Movies - TV
Stephen King Used A Looney Tunes Character To Fix His Creepshow Performance
By CHRIS EVANGELISTA
Horror writer Stephen King’s first original screenplay came in the form of George A. Romero's "Creepshow," a horror anthology movie that paid tribute to
pulpy EC horror comics.
For the segment "The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill" (adapted from the story "Weeds,") Stephen King himself starred. The story is a depressing one following a dim farmer.
King’s farmer character shoots himself after being taken over by vegetation from space. Despite the bleak plot, his performance is very silly, with buggy eyes and mouth hung agape.
In Jessie Horsting's book "Stephen King at the Movies," King said, "George wanted a caricature of a dirt farmer, not a real one, and I had a little trouble giving it to him at first."
"[George] said, 'Steve, you know the Roadrunner cartoons?' [...] You know how Wile Coyote looks when he falls off a cliff?' I said I did. George said, 'Well, that's what I want.'"
Romero was happy with the performance, saying, "Steve's wonderful, really good. In fact, I think he was a frustrated actor all along. He has great range and good comic timing."