EPISODE · Jan 9, 2026 · 42 MIN
Stephen King
from Screenshot · host BBC Radio 4
Fifty years on from the release of the film Carrie, directed by Brian DePalma and based on the first novel by Stephen King, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at King adaptations on screen, from The Shawshank Redemption to The Shining. Why is the work of the modern horror maestro so often adapted? And what is the best ever Stephen King adaptation?Ellen hears from US critic and writer Maitland McDonagh, who has been a front-row witness to King on screen for five decades, about her favourite adaptations of his work - from Misery to The Monkey. And Ellen speaks to Edgar Wright - the director of Shaun Of The Dead, Baby Driver and the most recent King adaptation to reach cinema screens - The Running Man. Meanwhile, Mark talks to Mike Flanagan - the filmmaker who, perhaps more than any other in recent years, has helped keep King's work vividly alive on screen, with adaptations of Gerald's Game, Doctor Sleep, The Life of Chuck and a forthcoming new take on Carrie. Producer: Jane Long A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
What this episode covers
Fifty years on from the release of the film Carrie, directed by Brian DePalma and based on the first novel by Stephen King, Ellen E Jones and Mark Kermode look at King adaptations on screen, from The Shawshank Redemption to The Shining. Why is the work of the modern horror maestro so often adapted? And what is the best ever Stephen King adaptation?Ellen hears from US critic and writer Maitland McDonagh, who has been a front-row witness to King on screen for five decades, about her favourite adaptations of his work - from Misery to The Monkey. And Ellen speaks to Edgar Wright - the director of Shaun Of The Dead, Baby Driver and the most recent King adaptation to reach cinema screens - The Running Man. Meanwhile, Mark talks to Mike Flanagan - the filmmaker who, perhaps more than any other in recent years, has helped keep King's work vividly alive on screen, with adaptations of Gerald's Game, Doctor Sleep, The Life of Chuck and a forthcoming new take on Carrie. Producer: Jane Long A Prospect Street production for BBC Radio 4
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Stephen King
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