Stephen King's Honest Opinion About "The Shining" Film | Letterman

The author reveals what he did and didn't like about Stanley Kubrick's adaptation.
(From "The David Letterman Show," air date: 8/18/80)
#stephenking #theshining #letterman
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Welcome to the Letterman KZbin Channel, home to all your favorite clips from Late Night and Late Show - as well as conversations with the writers, producers and performers who helped make it all happen. And for those of you who like Miscellaneous, you may very well find some Miscellaneous here.

[@Guvna07]

Jimmy Fallon should watch this video. No stupid laughing constantly, no sound effects and no fake laughter from the host. Just a meaningful conversation

[@phoenix21studios]

hush, so tired of these comments.

[@evanfaust8672]

@@phoenix21studioscope. Go watch Jimmy and a Fast and the Furious movie.

[@brandonbeil6736]

That the world now though, huh...

[@lPHOENIXZEROl]

This was the morning talk show Dave did for NBC that didn't do so great in the ratings, before the Late Night came about in 1982. Those are still really reserved.

[@johnnycaruthers7180]

No woke garbage either.

[@kurtdewittphoto]

Its nice to hear a conversation without hearing the audience laugh every 40 seconds.

[@gforce9596]

Host: so how was filming action movie? Guest: I worked out too much, exercise is so blagh Audience: HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH And nothing of substance is discussed artistically or critically. Just polite goofy banter

[@Zerpersande]

Just noticed that! Cool, huh?

[@Phil_Mitchell]

Sorry Grandpa but these old interviews are boring and pretentious 😂

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

​@@Phil_Mitchellattention spans are shorter than ever, this is true

[@mattmoves5920]

​@@Phil_MitchellNo they were actually smarter and not for an audience of and attention span of a kitten like today

[@gnilbirts]

Wow...an interview where the audience actually learns things about the person, about themselves and feels inspired.

[@gargoyle790]

Yes. Before Dave grew into his narcissistic, disruptive, and condescending showman schtick.

[@ydva1317]

I never thought strongly one way or another about King, but his response of "the guy banging his head against the wall because it feels good when he stops" to "why do people want horror?" was one of the simple and smartest answers i've ever heard!

[@guyfawkesuThe1]

This is from the Letterman morning show before he moved to night.

[@SFFireSoul]

No, it's because it causes a reflex and emotion that we don't experience from day to day, not to mention adrenaline.. King's response wasn't thoughtful or relative at all...

[@More_Row]

what @@SFFireSoul

[@texanperry]

I agree and my comment touched on that too.

[@jarcuuuble5819]

people read horror for the same thing they read crime. the macabre brings out a human emotion and explores themes people are interested in. people read love, mystery, scifi, it all plays on a human emotion. horror is no different.

[@Saboo27]

Man no wonder podcasts have taken over. This interview was far more interesting and informative than any late night tv interview we get these days.

[@rae-everything]

And, more interesting than the vast majority of podcasts.

[@signoguns8501]

You can only work with what youve got. American popular culture isnt what it was back in the cold war era. Its deteriorated pretty dramatically, just over the last 10 years or so. All weve got now are Superhero movies and gangster rap. Lots and lots and lots of superhero movies and gangster rap. You could include stuff like podcasts and youtube commentary videos too i guess, but that just emphasises how far its declined lol. Who can talk show hosts even interview nowdays? Takeshi69? Jenna marbles? Biden and Trump? Hasan piker? lol. See what i mean? Theres really not a lot going on anymore. Not much of anything to work with. Social medias the big thing now, politics, too....not artistic media like movies, books, music etc.

[@audreymuzingo933]

@@signoguns8501 Pretty much agree but gangster rap was basically over by 2000, becoming something even more socially destructive and just plain garbage to the ears, musically-speaking.

[@signoguns8501]

@@audreymuzingo933 Yea, agree. I used to like rap, people ike Dre and Snoop and wutang... Kool Keith... I loved alI loved that stuff back in the day. But that was back when rap was one genre among many. Music as an art form was still insanely diverse and energetic and alive, with new genres and movements coming up every 2/3 years. Totally different now. Gangster rap is the only music genre left, there hasnt been a popular new music genre in over a decade. And tbh, I think the gang affiliation and criminal lifestyle is much more important to the fans today than the music is. The music is secondary, if tht.

[@Amoraszune]

Except Colbert.

[@kreion]

you can tell he's a writer by the way he talks, he's not wasting any words and knows exactly what to say without hesitation

[@Absurdword]

I was thinking the same thing. Not just well spoken, but an effective, colorful communicator.

[@enneff]

They also agree on the set of questions beforehand. Not to diminish King’s clarity of thought.

[@TonyEnglandUK]

_"I'd given Stanley Kubrick a live grenade and he'd heroically threw his body on it."_

[@TheArtofGuitar]

The art of being succinct.

[@Mic-Mak]

I hear you, but I have to disagree. Don't get me wrong, King is a very compelling speaker who uses his words wisely. But if there is one thing I have learned is that speaking and writing are not the same skill. Just because you're good at one, doesn't mean you're good at the other. I used to assume that brilliant writers must all be great speakers, but it's not the case. What I mean by that is that, I have often been kind of disappointed when an author I know to be super eloquent in his writing, is not as eloquent when he speaks. That's partly because they take time to come up with cool lines, but also because speaking is a skill in itself. On the flip side, I've often been shocked at seeing people who openly admit they don't read, and yet are such compelling speakers. That is very common, too. A lot of KZbinrs are fantastic speakers, but are not necessarily well-read.

[@PhilipOMeara]

I worked with Stephen recently. When asked about the passing of time he said: "Yesterday I was 16, today I'm 76." 'Nuff said!

[@D3cyTH3r]

That may well be the scariest thing he's ever said or written...

[@edg531]

My mother used to say, “The days go slowly, but the years fly by.” Boy was she right!

[@Robert-zx2ir]

I’m amazed when I go back and watch interviews from older talk shows, because it’s more quiet and the celebrity hosts and celebrity guests actually engage in authentic conversation with pure respect.

[@steveg7066]

This should be a master class in interviewing and interviews. Both Dave and Stephen did an excellent job. Dave did a great job asking relevant questions and keeping him engaged. Stephen answered the questions well and quick

[@JamesSpeiser]

agreed

[@rickallen9099]

Other than a random, vague comment about Kubrick and a grenade, he doesn't actually explain what he didn't like about The Shining movie. Disappointing.

[@srldwg]

​@@rickallen9099There was limited time😢

[@dj-VOME]

He literally introduced the novel (holding it in his hands) as The Firestarter. During the interview he picks the book up and once more refers to it as The Firestarter.

[@S5000Krad]

@@rickallen9099 I think he didn't like that the movie didn't go as the material he wrote. Kubrick on purpose changed some things. Like the color of a car that Jack drives in the beginning. But man, I would be grateful if someone made a movie like that, based on my material.

[@suzannefarrington4143]

Dave did a creditable job here, asking interesting questions, letting the guest answer. He seems to have come full circle.

[@ObamaFromKenya]

@suzannefarrington4143 now he’s a guest on the Barbara Gaines show

[@DrVVVinK]

​@@ObamaFromKenyahe also has his Netflix show. What people need to remember though when he was doing both Late Night and Late Show, they were meant to be the Anti-Talk show, making fun of the format. That's why, partially when it came to celebrities like Paris Hilton, he would ask them questions to purposely annoy them, the "why are you here..why are you so famous". However if someone interested Dave he always had interviews like this. Look at his interview with the kid who caught Mark McGwire that was recently posted, or any time he had Dave Grohl on the show or Michael J Fox. Same. Great interviewing. Then you had Justin Bieber, eye roll please.

[@cable7152]

It's Letterman, he's one of the best, it's no surprise how well he does here.

[@jukesjointOG]

This was the daytime show; a bit of a different vibe from the later NBC and CBS shows.

[@suzannefarrington4143]

@@DrVVVinK And those like Marilyn Vos Savant, which just made him look like a sexist a’hole. The celebrities you mentioned happened to be men. 😐

[@WordUnheard]

The idea for a new novel King was talking about at the end was IT. King began writing it in the same year this interview took place, and took him five years to complete. The Stand and IT are two of the best works of fiction I've ever read in my life.

[@9cloudrachel207]

Agreed. It is so fuc*ing deep. Touching on the fears we have about life itself- losing our childhood, the movement and changes of time. I’m in love with his mind. It’s more than genius.

[@davidlamb1981]

Roadwork, Danse Macabre and Cujo all came out the year after Firestarter. I’m curious why you say he was speaking of IT?

[@davidlamb1981]

I, too, believe The Stand and IT are his best work.

[@Wuchtamsel]

Then you didn't read much at all...

[@jclyntoledo]

That's so weird, I thought his best book was 11.23.63 with The shining come in on the top 5

[@achillesrossberg6652]

He looked like a dr Seuss character 😂

[@AthelstanKing]

still does

[@danielswan2358]

Oh, my goodness, you're right

[@KidSixXx]

What a class act. It is no secret that King did not care for Kubrick's changes to the story or Nicholson's casting, but King does not skewer anyone on live television and keeps his harsher criticisms to himself.

[@TheLoveThief-fk2nn]

i understand there are aspects of the movie he did not like but his disdain for the movie that eveyone talks about is not shown here. do you know where i can read a transcript or if there is an interview where he expresses this opinion?

[@bandit7498]

@@TheLoveThief-fk2nnThe answer is probably no. Read between the lines of this person’s comment; they say it’s no secret of his disdain for the movie, yet says King keeps his opinions to himself. I mean……..

[@Tusc9969]

@@TheLoveThief-fk2nn It's not shown here because in this kind of public setting certain ppl are capable of being classy instead of being rude or disagreeable about others'work. However there have been MANY less formal interviews, articles etc where King was more open,expressive and detailed about the film. *It's cold, I’m not a cold guy. I think one of the things people relate to in my books is this warmth, there’s a reaching out and saying to the reader, ‘I want you to be a part of this.’ With Kubrick’s The Shining I felt that it was very cold, very ‘We’re looking at these people, but they’re like ants in an anthill, aren’t they doing interesting things, these little insects* In regards to Jack Nicholson, He didn't really seem to care for Jack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack either: *Jack Torrance in the movie, seems crazy from the jump. Jack Nicholson, I’d seen all his biker pictures in the ’50s and ’60s and I thought, he’s just channeling The Wild Angels here* *Shelley Duvall as Wendy is really one of the most misogynistic characters ever put on film, she’s basically just there to scream and be stupid and that’s not the woman that I wrote about*

[@TheLoveThief-fk2nn]

@@Tusc9969 ah i see. yeah that all makes sense to me. Thanks i appreciate you taking the time to fill me in.

[@SisyphusMyth]

I remember him saying at one time that he didn't like Nicholson being cast as Jack since the book presents the character as relatively normal, but he becomes more and more unhinged the longer he lives in the hotel. He said that as soon as you see Nicholson at the beginning, it's already obvious he is borderline nuts.

[@scott7521]

Little did we know at the time that Bill Cosby was scarier than any Stephen King novel.

[@underakillingmoon]

My thoughts exactly.

[@alexiskobalt7450]

If you have to endure King's blathering on Twitter, you might think differently. King is inflicting pain on millions versus the dozens of victims on the Cosby side.

[@TRICH10]

Cosby is the tip of the iceberg…Hollywood in the 70s was a diabolical sinister place behind the scenes

[@DMaria216]

So weird hearing him referenced back then or seeing him on old tv shows…like what a wolf in sheeps clothing

[@brandonkashinsky9222]

Yep

[@chriscox5831]

This was from the very brief morning show Letterman did in 1980 on NBC. It was a revelation for me as a kid. I’d never seen any thing like it, and I was captivated by the unique sensibility that Letterman was still crafting at that point. It was cancelled after 6 months or so, but as you see here, the man was just a born broadcaster. The comedy bits he did on this show were like previews of the stuff he would do a couple years later when he got Late Night.

[@marvinjones4415]

I remember Good Morning with David Letterman as well and liking it a lot as a 13 year old back in the Summer of 80. Although the only skit-like thing I can remember is when he once came out floating on wires.

[@EmpyreanLightASMR]

Thank you. I was skipping forward to get to the interview and thought to myself, "Did I just hear him say good morning?" Wild. I never knew.

[@gswithen]

I remember Edwin Newman doing the news.

[@Gggmanlives]

Love when he casually talks about working on Creepshow with Romero

[@lukefarness4593]

It’s refreshing how respectful and well mannered interviews used to be. Stephen even bothered to say excuse me after clearing his throat.

[@RaptorFromWeegee]

Yes, I feel like we've lost something

[@ronfroehlich4697]

Our culture is swirling around a toilet bowl that empties into Hell

[@sstills951]

@@ronfroehlich4697 Haha holy smokes. Sad but true.

[@kelammo]

@@RaptorFromWeegeea lot of somethings, sadly. I adore SK

[@kelammo]

@@ronfroehlich4697yep and the folks flushing it currently are some RW politicians and then social “influencers”. That shouldn’t even be a thing.

[@ISEEKSPACE]

Very witty, smart, articulate guy. Great writer. Love writers they have such an interesting way of looking at and explaining things.

[@inoderlulzer5163]

You mean, romantic ones?

[@inoderlulzer5163]

​@@jimdandy8686what did you just say, .....??!!

[@hotdog9262]

@@jimdandy8686 large nostrils ey

[@sonja9813]

That's the beauty of the writer's mind, the ability to see the minutest details and communicate the importance thereof. Or something.

[@jonedepth9164]

I kind of can't look at him the same because of that IT ending.

[@AlmostEthical]

Great to see a respectful interview with no attempt at muck-raking, trickery or judgement. Just good questions and interesting answers. Wish there was more of it today.

[@brettwalker5446]

What a thoughtful, insightful interview with one of my favorite authors. And to think it happened on David Letterman's short-lived morning show. Thank god for video tape and KZbin!!!

[@Avalorama]

It's a serious interview! And very good! Letterman actually took Stephen King seriously.

[@WintersWar]

back when I liked letterman.

[@Eric_In_SF]

What does that even mean? He actually took him seriously? Firstly, Letterman took every guest seriously except for about four a year when somebody was clearly running an act like Andy Kaufman, or harmony, Karin, or Joaquin phoenix, when he was a rapper Not to mention almost everyone takes Stephen king seriously when the interview him. Go back to Venus or whatever planet you’re from

[@Avalorama]

@@Eric_In_SF I've seen interviews of writers by Letterman, and they weren't like this, because he pushed the writer for humor. You can even perceive in this one Letterman's ironic edge, but he restrains himself with King. That's all I meant. I like this interview.

[@TheKnives777]

You can say what you want about David letterman, but the man always respected very talented people when he had them on his show

[@WintersWar]

@@TheKnives777 Always? Look up Oliver Reed.

[@johnpeace971]

I'm absolutely stunned that this clip exists, and not in a 5th gen VHS version either! The least disparaging King ever was about The Shining

[@daveidmarx8296]

It had only come out a few months earlier at this point. Maybe it took a while to build up his animosity towards it. 😅

[@jedijones]

Haha, I was going to say the same thing. I’ve never seen him say so many good things about The Shining. At this time, it wasn’t popular with the critics either, so he was basically just agreeing with the general mixed reviews here.

[@rabidfollower]

This likely came from the original NBC studio tape (which the people of this channel have access to). But sometimes even the original tapes could look lousy if they were not properly preserved.

[@gordons-alive4940]

I think he was a little more diplomatic about the Shining while Kubrick was alive.

[@chriszimmerman1599]

@@gordons-alive4940could just be monetary. Don’t talk bad about a production a few months after release if you want to do business with that studio again.

[@HowTo4Uvideos]

Two of my favorite people having a conversation. Awesome.

[@USAPethead]

It's really awesome that this channel includes stuff from all of his shows and not just the lane night stuff! This channel is a real treasure trove.

[@codythomas1450]

Its amazing how Stephen King can talk about his life and his career and make it seem like a best selling novel. Stephen King is the goat in writing horror. So well spoken and a razor sharp wit.

[@elmoblatch9787]

Way way way beyond horror.

[@codythomas1450]

@@elmoblatch9787 yes sir then it's Dean Koontz

[@DrFunk-rk6yl]

​@elmoblatch9787 you honestly believe that he is better than Poe and Lovecraft?

[@griplimit]

@@DrFunk-rk6ylI thing fifty or a hundred years from now Steven King will be looked as being one of the greatest and be on the Mt. Rushmore of horror along with Poe and Lovecraft

[@DrFunk-rk6yl]

@@griplimit I agree. I just don't think Koontz is on that level.

[@mkelly534]

I read Stephen King's book on writing and it was so good. The first half was a semi biography and the second half was about the nuts and bolts of writing. Any aspiring writers out there would be well served to buy and read it. One of the funniest things was when his agent called to tell him that his book Carrie was sold at auction for $5 million dollars and he was at home alone. He wanted to celebrate but his wife was out and it was a Sunday evening and all the stores were closed. I think he ended up buying a hair dryer for his wife

[@jamaldominicbarr7379]

What stays with me to this very day from his book On Writing, even decades later since I read it, is for one to write a million words to be a competent or fair writer. Not a good one, or a great one, but a competent one. I do hope I'm At the very least competent. And Storm of the Century is his best work ever!

[@gmancolo]

How to Write: Do lots of cocaine.

[@SleezeJest]

GREAT book about writing. Which is weird, because I when I revisit a lot of old King books, they aren't as well written as I remembered.

[@bobbyweezer]

Yeah and he actively disparages outlining/plotting/planning your narrative, which I think is very bad advice. On Writing is otherwise excellent though.

[@azap1378]

We read it for my creative writing class, which i always found funny because the book basically says that both books about writing and classes about writing are not the greatest way to go about learning to write.

[@RedfishCarolina]

I'm legitimately touched by his story where he said his wife would say "hurry up and think of a monster" when the bills came due. I don't know much about their marriage but that sounds like a wife who respects and appreciates her husband.

[@KalvinEllis]

Which would explain why they've been married for 52 years.

[@30seconds2impact]

I think people in those days were just more pragmatic, blunt, and down to earth in how they communicated.

[@teefarox92]

If it wasn’t in the title and he hadn’t been introduced, I never would have recognised that as Stephen King. Wow. He is so articulate and funny. One of my favourite authors too. Terrifyingly brilliant. I don’t read to many of his books because they draw me in and I can’t put them down, so I need a lot of time that I don’t have. Wish I could read a lot more though. I respect this man so much. Such a great old interview to watch. Thankyou for adding it.

[@tootz1950]

Read as much as you want. It's one of the more delicious things we can do in this life.

[@bobschenkel7921]

Actually met Stephen King at a Gary Hart rally of all places in 1984. I had my paperback copy of "Firestarter", and a pen with me, and I got Mr. King to sign it for me. Now it is one of my most prized possessions. Mr. King was very generous to do that for me.

[@wilmcl9209]

Thats what he was there to do

[@mikeg2491]

⁠​⁠​⁠@@wilmcl9209he was at a political rally to sign autographs?

[@alexmclaughlin9033]

@@mikeg2491lol

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

Heh, Gary Hart. It's amazing what people thought was a scandal that could ruin a person politically back then compared to now.

[@daveidmarx8296]

Stephen King always struck me as a guy who'd be really decent to his fans in chance encounters such as this. Great story, man.

[@riverraisin1]

That was a fascinating interview. So interesting getting into the head of someone like Stephen King and him being so open to great questions.

[@sscamaro9144]

I love Stephen King! I’ve read many of his novels, and there is just something about the way he writes, that keeps you hooked to the story, and hard to put the book down. Truly a legend in American literature.

[@lahtiman8141]

No. Heis boring.

[@lennertcornette]

Yes, for young people who have the attention span of a goldfish he is boring. People need constant bleeps and notifications from their smartphones now. I only found Bag of Bones and Dreamcatcher boring.@@lahtiman8141

[@robh7800]

@@lahtiman8141🐢

[@emu314159]

There's a difference between a storyteller, even a good one like Jeffrey Archer, and a real writer. Of course he goes into it more formally in On Writing, but in Misery you get a sense of what it's like, a "hole in the paper into which you fall," and characters that take on lives of their own. Ideas that come to you and demand to be written. Every true writer has that as an answer to "where do you get your ideas." King has always been so frightening to me because of his ability to evoke something so awful, but then go on to describe a setting that is basically the same as your kitchen.

[@sathira_anuk5179]

​@@lahtiman8141you're in the minority 😅 He's not boring at all

[@isaacgraham5727]

Great interview all-around. And Stephen King really is a great guy - he was actually my neighbor for about a decade when I was growing up, my family had a summer house next-door to his on Kezar Lake, in a town of about 700 people. He was always a very cool and friendly and chill guy, his wife was very nice too.

[@SuperCallum112]

Amazing! Which decade was that?

[@isaacgraham5727]

@@SuperCallum112 That was from around 1995 through 2004 or so that I was spending most of my summers up there regularly, though my family kept the house until around 2009 or so - a lot of us lucky upper-middle class folk with second homes had to sell them to keep afloat around that time, I'd imagine. We were living there when he got hit by the van, for instance - and before that happened we'd drive by him on these walks he'd take along the road in the late morning/early afternoon practically every other day, and I even remember us joking more than once about hitting Stephen King and how awful it would be! We'd see him all the time at the local diner, too, sitting in the booth behind us or something. Everyone in town was always cool and chill around him, and knew to treat him like any other random guy around town, which was clearly what he wanted. Before the accident he'd always drive a beat-up pickup truck, for instance.

[@SuperCallum112]

@@isaacgraham5727 Wow, so he was already a super popular author by then, what a great story!

[@michaelabercrombie7698]

My third grade teacher was named Tabitha King

[@marksavage2310]

I used to live in Stoneham. Spent a lot of time in Lovell, Norway, Greenwood and that whole area. Are you familiar with Evergreen Valley, the abandoned resort?

[@diddyKite2010]

I never knew Stephen was so erudite and witty. A great character.

[@johnbarber7952]

40 years later.... ☠️

[@emremokoko]

so nice to watch to two intelligent people having an interesting conversation.

[@gswithen]

I'm glad to see you have the rights to the morning shows. We purchased our first VCR in 1980 so I could tape the show and watch it when I got home from school. I wish I had kept all those episodes. I have a ton of stuff from the Late Night show. We had two VCRs by then. 😊

[@Redmenace96]

One interesting comment from King: I didn't go to the market, the market came to me. He barely made a living writing until he was well-past 30. He was writing his great stories, but nobody paid him any mind (or money). Publishers, and the People found him. He never pandered to the market. I believe, Carrie, was his first sold novel. Then, he had many other stories/novel already written. They sold like hotcakes, and people thought Mr. King was churning out books. No. He had them all written, and waiting.

[@dagnabbit6187]

@Redmenace96 I think the age was 25 not well past thirty . He received 400 thousand deal to paperback rights for Carrie which wound up being split 50 50 with his hardback publisher . The Shining was his first hardback bestseller to make the New York Times list and of course it caught the attention of Stanley Kubrick . Stephen King was then making good enough money to quit his teaching day job . Of course his earnings weren’t the mega bucks he later got as he kept churning out one classic after the other but with some dreck here and there . He is only human.

[@nychris2258]

Well he was 33 when he did this interview so Im not sure Id say well past 30... he was certainly making a living before this. "Carrie" was a best seller in 1975... and made into a movie a year later.

[@joshwhipkey631]

King movies are famously hit or miss. I still can’t believe what they did to “The Dark Tower”. Wow.

[@zp9dy3]

In a positive or negative light?

[@brianmeen2158]

Agree. Many of Kings movies are either barely average or just bad. There’s a couple great ones though . His writing is legendary though

[@kelammo]

@@brianmeen2158I think it’s because when we read a book, we create the visual. We fill in details. In a movie or show, they’re presenting a very specific image of a character. The Dark Tower series shouldn’t be done unless it’s going to be presented in full, over multiple seasons in a series. A 2 hour movie can’t include the important stuff of a book. Often it misses the heart of the story as well.

[@daveidmarx8296]

I loved 1408. It didn't quite capture all of the oddness of the story, but it got most of it right. John Cusack and Samuel Jackson were both fantastic in it.

[@michellerever3564]

Looks like Mike Flanagan might be adapting it. The movie wasted Idris Elba.

[@dean-ph2ww]

I remember when Firestarter was a new book. I had only been a Stephen King fan for about 3 years but I had read all of his books at the time. I remember thinking I wish there was more Stephen King books to read. The last time I could claim I read all of his books was in 1988. I remember seeing a cartoon in the newspaper, A man is reading a big book that has Stephen King on the spine and his wife says "Maybe you should hold it. If you use the bathroom Stephen King will probably have two new books by the time you're done."

[@Xeynixias]

Great interview on both of their behalves. Really enjoyed this.

[@fud1238]

The Salem's Lot miniseries scared me almost more than anything when i was young. That kid at the window scene kept me up many nights.

[@jasonlawson8980]

oh god lol...me too! all of it was extra scary to me, more than anything else I can remember

[@prc85040]

And when the Vampire came in the kitchen and killed the boys parents by banging their heads together--scared me

[@Chugins]

He was very prepared for all these questions in the typical talk show sense, but I really enjoyed all of his responses.

[@kelammo]

Back when daytime interviews were exchanging information for an audience. Not the drama filled, bs gotcha moments we have now. I can’t stand daytime tv or reality Tv- with 2 exceptions. And they aren’t scripted bs.

[@maelynnwolertz4398]

I like this. Video from 1980? It is nice to see things from “back in the day.” I show my kid things from my youth to show her how things were partially because I used to wonder how things were for my parents when they were young. And…as far as “from my youth”->I would have been about 3 years old when this originally came out. There is something touching about recognizing the passage of time & having a feel for both what was & what is. I am grateful that this was shared. Thank you for sharing this with us. 😊

[@melvert33]

Great to hear him talk about doing Creepshow with Romero before it happened, just thinking about his hilarious role in that film!

[@jamessalyers5906]

Great interview. Two of the best doing what they do best. Classic.

[@De_liebste_un_beste_Mensch]

What a class act he is. Sharp, intelligent and very polite.

[@rodneywk1]

Except for his TDS… too bad, really. Great writer, lefty lunatic.

[@WhiskeyChildRecords]

This is a great Stephen King interview! David and Stephen both do a fantastic job! Trey:)

[@mark11967AD]

That was a great interview. David showed his intelligence and journalistic chops there. Interesting to see how personalities change and evolve. Something appealing about the modesty of youth.

[@sacha4566]

Well said

[@SRX2004]

I agree but just wish he didn't say "The" Firestarter. It's just Firestarter. I have the original hardback and the cover art is amazing.

[@Digibullet32]

I never knew this letterman existed…..this was so good

[@ownedbymykitty270]

Todays youth don’t seem modest to me. I think it was more about the way people were back then regardless of age. This was a long time ago.

[@playedout148]

@@ownedbymykitty270 boomers were always horrible.

[@eezyclsmooth9035]

Two very young men. Dave's very first show (Daytime Television). Much later in life both of these guys would receive an insane amount of Awards and Honors!

[@scottystcloud7086]

And wealth. SK is worth north of $500MM and DL is just fine. Both of them are flawed men but they added something to society and were rewarded for it.

[@brianmeen2158]

I had no Idea that Dave did daytime television lol

[@brianmeen2158]

@@scottystcloud7086it’s amazing that King is still putting out stories - his mind must be full of nightmares 🤣

[@allendracabal0819]

​@@scottystcloud7086If you consider both of them flawed men, then nearly every adult man on the planet is flawed.

[@christoffesedao3579]

@@brianmeen2158The daytime show was short lived. Just a few months. But Late Night started not long after.

[@ElGatoGator]

He is one of my all time fav. Discovered him with " It " when i was 13, and it is still my favourite book. Tks for all your work man 🙏

[@AskJoe]

Keep in mind that this interview was just a few months after The Shining was released, so he held back on some of his real feelings about the movie. I read the book and didn't see the film until many years later and when I finally saw it I understood exactly why he didn't like it. If you base your opinion on the film itself, it's a masterpiece of horror cinema, but if you judge it as an adaptation, the changes to the ending were completely unnecessary. I absolutely prefer the way the book ended.

[@maleitch]

And that is why Kubrick's works will be studied for generations and King will be relegated to comic books without pictures.

[@arthurguilherme3358]

@@maleitch lol, King is one of the most influential writers of the modern times, his work is already being study by lots of people and will continue to be just like Kubrick

[@maleitch]

@@arthurguilherme3358 None of his literature will ever be considered a classic. No serious literature class studies King, but considering the laughable and embarrassing farce that is higher education today, I am sure he is being studied along with marvel movies.

[@arthurguilherme3358]

@@maleitchNah, no actual reason to argue with you, comparing Stephen King with marvel movies💀💀💀💀💀💀

[@seanpittaway5341]

King and kubrick are allowed to disagree, book and film are very different and work very differently, king and cubrick are both great, both will be remembered, your comment won't 👍

[@insightful_fairy8743]

This guy is a genius ! He’s wrote more books than I’ve wrote shopping lists 😅😂

[@dcmastermindfirst9418]

Written*

[@HughMorristheJoker]

A lot of his books read like shopping lists

[@charlenemack7040]

Just an FYI… Stephen King turned 75 a few weeks ago. Still making millions and millions of dollars. And he is still giving millions and millions to his various charities, I should say Steven and his wife are giving to charities.

[@DalePepin-ph7vb]

I had also just left the comment about him being 75 years old and he is still going strong I see all these stories posted on Google and they are all about him or with him in it and or his books and movies especially now during the the Halloween season

[@sandyunderpants4376]

he's an imbecile, if you read his tweets.

[@dbadagna]

Great interview. I used to watch Letterman's late night show later in the 1980s, but never saw his morning show until now. The video quality is great for this having been filmed in 1980. I wonder what exactly King didn't like about Kubrick's film version of "The Shining" (which had just come out a few months before this interview).

[@xmemegodx]

Stephens face is scarier than any story he could possibly produce

[@shannonblanchard8195]

People say I’m crazy that I used to watch David letterman during the day with my grandmother!!! Told ya!! Thanks for showing us this episode with my fave Stephen King!!!

[@jonaltschuler8034]

I used to watch Dave when I was a kid and absolutely loved his show. Stephen King is one of my favorites and this was a great conversation ❤️

[@a.e.jabbour5003]

Good, engaging interview. That was a joy to watch.

[@blakespower]

you could tell he rehearsed it though, its like he is reading a book, Dave's interviews were less spontaneous in his early career

[@colinmacvicar2507]

Two legends. What a great interview.

[@joegolfer9372]

I'll never get the chance to shake your hand, sir. But the first book I read as a young adult, was Salems lot. Thank you sir, for all your fantastic books!

[@JelloFluoride]

If you WROTE the story, you can spoil the end if you want to. This man is a rockstar.

[@b.hornetiii.6771]

@jimdandy8686 So what. Nothing extra comes from normal.

[@BaddogSports]

5:35 pretty sure he’s talking about “Creepshow” (1982). One of my favorite horror films of all time!

[@DeathmetalPersian]

I hate when people say Stephen hated the shining movie in passing, when he really didn't he gave a really honest and reasonable opinion.

[@hraith]

I was pleasantly surprised at the interesting questions Dave asked, and thoughtful answers King gave.

[@DamnedXtians]

I read The Shining in '79 as a kid and was so enthralled by it that I went on to read every book King wrote until Needful Things (some 30 books or so) in my 20s. I then had to stop. I had become so used to his style & prose that I became too comfortable and familiar with it all. Hard to believe he's written just as many (if not more) books since then.

[@mournblade1066]

He came back with a vengeance with Bag of Bones, which was truly frightening at times. Also, The Dark Tower series is magnificent.

[@coinraker6497]

Yeah I started reading King books as a young teen. My first three were Christine, Pet Sematary and The Shining in that order. All three scared the shyt out of me. I read and enjoyed many more of his books but they started having less and less of an effect on me as I got used to his style. As far as The Shining movie goes, King should stick to writing and leave movie making to masters like Kubrick. King's The Shining mini-series was an absolute joke.

[@LichenAndMoss]

Do you mean too comfortable as in it felt predictable? Or like you had gotten too obsessed? Something else?

[@justaguy2365]

Check out 11/22/63.

[@YesOkayButWhy]

@@coinraker6497 Do you mean less of an effect as in it felt predictable? Or like you had gotten too obsessed? Something else?

[@brianmeen2158]

This is great. Stephen king is legendary and I’m reading Christine right now. There will never be another writer that matches him - it’s so weird seeing him younger looking here lol

[@tomlund4951]

Great book! Hearts in Atlantis is phenomenal also…. Check it out if you haven’t.

[@Wildstar40]

I read it 30 years ago. The book is quite different from the movie but still very good.

[@ThouSwell-zx3fd]

Christine is an awesome book. Have you read Pet Semetary?

[@chatteyj]

@@ThouSwell-zx3fd Pet cemetary was the first ever novel I read as a child, it scared the hell out of me.

[@ThouSwell-zx3fd]

@@chatteyj It is the ultimate page turner, almost impossible to set down.

[@DelKshares]

He was promoting his book Firestarter. I'm pleased because this is my favourite Stephen King novel ever. The most underrated masterpiece.

[@welsh-3286]

thankyou for showing this interview

[@eldergods]

This is from Letterman's morning show (before he had his nighttime gig). I was at this taping with several friends. SK was signing books afterward at Doubleday. I had all of his books in hardcover, Carrie right up to Firestarter. This was 8-18-1980. He signed and dated all seven books.

[@DrizzyDefenseForce]

Awesome story!

[@melondonkey]

Do you know what book he’s referencing when he says he’s working on one now?

[@DrizzyDefenseForce]

@melondonkey someone in another comment said he would have been writing Cujo around this time.

[@chatteyj]

@@DrizzyDefenseForce And is cujo a stand out book of Kings? I've not heard much about it.

[@DrizzyDefenseForce]

@chatteyj idk I haven't actually read much of King, I'm just very familiar with the movies based on his stories. I liked Cujo but I haven't seen it since I was a kid.

[@kstepko]

Finally watched “Pet Sematary” this past weekend; interesting premise, but I couldn’t help but think of Herman Munster every time Fred Gwynne came on screen.

[@phillipbarker4757]

Pet Sematary was a fantastic book which didn’t transfer well to a movie. Too many of the critical parts of the book took place inside the main character’s mind. I don’t see how you transfer that to the screen.

[@sstills951]

That was the problem with poor Fred Gwynnes career. The guy graduated Harvard, had serious theater experience but his career in television and/or the movies suffered because everybody always thought of him as Herman Munster. His career picked up somewhat in the 90s though. I just watched a short documentary on him here on KZbin. Check it out, it's interesting.

[@artlover1477]

​@@sstills951Yeah always small supporting roles such as Secret Of My Success, Fatal Attraction etc. It was nice that he got a great character to play In My Cousin Vinnie.

[@ricomajestic]

Herman Munster was both a blessing and a curse for Fred Gwynne. He was great in both Pet Sematary and My Cousin Vinny! I never saw Herman Munster in those movies but a fantastic actor who never got the credit he deserved from the critics but loved by kids and those young at heart.

[@CoffeeWithFred]

Super enjoyable interview. Why are talk shows now so hard to watch?

[@mafia6330]

That was good. Great questions asked even greater answers given. True to themselves no flashy gimmicks nothing exaggerated to capture our attentions. Just good clean conversation

[@merrywissemes]

Man, too bad you don’t see interviews like this much anymore.

[@ottobaron6392]

I can understand King's not being too happy with the film version of "The Shining", despite how much I liked it. The story was very personal to him, and as entertaining as Jack Nicholson was as Jack Torrance, there was no decent into madness, with Jack. Nicholson's Jack was pretty much crazy throughout the film. Stephen Weber was much closer in his portrayal of Jack Torrance in the TV miniseries that King was involved in.

[@bradencampbell464]

I've seen that take before, and I agree. The miniseries did do a better job making Jack Torrance an actual character, one that evolves as the story unfolds. Kubricks Torrance is more of a slasher villian - it's clear there is something wrong with Jack from day one. At the same time, I like the Kubrick movie better overall. It had better atmosphere and most everything besides Jack was flushed out better.

[@bard6184]

The book is great, the movie is great, but they are two different stories.

[@Pumpkineata1]

I have said this so many times and been laughed at! But the mini series was just loyal to the book . I don't mind that its a little cheesy sometimes or didn't age well. I love the book so much, its hard for me to prefer anything that strays too far from it.

[@pasikymalainen7478]

Movie is a movie, book is a book.. Writers don´t understant it.

[@chatteyj]

@@pasikymalainen7478 I think they probably do, its probably more a case of directors not understanding the source material properly.

[@djdonald243]

Brian De Palma's Carrie was so good that he probably had too high expectations for other adaptations of his novels.

[@jlouis4407]

Absolute masterpiece

[@palpatine152]

Why does Stephen King look like the Grinch

[@tcara11]

You mean the grinch looks like Stephen King.

[@vozpit]

What a great interview. King seems like a great guy!

[@boxlessthinker1973]

And I wish I could watch Letterman today. He and Carson were great!

[@Veritas-Vincit]

Was, perhaps. He really seems like a loon these days, sadly

[@travisketchum5223]

King's hair in this interview is fantastic! Everyone needs to pick up Holly, his new book--great read!

[@karenwalter1417]

Have loved King for decades. & this maybe the best interview I've seen Letterman do. He kept it all about S.K., & did not impose his own 'humor' & 2 cents into the allotted time for this segment.

[@chrishamilton1189]

Dave says he doesnt look like a creeper? Are you kidding, This guy looks like the main charater in all his books

[@moviesgalore9947]

Dave's Morning Show was great we need to see all the episodes on here.

[@KTChu-be7bk]

Very few talk shows have such interviews with depth. These old talk shows interviews are great. I guess it's the sign of the times.

[@WhatHaveIMade]

Back then Dave's show was daytime talk. A very different format.

[@bmxracinginjapan]

This was a really, really good interview

[@leighhardstaff3070]

Dave seemed genuinely interested in his books, I think that's what made this such a good interview.

[@nicholasnicou2598]

Watching this interview, you can clearly tell that this man is a genius.

[@williamgullett5911]

A weird one

[@nicholasnicou2598]

@@williamgullett5911 There was never a genius without a tincture of madness' ~Aristotle

[@williamgullett5911]

@@nicholasnicou2598 King isn’t crazy, just weird

[@colorfulbleeding]

but his political views are dum

[@Rob-dp3vr]

Overuse of the term "genius". He's a good horror writer. That's it.

[@scottystcloud7086]

The book he's working on that "could be a real screamer"? Cujo.

[@sstills951]

I was looking for this answer. Cujo scared me when I was a kid. Not enough to fear dogs though.

[@rickdesper]

Great book, very disappointing movie.

[@rebeccatregellas4004]

That interview was total quality entertainment and was somewhat nostalgic. 😢 Dave Letterman wasn’t over the top or overly load and Stephen would’ve only been in his mid 20’s with 3 young kids talking about Jack Nicholsons first big roles in the Shinning which in many ways is still horrifying today. Thanks Stephen for helping us all to remember that most of the time our lives are worthwhile. Happy Halloween a 👻🎃📚📓👀🧠⛓️👹🤡🩸😈🎃😱🦈🐊☠️🪦

[@71Bopper]

As an “Avid reader “ myself I would love this to have been a much larger & longer interview. I don’t know why it bothers me so much that Dave keeps referring to the book title as The Fire starter rather than just Fire Starter, but it does!! 😂😮

[@pipermccool]

This made me twitch! 😉

[@rickdff62]

Yeah, but I give SK props for not correcting him in the moment. SK is the type of guy if someone invites him into their home he doesn't kick their dog. Class.

[@danman6669]

Constant Reader. At least that's what King calls his readers.

[@stormstudios8281]

What a super interesting introspective man at this point in his life. Thanks for posting this amazing clip! His comment on Kubrik was poignant and caught me off-guard! Loved hearing it and seeing it out of his mouth. Fun!

[@casfin]

Great interview with thoughtful questions.

[@crazyaces4042]

wow Stephen talking about the scene in Carrie brings back memories! I was so scared of that movie I had run out of the walk in theater and my best friend and a friend of hers came out to get me. The friend said she had seen the movie and nothing else scary was going to happen.. so I reluctantly went back inside. I wouldn't get any closer than the back wall of the theater and sat on the floor with my "friends." When Amy Irving went to the grave and bent down and that hand came up I TOTALLY FREAKED OUT! I was so ANGRY at the girl who said nothing else would happen and all she did was laugh her ass off! @57 or so Stephen says "if you can get people with their defenses down, and get them in the open you can grab 'em and do a job on 'em!" WOW, SPOT ON as to what happened to me! The movie scene seemed so peaceful, Amy was outside during a gorgeous day with a pretty little dress nice music was playing and then she bends down to put flowers on the grave and then WHAM! I was terrified after this movie and had nightmares for a very very long time. I was only 15 and about Carrie's age, very sensitive and identified somewhat with her problems so yeah that movie in general haunted me for years! They remade it but it is nowhere near the original.. just stupid to me. My best friend LOVED horror movies and always talked me into going to see them as soon as they came out. We had seen a really gross scary movie called "The Brood" and when we were walking home in the darkness of night a dog suddenly charged a fence barking and both of us jumped out of our skins! WOW to be a teenager again.. then again.. no thanks! LOL tough times even if they were crazy fun times once in a while. There were SO MANY movies in the 70's and tons of them were horror movies. What a decade that was.

[@audreymuzingo933]

Man, it does me real good to see this. The Shining is my all time favorite movie, half because of the King story and half because of what Kubrick did with it. I'd always heard that King hated it, just despised it, and that always made me sad. I couldn't understand how he couldn't see at least _some_ artistic merit in it. -Now I see that he did in fact.

[@kelliatlarge]

They're both brilliant and work for their respective mediums imo. I think the best summation I've ever heard is "The best parts of the book are not in the movie, and the best parts of the movie are not in the book."

[@audreymuzingo933]

@@kelliatlarge Ooo I like that. Very true. I didn't read the book until I was in my late 20's, after already seeing the movie half a dozen times or so, and unfortunately with the notion in my head that King did not approve whatsoever, so I really had my guard up, and yet found the book truly brilliant. And that was indeed because of parts not in the movie, although I felt they were forgivable because they would have made the movie too long and/or couldn't be done well with 1980 tech (like the animated hedge animals -something I think would best be left out even now that it's possible, because they're conceptually terrifying but would look a bit silly visually -just me?). I still don't doubt one thing I've heard -that a major beef King had with the movie was that it didn't focus "enough" on Jack's alcoholism. To me Kubrick addressed it amply, and judging by movies King had more of a direct hand in, he would beat us over the head with the struggle between addiction and sobriety at any chance, bless his heart. 😆 For me the movie is "home," so much more than just the scariest horror movie ever; bizarrely it comforts me and though I didn't realize it at the time, seeing it as a little kid may have saved me in various ways. I was Danny's age when I saw it at the drive-in, because common sense about exposing such a young child to such a thing was an example of the skills laking in the wolves who raised me. They loved me very much but not very well, locked in perpetual adolescence by alcohol and substance addiction. There was plenty of violence, mostly between the two of them but occasionally lapping over to us kids, and I held underlying constant fear that it could be even more so, that we might end up chopped up bloody meat piles, like the scenes in Vietnam my dad had seen, or in the nightmares my mom had, which they both saw fit to describe to us. In short, I had already seen The Shining before I saw The Shining. But what I hadn't seen was how a tiny helpless kid could survive it. In Danny I saw such a person learn quickly to give up the automatic trust of parents so hardwired into every infant creature, in favor of an inner voice that knew better, knew when to embrace help from strangers, when to hide silently, and when to run, just run, get out.

[@kelliatlarge]

@@audreymuzingo933 I'm sorry you had to experience that as a child. I can 100% understand how Danny's survival would bring hope and comfort. Actually that reminds me of one of my favorite essays by G.K. Chesterton, called "The Red Angel." Quote: "Fairy tales, then, are not responsible for producing in children fear, or any of the shapes of fear; fairy tales do not give the child the idea of the evil or the ugly; that is in the child already, because it is in the world already. Fairy tales do not give the child his first idea of bogey. What fairy tales give the child is his first clear idea of the possible defeat of bogey. The baby has known the dragon intimately ever since he had an imagination. What the fairy tale provides for him is a St. George to kill the dragon." Look it up if you get a chance, the whole thing is worth reading.

[@audreymuzingo933]

@@kelliatlarge I WILL, thank you!

[@user-rz8bu6vl8x]

The shining still gives me nightmares!

[@fredsalter1915]

Mr. King's intellect is dominating even Dave in this interview! Thought that would never happen in this lifetime. PS- it's "Firestarter" not "The Firestarter"!!!!!

[@mikemason7422]

Adding the definite article must have had King cringing inside ha.

[@fredsalter1915]

@@mikemason7422 For sure! Dave did it in two different interviews separated by years! lol

[@Willy_Elres]

It was odd, I think he called it that three times - whilst holding a copy of the book! Perhaps he realised he'd made a mistake when he added the "The" first time and decided his best bet was to double down on it? Coincidentally, earlier this evening l watched The Mist: Lots to enjoy in the film, but I thought the ending really let it down.

[@BigBadJerryRogers]

That's how letterman talks. Hey congratulations Michael Richards on The Seinfeld, that's a great show.

[@AskJoe]

That's from his original MORNING SHOW... What a great throwback! That's why there's no band and a much smaller live audience.

[@D3cyTH3r]

Weekday morning show?

[@AskJoe]

@@D3cyTH3r Yes. I was a fan of the morning show because I was a huge Letterman fan from back when he was essentially Johnny Carson's favorite (and frequent) Guest Host. Unfortunately, I was still in school, so I was only able to watch it in the summer and on days off. This clip was from August, so I definitely saw it live. The morning show had a different vibe because typical viewers were housewives and retired people, but it was a great show.

[@D3cyTH3r]

@@AskJoeThanks! As a Brit I had no idea he started off doing daytime TV.

[@adrianbrowne7874]

Jack Nicholson was absolutely the right choice! His initially subdued yet ultimately manic portrayal, will be "forever etched in the memories of many"!!

[@thesadwolf]

I like how he references the movie Carrie even though he wrote the book.

[@mattdad8429]

It's been quite a long time since I've read it, but honestly I think that scene was made specific to the movie, which is one of the rare times a director has made a decision that King felt surpassed his own work. He was a big fan of what they did with the source material as I recall. Again, I could be wrong, but I don't think that was the original ending to the novel.

[@TheGatlinburgHussey]

I was on Pawn Stars 2 months ago with the King Autograph..*I didn't sell it ...I'm in Gatlinburg TN Smoky Mountains Park 🏞️

[@gagadreams]

Pretty insane that 44 years later he's still at the top when it comes to horror authors and still relevant as ever! Crazy! 🤯

[@Imnotplayinganymore]

As a child I waited with bated breath for every new SK novel. I was never disappointed and actually purposely read them slowly so they would last longer. I still have all those 1st editions and on a dark and rainy night I will often pull one out and spend the night reading it. Such great stories never lose their appeal.

[@nacarreira777]

Loved this interview. LOVE Stephen King and have read ALL of his books and short stories. He is so talented and has a real love of language.

[@clyde968]

Great interview with Mr. king. I loved his books and movie adaptations growing up and now my 16 year old daughter is devouring his back catalogue of books. His work is timeless.

[@malte2483]

Timeless,yes❤

[@pasikymalainen7478]

Mr. King. Is he your lord?