SPOILER WARNING: The following feature contains spoilers for both The Running Man and the latest episode of IT: Welcome To Derry. If you have not yet seen one or either, proceed with caution!
It feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing editions of The King Beat anticipating all six Stephen King adaptations set to be released in 2025, but the reality is that we are almost at the end of a very awesome year for Constant Readers. With Edgar Wright’s The Running Man in theaters, the last King movie of the year has arrived, and with Episode 5 of IT: Welcome To Derry premiering on Sunday, we will be more than halfway through the last King TV series of the year. But before I get too ahead of myself regarding the latter, I want to focus on Episode 4 of the HBO series and the scariest, freakiest scene on the show thus far.
This week’s lead King Beat story features quotes from my interview with Matilda Lawler, who plays Marge Truman on IT: Welcome To Derry, but it’s not the only headline from this week in the world of Stephen King, as there are also comments from Steven de Souza (writer of 1987’s The Running Man adaptation) about the controversial ending of the new Edgar Wright movie and some exciting home video news. There’s a lot to discuss, so let’s dig in!
The IT: Welcome To Derry Eye Worm Scene Freaked Me Out, But Matilda Lawler Has A Lovely Behind The Scenes Story About It
IT: Welcome To Derry really went the extra mile to set up the spotlight nightmare in Episode 4, "The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet's Function." In addition to featuring a classroom lecture about parasitic flatworms, viewers paying attention will remember Marge’s concern about the size of her eyes in the show’s pilot. Add the two together and you get some sincerely nasty business – with worm stalks growing out of the girl’s eyes and her desperation to be rid of them leading her to the high school’s wood shop class.
It’s arguably the most horrible thing that we’ve seen yet in the HBO show, and so I felt compelled to ask Matilda Lawler about filming it when I spoke with her late last month. In the same virtual interview when I asked Amanda Christine about “The Mother Thing” and Clara Stack about the pickle jar nightmare in episode two, I inquired about the experience shooting the worm eyes sequence. Lawler started by noting that IT’s choice of terror really couldn’t have been more perfect, as Marge is a character with a specific insecurity:
Oh gosh. Oh gosh, I don't even wanna think about it. It was honestly really fun to film, but definitely once in a lifetime experience as these two said. Yeah, Marge is a deeply insecure character at this time that we're meeting her in her life, and her biggest insecurity is her glasses. And in the script they're called ‘bugeye Mr. Magoo glasses’ because they magnify her eyes and they make her eyes look really big. And she's been made fun of that her whole life. And of course IT preys on one's deepest insecurity.
Her eyes may look magnified thanks to her coke bottle lenses, but that’s nothing compared to her ocular cavities bulging out like infected snail eye stalks. It’s a great showcase of IT’s special brand of cruelty.
As for what went into filming the scene, it should be noted that it wasn’t all CGI, and that there were multiple special effects rigs involved. Lawler was happy to be a part of the special cinema magic… but there were some consequences:
For me, filming that was a trip. It was a week long thing. Lots of prosthetics, a couple different prosthetics. There was one where my eyes had cut outs so I could see, there was another prosthetic I wore where one of my eyes was covered and I couldn't see, and it was all gory, and that one was really hard to get around in. I kept tripping over things.
Fortunately, Matilda Lawler had a very chivalrous co-star in Arian S. Cartaya, who plays the motormouthed Rich Santos on the show. There have been hints that Rich has a hardcore and unspoken crush on Margot, and one might say that the actor channeled a bit of that affection when he saw that Lawler was having a bit of trouble navigating the set. She continued,
I remember Arian [S. Cartaya] became kind of like my personal chauffeur on set. Like he just grabbed my hand and was like, 'Tilly, don't step on that.' So we have him to thank for my safety. And yeah, it was definitely very bloody, a lot of screaming, but I love how the CGI came out and it was so cool to see that it actually came out the way that I had envisioned it in my head and it was awesome.
"The Great Swirling Apparatus of Our Planet's Function" is another great episode of IT: Welcome To Derry… but what if I were to tell you that of the five episodes of the show I’ve seen so far, Episode 5 is the best? I can’t say much more about it right now, but everyone should most definitely tune in as soon as it arrives in order to avoid spoilers. “Niebolt Street” will air this Sunday, November 23 at 9pm ET/PT on HBO, and it will be made available to stream instantly at that time for HBO Max subscribers.
1987’s The Running Man Screenwriter Sympathizes With The Remake’s Struggle To Execute Stephen King’s Ending
Last week’s edition of The King Beat was headlined “The Running Man Massively Changes The Ending Of Stephen King's Story, And WTF Was That?” so I wouldn’t say that I’ve been particularly subtle when it comes to my feelings regarding the ending of Edgar Wright’s The Running Man. I love the conclusion of Stephen King’s 1982 novel in large part because of its intense bleakness (a specialty of the books King wrote under his Richard Bachman pseudonym), and I feel like the new adaptation betrays the spirit of the text. It’s now guaranteed to be a source of controversy among King fans forever – but one person who can sympathize with the creatives behind the film is the guy who wrote the screenplay for the original adaptation from 1987.
Steven de Souza, whose credits also include 48 Hrs. and Die Hard, can relate to the challenge of bringing The Running Man to the big screen (a big roadblock for him was the project being setup as an Arnold Schwarzenegger vehicle), and he recently explained in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that he understands why screenwriters Edgar Wright and Michael Bacall had trouble with the story’s ending. He noted that he has seen the negative response to the conclusion of the 2025 movie, and he thinks that it was an approach that worked better on the page:
I read it and [felt that] on paper, they got the ending working. Even the reviews that love it say it stumbles at the end. It seems to me that this time around, something went wrong between the page and the stage again.
In the ending of the book, hero Ben Richards is devastated to learn that his wife and child have been killed while he has been a contestant on The Running Man, and in an act of blind rage, he steers and airplane into the Network’s skyscraper headquarters. Much like the 1987 movie, Edgar Wright’s new adaptation opts for a happy ending, with the hero managing to both get vengeance and survive. De Souza recognizes the challenges of making a film with both a dark ending and a big budget, but he hopes that somebody will get it right someday:
The book’s ending is a downer, so you need a new ending. I would say that both the ’87 version and this version tweak the ending in pretty much the same way, except that in our version, we had less money, so it’s a little simpler. Maybe the third version in 2045 will stick the landing.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed, but if I’m being totally honest, I’m not all that optimistic.
At Long Last, The Life Of Chuck Has A Streaming Debut Date, And 1408 Is Getting A 4K UHD Upgrade
To wrap up this week’s edition of The King Beat, there are two fun bits of news to share on the home video front. Following its theatrical release this summer, Mike Flanagan’s The Life Of Chuck is finally set to make its streaming debut, and for all of you physical media collectors, you should know that an upgrade of Mikael Håfström’s 1408 is on the way.
The Life Of Chuck has been available to watch via digital rental/purchase for months, and the 4K UHD and Blu-ray came out earlier in the fall, but those of you who have been waiting for it to stream just have to be patient for a few more weeks. Disney has announced the streaming release schedule for next month, and the new Mike Flanagan film will be available to watch with a Hulu subscription starting Friday December 26.
As for 1408, the underrated 2007 film starring John Cusack has been available to purchase on Blu-ray for years now, but the movie will be getting a 4K UHD upgrade at the start of next year. Even better: Lionsgate is releasing it in an awesome Steelbook featuring some terrific original art. Pre-orders are up on Amazon in advance of its scheduled January 13 street date.
That brings an end to this week’s edition of The King Beat, but don’t fret! Just because next Thursday is Thanksgiving doesn’t mean that I won’t still be on to bring you a fresh column so that you can learn about all of the latest goings-on in the world of Stephen King. In the meantime, you can discover all of King’s various in-the-works projects with our Upcoming Stephen King Movies and TV guide.
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