For R.J. Fox – who teaches film and media arts in the Ann Arbor Public Schools and wrote the screenplay to the indie film, “Love & Vodka” – adaptations of world-renowned author Stephen King’s novels are hit and miss.
“Unfortunately, mostly miss. And perhaps his greatest adaptation – ‘The Shining’ – was disowned by him due to the liberties (the late director Stanley Kubrick took with it. However, there are also some great films, including period pieces like ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ and ‘The Green Mile,’ both directed by the great Frank Darabont. ‘Misery’ and even ‘It’ (the 2017 and 2019 2-part adaptation) are also solid adaptations. ‘Carrie’ is one of the great King adaptations due to Brian De Palma’s great direction and the outstanding star performance by Sissy Spacek,” explained Fox, a lifelong King fan.
“Carrie” will return to the big screen in Ann Arbor at the Michigan Theater for two nights as part of its “Late Night Classics” series. The first screening is Friday, May 23, at 9:30 p.m. The second screening is Thursday, May 29, at 8 p.m.
Based on Stephen King’s very first novel of the same name from 1974, “Carrie” was the breakout film of De Palma (“The Untouchables”), featuring early performances by Oscar nominee John Travolta (“Pulp Fiction”), William Katt (“The Greatest American Hero”), Nancy Allen (“RoboCop”), Oscar nominee Amy Irving (“Yentl”) and Oscar winner Sissy Spacek (“Coal Miner’s Daughter”). In fact, Spacek was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress and Detroit native Piper Laurie (“Twin Peaks”) was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for “Carrie.”
Carrie White (Spacek), 16, the daughter of a fanatically religious woman (Laurie), is unpopular at school and the target of relentless bullying. After being punished for harassing Carrie, her main tormentor Chris Hargensen (Allen) plots revenge with boyfriend Billy Nolan (Travolta). Chris plans to rig the prom queen election so Carrie will win and once she gets on stage, she and Billy plan to dump a bucket of pig’s blood on her, humiliating her in front of the entire school.
Sue Snell (Irving) regrets harassing Carrie, so she asks Tommy Ross (Katt) to take Carrie to the prom. Carrie, whose telekinetic powers begin to manifest, accepts his offer. At the prom, she’s elected prom queen.
Just when Carrie feels she’s gaining acceptance from her peers, Chris and Billy dump the pig’s blood on her. Carrie snaps and uses her powers to seal the exits and sets the gym ablaze, killing everyone in the film’s most iconic scene.
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“Sissy Spacek is absolutely perfect, particularly in the bloodbath during the climax,” said Fox. “It’s one of the defining moments of not just horror films, but movies period. De Palma is such a visual stylist in terms of both shot composition and editing. He brought a visual flair that has often been imitated, but never quite to the level it works at. Some make the case that he was too gimmicky and drew too much attention to the shots and editing techniques he used, particularly split screens. But there is no doubt that he belongs on the 1970s ‘New Hollywood’ Mt. Rushmore, along with other contemporaries like Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Robert Altman. A true artist.”
Katt has vivid memories of auditioning for “Carrie.”
“At the time, Brian wasn’t as well-known. He and George Lucas were holding casting calls together for ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Carrie’ in order to save time. I think they saw every up-and-coming young actor in Hollywood and maybe even outside of Hollywood. It was a who’s who of young actors who paraded through their doors to meet them,” recalled Katt. “I was lucky enough to get screen-tests for both of those projects… I screen-tested for ‘Carrie’ with Sissy. I felt very blessed to get the part of Tommy Ross in what I thought was one of Brian’s seminal films.”
Katt praised De Palma.
“This was toward the beginning of his breakout in Hollywood and becoming a big director… I found him to be engaging and very willing to work with the actors – he was terrific,” said Katt. “For two weeks, we worked at his apartment in Hollywood. I remember (Travolta), (Allen), (Irving), (Spacek) and me would all go there and work. At the time, we were using reel-to-reel tape-recorder because video had not come about. His entire apartment was filled with these 3×5 cards with the scenes on them. He would get up periodically and move cards around for his shot list and what not. It was a fun experience. He really sculpted those scenes to fit the actors he was working with. By the time we’d got to the set… he was really all about the camera and the rest of the components of filmmaking. I just thought he was a terrific director.”
“Carrie” grossed $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget. In 2008, “Carrie” was ranked 86th on Empire’s list of “The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.” It was ranked 15th on Entertainment Weekly’s “50 Best High School Movies” list, and 46th on the American Film Institute’s “AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Thrills” list. In 2022, “Carrie” was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
“I think it was kismet that Stephen King was breaking out and Brian De Palma was breaking out,” said Katt. “It was just a culmination of things that was seismic in its effect of all of the lives involved in that film.”
“Carrie” became a franchise, spawning a Broadway musical and a 1999 sequel called “The Rage: Carrie 2.” The film bombed at the box office and received negative reviews, however. In 2002, “Carrie” was remade as an NBC telefilm with Angela Bettis (“Girl, Interrupted”) as Carrie. In 2013, another “Carrie” remake was released, starring Chloë Grace Moretz (“Kick-Ass”) as Carrie, as well as Oscar winner Julianne Moore (“Still Alice”) and Livonia native Judy Greer (“27 Dresses”). The 2013 remake grossed $84.8 million against its $30 million budget.
Fox pointed out that “Carrie” is a cautionary tale for bullying, something that has become so prevalent in schools today.
“Carrie” at the Michigan Theater
Carrie will play at the Michigan Theater, located at 603 East Liberty St. in Ann Arbor on:
- Friday, May 23, at 9:30 p.m.
- Thursday, May 29, at 8 p.m.
Tickets range between $9.75 to $11.75 and can be purchased at the box office or online. For questions or more information, contact (734) 668-8397 or info@marquee-arts.org.
