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Authors: Hans-Ake Lilja
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Ladder” to develop into a movie? What is it in the story that you like so much?
James Cole: Night Shift was one of the first Stephen King books I read. I discovered King at age thirteen or fourteen, and, though I don’t remember when exactly I read Night Shift , I loved every short story. However, as ninety percent of the stories are genuine horror, I remember being surprised and a bit confused when I began reading “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” Within a few pages I knew this was unlike the other stories; a simple story about a brother and sister set in another time. It immediately became one of my favorites, but I never imagined making it into a movie.
When I met Dan Thron years later, we quickly compared favorite King works. It turned out he loved “The Last Rung on the Ladder” too, and for whatever reason, we decided to try and make it. The fact that it required no monsters, no makeup and no special effects was one factor in our choice. The biggest reason we chose it was simply because the story moved me. It made me cry the first time I read it, and I knew I wanted to see if I could faithfully adapt such a beautiful tale and have it work on screen.
Lilja: The whole story behind the film can be read in your essay, “Why Kitty Absolutely Had to Die, or How I Made a Movie of a Stephen King Short Story For a Buck,” published in Stephen Spignesi’s Lost Work of Stephen King . In the essay you write that you wrote a script for a long version of the film, but didn’t get an OK from King at that point. A year later, you write, a man called Lucas Knight got the rights to the movie and started to look for you to get hold of your script. How come he got the rights, and what do you know about this upcoming version? Is it based on your script?
James Cole: I adapted a feature version of The Last Rung on the Ladder as a personal challenge. I went ahead and did it without King’s permission, simply because I first wanted to see if it could be done, if a twelve-page story could be successfully expanded into two hours. I wrote three drafts between late 1992 and 1993. When I was satisfied, I then approached King about the rights or an option. Neither request was granted, so the script is in limbo. (Without King’s approval I obviously cannot sell the script.)
I got word of Lucas Knight’s involvement with the same story through the Internet. The news terrified me because I was afraid he was doing his own feature version as well. Eventually he tracked me down, and I learned he was doing a short version, just like mine, only with a bigger budget (I guess you could call it a “remake”). So, to answer your question, he is not using my feature script. He wrote his own short script, and, as of only a few days ago, I heard from him for the first time in months. His script was finally approved by King and he begins shooting his film this summer. As to how he got the rights, I think it has to do with him being a local filmmaker. Stephen King often supports those in his home state, and the fact that Lucas had the support of a local PBS station might have convinced King.
Lilja: Returning to the first (and still only) version—how did you find out that King sold the movie rights to some of his stories for just one dollar? Was it just a wild guess or did you know it before you sent him the check?
James Cole: I don’t really remember. Though I had contacts with King fans in 1986, I did not know Spignesi nor the other “heavy hitters.” I think my contact was a gentleman named Craig Goden, who ran a book dealership in New Jersey. I had met him at a few Science Fiction conventions, and he sold King books. Through him, I discovered the Castle Rock Newsletter and some other contacts. Somehow I heard that I could do a student film of any of King’s short work as long as I didn’t try to market it or sell it or even show it without King’s permission.
(FYI: that is not the same as “selling the movie
James Cole: Night Shift was one of the first Stephen King books I read. I discovered King at age thirteen or fourteen, and, though I don’t remember when exactly I read Night Shift , I loved every short story. However, as ninety percent of the stories are genuine horror, I remember being surprised and a bit confused when I began reading “The Last Rung on the Ladder.” Within a few pages I knew this was unlike the other stories; a simple story about a brother and sister set in another time. It immediately became one of my favorites, but I never imagined making it into a movie.
When I met Dan Thron years later, we quickly compared favorite King works. It turned out he loved “The Last Rung on the Ladder” too, and for whatever reason, we decided to try and make it. The fact that it required no monsters, no makeup and no special effects was one factor in our choice. The biggest reason we chose it was simply because the story moved me. It made me cry the first time I read it, and I knew I wanted to see if I could faithfully adapt such a beautiful tale and have it work on screen.
Lilja: The whole story behind the film can be read in your essay, “Why Kitty Absolutely Had to Die, or How I Made a Movie of a Stephen King Short Story For a Buck,” published in Stephen Spignesi’s Lost Work of Stephen King . In the essay you write that you wrote a script for a long version of the film, but didn’t get an OK from King at that point. A year later, you write, a man called Lucas Knight got the rights to the movie and started to look for you to get hold of your script. How come he got the rights, and what do you know about this upcoming version? Is it based on your script?
James Cole: I adapted a feature version of The Last Rung on the Ladder as a personal challenge. I went ahead and did it without King’s permission, simply because I first wanted to see if it could be done, if a twelve-page story could be successfully expanded into two hours. I wrote three drafts between late 1992 and 1993. When I was satisfied, I then approached King about the rights or an option. Neither request was granted, so the script is in limbo. (Without King’s approval I obviously cannot sell the script.)
I got word of Lucas Knight’s involvement with the same story through the Internet. The news terrified me because I was afraid he was doing his own feature version as well. Eventually he tracked me down, and I learned he was doing a short version, just like mine, only with a bigger budget (I guess you could call it a “remake”). So, to answer your question, he is not using my feature script. He wrote his own short script, and, as of only a few days ago, I heard from him for the first time in months. His script was finally approved by King and he begins shooting his film this summer. As to how he got the rights, I think it has to do with him being a local filmmaker. Stephen King often supports those in his home state, and the fact that Lucas had the support of a local PBS station might have convinced King.
Lilja: Returning to the first (and still only) version—how did you find out that King sold the movie rights to some of his stories for just one dollar? Was it just a wild guess or did you know it before you sent him the check?
James Cole: I don’t really remember. Though I had contacts with King fans in 1986, I did not know Spignesi nor the other “heavy hitters.” I think my contact was a gentleman named Craig Goden, who ran a book dealership in New Jersey. I had met him at a few Science Fiction conventions, and he sold King books. Through him, I discovered the Castle Rock Newsletter and some other contacts. Somehow I heard that I could do a student film of any of King’s short work as long as I didn’t try to market it or sell it or even show it without King’s permission.
(FYI: that is not the same as “selling the movie
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