Doctor Sleep (2019 film)

Doctor Sleep
Directed by	Mike Flanagan
Produced by	Trevor Macy Jon Berg
Written by	Mike Flanagan
Based on	Doctor Sleep by Stephen King
Starring	Ewan McGregor
Music by	The Newton Brothers
Cinematography	Michael Fimognari
Edited by	Mike Flanagan
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08) (United States)
Country	United States
Language	English

Doctor Sleep is an upcoming American horror film based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Stephen King. Ewan McGregor stars as Danny Torrance, a man with psychic powers who struggles with alcoholism. The film is written and directed by Mike Flanagan.

King's novel Doctor Sleep is a sequel to his 1977 horror novel The Shining, in which the character Danny Torrance first appears as a child with psychic powers called "the shining". The Shining was adapted into a 1980 horror film of the same name by director Stanley Kubrick. While the film Doctor Sleep is a direct adaptation of King's novel, Flanagan said that Kubrick's The Shining would be acknowledged in part.

Warner Bros. Pictures began developing a film adaptation shortly after the novel was published. Writer-producer Akiva Goldsman wrote a script, but the studio did not secure a budget for the film until the box office success of its 2017 horror film It, also based on a novel by King. Flanagan was hired to rewrite Goldsman's script and direct the film. Filming began in September 2018 in the state of Georgia, including Atlanta and the surrounding area, and concluded in December 2018.

Warner Bros. plans to release Doctor Sleep in theaters in the United States on November 8, 2019.

Synopsis

Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father's legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant "shining" power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes "Doctor Sleep." Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone (Kyliegh Curran), and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan's own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra's soul and survival.

Cast

Ewan McGregor stars as Danny Torrance

• Ewan McGregor as Danny Torrance, a man with psychic powers known as "the shining". The character first appeared as a child in the 1980 film The Shining, played by Danny Lloyd.
• Rebecca Ferguson as Rose the Hat, head of the True Knot, a cult that feeds on children with psychic powers
• Kyliegh Curran as Abra Stone, a girl with "the shining"
• Bruce Greenwood as Dr. John Dalton, the Stone family's doctor
• Zahn McClarnon as Crow Daddy, Rose the Hat's right-hand man
• Emily Alyn Lind as Snakebite Andi, a member of the True Knot
• Carl Lumbly as Dick Hallorann, the former cook from the Overlook Hotel who has "the shining". Dick was originally played by Scatman Crothers in The Shining.
• Alex Essoe as Wendy Torrance, Danny's mother. Wendy was originally played by Shelley Duvall in The Shining.
• Jocelin Donahue
• Jacob Tremblay
• Zackary Momoh

Connection to The Shining novel and film

Doctor Sleep is based on the 2013 horror novel of the same name by Stephen King. The novel is a sequel to King's 1977 novel The Shining. The 1977 novel was adapted into a 1980 horror film of the same name by director Stanley Kubrick. King was critical of Kubrick's film adaptation to the point of writing and executive-producing a new adaptation with the 1997 television miniseries. While the film Doctor Sleep is intended to be a direct adaptation of the 2013 sequel novel, director Mike Flanagan said Doctor Sleep would still "acknowledge Kubrick's The Shining in some way".

When Warner Bros. showed footage of Doctor Sleep at CinemaCon in April 2019, IndieWire's Zack Sharf said, "The footage included a title that said 'Witness the Conclusion,' alluding to 'Doctor Sleep' being the true ending to 'The Shining' saga." Sharf highlighted elements from the film The Shining: a Kubrick-inspired overhead shot and that film's original music being played.

Production

Development

Warner Bros. Pictures began developing a film adaptation of Doctor Sleep as early as 2014. In 2016, writer-producer Akiva Goldsman announced that he would write and produce the film for Warner Bros. For several years, Warner Bros. could not secure a budget for Doctor Sleep or for a prequel to The Shining to be called Overlook Hotel.

In late 2017, Warner Bros. released It, a film adaptation of King's 1986 novel of the same name, and its box-office success led the studio to fast-track production of Doctor Sleep. Warner Bros. hired Mike Flanagan in January 2018 to rewrite Goldsman's script and to direct the film. Flanagan said why he was interested in directing Doctor Sleep, "It touches on themes that are the most attractive to me, which are childhood trauma leading into adulthood, addiction, the breakdown of a family, and the after effects, decades later."

Casting

From June to November 2018, the cast was assembled.

Filming

Filming began in September 2018 in the US state of Georgia; locations included Atlanta and St. Simons. In the area of Atlanta, specific locations included Covington, Canton, Stone Mountain, Midtown, Porterdale, and Fayetteville. Production concluded in December 2018. By January 2019, Flanagan was editing the film.

Music

The film score will be composed by The Newton Brothers (Andy Grush and Taylor Stewart), who also composed scores for Flanagan's previous works.

Release

Warner Bros. Pictures plans to release Doctor Sleep in theaters in the United States on November 8, 2019. It was initially scheduled to be released on January 24, 2020. Deadline Hollywood said the re-scheduling reflected Warner Bros. giving "a major vote of confidence" to the film.

See also

• List of adaptations of works by Stephen King

External links

• Doctor Sleep at IMDb