Zac Efron is surprised and appreciative to learn Stephen King has praised his new film titled Firestarter. King authored the 1980 supernatural thriller novel of the same name, and he was evidently satisfied with the adaption.
Originally reported by Variety, Efron gushed about how much King and his opinion of the film mean to him as for him, the celebrated author is a “hero,” who creates “fascinating worlds.” During the chat, the actor came to know that King was very happy with how skillfully his novel was cinematically adapted.
“That’s great — that means the world to me. I hadn’t heard that yet. He did like the film? That’s great. Alright. My day’s made!”
Firestarter producer Jason Blum was the one who showed King the film, and the reaction was evidently positive. “I showed him the movie and he was happy with it,” Blum said. “He was very generous with his response and his comments, and I was very happy about that.”
Efron plays Andy McGee in the film, whose daughter Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) has pyrokinetic powers that she can’t yet control. He and his wife Victoria (Sydney Lemmon) have to decide whether to stop her from using her powers or teach her how to use them. All the while, they are busy evading the greedy claws of a nefarious government agency.
King has authored numerous highly-acclaimed novels, of which many have been adapted for the big and small screen, so the author’s words hold weight.
This will be the second time Firestarter has received the movie treatment. The first time it was adapted was back in 1984 and starred a young Drew Barrymore in the role of Charlie, which means Armstrong has some pretty big shoes to fill here.
Firestarter will debut in theaters and on Peacock this May 13.