Warner Bros. Company presented the final trailer for the film "Doctor Dream" - the sequel to the film "Shine" directed by Stanley Kubrick. The picture is based on the novel by Stephen King "Doctor Dream", continuing the story of Danny Torrens.
The events of the film unfold many years after those that happened in the secluded hotel "Overluk". The boy Danny Torrens has matured, but has not managed to recover from psychological trauma.
He leads the life of a marginalized alcoholic, works in a hospice and, thanks to his “radiance,” facilitates the transition of sick people to the next world (for which he is called “Doctor Dream”). Once a telepathic contact with Torrence is established by a girl with a similar gift named Abra, who is being hunted by the True Knot sect. Torrens and Abre will meet with enemies in the territory where Torrens most would not want to return.
The production was directed by Mike Flanagan, who directed King's other adaptation for Netflix - the movie “Gerald's Game”. Flanagan also acted as a screenwriter for the film. The role of the matured Danny Torrens went to the Scotsman Ewan McGregor. The acting ensemble also includes Rebecca Ferguson, Jacob Trambley and Bruce Greenwood.
Flanagan noted that while working on the tape, he and the crew had a difficult and responsible task - to combine three different sources in one story. According to the director, it was necessary to create not only a decent adaptation of King's novel, but also to pay tribute to the classic of cinema - “The Shine” by Stanley Kubrick.
“This is an adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, Doctor Sleep, which continues the story of his book Radiance. But at the same time, the film exists in the same film universe that Kubrick created in his film adaptation, ”the director said in an interview with Bloody Disgusting.
King repeatedly indicated that he was dissatisfied with the film adaptation of Kubrick. The writer is sure that the director had no idea about the horror genre when he put the picture, and that he did not catch the essence of the novel, making the main character a categorical embodiment of evil.
In the process of working on the film, Flanagan met with King several times to, among other things, solve the question of the fate of some of the characters who died in the film Kubrick, but remained alive in King's novel.
“Our negotiations with Stephen went surprisingly well. As a result, we received not only his blessing to do what we had in mind, but also his support, ”the director said.
The film crew also maintained contact with the heirs of Kubrick. Filmmakers turned to the representatives of the director with a request to gain access to the original drawings of the scenery.
The trailer shows that “Doctor Dream,” in an effort to maintain continuity, “borrowed” some scenes from Kubrick’s tape: there are twin girls, Danny in the hallway, and even a fragment with blood from elevators. However, Flanagan did not have the desire to simply copy the picture of Kubrick: the director sought to create a film in which "even the most frantic synefil does not distinguish our shots from him (Kubrick. - RT )."
The picture was personally praised by Stephen King. On his Twitter page, he wrote: “This film will tear your roof. Of course, if you have it left after "It 2".
This movie is going to blow your mind. If you have any left after IT CHAPTER 2, that is. https://t.co/cUPCfwZS08
- Stephen King (@StephenKing) June 13, 2019The Return of The Shining: Book Edition
Stephen King’s novel, “Doctor Dream,” published in 2013, is dedicated to a writer’s friend, rock musician Warren Zivon, with whom King played in a music band for a while. Rocker died 10 years before the release of the book, in 2003.
Some critics claimed that the sequel was much weaker than the original novel, and yet the publication was included in the top 20 bestsellers of 2013 according to Publishers Weekly magazine. Roman won the Goodreads Choice Awards 2013 in the Horror nomination, received the Bram Stoker main award, as well as the This is Horror Award.
- © Shot from the film “Doctor Dream” (2019)
In 2009, Stephen King invited fans to choose which book he should write in the near future by voting on the official website. “Doctor Dream” bypassed the novel from the series “Dark Tower” by only 49 votes.
King admitted in an interview that he himself was interested in following the further development of Danny Torrens. The source of inspiration for writing a new book was the story of the cat Oscar, who lived in a hospice and determined by smell which of the patients should die soon. Combining this idea with the matured character Shining, Stephen King decided to create a truly scary novel after the less stressful 11/22/63 and Under the Dome.