Stephen King should stop selling his stories?

Stephen King has written roughly 91 novels since the sixties and almost 80 of them have become films.

So many of his books have become movies that even if you weren’t aware of him as an author you’ve definitely seen a film inspired by his writing.

I was unaware that so many films that I had watched and enjoyed were inspired by King novels, including Misery (1990) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994). I enjoyed both films and so did most viewers as both films hold 89% and 91% Rotten Tomatoes ratings respectively.

Stephen King's opinion on the Shining
film according to Cinema Blend

However, the same can’t be said for The Shining(1980) which is the only one which I have both read the book for and seen the film adaption of. Stephen King himself has expressed his dislike for the portrayal of Jack and Wendy Torrance in the film. But nevertheless, the film still has a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

There is often large discontent from readers when their favourite books become films and there is a massive pressure put on production companies when creating a film adaption. With some more recent film adaptions falling flat including The Girl on the Train (2016) 

and Murder on the Orient Express (2017), there seems to be no slowing down from the conversion of book to film.

How Eric Roth made the character of Forrest Gump
different on screen, according to Wikipedia

This makes me think that film adaptions of novels are meant for a visual audience and doesn’t intended to present the characters in the same way as they are perceived when they are read. When researching the film Forrest Gump recently, I found a quote from the director Robert Zemeckis in which he said the writer Eric Roth changed the portrayal of Gump from the book in the film. This is similar with The Girl on the Train where the protagonist Rachel is taken out of her British setting as written by Paula Hawkins and instead placed in New York.

 The intentional contrast between the titular characters in their novels and on screen, furthers the thought they are meant for difference audiences than the book.

Amongst non-fans it’s not surprising that these films do well because there is a lower level of expectation, if any at all. Also the film is able to succeed financially of the idea that it is inspired on New York Times or Sunday Times Bestseller.

As we approach the end of the year with two more King inspired films scheduled , IT Chapter Two and Doctor Sleep, it remains to be seen if film industries are going to bridge the gap between book and film or if they will continue to go where the money is.