Storm of the Century: An Original Screenplay

Amazon.com

Stephen King started writing Storm of the Century as a novel, but it evolved into the teleplay of an ABC TV miniseries. Set in Maine's remote Little Tall Island, the tale is all about vivid small-town characters, feuds, infidelities, sordid secrets, kids in peril, and gory portents in scrambled letters. The calamitous snowstorm is nothing compared to the mysterious mind-reading stranger Linoge, who uses magic powers to turn people's guilt against them--when he's not simply braining them with his wolf-head-handled cane. Don't even glance at that cane--it can bring out the devil in you. Just as The Shining was concerned with marriage and alcoholism as much as it was with bad weather and worse spirits, Storm of the Century is more than a horror story. It's creepy because it's realistic.

But it's also unusually visual. Linoge's eyes ominously change color, wind and sea wreak havoc, a basketball leaves blood circles with each bounce. The 100-year storm no doubt hits harder onscreen than on the page, but the snow is a symbol of the more disturbing emotional maelstrom that words evoke perfectly. And the murders of folks we've gotten to know is entirely terrifying in print. The crisp discipline of the screenplay format makes this book better than lots of King's more sprawling novels--the end doesn't wander and the dialogue crackles. Here's the real test: It's impossible to read parts 1 and 2 and not read part 3, "The Reckoning." --Tim Appelo

Book Description

For the first time in Stephen King's remarkable publishing history, the master storyteller presents an all-new, original tale written expressly for the television screen.

They're calling it the Storm of the Century, and it's coming hard. The residents of Little Tall Island have seen their share of nasty Maine Nor'easters, but this one is different. Not only is it packing hurricane-force winds and up to five feet of snow, it's bringing something worse. Something even the islanders have never seen before. Something no one wants to see.

Just as the first flakes begin to fall, Martha Clarendon, one of Little Tall Island's oldest residents, suffers an unspeakably violent death. While her blood dries, Andre Linoge, the man responsible sits calmly in Martha's easy chair holding his cane topped with a silver wolf's head...waiting.

Linoge knows the townsfolk will come to arrest him. He will let them. For he has come to the island for one reason. And when he meets Constable Mike Anderson, his beautiful wife and child, and the rest of Little Tall's tight-knit community, this stranger will make one simple proposition to them all:

"If you give me what I want, I'll go away."

Customer Reviews:

Clive Barker is Better.......2006-12-27

I've read many of Mr. King's books and I believe the reason they are so long is because he spends a great deal of time talking about trivial things such as the color of eyes, shape of eyes, length of hair, color of pants, etc. In this book Croatan is mentioned at least twice (and in the movie), but neither explains what a Croatan is! It's a werewolf! If you want true horror and excitement, try Clive Barker and I would suggest your first experience with Mr. Barker be "The Damnation Game". It's FANTASTIC!

A very good effort by the King.......2006-11-27

First I need to say that I was not very excited to read Stephen King's "Storm of the Century" because I was afraid that the screenplay format would strip away all the character building I enjoy in Stephen King's writing. Secondly, I have never liked many of his works written for, or adapted for, the screen. I began this book with some serious concerns.

No worries were needed. After I got through living with the residents of Little Tall Island for two nights during the biggest storm ever to hit the island, and the visitor who chose this time to rip the island's community apart, I was more than satisfied that I picked up "Storm of the Century".

The characters were stock King characters, but the anti-hero, Linoge, was actually even creepier because the screenplay format would not allow a deep dive into Linoge's motivation. All his physical actions, with no understanding (until the end) of his intentions, made Linoge unpredictable and a very strong evil character.

I also enjoyed seeing how Stephen King structured the suspense visually. From the quick cuts showing scenes of a town slowly being swallowed by the storm (and Linoge), to the great scene where Mike is chronicling the crime scene at Martha's with a Polaroid camera and each flash of the camera reveals new details of the crime. I thought his creative use of a visual medium was very good.

There were also enough pure Stephen King lines in the screenplay that you never forgot who the author was. The dialogue was not great, but some of the throw away direction is priceless. For instance, when one of the characters gets an axe to the face, Stephen King describes how he wants it sound (the action happens of camera) "it's like someone slapping mud with the flat of his hand". Or when he writes how the Town Hall should be depicted as the final safe haven in Little Tall Island and then adds "Of course the Titanic probably looked the same way before it hit the iceberg".

The theme of guilt within the tight family of islanders was also interesting, and I am glad the ending had a glimpse into the future (present) so we could see what happened to some of the main participants of the final tragedy.

All in all I enjoyed it a lot.

Storm of the Century.......2006-08-10

I havn't read it yet, but I've seen my dvd of it (at least) 3 times already. Let alone, on tv a few times too. ;)

~a Stephen King Constant Reader

Might have liked the TV movie better........2005-09-26

Let me start off by saying that whatever else he is, you have to give Stephen King credit for doing innovative stuff. His serial novel "The Green Mile" is a good example of it, and releasing Storm of the Century as a teleplay is another one. I had never read a teleplay before, and it was definitely interesting to see the different format.

The novelty of the format alone was enough to hold my attention through what was, essentially, a pretty standard King story. King trots out all the hallmarks of his "schtick" here: supernatural tragedy comes to small insular town. Seen it in the Castle Rock stories, in It, in the Tommyknockers, in Salem's Lot, in Bag of Bones, in From a Buick 8...etc. I'll also point out that the insularity of his towns grows increasingly less believable in today's modern, wired world, but it's as if King's idea of what constitutes town life is stuck at say, 1950 or so--has he ever written a character who is a web-geek, for example? For that matter, has he ever *shown* a character using the Internet?

But anyway, all his standard cliches are here: Small, somewhat improbably insular Maine town? Check. Townsfolk hiding secrets? Check. Stranger with mysterious and evil powers showing up? Check. (Shades of Mr. Gaunt, Randall Flagg, etc.) Stranger knows and publicly reveals folks' secrets? Check. Odd nursery rhyme or saying repeated at intervals throughout the story? Check. Stephen King's stock characters trotted out? Check. The reenactment of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" at the end was about the only thing here that seemed somewhat fresh, and even then, Stephen King's fascination with that story has been demonstrated in many of his other books (check out the Dark Tower III, for example).

I don't mean to sound as negative as the preceding might come across; it's just that this struck me as a fairly standard (and mediocre) King outing that basically rehashed a lot of material that he had used before. Perhaps after having written for such a long time, he simply doesn't have that much original to say anymore. *shrug* Nothing much to see here, folks; move it along.

Exiting Screenplay!.......2004-06-02

This is the first screenplay that I read of S.King., it is so well written that you can imagine it as if you were actually seen the movie. The story is so good that it keeps you interested at all times, without a clue about what is going to happen at the end.

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A Paradigm of Great Screenwriting
Great movie, great screenplay

Ghost World: A Screenplay
Daniel Clowes , and Terry Zwigoff
Manufacturer: Fantagraphics Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ghost World

ASIN: 1560974397

Book Description

Edited and designed by Daniel Clowes, and co-written by Clowes and director Terry Zwigoff, The Ghost World Screenplay is more of a scrapbook of the making of the film than simply a published screenplay. Of course, the 125-page screenplay is included, and is presented as an exact fascimile of the original script. This is the original script as written before filming, and as such includes several scenes and dialogue (over 30 pages of material!) not included in the final cut.

The script is wrapped around a beautiful original cover by Clowes, as well as a new comic strip on the inside front cover, featuring Ghost World's Enid and Rebecca. Also included is a lengthy color section designed by Clowes and featuring never-before-seen photos and other unique ephemera from the making of the film, including illustrations created for the film's sets by Clowes, and illustrations from Enid's sketchbook in the film, created by Sophie Crumb (daughter of cartoonist R. Crumb).

Along with the release of both the Ghost World film from MGM/UA, and the re-release of Clowes' Ghost World graphic novel from Fantagraphics, The Ghost World Screenplay is sure to be a must-have for the legion of devoted fans who have made Clowes the best-selling alternative comic book artist in the world. Also, this special screenplay edition is presented in the same size as the graphic novel, making it a perfect bookshelf companion for one of the best-selling and most critically-acclaimed graphic novels of all-time.

Customer Reviews:

A Paradigm of Great Screenwriting.......2004-03-05

Ghost World is one of those great movies reliant on its screenplay. While director Terry Zwigoff certainly made his 2001 film visually fresh and inventive, the film's energy and strength came from the incredible dialogue, well-written characters, and pop culture observation- all derived from Zwigoff's script (co-written with Daniel Clowes and adapted from Clowes' graphic novel).

The screenplay begins with opening letters from its authors, both of which contain hilarious and touching anecdotes on the screenwriting process. Both affirm the difficulty of writing such a screenplay. There is also a few pages of candid polaroids of characters (my favorite photo is of Teri Garr's hilariously gauche creation, Maxine). There is also a very funny new comic strip involving main characters Enid and Rebecca written especially for the screenplay book. Between its attractive front cover and enlightening packaging, this is a very handsome book.

The screenplay itself is brilliant, and I certainly was thrilled when Zwigoff and Clowes were nominated for the 2001 best screenplay Oscar. It has a taut three-act structure, funny one liners, and memorable interesting characters: teen outcasts: Enid, Rebecca (played by Thora Birch and Scarlet Johansson in the movie); adult outcast: Seymour (Steve Buscemi in the movie); iconoclastic hick: Doug; flakey art teacher: Roberta (Illeana Douglas); clueless Dad (Bob Balaban). The screenplay is very literate and is a pleasure to read.

My favorite line is when Rebecca says at a particularly lame high school graduation party, "This is so bad it's almost good..." to which Enid responds, "This is so bad it's gone past good and back to bad again."

Great movie, great screenplay.......2001-10-25

I have recently started reading screenplays, and this was given as a gift after having seen Ghost World four times. This is an excellent movie and I recommend it to most anyone.

The screenplay itself is just a screenplay, but a well written one. There are a few scenes that were either cut or shortened, and I really enjoyed them. But the best part of the book was all the extras, like introductions by Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff. Plus there were a lot of pictures, and all the scene notes at the end were very interesting.

Customer Reviews:

Ben Willis Strikes Again!!!.......2005-03-23

My name is Tucker and this book is very scary and a very good book. I couldn't put it down once I started reading it was one of the best books I have ever read! Please buy this book and you'll love it I promise it will make you love scary books even if you don't like them. If you buy this book you won't be sorry you will absolutley love this book I promise.

Warning-You Might Get Bored.......2002-04-30

...All it is, is a screenplay to the sequal "I Still Know...". It is even written in screenplay form. Some of the events and dialogue change, but it is basically the same.... It is also very boring the way it is. If it were in novel form, like the original "I Know..." book, then it might have been good. The best place to go for more "Hook", go see the movies. ...

This book was awesome.......2002-03-21

Like a script it was written excactly like the movie. If you loved the movie you love the book. If you haven't seen the movie that's okay you can read the book before the movie. I loved it. I thought that it was written with great detail and cleverness.

A GREAT BOOK! ESPECIALLY FOR FANS!.......2002-03-10

I read this book in one day. It was that good. It is written in screenplay form and has been edited for bad language. The violence is all in there though (some more grusome than the movie). The book contains about 8 pages of photos from the movie inside. It is an easy read and any age could read it. I have not seen this book in librarys, but it is on the internet and in stores. It is a great, scary book!

COOL BOOK!.......2000-06-27

I thought this book was really COOL! I could'nt put it down! The Best Book That I Have Read This Year!

Average customer rating:

"SUSPENSEFUL"
Great Book
A real page turner!
Absolute best book ever!
Meet the musical little creatures that hide among the flower

Disturbing Behavior
John Whitman , and Scott Rosenberg
Manufacturer: Starfire
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0553571397
Release Date: 1998-07-13

Book Description

Seventeen-year-old Steve Clark and his family have just moved to Cradle Bay Island and are settling into their new life.

At first everything seems fine in the small, quaint island community. But then Steve meets the Blue Ribbon kids, the most popular group at Cradle Bay High. The Blue Ribbons get the best grades, have plenty of school spirit, and do everything their parents ask them to. Their idea of a wild time is hanging out at the Yogurt Shoppe on Main Street. Adults think the Blue Ribbons are a great bunch, but Steve learns that if you disagree with the Blue Ribbons, you'd better watch out. They have a strict code of conduct, and if they see you out of line, those peaceful, happy Blue Ribbons explode into deadly rage.

Steve and his new friends Gavin and Rachel uncover the sinister plot behind the Blue Ribbons' disturbing behavior and plan to bring the group down--before the Blue Ribbons get to them first.

Includes eight pages of color photos.

Customer Reviews:

"SUSPENSEFUL".......2001-10-25

WOW!! I am very impressed in how great this book was. I have never read a book that was a movie FIRST, and I must say, my expectations were NOT high. I was proven wrong! this book follows the life of a young man, and his two friends living in a small town called Cradle Bay. Though the town may seen "nice", the main character quickly learns otherwise. Beneath the town's placid surface, an evil secret lies. The book does loose points for originality(it WAS a movie first), and believability(the plot can be hard to believe at times). Overall however, this book shines as an expert suspense novel.

Great Book.......2001-07-11

This is a really great book. I couldn't put it down until I was finished. It was really good, and is a must read for anyone who saw the movie or likes science fiction.

A real page turner!.......1999-12-14

You'll love this book it has mystery,romance,and drama,all good things you need for a book. Steve Clark is new to the bay.And is trying to forget his past.Steve is gets everything put togather and then he meets the blue ribbons.The blue ribbons have everything,and the parents love them.But Steve,Rachel,and Gavin find out there plan,and try to stop them.

Absolute best book ever!.......1999-08-27

The book was really well written with suspensful and frightening parts in it. The characters were really well developed. It lets you try to guess what was going to happen next but also helps people who saw the movie and didn't understand it. If you were too young to see the movie and love horror movies and books you'll love this one. WARNING: Could give younger children nightmares!

Meet the musical little creatures that hide among the flower.......1999-04-10

If you've seen the movie and are confused, read the book. It's got eight pages of color photos too!

Average customer rating:

Beetlejuice: [screenplay]
Michael McDowell
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Screenplays | Movies | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: B0007CC2ES

Casper a Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy: Two books and tape

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Casper a Spirited Beginning and Casper Meets Wendy: Two books and tape
Thomas Hart Screen Play by Jymn Magon
Manufacturer: Inchworm Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MAND2K

Product Description

Two books based on the screenplay of the movie and an audio cassette tape of the stories. Illustrations are prints from the movie. Fun sweet stories, 20 pages each book

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Despair: The Screenplay
Jean-Marc Lofficier , Randy Lofficier , and Marc Agapit
Manufacturer: Hollywood Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1932983066

Book Description

A macabre horror story based on a classic French horror novel, illustrated by one of the designers of Gladiator.

The Ghost and the Darkness (Applause Screenplay Series)

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The Ghost and the Darkness (Applause Screenplay Series)
William Goldman
Manufacturer: Applause Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 1557832676

Book Description

This book includes an interesting introduction on how this film starring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer - based on the terrifying true story of the man-eating lions of Tsavo - came to be; the complete screenplay by William Goldman; and fabulous photos from the film throughout.

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The Ghost of Cinnamon Brown
Jessie Jamie Coleman
Manufacturer: Autumn Girl Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0976696401

Product Description

In search of excitement and cheap thrills, Cinnamon Brown, a Plain-Jane office worker, dyes her hair red and takes on the persona of her late sister and becomes one of three suspects to a murder.

The Ghost of Frankenstein (Universal Filmscripts Series: Classic Horror Films)

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The Ghost of Frankenstein (Universal Filmscripts Series: Classic Horror Films)

Manufacturer: Magicimage Filmbooks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1882127153

Book Description

In A Small Boy and Others, Michael Moon makes a vital contributon to our understanding of the dynamics of sexuality and identity in modern American culture. He explores a wide array of literary, artistic, and theatrical performances ranging from the memoirs of Henry James and the dances of Vaslav Nijinsky to the Pop paintings of Andy Warhol and such films as Midnight Cowboy, Blue Velvet, and Jack Smith’s Flaming Creatures.
Moon illuminates the careers of James, Warhol, and others by examining the imaginative investments of their protogay childhoods in their work in ways that enable new, more complex cultural readings. He deftly engages notions of initiation and desire not within the traditional framework of “sexual orientation” but through the disorienting effects of imitation. Whether invoking the artist Joseph Cornell’s early fascination with the Great Houdini or turning his attention to James’s self-described “initiation into style” at the age of twelve—when he first encountered the homoerotic imagery in paintings by David, Géricault, and Girodet—Moon reveals how the works of these artists emerge from an engagement that is obsessive to the point of “queerness.”
Rich in historical detail and insistent in its melding of the recent with the remote, the literary with the visual, the popular with the elite, A Small Boy and Others presents a hitherto unimagined tradition of brave and outrageous queer invention. This long-awaited contribution from Moon will be welcomed by all those engaged in literary, cultural, and queer studies.

Customer Reviews:

Queer Sensibility and Today's "America".......1998-12-03

This collection of essays clusters under the idea that the characteristic repetition one finds in American popular culture arrives by way of rituals of "imitation and initiation" in the lives of sexual outsiders [i.e., queers]. These essays are intelligent, provocative, even beautiful analyses of such 20th-century culture-makers as Henry James, Joseph Cornell, Andy Warhol, David Lynch, Kenneth Anger, Maria Montez, Jack Smith, and Vaslav Nijinsky. Each essay is chattily vernacular enough to allow the reader to forget that it's academic scholarship (good for your brain) and not just plain fun. Gossipy tidbits like Cornell's fondness for Kool-Aid and little girls enliven Moon's observations of the artist's memory-saturated work. The way Moon re-homosexualizes an apparently de-homosexualized text such as the film MIDNIGHT COWBOY should inspire a wholly new approach in gay and lesbian criticism. And I thought the treatment of Charles Ludlam's and Ethyl Eichelberger's theatre, largely ignored in academic circles up to now, a fitting climax to a thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating book. A SMALL BOY AND OTHERS deserves a wide and appreciative audience. It offers an elaboration of and a correction to current understandings of the role "camp" has played in shaping contemporary American culture.

Book Description

Space Invaders and Asteroids are back!

Loved that Atari(r) when you were a kid? So did Ben Heckendorn - so much, in fact, that he successfully resurrected it as a slim, go-anywhere portable. When Playstation(r) and Nintendo(r) aficionados got jealous, he created miniaturized, fully functioning, battery-powered versions of those too. Now it's your turn. Every secret is here - complete instructions, materials lists, tool tips, even advice on finding parts. Just wait 'til they see this at the high school reunion.

Ready? Let's get started

Plans and instructions for building eight handheld, classic video games
* Choosing a game system - Atari(r), Nintendo(r), Super Nintendo(r), or Playstation(r)1
* What you'll spend
* Electronics and soldering 101
* Hacking portable TVs for their screens
* Building the case - CNC or freehand?
* Yank the cord, install the batteries

Download Description

Space Invaders and Asteroids are back! Loved that Atari® when you were a kid? So did Ben Heckendorn so much, in fact, that he successfully resurrected it as a slim, go-anywhere portable. When Playstation® and Nintendo® aficionados got jealous, he created miniaturized, fully functioning, battery-powered versions of those too. Now it's your turn. Every secret is here - complete instructions, materials lists, tool tips, even advice on finding parts. Just wait 'til they see this at the high school reunion. Ready? Let's get started Plans and instructions for building eight handheld, classic video games 1. Choosing a game system Atari®, Nintendo®, Super Nintendo®, or Playstation®1 2. What you'll spend 3. Electronics and soldering 101 4. Hacking portable TVs for their screens 5. Building the case CNC or freehand? 6. Yank the cord, install the batteries

Customer Reviews:

Tinkerers rejoice!.......2007-05-08

This book surpassed my expectations. If you are a tinkerer this book will be great for you...if you also like retro-gaming, this book becomes a must have. He is so thorough in his descriptions of the projects, that even if you aren't already handy with electronics you will have no problem completing these projects. I also liked the fact that for each project he has two versions: one full-scale project; and one that can be accomplished without any expensive tools. Highly recommended!

Recycling video consoles.......2006-03-15

A great book for instruction on how to use old video game systems and transform them into new game systems.

the real deal!!!.......2005-09-23

this isnt just some book that puts all the weight on your shoulders to make sense of it and track down hard to find parts and make this some kind of impossible task. its the real deal!! you really can do this yourself with only basic electronics skill. the best skill probably is a love of video games, which will pretty easily overcome any challenges for technical expertise you might not have...tho little of that is necessary anyways. stop by his web site asap!!! the real thing!

Hacking systems? This is a must own!.......2005-08-23

This book is simply incredible! If you have ever wondered what to do with your old systems that are around your house, this book provides the answer.

The book is extremly easy to follow, ever for people like me who have never soldered anything in my life. The book describes step by step how to take apart a screen from either a portable tv or a portable PSOne screen. He also gives two different portable ideas for each of the four different systems featured in the book (PSOne, Atari 2600 - 4 switch, NES, and SNES Mini).

Just by showing how to take apart the units and describing what is being done, this book opens up posibilities for making any system you own portable (Check his website for proof).

The only complaints that I have about this book is that there are a couple of misprints for some diagrams. All of this is fixed in erratas on his site. Other than that, I wished he would have shown more systems and how to make them portable.

I just couldn't get enough! And I bet you'll love it as well!

the 80s still live!.......2005-02-27

The 80s are over. But apparently not to some of you. The book is dedicated to those video gamers of the 80s, who wish to enable their second childhoods. Assuming they ever vacated their first.

The discussion is all about hands on hardware modifications. To take some classic video game system, dismantle it, and grep the key parts into a snazzy new and portable gadget. You must realise that the author is writing to a select few. Even a typical 80s gamer is unlikely to lavish the time demanded by this book. It really does describe a labour of love. While you could undoubtedly resell a working gadget that you built, it's a toss-up whether that would justify the time you spent on it. At some level, the cost of materials is overshadowed by the construction time cost.

One day, future historians might regard books like this as research material. For these capture snapshots of a gamer subculture, as it interacts with itself, and attempts to propagate itself forward in time. [A meme.]

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