The Stephen King business is still booming in Hollywood, and there are currently eleven movies and eight TV shows in various stages of development based on the works of the prolific author. Much like his novels, though, the adaptations are marked with inconsistency, spawning just as many stone-cold classics as there have been absolute failures.
There are certain movies based on King books that should never be remade, and The Shawshank Redemption is the first that immediately springs to mind along with The Green Mile. Another is 1986 coming-of-age classic Stand by Me, which is widely regarded as one of the very best interpretations of the writer’s extensive back catalogue.
The movie won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Rob Reiner picked up the Best Director trophy at the same ceremony, but Stand by Me was only nominated for a sole Academy Award in the Best Adapted Screenplay category despite being lauded as one of the year’s best titles. The young cast including River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Wil Wheaton and Jerry O’Connell are phenomenal across the board in a riveting story packed with iconic moments.
Stand by Me doesn’t seem like the obvious candidate for a remake, but actress Amy Seimetz, who has previous experience with King retreads having starred in last year’s Pet Sematary, admitted in a recent interview that she’d love to be involved in a female-driven take on the story.
“It’s not horror, but when we were making Pet Sematary, I was actually talking about how I’d really like to do a new adaptation of Stand By Me with a pre-teen group of girls.”
Some movies are better off left alone, and though almost 35 years may have passed since it first hit theaters, Stand by Me is still fondly remembered and any new interpretation is almost guaranteed to fall short of what Reiner and legendary screenwriter William Goldman brought to the table when they assembled their talented young roster the first time around.
