The Shining remains director Stanley Kubrick’s most popular and commercially successful film. Adapted from a book by Stephen King the film starred Jack Nicholson in a defining role as father and wannabe writer who takes his family to an isolated hotel for the winter, where a sinister presence influences the father into violence. At the same time, his psychic son sees horrifying forebodings from both the past and the future.
Stories about the making of the film are legion one of which involved the author Stephen King. Originally delighted that a film director of Kubrick’s reputation was making a film of his book he soon turned against him when the author realized how much his book had been altered. It allegedly worsened after King met Kubrick on The Shining set.
Kubrick’s long time personal assistant was the late Leon Vitali. Originally an actor in ‘Barry Lyndon’ he began working full time for the director starting with The Shining where he auditioned and thousands of children for the role of Danny and compiled a shortlist for the director. We had the immense pleasure of chatting with Leon at great length about the making of The Shining and talk turned to when King met Kubrick on The Shining set.
Leon recalls the day Stephen visited the set of The Shining…….
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