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Posted in: HBO, Movies, Streaming | Tagged: film, max, Salem's Lot, stephen king
Salem's Lot Initial Runtime Was Over Three Hours Long
The new adaptation of Salem's Lot for Max was originally over three hours long before earning its two-hour runtime.
Article Summary
- Salem's Lot adaptation exceeded 3 hours before finalizing a two-hour runtime for Max release.
- Stephen King's complex characters and stories challenge filmmakers in adapting rich content.
- Gary Dauberman reveals editing difficulties in maintaining core story over intriguing subplots.
- Discusses balancing practicality and narrative depth in trimming original Salem's Lot scenes.
When you're making a film that comes from the mind of the renowned genre mastermind Stephen King, a lot of content needs to be covered, in some instances, it's because his characters are so detailed and fleshed-out, and in other instances, there are lengthy genre sequences that need to be adapted (which has even resulted in the classic story It being divided into a two-film event). So, with that in mind, it's truly no surprise that a story like the 2024 revamped version of Salem's Lot could have gone much longer than its two-hour runtime.
The Filmmaker Behind Salem's Lot (2024) on His First Cut
While addressing an early cut of Salem's Lot, the film's writer and director Gary Dauberman explains to Den of Geek, "An audience's attention span only goes so long. There are a lot of great side stories and B-stories in this book that I love, and it was hard to let those go in order to give more real estate to our core group of heroes. That was probably the biggest challenge—editing the story and then figuring out those repercussions and those ripple effects into the main storyline. My first cut was about three hours. There's a lot left out. My first draft of the script is 180-odd pages or something because you're trying to include everything. And a lot of it has to do with a lot of the secondary characters and stuff that I spoke about. So it was sad to see that stuff go, but it's like a necessary evil."
When it comes to the initial cut, there are typically practical reasons to cut material that doesn't compliment the overall flow, storyline, or even mainstream moviegoer appeal — but what are your thoughts on the execution and runtime for this new Salem's Lot revival? Would you have liked to see a longer version of Dauberman's story?
Salem's Lot is available to stream exclusively on Max.
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