Dreamcatcher’s Thomas Jane reveals Morgan Freeman’s first reaction to the Stephen King adaptation film. Based onKing’s novelof the same name,Dreamcatcheris a 2003 body horror film about a group of friends on a snowy camping trip who discover that the Maine woods have another visitor: parasitic aliens from space. The film was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who also co-wrote the movie’s screenplay alongside William Goldman.Dreamcatcherfeatured a leading cast including Freeman, Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg, Reece Thompson, and Giacomo Baessato.
PerThe Kingcast, Jane explains Freeman’s first reaction toDreamcatcher. According to the Henry actor, director Kasdan wanted to have a staged reading of the film, where all the actors could sit down and read the script prior to filming. Jane recalls that the cast “read the whole damn thing from beginning to end,” noting that “it takes longer reading for some reason.” This reading ended up taking three hours. Freeman reportedly had a blunt response to the script after this reading,saying “What the f*ck was that?".Check out Jane’s full response below:
Larry [Kasdan] wanted to have a stage reading where all of the actors got together and we all sat around in a little room at the hotel and we read the script. And there’s Morgan Freeman, and [Tom] Sizemore, and [Timothy] Olyphant, and [Damian] Lewis, and we’re reading this thing, you know, actors in a room with a director read the story. And we read the whole damn thing from beginning to end, it takes longer reading for some reason, it took us like 3 hours. And at the end of it, finally, we finish the damn thing. Morgan Freeman closes his script and goes “What the f*ck was that?” That’s a true story.
What This Means For Dreamcatcher
Freeman’s Statement Reflects Dreamcatcher’s Reviews
Unfortunately for the film, Freeman’s statement is a reflection on howDreamcatcherwas received as a whole.The film holds a definitively rotten 28% Tomatometeramong 181 critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience scores is not that much higher, with a 35% approval rating. Critics tore intoDreamcatcherfor its laziness and reliance on clichés for its storytelling. As theToronto Star’s Geoff Pevere put it,Dreamcatcherwas “easily one of the most absurdly over-plotted and incoherently condensed horror movies of recent times.”
Morgan Freeman’s 10 Best Movies, Ranked
Morgan Freeman has been acting for 60 years, and in that time, he has managed to create an impressive body of work with incredible performances.
Given the convoluted nature of the film, it is no surprise that Freeman reacted in such a way upon first readingDreamcatcher. At that point, Freeman was an acting icon who had already been nominated for three Oscars for his past works.Dreamcatcher’s wildness would pose a challenge for him acting-wise. In fact, a number of critics noted how high-caliber the cast itself was, even if said cast achieved minimal results.
Our Take On Freeman’s Dreamcatcher Reaction
Dreamcatcher Is A Weak King Adaptation
Though it is considerably blunter than most would frame,Freeman’s reaction toDreamcatcheris justified.As a piece of literature, the King book itself is not one of his strongest. The novel was the first King wrote after being struck by a van in 1999 while he was still recovering from his injuries. Its overly complicated plot made it hard to adapt, resulting in the muddy interpretation of events that made it onto the silver screen.Dreamcatcherwill continue to go down among theDark Towerbrand ofKing adaptationsthat just so thoroughly miss the mark.
Dreamcatcher
Cast
Dreamcatcher, directed by Lawrence Kasdan, follows four childhood friends whose lives changed after an encounter with a mysterious force. On a hunting trip in Maine, they face both a malevolent alien presence and a ruthless military operative, testing their supernatural gifts and friendship. Released in 2003, the film is based on Stephen King’s novel.
