INT: Mick Garris

Last Updated on July 28, 2021

The
Arrow interviews Mick Garris

Class act Mick Garris knows a thing or two or
three for that matter about horror author STEPHEN KING. How much?
Try: SLEEPWALKERS,
RIDING THE BULLET,
THE SHINING (TV)
and the once proclaimed un-shootable by the industry film adaptation
of THE STAND
which he managed to shoot and successfully at that. Captain Mick’s
next King to screen (via a TV mini-series) venture is
DESPERATION (tentative May 2006 release).
I just finished reading the book and totally loved it! And if I go
by what Mick reveals in this interview, we’ll get a faithful
adaptation that just might run us over like the Goblin Truck from
Maximum Overdrive. Lets talk DESPERATION, you
got the floor Mick!

What was it about
the DESPERATION book that grabbed you by the lapel and made you say;
“I got to do this!”

MG:  This was
something that King and I had talked about doing for a long time. 
Originally, we planned to do it as a widescreen, big budget feature,
to really go for the throat.  I just saw it as something that didn’t
worry about being transgressive and aggressive.  At the time, all
the genre films were about teenagers, with a lot of winking at the
audience. 

I saw this as an
opportunity to just go balls to the wall with horror.  And I loved
the idea of a desert horror film; desert noir is one of my favorite
film genres.  A while before, King had turned me on to a movie
called RED ROCK WEST, which I think is a masterpiece.   I thought
maybe this could be a horror version of a desert noir.  Or desert
blanc, since much of it takes place in the day.

The book is fairly
violent (especially when having to do with children); how much of
the nastiness that is on the page has made it into the finished
film?

MG: A lot.  And a
surprising amount, considering that this was made for commercial
broadcast television.  That said, it doesn’t mean we wallow in blood
and entrails, but most of what you read in the book is in the
movie.  It’s an intense book, and everybody knew what they were
getting into.  And if they weren’t prepared to stretch the envelope
a bit, then they shouldn’t make DESPERATION.  Of course, I believe
that if THE SHINING miniseries we did had be theatrically
distributed, the violence in the last hour would have gotten us an R
rating.

Stephen King wrote
the Teleplay for the film. Has he stayed close to the book as he did
with The Stand? What will be the major narrative differences from
book to screen?

MG:  It’s very
faithful to the book.  Just about everything you remember from the
book will be in the movie.  Of course, it’s tightened up a bit, and
it’s a movie, and movies aren’t books, but it’s pretty damned close.

I must commend you
on your Grade A casting. The only surprise I had was Ron Perlman as
Collie Entragian. What made him the perfect Entragian for you?

MG:  Ron was the
first guy I ever thought of for the role, and he really nails it. 
King is particularly happy with his performance.  I had worked with
Ron on SLEEPWALKERS, and I knew he could bring a really dark,
powerful, nasty sense of humor to the role.  He has tremendous
range, and is able to switch gears in a heartbeat.  He had to be an
imposing and intimidating character, but also with some weird wit
and humor.  And Ron’s a very funny guy.  You should see him do his
Jerry Lewis impression.

The Stand was (in
my opinion) your most ambitious work to date (where you actually
managed to adapt that mammoth book into a great film…kudos). Was
Desperation as much of a challenge to shoot as The Stand?

MG:  Thanks.  THE
STAND was the most difficult production I’ve ever faced. 
DESPERATION comes in second.  The only reason it’s second is because
it was a shorter shoot.  THE STAND was eight hours; DESPERATION is
three.  But there are a lot of similarities between them.  They were
both made with extensive outdoor production, with tons of animals,
physical effects, makeup effects, visual effects, driving, stunts,
and a large, ensemble cast.  And kids.

Everything that’s
difficult about making movies was present in spades on both films. 
And we were forced to work six day weeks on DESPERATION, which, of
course, really means working a seven-day week.  DESPERATION was a
very difficult shoot, despite having a cast that I loved and a story
I was eager to tell.  We never had an easy day.  The simplest might
have been recreating Saigon, which had a couple hundred Asian
extras, a giant explosion, and some other major action.  Nice and
easy…

Stephen King often
has cameos in films made off his novels. Will he have one in
Desperation?

MG: He’s not in
this one.

Will there be a
“Director’s Cut” or “Unrated Cut” of DESPERATION when it hits DVD or
will there only be the TV Cut out there?

MG:  There really
isn’t anything that we shot that I wanted in the film that isn’t in
there.  The network basically said yes to my cut, other than a
couple tiny things that really don’t matter to the telling of the
tale.

Would you say that
adapting so much of King’s work for the screen has its perks and
drawbacks in terms of your career? If so, what are they?

MG:  The perks are
obvious; I get to work with one of my best friends telling stories
almost any filmmaker would kill to tell.  Working with King is just
about as much fun as filmmaking gets.  The down-side is this: not
only am I christened a “horror director”, I’m only a “Stephen King
horror director”.  Sometimes that can limit the opportunities
available to me as a filmmaker.

Congratulations on
getting Masters of Horror together! Gathering such a massive pool of
talent under one roof must have been quite a feat! For those of us
who don’t watch TV, will there be a DVD release of the Episodes? If
so when?

MG:  I’m really
excited about MASTERS OF HORROR.  The shows will come out on DVD
next year.

What’s the next
cinematic bullet that you’re aiming in riding? What’s next?

MG:  I have no idea
what I’ll be doing next; I’ve gone from RIDING THE BULLET to
DESPERATION to MASTERS OF HORROR without a break.  In fact, they all
overlapped one another, and I’m a bit exhausted.  There are a bunch
of projects that look interesting to me, but I’m not committed to
anything yet.

BUY THE DESPERATION BOOK HERE

I’d like to thank Mick
for giving some of it up for us. I am beyond excited about
DESPERATION and May 2006 can’t come fast enough! Recently Stephen
King himself went on to highly praise the film
in the media…he rarely does that. That for me is a solid omen that
we’re in for something special…bring it Mick…BRING IT!

VISIT THE DESPERATION PAGE
ON KING’S
SITE HERE