RE: So bad, it's good: Maximum Overdrive
Dude, at times you almost sound like you have an axe to grind with King lol Stephen King himself called it "a moron movie" - source:
It was made under the influence (I don't know if he himself ever admitted to that, but some people of the crew and cast had made comments about that publicly), which probably explains why I have always found it to be fun to watch. I mean, if you create something under the influence, it is impossible to really hide that. Moreover, the screenplay was basically an extended version of his short story Trucks, included in Night Shift. I don't know if you've read Night Shift, but a lot of stuff in that is dopey fun, and you kinda need to watch the film through those dopey lens, imo. So when you say it wasn't meant to be funny, that isn't really true.
Regarding The Shining - King hated Kubrick's film for a long time. (I remember reading some of the commentary regarding it in his book Danse Macabre.) So it's not that he had a control over how his works were adapted before he went on to write and direct a film based on his literary work. But even when he was in director's chair for the first time, he had to deal with some decisions of De Laurentis that weren't in line with his vision of what should or shouldn't be in the movie. (For one, he wanted Bruce Springsteen to star in it.)
I have seen, in my opinion, a lot of bad films, but when someone asks me to name a bad film, Maximum Overdrive is not something that would come to mind.
what a wonderful response and thanks for that information. I did not know most of that. I would have loved to have seen Bruce Springsteen in that starring role.
I have no beef with King, I have read a lot of his books and as a teenager these books were the only times I can recall the written word actually giving me nightmares. He is a legend, that is for sure.
I love King's short stories. Can't say that was a literature I'd have grown up with, but it is always inspiring because of some absurd events taking place; impossible becomes possible and terrifying, dangerous, and doesn't last too long. One other aspect of King's works that I admire is how profoundly the human characters had been created (this isn't so much about short stories as much it's about novels); particularly their background: profession, state they'd been born in and struggles they have had to deal with - in my opinion King has always made a formidable and fierce competition to other horror writers at that level.
I think a sequel to Maximum Overdrive with Stephen King directing again, and Bruce Springsteen cast as a dad and grandad wouldn't be a bad idea. There's so much technology these days that wasn't there back in 1980s, and if you get some good screenwriters who can articulate the differences and turn today's world around us into a proper menace (smth similar to that what they did with Child's Play reboot), it could end up being something memorable, imo. These days, as opposed to 1980s, cars and trucks have got computers inside them so that alone makes a promising starting point imo. Though I suppose there should be a notable difference from the usual tech noir narrative - no AI of any sort. Aliens maybe, but no AI; otherwise it instantly falls into computer against human category, which is what original Maximum Overdrive seemed to be mocking. But then again - it could be played out as a satire of the usual tech noir standard turning it into a comedy rather than serious sci fi action film.
Just thought I'd leave some ideas here.
wow, what an idea that would be. With all the drivel that Hollywood is coming out with these days I think the public deserves this. I would absolutely love to see that happen.