“Why would I do ‘Carrie’ now?”
\n\nSamantha Sloyan says this was one of the first things writer, director and showrunner Mike Flanagan said to her when he revealed his idea to turn Stephen King’s 1974 novel of the same name into a miniseries.
\n\nSure, Flanagan had tackled King before, adapting novels such as “Gerald’s Game” and “Doctor Sleep” into acclaimed feature films. But “Carrie” had already been adapted into one of the most famous horror movies of all time, a 1976 masterpiece by Brian De Palma which contained many indelible, nightmarish images.
\n\nAdditionally, Flanagan was interested in recruiting Sloyan to play Carrie’s religious and antagonistic mother, Margaret White, unforgettably played by Piper Laurie in the film.
\n\nBut, much like Carrie on prom night, Flanagan wanted to burn it all down.
\n\n“He just took everything down to its studs, and then rebuilt the structure,” Sloyan says.
\n\nWhat’s left is a modern tale of school bullying, with a Margaret who is both a zealot and also, thanks to Sloyan, much more human than in the past.
\n\nSloyan is in the enviable position as a loyal member of Flanagan’s stable of actors, and she’s a scene stealer in many of his darkest projects.
Original source: https://variety.com/v/tv/