed and trouble aboutThe Thing ’s unsuccessful person , and concord to Carpenter ’s own statements , fire him from theFirestarterproject as revenge . FutureCommandodirector Mark L Lester was brought in to substitute Carpenter , and the result was theDrew Barrymorefilm most people are familiar with . King magnificently had a low persuasion of the final ware , anticipate it bland and " flavorless , " and likening it to " cafeteria mashed potatoes . " If there ’s one thing Carpenter ’s films are n’t , it ’s bland .
More : Why Stephen King hat Firestarter ’s Movie Adaptation
