TV
Stephen King Explains Why He’s Excited for the New CBS All Access Adaptation of “The Stand”
Early this year, CBS All Access gave a 10-episode series order to a new adaptation of Stephen King‘s 1978 novel “The Stand,” with Josh Boone (who at one point was going to adapt the post apocalyptic novel as a feature film) on board to co-write the series and also to direct. Of course, King’s novel was first turned into a television mini-series back in 1994, with Mick Garris in the director’s chair for that adaptation. And wouldn’t ya know it, today marks the original adaptation’s 25th anniversary, celebrated on this week’s episode of Post Mortem.
The very special 25th anniversary tribute episode of Mick Garris’ podcast features an hour-long interview with Stephen King, wherein King and Garris reflect on the original adaptation of the novel. King also touches upon the upcoming adaptation, expressing why he’s excited for it.
“I like Josh Boone’s work, I actually worked with him on his first feature,” King told Garris. “And then he did The Fault in Our Stars, which I thought showed his grasp of the medium. And I like him a lot. I like his reach… his ambition for [The Stand]. Really the thing I’m most excited about is, first of all, we’ve got two more hours to tell the story. And second, we’re free of all those things that held us back with [the original mini-series]. Not only is the budget bigger… we’re free… in terms of language, in terms of violence… in a way that we weren’t with the original.”
“CBS All Access would really like this to work,” King added. “And they’ve put a lot of muscle behind it. So I’m hopeful. But it’s early days yet… so. The casting isn’t complete. My son Owen has written some of the scripts, and they’re terrific. So. It’s good.”
The series will bring to life King’s vision of a world decimated by plague and embroiled in an elemental struggle between good and evil. The fate of mankind rests on the frail shoulders of the 108-year-old Mother Abagail and a handful of survivors. Their worst nightmares are embodied in a man with a lethal smile and unspeakable powers: Randall Flagg, the Dark Man.
Best known to horror fans for playing Rupert Giles in 121 episodes of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” actor Anthony Head (aka Anthony Stewart Head) has passed away at 72 years old.
Daughters Emily and Daisy Head said in a statement to the BBC that their father “passed away peacefully of complications due to pneumonia, surrounded by his family.”
Their statement continues, “It has been, and forever will be, an honour and a privilege to be his daughters, and to have witnessed firsthand the impact both he and his work have had on so many. We know how dearly he will be missed by friends, colleagues, and fans of the shows he was in — he loved his job very much, and he always considered himself incredibly lucky, to have been able to work alongside such exceptionally talented people, in such wonderful productions, across a career that spanned several decades.”
Anthony Head more recently played Rupert Mannion in 18 episodes of “Ted Lasso,” with the English actor’s film and television credits dating back to 1978. On the horror front, Anthony Head starred in Darren Bousman’s Repo! The Genetic Opera, as well as 2011’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Let the Wrong One In, “Warehouse 13,” and “The Canterville Ghost.”
Also of note here in the world of horror, Anthony Head once played Dr. Frank-N-Furter in a London stage production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show back in the 1990s.
Outside the horror world, Anthony Head’s film and television credits well exceed 100 different productions and include “Highlander,” “NYPD Blue,” “Silent Witness,” “Doctor Who,” And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself, “Little Britain,” The Magic Door, “Sensitive Skin,” Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, “Free Agents,” The Iron Lady, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, “You, Me & Them,” “Dominion,” A Street Cat Named Bob, and Batman: Gotham by Gaslight.
“Buffy” actor James Marsters writes on Instagram, “There’s a hole in the World. Anthony Head has passed on from us. He was an unflaggingly kind and steady presence on the set of Buffy, and the best actor in the cast. He was the best of us. I was lucky to have known, and learned from him. He left the world a better place for his presence. Thank you Tony for all you gave.”
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