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Stephen King's 11/22/63
Updated
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie/Show Title:
Genre:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
2016
Original Running Time:
438
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
152
Time Cut:
286
Subtitles Available?
Available in HD?
Additional Links:
Brief Synopsis:
Stephen King’s 11/22/63 is a feature film edit of the Hulu miniseries with a new opening credits and a heavily streamlined story centering on Jake Epping’s traumatic events leading up to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Intention:
I wanted to make this edit because it's a fantastic story, and I wanted to find out if it can be translated into a movie. I don't think many people saw this show, but it's pretty good. It’s quite different from the book, but the show mostly works because it just happens to have James Franco's best performance I've ever seen, in my opinion. Too bad not many people have seen it, from what I gather. The novel is also one of Stephen King's longest books- so turning an adapted show into a film already felt like a lose-lose situation. But it didn’t hurt to try. I’ve also been working on this since 2022- abandoned it, restarted it, abandoned it again, got a new machine, etc.- but alas, it can be done. So many challenges and I killed so many darlings along the way.
Other Sources:
Oliver Stone's JFK
The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan (Fort Nowhere cover)
The Times They Are A-Changin' by Bob Dylan (Fort Nowhere cover)
Release Information:
Digital
Editing Details:
The most important element for me was to keep and nurture the Jake and Sadie relationship. That's the heart of the story, in my opinion. It's the heart of the book. Not the time-travel, not the supernatural stuff, not the scares, not even the assassination conspiracy. The relationship happens to be the best part of the show, played wonderfully by James Franco and Sarah Gadon. This element was my North Star I held on to as I made the changes.
So many darlings and favorite moments murdered in favor for a stronger, tighter plot. But along the way, I made a few changes that made it closer to the book which I’m very happy about. I do understand keeping a few things. For example, I really wanted to remove the Billy character completely from this movie. In the novel, he's an old man who dies early and doesn't show up again. In the show, they made Billy this youngin' and a super prominent side-kick to Jake, the protagonist, throughout the ENTIRE series. I made peace with this and made sure that all the important things still work. Billy ended up being an interesting foil for the story as this edit went along, and I understand why they created him.
So many darlings and favorite moments murdered in favor for a stronger, tighter plot. But along the way, I made a few changes that made it closer to the book which I’m very happy about. I do understand keeping a few things. For example, I really wanted to remove the Billy character completely from this movie. In the novel, he's an old man who dies early and doesn't show up again. In the show, they made Billy this youngin' and a super prominent side-kick to Jake, the protagonist, throughout the ENTIRE series. I made peace with this and made sure that all the important things still work. Billy ended up being an interesting foil for the story as this edit went along, and I understand why they created him.
Cuts and Additions:
1. Removed janitor Harry asking for promotion. I like the idea of Jake making the initiative and being rejected by the principal. Keeping this for the payoff at the end (which made me cry).
2. Made new opening credits. I liked the show’s original opening credits, and I thought about keeping it. But as I went on, I used it as a placeholder until I made my own montage version from footage of that time period. Used Bob Dylan’s "The Times They Are-Changin", which apparently was recorded just a month before the assassination. It reminded too much of the iconic Watchmen intro so I found a cover version which I thought fits the mood. It’s got this marching/presidential/ticking clock vibe which I thought was perfect. My new opening credits was inspired by Netflix's Dark opening credits- also a time-travel show!
3. Removed Jake meeting Sadie for the first time in Dealey Plaza, TX. In the novel, they meet for the first time later when Jake teaches at a high school. So for this edit, they meet-cute before a school dance as chaperones. I made it closer to the book.
4. Removed George de Mohrenschildt chase sequences (we’ll see him later). Along with this, removed scene fire scene that almost made Jake quit.
5. Removed gambling shenanigans.
6. Removed 99% of Yellow Card Man. He’s still around as a creep though.
7. Removed Price Family scenes for pacing. They’re not in the book, I don’t think.
8. Removed Billy and Jake going to a brothel.
9. Unfortunately, I removed many scenes with Mimi and Deke. I love them though.
10. Removed Sadie finding a Russian recording. It’s filler drama.
11. Removed the surgery fake-out for Sadie’s scar. These scenes are creepy and thrilling but it didn’t push the story forward.
12. Removed Jake’s amnesia subplot. I get that this is in the book, but I think it just prolongs the assassination. This is also a casualty from already deleting the gambling scenes.
13. Removed Billy's suicide. His story is so tragic in the show. What Jake did was despicable. I really wanted to keep this scene, but the ramifications weren’t there emotionally in the aftermath. The suicide also occurred during Jake’s amnesia. Since I’m removing the amnesia subplot, this was a casualty from that. I would’ve kept it if this scene if it haunted Jake more, but the show didn’t provide this content.
14. Nearing the end of the show, after preventing the assassination, Jake goes back to the future, finds out everything is fucked, and goes back to reset. When he’s resetting he finds closure with Sadie (who just happens to be in Lisbon too). This doesn’t happen in the book, from what I remember. I removed these scenes with Sadie in Lisbon. I liked the idea that Sadie is somewhere else in the country and Jake realizes he must let go of Sadie and is okay with not finding closure, but saves the world instead.
15. … only to discover that she’s still alive in the future, an older gal, later on in the story. I think the ending of the show nails the emotional ending of the novel and I wanted to keep this. What a lovely dance.
2. Made new opening credits. I liked the show’s original opening credits, and I thought about keeping it. But as I went on, I used it as a placeholder until I made my own montage version from footage of that time period. Used Bob Dylan’s "The Times They Are-Changin", which apparently was recorded just a month before the assassination. It reminded too much of the iconic Watchmen intro so I found a cover version which I thought fits the mood. It’s got this marching/presidential/ticking clock vibe which I thought was perfect. My new opening credits was inspired by Netflix's Dark opening credits- also a time-travel show!
3. Removed Jake meeting Sadie for the first time in Dealey Plaza, TX. In the novel, they meet for the first time later when Jake teaches at a high school. So for this edit, they meet-cute before a school dance as chaperones. I made it closer to the book.
4. Removed George de Mohrenschildt chase sequences (we’ll see him later). Along with this, removed scene fire scene that almost made Jake quit.
5. Removed gambling shenanigans.
6. Removed 99% of Yellow Card Man. He’s still around as a creep though.
7. Removed Price Family scenes for pacing. They’re not in the book, I don’t think.
8. Removed Billy and Jake going to a brothel.
9. Unfortunately, I removed many scenes with Mimi and Deke. I love them though.
10. Removed Sadie finding a Russian recording. It’s filler drama.
11. Removed the surgery fake-out for Sadie’s scar. These scenes are creepy and thrilling but it didn’t push the story forward.
12. Removed Jake’s amnesia subplot. I get that this is in the book, but I think it just prolongs the assassination. This is also a casualty from already deleting the gambling scenes.
13. Removed Billy's suicide. His story is so tragic in the show. What Jake did was despicable. I really wanted to keep this scene, but the ramifications weren’t there emotionally in the aftermath. The suicide also occurred during Jake’s amnesia. Since I’m removing the amnesia subplot, this was a casualty from that. I would’ve kept it if this scene if it haunted Jake more, but the show didn’t provide this content.
14. Nearing the end of the show, after preventing the assassination, Jake goes back to the future, finds out everything is fucked, and goes back to reset. When he’s resetting he finds closure with Sadie (who just happens to be in Lisbon too). This doesn’t happen in the book, from what I remember. I removed these scenes with Sadie in Lisbon. I liked the idea that Sadie is somewhere else in the country and Jake realizes he must let go of Sadie and is okay with not finding closure, but saves the world instead.
15. … only to discover that she’s still alive in the future, an older gal, later on in the story. I think the ending of the show nails the emotional ending of the novel and I wanted to keep this. What a lovely dance.
User reviews
2 reviews
Overall rating
9.7
Audio/Video Quality
9.0(2)
Audio Editing
10.0(2)
Visual Editing
9.5(2)
Narrative
10.0(2)
Enjoyment
10.0(2)
Overall rating
9.5
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
9.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Awesome opening credits!
In terms of the narrative, this is spot-on. There’s no filler and no subplots that lead to nowhere. The entire story is much more cohesive.
The edit tells a somewhat different story compared to the original, and it’s a great way to rewatch it. Of course, some interesting bits had to be left on the cutting floor. But in no way did that lessened the enjoyment of watching it.
At 0h55m28, the cut creates a continuity error; one second Sadie is looking straight at Jake, the next she’s looking right.
In terms of the narrative, this is spot-on. There’s no filler and no subplots that lead to nowhere. The entire story is much more cohesive.
The edit tells a somewhat different story compared to the original, and it’s a great way to rewatch it. Of course, some interesting bits had to be left on the cutting floor. But in no way did that lessened the enjoyment of watching it.
At 0h55m28, the cut creates a continuity error; one second Sadie is looking straight at Jake, the next she’s looking right.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
G
(Updated: April 10, 2024)
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
10.0
Enjoyment
10.0
A perfect way to revisit the series without the burden of time commitment. I've been wanting to see this series again since watching it to begin with, five or six years ago at this point. I've owned the Blu-ray for four years at least and have actually meant to make an edit of it like this myself, but am so glad I don't have to now thanks to Gibichung's work here! Obviously it's not as in-depth an experience as the series because, of course, how could it be... But I really struggle to ever deposit all my time to a series, especially rewatching one such as this, so this edit provides the perfect way to re-enter the world one way or another. The pace is solid and riveting, the editing is seamless, and that intro sequence is immaculate (which Dylan cover is this specifically?). Great work, I'm beyond satisfied.
M