MovieChat Forums > 11.22.63 (2016) Discussion > Could it work without Bill?

Could it work without Bill?

posted 7 years ago by ImReallyANarc
6 replies | jump to latest

Let's say you step into a rabbit hole in your local diner which takes you back to 2012, so you hunt down JJ Abrams and James Franco and say "I can help you adapt this incredible Stephen King book, but we need to do it without expanding Bill Turcotte's role into that of a pesky sidekick."

How would it work? There is so much of Jake's journey silently narrated in the book - would you just ignore it for your adaptation? Would you add a voice over? Would James Franco talk to himself?

I didn't like the Bill character but I do wonder if this story could have been done on television without him.

[–] drivenkick43 7 years ago

Bill was the main difference from the book, and I understand why they did it, for the reasons you explain. Jake needed someone to talk to that the viewers could hear. Then, of course, they had to kill him off before the climax so he wouldn't ruin or change that. All in all, adding/expanding Bill didn't ruin it for me. Though a few times I did think "No way Jake should trust this guy. He's a loose cannon."

[–] everlastingtoxic 7 years ago

Well you might add a voice over due to the story actually being written by Jake.

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 7 years ago

I think it could have worked without him. I did enjoy him though. His ending was a sad one though. such a shame. He did get a reset. Smile.

[–] duckofprey (1540) 7 years ago

Just some history on the expansion of the Bill character.

The screenwriter, Bridget Carpenter, came up with the idea. When she presented it to the producers and King, King called it "brilliant".

[–] MissMargoChanning (6630) 7 years ago

Thanks! It was certainly an original idea. I sometimes wonder what Bill's life became with the reset. Did he continue to tend bar? Did he rejoice when his ex brother in law went to Shawshank for murdering all but one family member?

[–] Sandman81 (1502) 6 years ago

Not only was I ok with the expansion of Bill Turcotte's character, but I think they should have taken it a few steps further. He started getting close to Oswald and his wife, I think they should have had him have an affair with Oswald's wife, and it could be suspected that she was pregnant with his kid. This would further strain the relationship between Bill and Jake and help convince Jake that Bill was unreliable.