Stephen King 'lost control' after watching life acted out by Big Bang Theory star in 94% rated film
Stephen King said Rob Reiner couldn't be with him in the room when the late director first showed him his movie Stand By Me.
King is best known for his fictional horror novels and their film adaptations – but there's one book that the famous author has described as his only 'nakedly autobiographical story'.
In 1982, King's novella 'The Body' was published. Five years later it was adapted into the movie Stand By Me, which boasts 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
Reiner did the screenplay and directed the cult classic, which marks its 40th anniversary today (August 22).
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With 'The Body' being semi-autobiographical, Reiner was apparently nervous for King to see his film out of fear that he wouldn't like it. As it turned out, King was so moved by the movie that he locked himself in a bathroom stall until he regained control of his emotions.
King made the admission as he penned an op-ed about Reiner last year following his sudden passing. Reiner and his wife Michelle Singer were allegedly killed by their son Nick Reiner, 32.
He's currently behind bars and will be tried in front of a jury, having pleaded not guilty. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for September 15.
'He couldn’t bear to see my reaction'
King began his essay for The New York Times: "In this case, I prefer to trust my feelings more than my memory. The only thing I’m positive about is how I felt when I heard Rob Reiner was dead: a combination of sadness and disbelief.
"As for the rest … Robert Stone had it right when he said 'the mind is a monkey.'"
Recalling the first time Reiner showed Stand By Me to him, King said it was played at 'the Beverly Hills Hotel with a rock ’n’ roll band thudding away somewhere in the distance'.
Reiner 'hovered until the movie was going' before making a swift exit. He later admitted that this was because he 'couldn't bare' to see King's reaction in case he disliked Stand By Me.
'I was surprised by how deeply affected I was'
In the film, The Big Bang Theory's Wil Wheaton plays Gordie Lachance, a character loosely based off King. River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, Kiefer Sutherland, John Cusack, and Jerry O'Connell also star.
King went on to say of the movie: "I was surprised by how deeply affected I was by its 89 minutes.
"I’ve written a lot of fiction, but 'The Body' remains the only nakedly autobiographical story I’ve ever done. Those kids were my friends. We never walked down a railroad track to see a dead body, but we got up to other stuff."
'I sat in a stall until I got myself under control'
"The story was about my reality as I had lived it on the dirt roads of southern Maine," King continued. "There really was a junkyard dog, although his name wasn’t Chopper. There really was a kid who went swimming and came out covered with leeches in surprising areas, but it wasn’t Gordie Lachance; it was me."
King liked the movie so much that he hugged Reiner after he watched it – and his emotions didn't stop there.
"I went into the nearest men’s bathroom and sat in a stall until I got myself under control," he said. "Nostalgia can be dangerous when it’s up close. I don’t exactly know what I mean by that, but it feels true."
Topics: Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Film and TV, Books, Celebrity
Niamh Shackleton