Sarah J. Maas has sold over 75 million books, yet no one has offered the romantasy stalwart $27 million to make the movie of her dreams while she gets trashed out of her mind on wine coolers. That may sound obvious, given that Hollywood studios should laugh you out of the room for suggesting that someone with no directing experience be given that kind of budget no matter how popular they are on TikTok. But if you change the variables and go back 40 years, you’d basically have the decision-making process that allowed Stephen King to direct Maximum Overdrive.
King had already published well-known novels like Carrie, The Shining, The Stand, Cujo, and Pet Semetery, many of which had become well-regarded films. Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis, the backer of movies like Barbarella, Death Wish, and Conan the Barbarian, didn’t seem to care that King had about as much directing experience as the average person reading this. They’d already collaborated on several adaptations of King’s work, including David Cronenberg’s successful take on The Dead Zone. What could go wrong with letting King try his hand behind the camera?
