If Stephen King fans need even one more reason to appreciate the existence of Mike Flanagan, it should be known that he and his wife Kate Siegel have wonderfully deep ties to The Stanley – the hotel in Estes Park, Colorado that inspired King to write The Shining. There is an obvious connection between the filmmakers and the establishment simply through the making of 2019’s Doctor Sleep, but years prior to that, Flanagan and Siegel actually finished the script for their breakout movie Hush while staying in the notorious Room 217.
And while they’ve never seen a ghost at the famously haunted hotel, it’s not for a lack of trying.
Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel’s latest collaboration is the new Stephen King adaptation The Life Of Chuck, and when I had the chance to speak with the actress late last week during the film’s press day, I made a point of bringing up her time at The Stanley. I asked if she had been back at the hotel since the release of Doctor Sleep, and if she has ever seen a ghost there. It turns out that she has been back a few times, but despite her desire, she has not yet made contact with the spirit world. Said Siegel,
I have been back to the Stanley. It's one of my favorite places to go just as a vacation with my family 'cause it is so fun. And they've done some incredible renovations there. Also, the Overlook Film Festival was there for a while and then I went back to do a live recording of the No Sleep podcast, which was really fun. That was with Mike and Sam Sloyan and a bunch of other great actors. But I was gonna say, I've never seen a ghost, but if you see any, send them my way. I am a welcome audience. Scare me. Tell me what's up after we die.
It’s a curiosity that her husband definitely shares (if that wasn’t already obvious from the fact that so much of his work involves contact with the dead – including The Haunting Of Hill House, The Haunting Of Bly Manor, and Ouija: Origin of Evil). Kate Siegel recalls one special night when she woke up to find Mike Flanagan trying to attract the attention of any ghost children who might be in the vicinity. Said Siegel,
What I did see was my husband at three in the morning holding his hand up with candy in his palm for the children. So that was scary in its own right… He was so awake. He was hunting ghosts, and I was like, ‘Come back to bed. Stop hunting ghosts. Geez.’
For their latest collaboration as writer/director and actor, Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel have stepped away from the world of ghosts and have instead made a film about the opposite of death: life. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, Karen Gillan, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Mia Sara, Matthew Lillard, Jacob Tremblay and Annalise Basso, The Life Of Chuck is based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, and it’s an absolutely stunning and beautiful examination of existence and the multitudes that exist within all of us.
Last fall, the movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to overwhelming acclaim, winning the much-coveted People's Choice Award, and now it is set to arrive in theaters this Friday, May 6.
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