One of the best things about "Stephen King's The Shining" is the hotel where it was filmed. And that hotel is the one that actually inspired King to write the book.
The miniseries' producer, Mark Carliner, had learned from director Mick Garris that there really was such a place. "And so before I met Steve, I said, `Well, let's fly and see this hotel. Because if it inspired the book, it sounds like a pretty good place to maybe make your movie,' " Carliner said.Upon arriving at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colo., Carliner and Garris were both excited by the possibilities - nearly as excited as King himself had been when he visited the hotel.
That was back in the '70s, shortly after the author had moved his family from Maine to Colorado. He was hoping to find a new setting - and an inspiration - for a book. But until he and his wife drove from Boulder to Estes Park, the move West had not brought King any ideas.
"And then we went past that sign that said, `Roads may be closed after October.' And I said, `Whoa - wait a minute. Something's happening here,' " King said.
The Kings arrived at the Stanley on the last day of the season, just before it closed for the winter. And the only reason they could check in was because King had enough cash on him to pay the bill - the hotel had already sent its credit-card slips back to an office in Denver.
As it turned out, that bit of cash paid for "The Shining."
"We were the only guests in the hotel that night," King said. "And the wind was high and it was blowing around. And one of the shutters had come unanchored and was clapping against the side of the building.
"The orchestra was still there, and they were playing, but except for one table, all the chairs were up on the tables. So they're playing, and the music is echoing down the hall. And, I mean, it was like God had put me there to hear that and see those things. And by the time I went to bed that night, I had the whole book in my mind.
"I don't know how to describe this, but sometimes it's just there, and it says, `Let me out,' " King said. "It wants to be out there as fast as it can be. And it's not like writing a book, it's more like just sort of transcribing. Downloading what's there and getting it out on paper, and when it's done it's done."
The one thing the hotel didn't have was topiary animals, which come to life in a frightening manner in the book and miniseries. King said they were inspired by a trip to Disney World.
And shooting at the Stanley was not a simple choice. For one thing, the production company was pushing a location in Canada, where production costs are lower. For another, the Stanley is not at all isolated, as is the fictional Overlook Hotel - it sits right next to the rest of the town.
But Garris took a camcorder along on that scouting trip. "I could find angles where you don't see anything that gives away that the town is about 12 feet from this hotel," he said. And that tape convinced the production company to give up on the idea of Canada.
Garris also sent a copy of that tape to King.
"I remember saying to him, `Steve, what would you think if we were able to actually do it at the Stanley Hotel?' " Garris said. "And he said, `That would be a dream come true.' "
So the entire cast and crew packed off to the Stanley, with an excited King in the entourage.
"I had never been there, except for that one night, until we started this sihow," King said. "It was like walking back into my own head."