Stephen King Refused To Let Jon Peters Adapt His Work

Stephen King’s legendary works have been adapted in various ways throughout the years, but one person in Hollywood made the author so nervous that he wouldn’t let them produce his projects. The novels Stephen King penned saw the author gain notoriety, notably in the horror genre, with stories like Carrie, It, and The Shining. However, he’s also a prolific sci-fi writer in other genres. King has written dystopian sci-fi with novels like The Stand and The Running Man, as well as more dramatic stories like Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.

Many of the author’s works have been adapted into movies and TV shows, including numerous adaptations of Carrie and Salem’s Lot, award-winning classics like The Shawshank Redemption, and long-running horror franchises like Children of the Corn. However, not all the adaptations of King’s work go over well, with some, like Dreamcatcher and Sleepwalkers, missing the mark. Yet, there is still one person King wouldn’t even let attempt to adapt his work: Jon Peters.

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Jon Peters Made Even The Master Of Horror, Stephen King, Nervous

King is aware of the numerous adaptations of his work, with the author even calling the various Children of the Corn films a bit too much in past interviews. However, as King told Far Out Magazine, “I like the movies,” acknowledging that he enjoys seeing people adapt his work, with some rare exceptions, like his noted hatred of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Still, even King has his limits, not letting notorious Hollywood producer Jon Peters touch his work. As the author stated:

While King wouldn’t let Peters touch The Dead Zone, it was still adapted into a 1983 film starring Christopher Walken, with lauded director David Cronenberg behind the camera. The Dead Zone was also adapted into a 2002 TV series starring Anthony Michael Hall, which ran for six seasons. The Dead Zone adaptations prove King is happy to let the story live in a new light, highlighting how much Peters rubbed him the wrong way. Even without King’s approval, Peters is one of the most prolific producers in Hollywood.

Jon Peters Produced Some Of The Best & Worst Movies Of All Time

Jon Peters has produced some of the biggest movies of all time, many of which are regarded as classics. He was one of the producers behind Michael Keaton’s Batman films, Superman Returns, and Man of Steel with Henry Cavill. Peters also made his mark in several genres, working on movies like An American Werewolf in London, Steven Spielberg’s The Color Purple, Dustin Hoffman’s award-winning Rain Man, and the comedy classic Caddyshack. Peters’ most recent credit was as a producer on Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born remake, with him filling a similar role on Barbra Streisand’s 1976 version.

Still, for all of Peters’ success over the years, he also produced huge flops with movies like Will Smith’s Wild Wild West and the notorious 1990 Tom Hanks bomb The Bonfire of the Vanities. Other misfires include the abysmal sequel Caddyshack II, which many would be forgiven for not knowing exists, and the hokey 80s action film Tango & Cash, starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. However, as King stated, the producer’s motivations seemed muddied at best, with him likely eyeing profit over attempts at quality storytelling. An unlikely source would later even help prove that the author’s trepidation about Peters may have been right.

Kevin Smith Helped Prove Stephen King Right With His Infamous Jon Peters Superman Story

Kevin Smith is a well-known writer and director who finds his groove in well-crafted characters and dialogue that appeal to a devout crowd of fans. He also loves speaking and telling stories, and his tale of briefly working with Jon Peters became infamous. As first heard in the documentary series An Evening with Kevin Smith, he was hired to pen a script for Superman Lives following his success with Clerks in the 1990s. Tim Burton was meant to parlay his Batman success into a Superman movie, which would have starred Nicolas Cage.

During the development of Superman Lives, Smith worked with Peters, who was producing the movie. After hearing the story, Peters insisted that the third act feature a giant mechanical spider. He seemed purely motivated by the imagery rather than genuine inspiration for the sake of quality, but he insisted that the Superman film include it. Smith’s involvement with the film didn’t go much further, and Superman Lives was dead in the water, which is chronicled in a unique documentary called The Death of Superman Lives. Peters would then go on to make other films, one of which was Wild Wild West, which proved to be a massive flop for Will Smith, and it featured a giant mechanical spider in the third act, showing the producers’ idea lived to tank another film.

Smith’s experience mirrors the wary feeling the producer gave King. Peters seems to get movies made, but some of his wild ideas are better left unrealized. Rather than let Peters taint his vision for The Dead Zone, Stephen King could see the producer wasn’t right for the story and refused to let him adapt his novel. While Peters proved he could make hits, with films like Batman and A Star Is Born on his resume, his misses show he was often out for the money, and Stephen King saw right through it.

Birthdate

September 21, 1947

Birthplace

Portland, Maine

Notable Projects

The Shining, Cujo, The Shawshank Redemption, It, Carrie