Free Lilja's Library by Hans-Ake Lilja

rights.” Nothing was “sold” to me for one dollar. I did not, and do not, own any rights or option to the story. The dollar simply allowed me, a college student, to make the film.) So, I got King’s office address and sent him a check for one dollar. A month later the cashed check appeared in my bank statement…with King’s signature endorsing the check on the back! So, I knew I was “cleared” to make The Last Rung on the Ladder , and I did. The last part of this unwritten agreement was to send King a videotape of the completed film, and I did that too.  
    Lilja: By making a movie for just one dollar, you are one of the “Dollar Babies,” as King himself has put it. Do you know who the other “Dollar Babies” are and what stories they have shot?  
    James Cole: I only know two other “Dollar Babies.” One is well known: Frank Darabont. He shot The Woman in the Room in 1983 for a larger, more professional budget than myself. We all know he went on to make The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile . The other “Dollar Baby” is Jim Gonis, who filmed a faithful version of The Lawnmower Man (unlike the feature film). Jim made his film the same year I made The Last Rung on the Ladder (in 1987), at New York University film school. We met the following summer (I don’t remember how) and we’ve been friends ever since. Jim lives in Los Angeles as well. I don’t know the identities of any of the other “Dollar Babies,” but I sure would love to see their films! (I’ve only seen The Woman in the Room, The Boogeyman and The Lawnmower Man.)  
    Lilja: Do you think there is any possibility that your The Last Rung on the Ladder will be available for anyone to see in the future? Doesn’t it bother you that people can’t see your work?  
    James Cole: I can always hope. Of course it bothers me that people can’t see a film that has been written about so extensively in King publications. However, it is a film with limitations. It was shot on Super-8 with very little budget, so it certainly isn’t as professional looking in some respects as I’d like it to be. I believe that’s one reason King did not allow me to make a deal with an interested video company years ago. 
    Once I get established in Hollywood (as a credited, paid screenwriter), I not only hope to make my feature version of The Last Rung on the Ladder , but to also see if I can get my short film, and maybe some of the other worthy “Dollar Babies,” released on video. Time will tell…  
    Lilja: In your essay, you also write that the only proof you’ve got that King has seen your movie is because he’s mentioning it in The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script —have you had any contact with him at all during the years?  
    James Cole: None from him directly. I have received correspondence from his office (assistants) and even from his lawyer regarding my quest to get an option on “The Last Rung on the Ladder,” but the answer was always “no,” or “not at the present time.” The responses were always decent, but I admit I have been a bit disappointed that after ten years of trying, I have never received any word from The Man From Maine himself. I still hope to someday.  
    Lilja: Do you have any plans for making more movies based on Stephen King’s stories? If you could pick one story to shoot, which one would it be and why?  
    James Cole: I have no immediate plans, simply because I am not yet established in the industry. I believe that once I sell a script and get a movie made I’ll have a “name” and may be able to get somewhere with King at that point (I’ll have “proven” myself, I guess). But I would never adapt another King story without the rights or an option. It’s just not worth the work. 
    As for a story I would pick (as a feature), I would love to do The Long Walk or Desperation . There are other short works I’d love to adapt, like “The Monkey.” I also love “One for the Road” from Night Shift ,