Question of the Day #45: Do you feel that 'Rage' was the catalyst for some actual school shootings?

Was Rage the only catalyst?  No, I don't believe it was the only catalyst.  Any
"slasher-type" movie, book, short story or video game in the hands of someone with a problem distinguishing reality from fantasy could be the catalyst.  IMO, I am sure that the shooters, mentioned in Wiki, had many other influences besides Rage.  (This is a topic that I could write about all day but I am going to try to keep it short.  I have so many thoughts and opinions on this subject.)  My other thought on Rage is that this is a book for mature readers only. Weren't the parents/guardians of these young people paying attention to what they were doing at all?  There had to be some sort of red flag or sign that these troubled teens exhibited. The parents/guardians could have probably prevented these incidents from  happening at all.  To hold Rage fully responsible for these shootings is unreasonable.

Here's another question:  Do you feel that stopping publication will prevent it from possibly getting into the wrong hands in the future?  No, probably not because anyone wanting to read all of Stephen King's work will find a way to get it and read it.  Will I let my 12-13 year old read Rage anytime soon?  No, I will explain to him that he must wait until he is old enough to handle the themes in this novel.  This is a case of a few bad apples spoiling the bunch.  On a scale of 1-10, I give this novel an (8.5).

Stephen King's Keynote Address  

Reader feedback on this topic is greatly appreciated.  The question about Rage is one I have wanted to pose for weeks now but finally thought it over before writing about it.  (I may add more to this post in the future as I continue to mull over this topic.)

*Please post your thoughts or opinions on this or any other topic in comments.

Question of the Day #43: What is your opinion on Ron Howard as Director for 'The Dark Tower' series?

King made an excellent decision in choosing Ron Howard for The Dark Tower series but I don't think their idea to do a trilogy would cover all seven books.  Although, I'm sure Ron Howard doesn't want to spend the next 10+ years on one massive project either.  So I could see why they would want to do it as a trilogy as opposed to what they did with the Harry Potter movies.  What do you think? 

*Post your thought and opinions in comments.

'The Dark Tower' now in Ron Howard's hands

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - J.J. Abrams' Bad Robot production company, which has long sought to crack Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" book series as a television series, no longer has the rights to one of the author's biggest properties.

Bad Robot has returned the rights to the best-selling author. Now Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are teaming up to tackle the fantasy Western.

The three are in discussions to adapt the material as a movie, to be written by Goldsman and directed by Howard, that would lead to a TV series produced by Imagine's small-screen division.

"Tower" is not set up for production, nor has any option deal been made, but insiders say Universal, home to full story

Ron Howard is such a gifted filmmaker, directing films such as The Da Vinci Code, and A Beautiful Mind (This is a  film I will never forget as long as I live.  I still think Russell Crowe should have won Best Actor for that film.  He won Best Actor in my book.)  The Dark Tower films would be epic and they would blow LOTR out of the water.  Let casting for Roland begin....

Question of the Day #42: Would you like to see an annual convention held in honor of Stephen King and would you attend? What would you like to see it named?

Yes, there should be an annual convention in honor of SK possibly named King-Con, DarkTower-Con, or StephenKing-Con.  Now that would be a convention worth attending.  Let's see, Marvel artists Jae Lee, Veritigo artists,  Dark Tower artists, movie stars, authors, King rockin' out with the The Rock Bottom Remainders, round-table discussions, collectibles, the possibility of purchasing rare signed books firsthand, SK clothing.....   Heck yeah, I would make every effort to attend any convention that involved Stephen King.  Now I ask you, why hasn't this happened yet?!?  We need a place to celebrate our favorite author and his lifetime of work!!!!

*Post your thoughts or opionions in comments.

Question of the Day #7: When reading SK's books, what intrigues you the most about his writing?

Mostly I am in awe of his character development.  When he writes about someone, I feel like I had just personally met them.  To me, that is a very difficult thing to do as a writer, making the reader feel "close" to a fictional character.  Whether it be anger, endearment, distaste, pity, fear, joy, sadness, he manages to make me feel all of these feelings (and many more) when he writes.  There is just so much depth to each character he creates.  The other thing about his writing that intrigues me is just how much he has written and continues to write.  Articles, short stories, novellas, screenplays, novels, you name it he writes it.     




*Post your thoughts or opinions in comments.

Season's Greetings from All Things Stephen King!

Season's Greetings to all! If you just happened to stumble on my site, great, or if you are back for some more info, I will be watching a few more movies over the holidays. Also, I will be reading a lot more so I can post many more thoughts and opinions. When I get new information, I usually add to the previous post that it applies to, while creating a new post. So, please be safe this holiday season and when you have a few moments to spare stop by, read, and post anything you wish to comment on. I sure would like to hear about what's going on with you!

NHPR-Interview over an hour long

New Hampshire Public Radio sat down with Stephen King on 12/3/2009. The interview was very entertaining. Stephen talks about acting, his favorite movies from his books, DT, what superpower would he like to have? He talked about his addiction and recovery.

For full interview click
http://www.nhpr.org/node/28149