Lilja's Library (11 page)

As another side note—the film was shot almost entirely in my apartment in Los Angeles. My girlfriend was not too pleased to hear this story of a beetle on the floor of our bathroom—let alone one giving birth. She made me thoroughly clean the bathroom again after filming was done.  

Lilja:
Did you have any personal contact with King during the making of the movie? Has he seen it (and if so, what did he think about it)?  

Jay Holben:
I never had any contact with King whatsoever prior to making the film or during the process. I don’t recommend this process, but it was, unfortunately, the way the project came about. By the time I made the final decision to shoot
Paranoid
, I knew I’d never have a chance to clear the rights and get permission before my date of principal photography—so I shot first. I sent a finished copy of the film to Stephen in Bangor asking for his blessing and the right to show the film. He called me three weeks later to extend his permission for me to show the film as a presentation of my work in non-commercial venues. His only comment on the film was, “You’ve got a good film here…I liked it.” I was elated at that and didn’t press for details.  

Lilja:
Are there any plans for another King movie?  

Jay Holben:
Oh…that’s a loaded question. There are a great number of King stories that I would love to adapt to the screen. We briefly discussed this possibility in our phone chat and he remained optimistic, but realistic about the possibility, explaining that “…Most of my stuff is either already optioned or complicated.” At this point, no, there is no other King movie in the works for me, but I’d like to keep the prospects for the future open. One at a time, though.  

Lilja:
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything else you want to say to the fans that read this interview?  

Jay Holben:
In the past year I’ve been contacted by a number of King fans anxiously awaiting this film. I truly appreciate your support and interest in the project and beg your patience just a little bit longer. I know what it’s like to be a fan and I know what it’s like to be an avid collector who wants to see and own everything they can associate with King. I can say that we’re trying our best to accommodate the fans and still stay true to King’s wishes. 

I’d also like to add, although I’m sure for most of your readers this is not necessary, my gratitude for Stephen King’s extraordinary generosity and support. Many people have read about his “Dollar Deal” policy—a sure sign of his unending support for students and aspiring filmmakers. I remember a time, back during my high school speech years, when a very famous playwright sent his lawyers to the competitions to make sure that anyone using his material was paying the full royalty fees. In a litigious, money-hungry society it’s amazing to have someone like King who’s willing to help and make an extraordinary sacrifice in his own gain to do so. He’s often been accused of being driven by the dollar, but this policy is a sure sign that he’s just doing it for the love of the written word. 

That, and scaring the pants off of you whenever he can. 

****
 

James Gonis 

Posted: December 8, 2000  

Here is an interview with James Gonis. He is the man who made a movie out of King’s short story “The Lawnmower Man.”  

Lilja:
Could you start with telling me a bit about yourself? Who are you and what do you do?  

James Gonis:
I’m thirty-five now. I moved to L.A. in 1993 with aspirations of screenwriting. I still write but presently I have a full-time job at Playboy booking out Playboy Playmates on promotions.  

Lilja:
When did you make
The Lawnmower Man
? Can you tell me a little about the production? How much did it cost? How long did it take to film it?  

James Gonis:
The film was shot in 1985 during a junior-level NYU production course entitled “Junior Narrative.” Everybody made films for their credits, working in different capacities. It took about ten days to shoot over two different weeks that summer (continuity sticklers would notice that the length of hair changes on the actor who plays Parkette, sometimes from shot-to-shot). I can’t remember how much it cost, but it was a lot more than I bargained for! Less than five thousand dollars, I think.  

Lilja:
What made you pick “The Lawnmower Man” out of all the stories King has written?  

James Gonis:
It was a standout story in my memory, so bizarre and disturbing, brutal but kinda funny! And despite the inherent challenges in telling that story, it was still within the realm of what student filmmakers could do within their framework—no UFOs were coming down or anything. It was doable! At the time, it wasn’t long after
Creepshow
and
Cat’s Eye
, so doing a broad King story was a natural. Also, he hadn’t had as much short fiction out back then as he does now, so there wasn’t as much to choose from. 

I don’t think we started out thinking to do it broad, though. It changed a bit when we turned to the Walt Simonson comic adaptation, and it’s closer to that version than the short story itself.  

Lilja:
In the movie, Andy Clark (who plays The Lawnmower Man) appears to eat a mole and some grass. I assume it’s not a real mole. What was it? And how about the grass, was that real? It looks really great!  

James Gonis:
No, that was a real mole. Andy insisted on realism. (Joke.) It was pieces of a rabbit pelt, boiled liver and red food coloring all mixed up. Real cut grass was pre-washed and scattered in front of Andy so he could scoop it into his mouth. 

Andy was terrific. Imagine having to do all he had to do, for the love of the craft and no pay? He had a great scene in Woody Allen’s
Radio Days
a couple of years later, as Dianne Wiest’s date who freaks out over the
War of the Worlds
broadcast. Ed Phillips, who could not have been better, had been in
Tootsie
as one of the TV show crewmen. Sadly, he passed away about a year after our shoot and never got to see the finished film. Helen Hanft, Mrs. Parkette, is a great character actress who’s done tons of New York stage work and lots of films for Woody Allen, and a memorable role in
Arthur
(“My husband has a gun!”). She was a friend of Ed’s and he was good enough to bring her into the production. It was so gratifying to be directing these talented professionals.  

Lilja:
Can you tell me about a funny incident from the production of the movie?  

James Gonis:
That rule of thumb, never work with kids and animals? Getting the dog to look like he was chasing the cat was impossible. Getting these animals to do anything was impossible. They weren’t trained—they were pets. And getting a perfect take of the little girl hiding in the bushes who didn’t want to eat brussel sprouts…very frustrating. Well,
now
looking back it’s hysterical. 

The funniest unintentional thing
in
the film is that when the lawnmower flies off the balcony (chasing Parkette at the end), you can see the tripod case in the background. We were too tired to notice those details by that point! It all got funny after awhile. It was a sweltering hot season and we were at the breaking point: How do we set up this shot? “Pan’s the boss!” Hoo, boy. 

Incidentally, it was a pretty dynamic crew. Ethan Reiff, the cameraman, has gone on to become an A-list writer, having co-created the TV series
Brimstone
. And Mike DeLuca, the writer/producer, is now the production head of New Line Cinema.  

Lilja:
How many (if any) official airings have there been?  

James Gonis:
Three. The first was the requisite NYU Film Festival screening. The second was at Horrorfest in Colorado in 1989. It was shown on a video monitor along with Jim Cole’s
The Last Rung on the Ladder
. (I couldn’t attend that convention. It would’ve been great, though; it was at the Stanley Hotel, which inspired
The Shining
.) The last screening was in 1991 at a New York film festival of Greek-American filmmakers.  

Lilja:
How does it feel that all the King fans out there can’t see your movie? Do you think that will change in the future? Maybe a video release would be possible?  

James Gonis:
The film has sat on the shelf so long that the thought that it might find an audience is most pleasant and unexpected. Most student films never really get seen that widely; it’s only because this happens to be a King story that there might be some broader interest. I can totally relate to the die-hard fans who want to see absolutely everything—I used to be one! 

I had gotten a letter from Milton Subotsky after the Horrorfest screening was publicized, reminding me that I did not have the rights. It was cool to get a letter from Subotsky—I wrote back saying, “OK, I understand. Gee, by the way, I loved your movies,
Tales from the Crypt
and
Asylum
…” So I really don’t think there will be an official release (despite that Subotsky’s deal has probably fallen through by now). 

However, the Internet makes for a broader outlet for fans to access and share this kind of material. Maybe there’ll be some exposure for the film along that vein. But I’m always sensitive to the legalities.  

Lilja:
How do you feel about the motion picture version of
The Lawnmower Man
? Would you be interested in doing a motion picture version yourself?  

James Gonis:
Obviously the feature didn’t have much to do with the story. Too much of a stretch to incorporate the story into the middle of a cyber-reality vehicle just so they could put King’s name on it. Pierce Brosnan’s cool, but it wasn’t an easy film to like. And as for me, having gotten the adaptation out of my system with the short film, I haven’t any desire to do a feature on it!  

Lilja:
Have you gotten any reaction on your movie from King? If so, what did he think?  

James Gonis:
I think I remember him saying he thought it was pretty good or pretty funny. Believe it or not, it’s hard to remember exactly what he said; it was about ten years ago! (I went to a book signing he did in New York around 1990, and I asked him.)  

Lilja:
Do you have any plans for making more movies based on Stephen King’s stories?  

James Gonis:
No, but I’d love to do
’Salem’s Lot
and stick really close to the novel. What a kick-ass book! Of course, I couldn’t do it justice. I liked the miniseries, but I wish someone would re-adapt the novel and capture it on a more visceral level—George Romero would’ve done a great job in 1978. But I have written my own vampire spec script and it’s gotten some “bites”…so you never know.  

Lilja:
Thanks! It was nice to talk to you.  

James Gonis:
Thanks for your interest. Take care! 

**** 

Stephen Spignesi 

Posted: July 9, 2001  

Here is an interview with Stephen Spignesi, who has listed his favorite 101 King works in his new book,
The Essential Stephen King
.  

Lilja:
Hi Steve. First, let me thank you for doing this interview! I have just read your book, and let me start with telling you that I really liked it a lot. It’s a very informative book! OK, on to the tough questions… 

Where did you get the idea for this book?  

Stephen Spignesi:
The idea came to me in 1997 when I was working on my book
The Italian 100
(which came out in 1998).
The Italian 100
is a ranking of the most influential Italians and Italian-Americans in world history. It occurred to me at that time that Stephen King was probably the only author about whom a similarly-constructed book could be written, because first, he was popular enough and respected enough for such a book to be a valid commercial venture, and second, and most importantly, his body of published work—currently numbering close to six hundred individual pieces—made the idea of picking and ranking his top one hundred possible.  

Lilja:
How did you research for this book? Did you read all of King’s work again or did you already know them by heart?