Morgan Freeman Had A Brutally Honest Response To Script Of Stephen King Adaptation With 28% RT Score

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Morgan Freeman's Abraham frowns in Dreamcatcher

Dreamcatcher's Thomas Jane reveals Morgan Freeman's first reaction to the Stephen King adaptation film. Based on King's novel of the same name, Dreamcatcher is a 2003 body horror film about a group of friends on a snowy camping trip who discover that their vacation town has another visitor: parasitic aliens from space. The film was directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who also co-wrote the movie's screenplay alongside William Goldman. Dreamcatcher featured a leading cast including Freeman, Jane, Jason Lee, Damian Lewis, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg, Reece Thompson, and Giacomo Baessato.

As per The Kingcast, Jane explains Freeman's first reaction to Dreamcatcher. 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 recalled 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

Timothy Olyphant as Pete looking angry and holding a torch while out in the snow in Dreamcatcher

Unfortunately for the film, Freeman's statement is a reflection on how Dreamcatcher was received as a whole. The film holds a definitively rotten 28% Tomatometer among 181 critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The audience scores is not that much higher, with a 35% approval rating. Critics ribbed into Dreamcatcher for its laziness and reliance on clichés for its storytelling. As the Toronto Sta r's Geoff Pevere put it, Dreamcatcher was "easily one of the most absurdly over-plotted and incoherently condensed horror movies of recent times."

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Given the convoluted nature of the film, it is no surprise that Freeman reacted in such a way upon first reading Dreamcatcher. 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 Morgan Freeman's Dreamcatcher Reaction

Dreamcatcher Is A Weak Stephen King Adaptation

Damian Lewis as Jonesy looking at Jason Lee's Beaver looking scared in Dreamcatcher

Though it is considerably blunter than most would frame, Freeman's reaction to Dreamcatcher is justified. As a piece of literature, the King book itself is not bad. Its complexity, however, made it hard to adapt, resulting in the muddy interpretation of events that made it onto the silver scream. Dreamcatcher will continue to go down among the Dark Tower brand of King adaptations that just so thoroughly miss the mark.

Source: The Kingcast

Dreamcatcher (2003) is a sci-fi horror film directed by Lawrence Kasdan, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. The film follows four childhood friends who reunite for an annual hunting trip in a remote cabin, only to confront a malevolent alien force. Starring Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, and Damian Lewis, Dreamcatcher intertwines themes of friendship, telepathy, and survival against the backdrop of a cosmic threat.

Release Date March 21, 2003

Runtime 134 minutes

Budget $68 million

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