More than 40 years after starring alongside Tom Cruise inRisky Business,Rebecca De Mornayis still stealing scenes on the big screen. Her new thrillerSaint Clareis a far cry from the 1983 comedy classic, being a thriller and all, but De Mornay is no stranger to the dark and edgy stuff. Back in 1997, she portrayed Wendy Torrance inStephen King’s own adaptation of his iconic novelThe Shining. This time, it was for the small screen, released on ABC in three episodes, and starkly different from Stanley Kubrick’s film version that hit theaters in 1980. MovieWeb recently spoke with De Mornay while she was promoting her new movie. The longtime actress also took time to reflect on her experience working with King and portraying the iconic character Wendy Torrance that had beentackled by the late Shelley Duvallin Kubrick’s film. De Mornay also offered insight into why exactly King openly hated the 1980 adaptation.
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“I got to just spend a teensy bit of time with [King on set]. I love that man. He’s so unique. And the book that he wrote,On Writing… I just finished a novel, and a lot of what I took, you know — it was like a master class, just his book on what to focus on,” De Mornay told MovieWeb. “I actually happened to like the movieThe Shininga lot, with, you know, Jack Nicholson… I hadn’t read the novel, believe it or not, until I then did [the TV adaptation].” She continued:
“I didn’t realize [the movie] was so different from his novel, and that [King] was sort of perturbed by that himself… because [Wendy Torrance] was written so strong [in the novel], and that’s one of the things that really bothered Stephen King — the approach to that character by Shelley Duvall and Kubrick. [King] was very against that. So I literally had absolutely nothing to do with that [version]. First of all, it wasn’t written that way [in King’s TV adaptation]. But second of all, knowing that she was just, you know, a stronger wife.”
Rebecca De Mornay’s Chemistry With Bella Thorne
Years later, De Mornay is still tackling strong characters, as showcased in her latest thrillerSaint Clare. She plays grandmother and guardian to the college-aged eponymous antihero, portrayed by Bella Thorne, an assassin by night who’s blessed with sniffing out the evil in modern society. De Mornay opened up to MovieWeb about working with the former Disney star:
“Our chemistry was instantaneous. I mean, I had never met [Thorne] before, but I remember when I got to set, we took Polaroids together that I think were going to be used [for the movie]. And, you know, she’s a very wild, fierce, bold spirit, Bella. And I can certainly relate to that. And there’s just something kind of just strong-willed about her. And, I mean, she was very close with our director, Mitzi [Peirone]. And she was very quiet in the part, but a really interesting performance in that it’s quiet, but it’s always filled. It’s not empty quiet. It’s like, there’s something there. I’ll just say that our chemistry was sort of effortless.”
Check out the dynamic for yourself. From Quiver Distribution,Saint Clareis now available in theaters, on demand and on digital.
The Shining
