Stephen King did it again.
Based on his best-selling novel, the legendary author wrote and adapted the deeply personal thriller “Lisey’s Story” which aires June 4th, 2021. Directed by Pablo Larraine, the mini-series hails from J.J. Abrams, Bad Robot Productions, and Warner Bros. Television. King – the king of suspense – not only wrote the screenplays but also executive produced the AppleTV limited series. Emmy award winner, Julianne Moore stars as ‘Lisey Landon.’ We meet Lisey grappling with her past and future, two years after the tragic death of her husband, Scott Landon, (Academy Award winner Clive Owen) who is a world-renowned novelist. King created the characters based off of his longtime marriage and relationship with Tabitha King. Dane DeHaan plays the antagonist, Jim Dooley and Joan Allen is her struggling older sister, Amanda. Ron Cephas Jones stars as Professor Deshiel who acts as the catalyst to many unraveling cords that follows. It’s safe to say that Moore’s character goes through hell and back.
While left on a cliffhanger wanting more after the first 4 episodes, audiences will experience a whirlwind of emotions routing for Lisey to make it through. Like the iconic, *Here’s Johnny* scene in The Shining, Lisey’s Story will stay with you long after watching. One scene, in particular, involving Julianne Moore and Dane DeHaan will leave viewers jarred at the unsettling and shocking thrill Lisey must escape from.
When asking Dane and Julianne about the preparation for this 20-minute long scene and its intensity, they revealed how much of a collaborative process it was to create. They shot the scene toward the end of filming and had several conversations with the team including Stephen King, Julianne and Dane together as they decided what would be the most off putting and unsettling to enhance the intensity.
“A lot of intense and sometimes violent things happen in it… I watched it the other day… and it’s really something.” said DeHaan. Let’s just say you’ll never look at a pizza cutter the same again.
In true Stephen King fashion, there is a supernatural element, unlike any other sci-fi world we’ve seen today. Almost indescribable, watching this universe unfold feels like a fever dream. New creatures and unworldly monsters are unhidden as Lisey goes on a ‘bool hunt’ (which follows the original novel.) Lisey has flashbacks as she pieces together her reality when remembering her husband, Scott, and his adventures. The audience soon learns that he once let his wife into his trauma-filled past were escaping from his abusive dad through a ‘bool hunt’ is crucial for survival. While the world he enters seems like something unimaginable, Lisey experiences it as if it is true reality. But is it? Julianne says this is the thesis of the story when saying “she doesn’t know.”
“What’s wonderful is that we don’t know. Is this psychological horror? Is this something in her mind or is this actually happening? And she doesn’t know so the audience goes on a journey with Lisey as she’s investigating this.” said Moore.
Lisey’s Story also heavily deals with mental health as Joan Allen plays Amanda Debusher who struggles with self-harm and other mental disorders. Allen says portraying the character as accurate as possible was important to her. She credits Larraine for his wonderful direction. With the amount of grit and gore, Allen says it was a ‘long day at the prosthetics.’
To see this twisted suspense story come alive, you can stream Lisey’s Story on AppleTV starting June 4th.
