Stephen King’s Inferiority Complex: Despite a $3,000,000 Advance, He Said “A very badly constructed book” Spawned the Greatest Horror Movie of All Time

SUMMARY

• Stephen King wasn't initially confident with his work on It.
• The author felt that the book was badly constructed and even took jabs at his literary works.
• But as opposed to his viewpoints on the book, the author was impressed with its adaptation.

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Many consider It to be one of Stephen King’s most terrifying works, which became a humungous success on its publication back in ’86. Moreover, unlike most adaptations, which fall short of replicating the magic of the source material to the silver screen, the 2017 It film lived up to the acclaimed novel.

It | Credit: Warner Bros.

But before the novel became a phenomenon, the horror king wasn’t convinced that the book was any good and even stressed that his works were the literary equivalent of Big Mac and Large Fries.

Stephen King Wasn’t Convinced With His Work on It

Stephen King | Credit: CBS News – YouTube

Despite being one of the best-selling authors of all time, Stephen King hasn’t shied away from poking fun at himself and his works over the years. He even considered shifting genres in the late 80s, as apparently, the author felt his works were “the literary equivalent of a Big Mac and large fries from McDonald’s”, stating he had no more than “three original ideas in my life”.

The Shining author’s self-doubt at the time also had him convinced that It was “a very badly constructed book”, despite having received $3 million in advance for the novel. But as the story goes, he couldn’t have been more wrong, as not only did It become a huge commercial success, but many even deemed it one of King’s best, maybe only second to The Shining.

Stephen King Had Nothing but Reverence for Andrés Muschietti’s It

It | Credit: Warner Bros.

While Stephen King was no fan of Stanley Kubrick‘s adaptation of one of his best works (The Shining), which he deemed a “beautiful Cadillac that had no engine inside“, the opposite was the case with It. Even though the author wasn’t initially a fan of his work on the acclaimed novel, King had nothing but laudation for Andrés Muschietti’s work on the 2017 horror, which made & $702M at the box office. Furthermore, it has been estimated that the author might’ve made around $60M from the It franchise.

It’s something that’s different, and at the same time, it’s something that audiences are going to relate to. They’re going to like the characters. It’s all about character. If you like the characters – if you care – the scares generally work. I’m sure my fans will enjoy the movie. I think they’re gonna really enjoy the movie.

With The Life of Chuck opening to rave reviews at the Toronto Film Festival, fans of King are once again in for a good treat, as the author described it as one of the good adaptations of his works.

It and It Chapter Two are available to rent on Apple TV.

Written by Santanu Roy

Articles Published: 1727

Santanu Roy is a film enthusiast with a deep love for the medium of animation while also being obsessed with The Everly Brothers, Billy Joel, and The Platters. Having expertise in everything related to Batman, Santanu spends most of his time watching and learning films, with Martin Scorsese and Park Chan-wook being his personal favorites. Apart from pursuing a degree in animation, he also possesses a deep fondness for narrative-driven games and is currently a writer at Fandomwire with over 1500 articles.