Quentin Tarantino This Stephen King Hidden Gem Cast it’s A-List Star; Watch it For Free Now
I’d love to see Quentin Tarantino’s take on a Stephen King property. While we’ve yet to experience that (and may never, seeing as the Pulp Fiction director is constantly threatening to retire after his next film), Tarantino has exerted a level of influence over at least one adaptation of King’s work. It seems Tarantino helped 1408 director Mikael Håfström cast a pivotal role in his 2007 adaptation of the King short story.
Olin was written differently on the page.
During an interview with The Kingcast, Håfström revealed that the Samuel L. Jackson character, Olin, was written differently on the page than he appears onscreen. “Olin is written in the script as a balding white guy,” Håfström admitted. “When we were trying to figure out who’s going to play him, Bob Weinstein called me one day and said ‘Quentin Tarantino read the script, and he really liked it, but he felt wouldn’t it be cool if Sam Jackson played Olin?’ And I was like, ‘Well, if Quentin says that, well that’s a really good idea.'”
A good idea, indeed. The film stands as one of my personal favorite King adaptations and Jackson is a great addition to the proceedings.
1408 has a surprising amount of depth. John Cusack deftly conveys the utter devastation losing a child has had on his outlook and day-to-day existence. He presents as outwardly stoic, but the time we spend alone with him in room 1408 allows us a view to see his inner darkness. The film uses the tragedy from Enslin’s past to intensify what he’s experiencing in the present. And what he experiences is plenty harrowing.
The film made just under $133 million at the global box office against a budget of $25 million. That’s a success by any definition.
Here’s where you can stream the screen adaptation of Stephen King’s 1408
If you’re game to pay the picture a repeat visit (or take it in for the very first time) you can find 1408 streaming on Plex now.
Th setup for the film goes like this: Mike Enslin (Cusack) is a successful author who enjoys worldwide acclaim debunking supernatural phenomena–before he checks into the Dolphin Hotel, that is. Ignoring the warnings of the hotel manager (Jackson), he learns the meaning of real terror when he spends the night in a reputedly haunted room.
That’s all we’ve got for now. Stay tuned to the site for more behind-the-scenes trivia as we unearth it. Also, make sure you’re following @DreadCentral on Twitter (X) so you never miss one of our updates.
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