Movies
‘The Shining’ is Now an Opera
Stephen King’s “The Shining” is one of horror’s greatest and most terrifying novels. And, as many of you know, I’m a huge fan of Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation, which, although not exactly 100% accurate (to put it mildly), absolutely horrifies me pretty much every time I watch it. Now, that story that has struck fear into so many is coming to audiences in a brand new fashion: an opera.
Created by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell over the course of three years, the opera opened last week at the Minnesota Opera. Moravec explains the appeal of undertaking such a project, telling NPR, “Stephen King’s original novel is all about love, death and power. And those are the three foundational components for an opera.”
He continues, this time talking about the specters and spooks that haunt the Overlook Hotel, “I think of the Overlook as sort of this gateway into hell. And when you finally see the ghosts appearing at the end of Act One, it’s as though the gates of hell open up and they come spilling out onto the stage.”
The Shining follows a Jack Torrance and his wife and son, Wendy and Danny, as they move into the Overlook Hotel for the winter to act as caretakers.
There is no word yet on whether or not this opera will travel, although that seems to be the hope.
Fangoria Studios and Panick Studios are turning horror comic Black Diamond into a film, and Variety reports that Ernest Dickerson (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight) will direct.
Black Diamond comic book creator Brendan Columbus will write the screenplay.
Black Diamond follows Owen and Victoria Welch on a family ski trip that spirals into a nightmare. When their son is abducted by a mysterious cult, the couple is pushed to the brink and faced with a soul-crushing ultimatum: sacrifice another child or lose their own forever.
The comic book series from Panick Entertainment is described as a “chilling folk horror thriller blending Hitchcockian psychological tension with the dread of The Wicker Man.”
“Black Diamond was my attempt to put everything I love about thrillers on the page,” Columbus tells Variety. “I want to make sure it feels like you physically can’t leave the theater or else you’ll miss the next twist or turn. With his masterful cinematic eye and his great story sense, Ernest is going to scare the hell out of everyone with this one.”
“Black Diamond immediately grabbed me because its horror is rooted in impossible human choices,” says Dickerson. “It taps into parental fear, morality, isolation, and survival in a way that is so unsettling and emotionally real. That combination will make for a very suspenseful and exciting cinematic experience.”
Ernest Dickerson is directing and executive producing the feature film. Black Diamond will notably be Ernest Dickerson’s first feature film as director since Double Play in 2017, though he has in more recent years been directing for an impressive string of television shows including “The Man in the High Castle,” “The Purge,” “Raised by Wolves,” “Bosch,” and “DMZ.”
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