<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><em>Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Stand by Me</em></p>
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<p dir="auto"><strong>sheetsadam1</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 07:13 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto"><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/opinion/culture/stephen-king-rob-reiner-stand-by-me.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9E8.kslC.OgH18YcmOVMa&amp;smid=url-share" rel="nofollow ugc">https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/opinion/culture/stephen-king-rob-reiner-stand-by-me.html?unlocked_article_code=1.9E8.kslC.OgH18YcmOVMa&amp;smid=url-share</a><br />
In this case, I prefer to trust my feelings more than my memory. The only thing I’m positive about is how I felt when I heard Rob Reiner was dead: a combination of sadness and disbelief. As for the rest … Robert Stone had it right when he said “the mind is a monkey.”<br />
I think I saw “Stand by Me” in the fall of 1985. Back then it was still called “The Body,” which was the name of my novella, on which Rob’s film was based. I think he showed it to me in a room at the Beverly Hills Hotel with a rock ’n’ roll band thudding away somewhere in the distance. That band was pure ’80s. The movie allowed me entry to another, more innocent, time: 1959.<br />
I’m pretty sure Rob was wearing a checked short-sleeved shirt and khaki pants, as if he’d just come from the golf course. (For all I knew, he had.) The only thing I’m absolutely sure of is that he hovered until the movie was going and then left the room. Later he told me he couldn’t bear to see my reaction if I didn’t like it. I was an audience of one, sitting in a high-backed chair filched from one of the hotel’s meeting rooms.<br />
I was surprised by how deeply affected I was by its 89 minutes. I’ve written a lot of fiction, but “The Body” remains the only nakedly autobiographical story I’ve ever done. Those kids were my friends. We never walked down a railroad track to see a dead body, but we got up to other stuff. The story was about my reality as I had lived it on the dirt roads of southern Maine. There really was a junkyard dog, although his name wasn’t Chopper. There really was a kid who went swimming and came out covered with leeches in surprising areas, but it wasn’t Gordie Lachance; it was me.<br />
And there really was a kid who was accused of stealing milk money, although his name wasn’t Chris Chambers. He did borrow — we won’t call it stealing — his mom’s Bel Air. With me riding shotgun, he drove it 90 miles per hour down Route 9 in our backcountry hometown. We were 11.<br />
What I’m saying is that in Rob’s hands, it all rang true. The funny parts were really funny (including the barf-o-rama) and the dramatic parts hit me where I lived, or where I did live back in the days when John F. Kennedy was president and gas was a quarter a gallon.<br />
I had felt just that torn between the writing life and the lives of my friends, who were living for the moment and not going anywhere in particular, except maybe Vietnam. I chose writing, but it was a near thing.<br />
When the movie was over, I thanked Rob and surprised the hell out of myself by giving him a hug. I’m not ordinarily a hugging man, and I don’t think he was used to getting them. He stiffened, muttered something about being glad I liked it, and we both stepped away.<br />
I apparently wasn’t done feeling my feelings. I went into the nearest men’s bathroom and sat in a stall until I got myself under control. Nostalgia can be dangerous when it’s up close. I don’t exactly know what I mean by that, but it feels true.<br />
When I came back from the men’s, Rob and I had a more normal conversation. He asked me for notes; I had none. I had just let the whole thing wash over me. I marveled at what a good story the truth could make in the right hands.<br />
Years later Rob arranged a screening of “Misery,” which was also based on one of my books, for me. I was equally delighted with that film but not as emotionally wrecked by it. What I liked — what Rob dared to catch — was the mixture of humor and suspense. When Annie Wilkes, perfectly portrayed by Kathy Bates, tells Paul Sheldon that the champagne they will drink is “Dom Per-IG-non,” it’s both funny and touching: This woman has never had anyone to teach her the correct pronunciation. Rob caught that perfectly.<br />
Much later, after Rob had become an auteur and I had become whatever it is I became, we met in New York. At his behest I took part in a political documentary about how little liking we had for Donald Trump. Rob took a lot of brickbats and slurs for it on Twitter with his customary grace. (I refuse to call it X; that’s for porno films.) He was a political presence, a social commentator and a wicked satirist. But all that still pales for me when I watch Chris Chambers say to the weeping Gordie Lachance: “You’re gonna be a great writer someday.”<br />
That weeping boy was me. It was Rob Reiner who put it on the screen.<br />
Draft Barron Trump</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/topic/203145/new-essay-by-stephen-king-on-stand-by-me-and-rob-reiner</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 12 May 2026 16:42:43 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://filmglance.com/discuss/topic/203145.rss" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:54 GMT</pubDate><ttl>60</ttl><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:10 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>MistaWeek</strong> — <em>2 weeks ago(March 16, 2026 05:07 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Too bad the van didn't finish the job.<br />
VLAD LOVES UNDERAGE BOYS JUST LIKE HIS DADDY USED TO.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711909</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711909</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:10 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:09 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>bitchsurn</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 09:58 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Blah blah blah blah . . . and more blah blah blah blah. . . .</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711908</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711908</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:09 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:08 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>LorqVonRay1999</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 09:25 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I admire King's early works and Stand By Me is my favorite Reiner film.<br />
But King has done some really awful things. In the wake of Kirk's assassination he made the claim Kirk advocated stoning gay people. Evidently, he thought Kirk was Muslim.<br />
Too many liberals were joking about Kirk, openly cheering the assassin. One of the most indelible images of the modern uncaring, hateful and ultra-violent liberal.<br />
They did the same thing with Mangione. Cold blooded murderer.<br />
And the Boston Marathon bombers.<br />
And the Maryland 'father'.<br />
And the drug cartels.<br />
And Hamas.<br />
Liberals elect an A-G who wished death on a Republican's children. His children!<br />
They support Muslims in America who literally shout 'death to America!'.<br />
Trump was shot. Scalise was shot. At Brown the vice president of the Republican club was somehow gunned down by a man who shouted something no one seems to have heard. Gee, I wonder if he's Muslim and he shouted something like 'Allahu akbar!'?<br />
We want to believe somewhere within the liberal soul is even a hint of decency.<br />
I don't see much evidence of that.<br />
This article by King is nice but the actions of liberals are much more convincing.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711907</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711907</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:08 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:07 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>bitchsurn</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 10:05 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I am not sure where I read it (maybe in On Writing?), but he absolutely hated that first film adaptation of The Shining, and I do not remember what (or if) he said about Duvall, but personally I thought she was horrific.  I think I remember reading somewhere (On Writing maybe?) that after that he never completely gave up control of a film adaptation of something he wrote again because of what Kubrick did with The Shining.<br />
I also think I remember reading in On Writing that he liked what was done with Carrie.<br />
It has been over a couple of decades since I read On Writing, so I admit I may be inaccurate on some of what I think that I remember.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711906</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711906</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:07 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:05 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>sheetsadam1</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 09:36 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I'll check my copy later and see if he mentions anything like that. According to Wikipedia, Caan was far from the first choice. William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffmann, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford and Warren Beatty all apparently turned it down. I think most of them would have done fine, but may not have complemented Kathy Bates as well as Caan's more understated performance.<br />
The one lead role in a King adaptation he was absolutely not on board with was Jack Nicholson in The Shining. And, if I'm not mistaken, Shelley Duvall got some heat as well. I also seem to remember him saying that Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn't what he'd envisioned for The Running Man, but he didn't seem particularly upset in that case.<br />
Draft Barron Trump</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711905</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711905</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:05 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:04 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>bitchsurn</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 09:05 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">To deviate, but only momentarily, from the Stand By Me topic, I think I remember reading in King's memoirs (On Writing) that he was not crazy about James Caan in the lead role.  (I may have to check on that in a little bit.)  I do remember that King wrote that Kathy Bates character and the pig were metaphors for the coke and the booze he used to do, which he wrote were what he once used as a reason to write.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711904</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711904</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:04 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:03 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>NZer</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 06:45 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">King has good reason to be critical of some of the adaptations of his stories! <img src="https://filmglance.com/discuss/assets/plugins/nodebb-plugin-emoji/emoji/android/1f604.png?v=8570fb93240" class="not-responsive emoji emoji-android emoji--smile" style="height:23px;width:auto;vertical-align:middle" title=":D" alt="😄" />   So great that Reiner got the one that was closest to his heart perfectly right.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711903</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711903</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:03 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:02 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Cheeky</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 06:32 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I wonder what he thought of Carrie and Christine?<br />
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711902</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711902</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:02 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:01 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>sheetsadam1</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 06:13 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">King can be quite critical of adaptations of his books, so I'm glad he was such a fan of this one, which happens to be my favorite.<br />
Some great directors have tackled King (Stanley Kubrick, Brian De Palma, John Carpenter, George A. Romero, Tobe Hooper, Frank Darabont, Mike Flanagan, etc), but Reiner undoubtedly gave the world two of the very best adaptations, especially this one!<br />
Draft Barron Trump</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711901</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711901</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:01 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:00 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>NZer</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 08:18 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">That was worth reading! Very nice.</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711900</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711900</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:40:00 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:59 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Cheeky</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 09:02 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Yes<br />
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711899</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711899</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:59 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:58 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>sheetsadam1</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 08:54 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">Also Corey Feldman and River Phoenix (RIP)!<br />
Draft Barron Trump</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711898</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711898</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:58 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:57 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Cheeky</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 06:31 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I love those actors as little boys<br />
Wil Wheaton came from a troubled household. His parents just saw him as a paycheck.<br />
Jerry was always happy, I think he's great<br />
King is great, so gifted<br />
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711897</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711897</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:57 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:56 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>sheetsadam1</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 06:10 PM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">One of my all-time favorite movies! Definitely my favorite Rob Reiner film and the best King adaptation.<br />
Draft Barron Trump</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711896</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711896</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:56 GMT</pubDate></item><item><title><![CDATA[Reply to New essay by Stephen King on &quot;Stand By Me&quot; and Rob Reiner on Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:55 GMT]]></title><description><![CDATA[<p dir="auto"><strong>Cheeky</strong> — <em>3 months ago(December 17, 2025 07:24 AM)</em></p>
<p dir="auto">I love that!<br />
Thank you for posting<br />
If we take the time to see with the heart and not with the mind, we shall see that we are surrounded completely by angels ~ Carlos Santana</p>
]]></description><link>https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711895</link><guid isPermaLink="true">https://filmglance.com/discuss/post/1711895</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[fgadmin]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2026 15:39:55 GMT</pubDate></item></channel></rss>