Earlier today, Peter wrote up a piece on movie mogul Harvey Weinstein explaining how The Weinstein Company created their division Third Rail as a dumping ground for movies they feel have only "ancillary value." Harvey and his younger brother and business partner, Bob, have been under a bit of an attack since ditching Disney/Miramax for their own shingle back in 2005, with a lot of sharks swimming the waters surrounding them, just waiting for enough money to bleed through the Weinstein's fingers.

An article over at the Sunday Telegraph by Tom Teodorczuk goes into some fairly good detail about the troubles facing the beleagured brothers. You can read the full piece yourself to see his analysis; suffice it to say that the Weinsteins have yet to bring that old Miramax magic to their independent shingle, probably for a variety of reasons, not the least of which include the troubles facing the indie film world generally. As Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeff Wells, quoted in the piece, notes, "The Weinsteins have suffered from the same pressures affecting the indie film sector that everyone else faces. There is a glut of product owing to hedge fund firms now investing in films."

You know adaptations that don't merely modify the source material in details and plot mechanics but completely change its nature? Mikael Håfstrom's 1408 is like that. It's an interesting work, less in its own right than because it takes a virtuoso straight-ahead horror story and, in bringing it to the screen, turns it into a nuanced, downright surreal exploration of the protagonist's guilt and grief. You do not expect a film adaptation to tone down visceral thrills and flesh out emotional content. Nonetheless, here we are.

Stephen King's short story, part of the all-around-excellent Everything's Eventual collection (as well as the Blood and Smoke audiobook), is probably the scariest piece of fiction I've ever read. It begins in fairly conventional horror tones – a story about a haunted hotel room – but then moves on to something far more frightening. Ghosts can be scary enough, but you can at least understand them: they used to be like us, and in most cases they want something straightforward. What lived inside Room 1408 of the Dolphin Hotel – King's version – was nothing like that. We don't get specifics, but that's because we wouldn't understand them: the force that inhabits that room is so utterly, terrifyingly alien as to be beyond human comprehension. What Mike Enslin encounters isn't, it turns out, a "haunted hotel room," but an unfathomable cosmic terror that would have made H.P. Lovecraft proud. King does more than give us a scary story – he takes us to the edge of an abyss.

I just got back from a brief Christmas holiday to the distant land of relatives and limited Internet access, so my column is just a tad late this week. Nevertheless, I'd like to pick up where I left off last week, in my celebration of those smaller films that lost their way in 2007, either misunderstood, or misjudged, or just never found.

I saw Hal Hartley's Fay Grim in May as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival. It was a sequel to his 1998 film Henry Fool and it had one of those strange near-simultaneous releases in which it debuted on DVD just a few days after it opened in theaters. This technique didn't work at all for Steven Soderbergh's superb Bubble last year, so I can't imagine why anyone would try it again. I found Henry Fool too long with too much navel gazing to be of interest, but somehow Fay Grim worked for me. I felt it was all a huge, deadpan joke that these pathetic writer-types would now be involved in international intrigue. And who is better for a deadpan joke than Jeff Goldblum, with his glaring eyes and sharp delivery?

If you've ever seen a painting by Margaret Keane, you'll probably agree that Big Eyes is the only logical choice for the title of a biopic about the artist. Variety reports that Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski have signed to direct their own script about the relationship between Margaret and her husband Walter. The story will focus on Keane struggling to succeed as an artist while her husband is taking credit for her work.

Walter was a strong businessman with a serious lack of artistic talent. Instead, he took advantage of his wife's abilities and made millions off her paintings of 'large-eyed waif's'. In 1965 the couple divorced and during a dramatic court case, both parties were put in front of an easel to prove who the real artist was -- Walter balked at the challenge and claimed he was suffering from a shoulder injury. After the divorce was granted, Margaret Keane moved to Hawaii where she continues to paint. Alexander told Variety, "Her rebellion coincided with the feminist movement, and when he began calling her his crazy ex-wife, she sued him."

Alexander and Karaszewski brokered the deal for Keane's life story with the artist herself. The filmmakers have been making some inroads into horror flicks lately, but they are probably best known as the writers for Ed Wood, Man on the Moon and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Nightclub mogul-turned producer, Andrew Meieran, told Variety, "We've looked through hundreds of scripts, but this felt like just the right project to launch a brand". Alexander and Karaszewski are already working on another fact based film, Ripley's Believe it or Not with Jim Carrey. They are also still attached to write the screenplay for Eli Roth's big screen version of Stephen King's Cell -- that's if Roth can bring himself to start working again.

Cinematical was lucky enough to receive the one-sheet for Martian Child (click on the image above for a larger version), starring John Cusack as a guy who adopts a 6-year-old boy following the death of his wife in an effort to create a family. Problem is, the kid is convinced he's from Mars. I'm not sure what it was about this film, but practically every Cinematical writer requested to review Martian Child. And that never happens. Of course, it could have something to do with the love for Cusack; his creepy thriller 1408 did very well at the box office this past summer and folks are talking Oscar with regards to his leading performance in Grace is Gone.

Martian Child sort of combines elements from both of those films; here, Cusack plays a science fiction writer (he played a paranormal expert/writer in 1408) who's struggling to move past the death of his wife (which also happens to be the central premise in Grace is Gone). A film that tugs at your heart-strings and freaks you out? Nice. Joan Cusack and Amanda Peet co-star in the film which was based off David Gerrold's award-winning short story. So it's like K-PAX ... with a kid. I dig it. Martian Child lands in theaters on November 2 -- check out the trailer here.

Sometimes I get an idea for a column and when I sit down to write it I find that there are no good examples to illustrate my point floating around in my less-than-400 screen domain. The topic currently burning in my brain requires a few films that are still playing in the upper reaches, so while I wait for them to tumble down to me, I've decided to write a few lines about actors I admire. The first name that pops up is John Cusack's, currently appearing in 1408 (218 screens). Though it's based on a Stephen King story and features some decent thrills and chills, it's the kind of one-man performance that runs the gamut and could earn Cusack his very first Oscar nomination.

It's odd to think of this veteran actor, a favorite for over 20 years, having never earned so much as a nomination. But then that factor also adds to Cusack's outlaw, outsider status. Cusack somehow managed to become an everyman to almost every man. He's a nerd, but he's not a hopeless nerd; he's unique enough to be cool at the same time. He's smart, but also appeals to jocks and dropouts. A typical Cusack character might be seen tossing a football around or failing a trigonometry quiz. Best of all, although he always has romantic troubles, he always has something cool to say to girls. At the same time, this interchangeable quality keeps him slightly on the edge; you can't ever pin him down

Confession time: Not only have I read (literally) every story ever written by Stephen King (some of 'em two or three times), but I've also seen (literally) every movie inspired by his books. Some of 'em four or five times. I discovered the man's work around the time I was 13 -- and I devoured his early paperbacks like a junkie devours his drug of choice. I was hooked. All through high school and college and "grown-up" life, if there was a new King paperback out there, I had to have it. Most I liked, some I truly did not, and I few I really went crazy for. And since I'm even more of a movie geek than I am a passionate reader, I'm always pretty excited to sit down with a new cinematic adaptation. (And no amount of Dreamcatchers will ever change that.)

It's been pretty well-documented over the past two decades: LOTS of the movies based on Stephen King stories are grade-A, bona-fide awful. Some of the turkeys had good intentions; some of 'em were low-rent knock 'em offs mounted solely to capitalize on the mega-author's name. But every once in a while ... you'd get something like The Dead Zone or Pet Sematary or Misery or The Shawshank Redemption or Dolores Claiborne or (choose your own favorites like I just did). So yes: this long and roundabout introduction is meant to lead you to the following assertion: The newest King flick is (most definitely) one of the good ones. Save for a few minor stumbles in Act III (and easily forgiven ones at that), Mikael Hafstrom's 1408 is actually one of the best Stephen King adaptations in quite some time.

Stephen King sure isn't shy about trashing some of the flicks that have been made from his stories. It's been pretty well-documented that he wasn't a big fan of Kubrick's rather liberal adaptation of The Shining ... so obviously the author is a pretty tough guy to please. So it must come as a relief to director Mikael Hafstrom to learn that The Horror King really dug his adaptation of 1408.

The haunted hotel thriller (which stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, a cool duo if ever there was one) hits theaters later this month, but Mr. Hafstrom informed Bloody-Disgusting.com that Stephen King really likes the movie: "King was very pleased with the film, I'm happy to say. When you are adapting an author, especially one who has been around like he has, it's very important that he approves. Even though the film contains more story, we are true to heart and soul of the short story." The author also doled out some specific praise for Cusack's performance.

Someone could write a really amusing book about the films made from the books and short stories of Stephen King. On one end of the scale you'd have The Shawshank Redemption, The Dead Zone and Carrie, but on the other end ... yikes. Stuff like The Mangler, Maximum Overdrive (which King directed himself!) and The Lawnmower Man. (Plus, what the hell was up with Dreamcatcher??) And out of respect for the author, I won't even get in to all the Children of the Corn sequels.

Coming Soon: Frank Darabont's take on King's awesomely spooky tale The Mist!

I swear, after this summer I don't think I'll ever want to stay in another hotel room again. First, they gave us Vacancy (here's your key to the "snuff film" room), then this weekend we get Bug (here's your key to the bug-filled room) and now a final poster has been released for 1408 (here's your key to the room where 56 people have died). "Thanks! Can I use my points for this stay?" Based on a a Stephen King short story, 1408 stars John Cusack as Mike Enslin; an author who loves to run around town discrediting a number of paranormal hot spots. While penning his latest book, Ten Nights in Haunted Hotel Rooms, Mike receives a mysterious tip to visit the notorious Dolphin Hotel for a stay in room 1408.

Once there, Mike ignores the hotel manager's (Samuel L. Jackson) warning regarding the spooky room (apparently, no one has managed to stay there longer than an hour) and heads upstairs ready to experience something, anything. And based on the pretty sweet trailer, it seems our hero is in store for a lot more than he bargained for. You can check out the poster to the right (click here for a larger version courtesy of JoBlo). Directed by Mikael Håfström (who last gave us the Clive Owen pic Derailed), and adapted by Matt Greenberg (Reign of Fire) and Scott Alexander (Ed Wood, Cell), 1408 marks Cusack's second trip to a hotel full of lunatics (the first being the somewhat decent Identity); is it just me, or does he need to start doing some better research when searching for a place to crash? Make your reservation now folks; 1408 arrives in theaters on June 22.

Wow, this is going to be hard for two reasons. On one hand I'll find it tough to rank my very favorite Stephen King movies because the ones I love ... I really love. On the other hand there's been a whole LOT of rotten King flicks churned out over the years -- and I actually like some of those, too! But as a lifelong King kook I think I'm able to separate the wheat from the chaff -- even if, yes it's true, I actually sort of enjoyed Tobe Hooper's The Mangler. (It's just so enjoyably stupid!) So with that I bring you my own personal picks for the best Stephen King adaptations yet (not counting TV shows, mini-series or short films).

Christine (1983) -- Yes, the book is better and sure, a few important things were monkeyed with on the way from page to screen, but there's so much I do like about John Carpenter's adaptation that it makes the speed bumps a lot easier to handle. From the filmmaker's creepy score to an excellent lead performance by Keith Gordon, the flick's just got an admirably bad-ass attitude. Stripped down to its essence, Christine is not much more than another "geek fights back" revenge-centric horror flick, but Carpenter makes the movie his own with a solid production design, a few excellent set pieces and a pace that moves at an appreciable clip. Plus that car is just so damn cool.

Pet Sematary (1989) -- Just about every hardcore horror geek I know holds Pet Sematary in pretty high regard, and just one visit with this bleak and unflinching piece of pulp horror will explain why. It's a remarkably grim and unapologetic tale of dead cats, cute kids and a patch of land that, well, it resurrects dead tissue is what it does. And if you've read even one "back from the dead" story, then you know they never end well. (Pet Sematary, both the book and the movie, packs one doozy of a dark denouement.) OK, so maybe Dale Midkiff and Denise Crosby aren't exactly the rock-solid thespians you'd want for a screenplay this devilishly mean-spirited, but the pair do what they can, plus they've got good ol' Fred Gwynne supplying background color by the bucketful. (And don't forget about poor sickly Zelda! Yuck.)

Carrie (1976) -- The very first (and arguably one of the very best) of the Stephen King movies, Carrie hit the screens courtesy of a young Brian De Palma, and the director pulled out a big bag of Hitchcockian tricks to bring the story to the silver screen. It's about a socially bankrupt young girl who tries to cobble together a normal social life ... much to the chagrin of some snotty she-bullies and a resoundingly devout lunatic of a mother. Some might say the flick takes a long while to get where it's going, but between the prom night finale and the graveside stinger, Carrie more than delivers its share of grisly goods. Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie make it watchable all by themselves, but De Palma is the real star here. (OK, De Palma and a young, evil John Travolta.)