{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"Write On: 'The Long Walk' Screenwriter JT Mollner","description":"\u201cI didn't think I'd be a good fit as a writer if they were going to do a PG version of the story. That's not where my strength lies, so the great thing is that the version Francis [Lawrence, the director] wanted to make was the version I wanted to write. A week later, we had a meeting with Lionsgate, we pitched the project, and they said, let's do it. So, it all happened very fast. It's really not common how smooth that process went,\u201d says screenwriter JT Mollner about sharing a clear vision with the film\u2019s director for making The Long Walk.  On today\u2019s episode, we chat with JT Mollner best known for his movie Strange Darling (2023), told in six non-linear chapters, and now The Long Walk. We talk about the challenge and thrill of adapting Stephen King considering Mollner grew up mesmerized by Stephen King\u2019s books. He even read Carrie in second grade  \u2013 a transgression that landed him in the principal\u2019s office for possessing obscene material. Mollner also shares a birthday with King so it seems like it was all meant to be.  Mollner also shares that he made a decision early in the writing of the screenplay not to stray too far from Stephen King\u2019s beloved novel. \u201cI wanted the focus of the movie to be the emotions, and the relationships. And so Francis and I talked about it, and instead of updating it completely, we decided to keep it aesthetically, sort of in the same place where the book was written. We wanted to be very, very faithful to the DNA, however, maybe in a deviated version of reality, where our country had gone in a very different direction at some point,\u201d he says. Mollner also talks about growing up in the family business of haunted houses and why he hasn\u2019t been interested in making a horror film \u2013 yet.  To hear more, listen to the podcast. ","author_name":"Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast","author_url":"https:\/\/www.finaldraft.com","html":"