When you think aboutStephen Kingmovies from the 1980s, there are a few classics that immediately come to mind.The Shining,Stand By Me,The Dead Zone, and, of course, 1983’sCujo. Directed by Lewis Teague, who can forget the horrifying tale of a rabid St. Bernard terrorizing a mother and her son trapped in a Ford Pinto on a blistering-hot summer day? Both the book and the movie managed to strike a chord with audiences, not only because of the subject matter, but also because of the way each one ended. Now, starDee Wallacehas revealed King’s reaction to the film’s conclusion, which was noticeably different from his novel.
Appearing on Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko, Wallace spoke at length about her incredible career, which has included appearances in Steven Spielberg’sE.T.,The Howling, Rob Zombie’sHalloween, andCujo. Wallace played Donna Trenton in the King film, the mother who does all she canto fend off the titular St. Bernardthat’s hell-bent on making a meal out of her and her son, Tad (Danny Pintauro). But while Donna manages to eventually kill Cujo at the end, young Tad dies in the novel from dehydration and heatstroke, and in the movie he survives. Wallace said King’s reaction to the big change was almost like a sigh of relief if for no other reason than he didn’t want the filmmakers to experience the same hatred he received:
“Stephen King wrote us afterCujo andsaid, ‘Thank God you didn’t kill the kid at the end. I’ve never gotten more hate mail for anything else I’ve done.'”
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One can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the ending didn’t change, and Tad died in the movie, too. Were audiences in the 1980s ready for such a bleak and heartbreaking conclusion? We know how the ending toThe Mistin 2007 was received, and while it’s gone on to be regarded as one of the best endings to a King film ever, we’re not sure if the same would have been said ofCujohad Tad died. It was such an intimate and claustrophobic film that to root for the two characters for over 90 minutes only to have the body of a child await us at the end would have been devastating.
Dee Wallace Says She Told Producers to Change the Ending of ‘Cujo’
Wallace would go on to reveal that she was a big factor in getting the ending changed from the book, going so far as to make it one of her conditions for agreeing to star in the film. At the time, she was coming off the success ofE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and very plainly told the producers that “the kid can’t die.” She continued, explaining her reasons why:
“C’mon, it’s the 1980s and you can’t put everybody through what we’re gonna put them through. Half the people aren’t gonna have read the book that come to see the movie.”
Thankfully, it all worked out, andCujowould go on to become a box office hit with an ending that sent audiences home happy. Word has it the novel is being adapted once again by Netflix with producer Roy Lee at the helm, and thatRequiem for a Dream’sDarren Aronofsky is in talks to direct. We’ll have more news on the project as it becomes available, but in the meantime, you can check out the original 1983 film streaming now on Pluto TV.
Source:Still Here Hollywood with Steve Kmetko
