Ben Affleck to Direct Stephen King's THE STAND

It was reported a couple of months ago that writer Steve Kloves and director David Yates, both of whom had worked together on the last of the Harry Potter movies, were in negotiations to join the new cinematic adaptation of Stephen King's apocalyptic novel "The Stand". Now it seems those negotiations fell apart, because Warner Bros. wants Ben Affleck to direct the adaptation, although he has not officially signed on, yet. Affleck's been building quite an impressive director resume with both Gone, Baby, Gone" and "The Town" generating a lot of enthusiasm among both audiences and critics. He has shown the ability to direct thrillers driven by strong dramatic stories and impressive casts. And with "The Town" he has also demonstrated the capacity to stage thrilling action scenes. So, I feel that "The Stand" is in good hands, should Affleck accept the job.

For those of you unfamiliar with King's epic horror novel, it tells the story of a deadly virus, accidentaly unleashed from a military research facility, that kills most of the world's population, except for a select few, who have to take sides in a post-apocalyptic battle between good and evil, represented by a sweet 108-year old southern black woman, Mother Abigail, and the ageless and sadistic Randal Flagg, The Walking Dude, respectively. The survivors receive visions and dreams as they travel across America to join up with either Abigail, or Flagg. The pawns are set for a deadly game, where only one side can emerge victorious and decide the fate of mankind. The novel was adapted before, in 1994, as a 6-hour TV miniseries starring Gary Sinise, Molly Ringwald, Jamey Sheridan, Ruby Dee, Rob Lowe and Miguel Ferrer. Even though they had to tone down the violence and truncate some plot elements, it's still widely regarded as a solid adaptation. You can read a review here.

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