‘It’ writer details hardest part about adapting Stephen King novel

June 2, 2019

Writing a Stephen King horror film can’t be easy, and one writer has now opened up about the hardest part about bringing the most famous scary stories to the big screen.

Gary Dauberman is known for his various filmmaking roles in films such as The Conjuring, It, and now, ‘Salmen’s Lot, an adaptation of a King novel.

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Dauberman spoke to CinemaBlend about the most challenging aspects of taking on a King story.

“There’s a lot of challenging things, but it really is an editing process of like … you know you’re not going to get all the fucking great scenes in there,” he said. “You know, they always say you have to kill your darlings. But it’s like, not. They are my darlings, but I’m such a fan of the books and the scenes,and so it’s a challenge to sort of decide, ‘Okay, well I really like this, but I love that. Is there a way to get the two ideas in there and maybe put it somewhere else? It’s one of those things where I tried to preserve as much as I can of the book, in the spirit of the book, and why it works.”

King has previously referred to ‘Salem’s Lot as one of his favorite stories. However, that almost seemed to make it more difficult for Dauberman to translate on screen.

“I mean, there’s books out there that have great concepts, but they’re not executed so well. So you’re like, ‘Well, I like the concept, but I’ll kind of just run with it,’” he said. “Or it’s got a good first half, but the second half is not great, so you can depart from it. But these are not those, right? They work so well. There’s a reason they’ve been around as long as they have been. So you’re just working very hard to preserve as much as you can of it and give it the respect it deserves.”

“Being able to be a part of the team that brings these things to the big screen has been a remarkable experience and a whole hell of a lot of fun. So at the end of the day, man, we’re working on IT or ‘Salem’s Lot, and I just don’t want to … I just hope Stephen King likes it. At the end of the day, if he’s okay with it, then I’m okay with it. That’s kind of what I’m working towards.”

“I’ve talked about keeping my head down and doing the work and to not try to think about the pressure of when I read this for the first time, or all the fans and all that stuff,” he continued. “You just try to go, ‘Okay, this is a fucking great book. How can I make this a great movie?”

‘Salem’s Lot has no set release date, but IT: Chapter 2 just debuted its first trailer ever. The clip appears to feature one of the scenes Warner Bros. shared at Cinemacon in April.

“Evil resurfaces in Derry as director Andy Muschietti reunites the Losers Club—young and adult—in a return to where it all began with It: Chapter Two,” the YouTube description reads.

“Because every 27 years evil revisits the town of Derry, Maine, It Chapter Two brings the characters—who’ve long since gone their separate ways—back together as adults, nearly three decades after the events of the first film.”

Check it out below!