A Remake Of The Stand? Oh Hell Yes.

Ben Affleck’s transition from an actor-who-directs to a director-who-acts just took another interesting step today. With Oscar-bait The Town and Gone Baby Gone under his belt — and the period thriller Argo currently underway — Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros. is keen on hiring Affleck to direct its feature film adaptation of Stephen King’s epic tome The Stand.

That's a long way from confirmed, but it's enough to give me hope.  I love The Stand, and the original didn't do a bad job.  They were limited with effects at the time, and what few were required were demanding (Hand of God, anyone?).  I'm a real fan, so I overlooked the shortcomings and cheered for my heroes.  A remake could be fun, especially with the diseased apocalypse that has become popular right now in horror films.   A fresh take could have something new to offer.

Now that I've said that, let me tell you what I'm really hoping for. A tie to The Gunslinger, to bring fresh interest to the project.  I admire not wanting to start the series without commitment, but right now my favorite books of all time are growing stale while I wait patiently.  I want to see Roland and his pale blue eyes, and Oy.  Tell me Christian Slater wasn't born to play Eddie.  Give me that or give me The Talisman, but give me something.  This could all grow from a successful Stand remake, so my best wishes are with them.  There is a certain snickering snobbery that some hold against Stephen King movies, and fair enough.  The man was so vivid in his storytelling that you could see it, but special effects of the day were nowhere near sufficient.