Stephen King Adaptation Star Says The Author Doesn’t Live Up To The Hype

By Douglas Helm
| Published 1 hour ago

Everyone is familiar with Stanley Kubrick’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel The Shining, but there is also the lesser-known 1997 miniseries that starred Steven Weber in the role of Jack Torrance, played by Jack Nicholson in the Kubrick film. Weber appeared on an episode of the Inside of You podcast in 2023, where he recalled a slightly disappointing moment he had with King himself.

In the interview, Weber said, “There was a portion of the book that I couldn’t understand… and I asked [Stephen King] what it meant,” adding, “And I thought, ‘Great, I’ve got a living author downstairs. What does this mean, Steve?’ And basically, he was, like, ‘Yeah, this line is about a bottle of wine, and this is because I was standing over a carpet that had a color that intrigued me, and this — I was drunk.’ And I was, like, ‘Oh. Thanks, Steve.’”

Of course, Weber laughed about the anecdote and went on to say that King is a great guy, but it’s funny to learn that even iconic lines in iconic books don’t always have the most profound meanings behind them.

King’s Prolific Output

King is a highly prolific author with an incredibly consistent output quality despite the number of books he releases. Understandably, his writing style doesn’t necessarily lend itself to poring over each and every line, and moments like this offer a glimpse into how instinctive some parts of his process can be.

The Shining miniseries is an interesting entry in Hollywood history, as it was always going to be compared to the cultural phenomenon that was Kubrick’s adaptation. Famously, Stephen King wasn’t a fan of the Kubrick adaptation, so it wasn’t surprising that he wanted a more faithful version of one of his most iconic novels. King took it upon himself to write the TV miniseries adaptation, which Mick Garris directed.

Stephen King’s version of The Shining aired on ABC in 1997 and was met with fairly decent reviews, with fans of the book appreciating the more faithful adaptation of the source material and the high production values. Steven Weber also brought his own unique flavor to the role of Jack Torrance, and his performance was praised.

Of course, it would never become as big as the Kubrick film, but it’s still worth a watch to see the differences between the two and understand what King wanted out of an on-screen version of The Shining.

More Stephen King Adaptations Are Always In The Works

While Stephen King may not have been satisfied with Kubrick’s version of The Shining, he has had a long and varied relationship with adaptations of his work. There have been a ton of TV shows and movies adapted from his work, and there are always more on the way.

Rather than a fixed number of projects in development, the reality is that King’s catalog is in near-constant rotation in Hollywood, with movie adaptations of The Monkey, The Long Walk, and The Running Man seeing 2025 releases. New films and series, like It: Welcome to Derry are regularly announced, with major filmmakers and showrunners continuing to put their own spin on his stories.

It remains to be seen which of these projects ultimately make it to the screen, but one thing is clear: there is no slowdown when it comes to adapting Stephen King’s work.

Stephen King’s The Shining is currently streaming on Tubi.