'The Overlook Hotel' - Prequel to 'The Shining'

[Walts Ghost]

It appears that Stephen King’s beloved novel The Shining is all the rage at the moment. King is set to release his sequel novel Doctor Sleep later this fall and the Shining-centric documentary Room 237 recently hit theaters, but now it appears that the story is headed to the big screen once again by way of a prequel. Glen Mazzara—who previously took over for Frank Darabont as showrunner on AMC’s The Walking Dead before being forced out of the position halfway through the most recent season—has been tapped to write the screenplay for the Warner Bros. prequel film The Overlook Hotel. Hit the jump for more.

Word first broke that Warner Bros. was considering a prequel to The Shining last summer, when it was reported that writer/producers Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island) and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) were developing the film alongside producing partner Bradley Fischer (Black Swan). It appears that the trio has settled on a story that they believe warrants a full film, as Deadline now reports that Glen Mazzara has been hired to pen the screenplay for The Overlook Hotel.

No further details for the film are given, but it’s reasonable to assume that the story will involve the haunted goings-on at the titular hotel prior to The Torrence’s arrival. Kubrick’s adaptation of The Shining is a masterpiece so Mazzara certainly has some big shoes to fill, but it’ll be interesting to see if he strikes a tone similar to Kubrick’s film or if his take falls more in line with King’s original novel.

Mazzara did some solid work on the first half of The Walking Dead season three, but the show took a bit of a creative nosedive in the back half. He reportedly exited the showrunner position due to a difference of opinion over the show’s direction in season four. His other TV writing credits include The Shield, Hawthorne, and the Starz series Crash, which he created.

What do you think, readers? Is a Shining prequel necessary? What would you like to see from the film?

http://collider.com/the-shining-preq...verlook-hotel/

[Kaiju]

[Pounder]

Originally Posted by theman

+1

[Walts Ghost]

My knee jerk reaction is "what? Why?!"

But then I saw what they've done with 'Bates Motel', the contemporary origin of 'Psycho', and I love the hell out of it. If they can do this one just as well, I'm more than ok with it being made.

[Kaiju]

Anya is sexy? What?

Anya the Vengeance Demon?

[RandyK]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

My knee jerk reaction is "what? Why?!"

But then I saw what they've done with 'Bates Motel', the contemporary origin of 'Psycho', and I love the hell out of it. If they can do this one just as well, I'm more than ok with it being made.

Agreed.

[Foggy]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

My knee jerk reaction is "what? Why?!"

But then I saw what they've done with 'Bates Motel', the contemporary origin of 'Psycho', and I love the hell out of it. If they can do this one just as well, I'm more than ok with it being made.

I think if you start throwing back story into The Shining, you're starting to mess with the mix. The Shining works so well because of how vague it is, so backstory is in risk of spoiling the broth.

Plus, while I like what Glen Mazzara has done with The Walking Dead, the show wasn't exactly pushing on the creative and feature many many flaws. I dunno whether I want to see his take on Winnie the Pooh blow jobs.

[legendarymatt92]

Same knee jerk reaction as Walt'sGhost but with no Bates' Motel viewings for reassurance.

I hope, whatever they do, just respects the original. I think it's a bad idea to try and provide some back-story because, as Foggy says, it's what makes Kubrick's film so fascinating and strange.

[Braktastic]

Um, no, and Mazzara drove The Walking Dead Season 3 into the ground, so, double no?

[Kevin Holly]

Why not wait a year and just film Doctor Sleep?

[octagon]

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

My knee jerk reaction is "what? Why?!"

But then I saw what they've done with 'Bates Motel', the contemporary origin of 'Psycho', and I love the hell out of it. If they can do this one just as well, I'm more than ok with it being made.

NBC's Hannibal doesn't totally suck either. These kinds of things are risky but yeah, they can work.

[skyofcrack]

I'm all for this because originally, The Shining had a prologue called, Before the Play which delved into the history of the hotel. I loved this. I even adapted my own version of the book years ago into a screenplay and included this material which I called, Overlook. King also wrote, After the Play.

[Walts Ghost]

Rumor: Alfonso Cuarón Offered ‘The Shining’ Prequel ‘Overlook Hotel’

Harry Potter might not be the only dormant property that Warner Bros. wants Alfonso Cuarón to help revive. According to a new rumor, the studio has also offered him The Overlook Hotel, the prequel to Stanley Kubrick‘s Stephen King-based classic The Shining. Hit the jump for all the latest dirt on this project.

Schmoes Know is the source of this latest rumor. They’ve apparently spoken with “two close sources with knowledge of the project” who claim Cuarón is the studio’s top choice, and the film is his if he wants it. If he decides it does want it, Overlook Hotel may or may not affect Cuarón’s involvement in the Harry Potter spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. He was reported as being “deep in talks” for that one just a few days ago.

Warner Bros. is understandably very high on the filmmaker right now. His last directorial effort Gravity was a huge hit for the studio, and his Harry Potter installment, 2004′s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is considered by many fans to be the best in the franchise. Their relationship with hims stretches way back to the ’90s, when they released his first English-language film A Little Princess.

The Overlook Hotel has been in the works at Warner Bros. for a few years now. While the very idea of a Shining sequel will strike some fans as sacrilege, Overlook Hotel at least has some interesting names backing it up. Laeta Kalogridis (Shutter Island), Bradley Fischer (Black Swan), and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) are all set to produce. Last year, The Walking Dead showrunner Glen Mazzara signed on to write the script.

Details on the plot are scarce, though, and all we know right now is that the movie is set before the events of The Shining. The original film had lots of allusions to the hotel’s dark past, so the filmmakers shouldn’t be hurting for potential storylines.

Slashfilm

[cussyeah]

Cuaron has denied the rumor that he'd direct J.K. Rowling's Fantastic Beasts because he wants to step away from big special effects for his next film. I'd imagine Overlook won't require a great amount of effects (and you could take his omission of comment on Overlook how you'd like) but I hope he does something different as his next film. I'm a huge fan of Kubrick's Shining and I don't think the history of the hotel needs exploring. It's better left to mystery.

http://www.slashfilm.com/alfonso-cua...beasts-denial/

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

Originally Posted by Kevin Holly

Why not wait a year and just film Doctor Sleep?

This right here.

[Todd Tomorrow]

The book is full of backstory for the hotel and its ghosts, so they could make a film of that, but they'd have to come up with a decent through line to follow.

[Doctor Jack]

Enough with the completely unnecessary prequels.

[AmandaBanana]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Enough with the completely unnecessary prequels.

This, this and this.

[Walts Ghost]

Originally Posted by Doctor Jack

Enough with the completely unnecessary prequels.

Well, I don't disagree, but if they're making it from the book, I guess at least they're pulling from real source material. So at least there's that. Even if I don't think this is one that necessarily needs to be done. I'd rather see 'Doctor Sleep' as a movie.

[Elvis]

Kubrick's Shining and King's Shining are two completely different animals all together. So if the Prequel is to King's Novel and they have yet to make "a good" adaption faithful to the novel they I say why not and then they can make the film The Shining after that. Now if you are trying to make a prequel to the masterpiece that is Kubrick's interpretation then I say hell no!