♪♪ ( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ♪♪
>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY! >> STEPHEN: WELCOME BACK.
TO THE "A LATE SHOW."
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY FIRST GUEST TONIGHT IS KNOWN
AS "THE KING OF HORROR" AND HAS WRITTEN MORE THAN 60 NOVELS.
HIS LATEST IS CALLED "BILLY SUMMERS."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE SHOW," STEPHEN KING!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ♪♪
>> Stephen: NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE.
>> IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I HAVE BEEN IN FRONT OF REAL
PEOPLE.
>> Stephen: IT TAKES A LITTLE GETTING USED TO.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> IT'S REALLY SORT OF
WONDERFUL.
>> Stephen: IT IS.
IT IS.
HUMAN CONTACT, IT'S A RARE COMMODITY.
>> IT'S A HELL OF A ZOOM SCREEN, I CAN TELL YOU THAT.
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: WE HAVE SPOKEN
OVER THE ZOOM, WE DID INTERVIEWS OVER THE ZOOM IN THE LAST 16,
HOWEVER LONG IT WAS WE WERE ALL LOCKED DOWN.
YOU KNOW, FOR THE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO DON'T KNOW, YOU'VE GOT
A PLACE IN THE STATE OF MAINE, YOU'VE LIVED THERE YOUR ENTIRE
LIFE.
HAVE PROPERTY VALUES SHOT THROUGH THE ROOF?
I HEAR YOU CAN'T TOUCH PROPERTY THERE.
>> IT'S TOUGH.
PROPERTY IS, BOOP!
THROUGH THE ROOF.
>> Stephen: YOU THOUGHT ABOUT TURNING YOUR PLACE INTO AN
AIRBNB OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT?
>> YEAH, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET, MAN.
>> Stephen: YES.
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> I DON'T KNOW!
>> Stephen: YOU CAN CHECK OUT ANYTIME YOU LIKE BUT --
>> YOU CAN NEVER REALLY LEAVE!
THAT'S RIGHT.
>> Stephen: WELL, YOU'VE WRITTEN OVER 60 NOVELS BUT
YOU'RE ALSO PROLIFIC ON TWITTER.
I FOLLOW YOU ON TWITTER.
PEOPLE ENJOY YOUR TWITTER FEED.
YOU HAVE BEEN PARTICULARLY ELOQUENT ABOUT GOVERNOR RON
DeSANTIS OF FLORIDA.
IS THERE A CHANCE IN THE FUTURE WE MIGHT SEE A FLORIDA GOVERNOR
AS A VILLAIN?
( LAUGHTER ) OF ONE OF YOUR NOVELS?
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) >> WELL, THAT'S ENTIRELY
POSSIBLE.
YOU KNOW, THE THING IS, LIKE, I KNOW THE GUY FAIRLY UPCLOSE
BECAUSE WE LIVE HALF OF THE YEAR IN FLORIDA.
NOW, I DIDN'T REALLY WANT TO GO, BUT ONCE YOU GET TO BE 65 AND
YOU DON'T PLAY TENNIS VERY WELL, IT'S THE LAW.
>> Stephen: THEY COME AND GET YOU.
>> YEAH, THEY COME AND GET YOU ANYWAY, YEAH.
>> Stephen: YOU SAID THIS RECENTLY, YOU SAID DeSANTIS'
POLICIES ARE RIGHT WING, THE INDIVIDUAL RULES AND TO HELL
WITH WHAT HAPPENS POLICIES, THEY'RE TURNING A BEAUTIFUL
STATE INTO A BIG I.C.U. WARD WHERE EVEN HEALTHY PEOPLE CAN
BARELY BREATHE.
>> YEAH.
WELL, IT ISN'T JUST COVID.
COVID IS BAD ENOUGH.
BUT, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A RETAINMENT POOL AT PINEY POINT,
AND NOBODY TOOK CARE OF IT, AND IT GOT OLD, AND IT WAS GOING TO
BURST.
AND, SO, THEY VENTED IT.
THIS IS ONLY DeSANTIS COULD DO THIS.
ONLY DeSANTIS COULD REALLY THINK OF THIS.
THEY VENTED IT INTO TAMPA BAY, AND, AS A RESULT, RED TIDE IS SO
BAD THERE, THERE'S NO QUESTIONS ABOUT MASKS ON THE WEST COAST OF
FLORIDA BECAUSE THE RED TIDE IS SO BAD THAT YOU HAVE TO WEAR A
MASK, AND THERE ARE TONS AND TONS OF FISH THAT ARE DEAD ON
THE BEACH, AND, SO, IT ISN'T JUST COVID.
RON DeSANTIS IS PROBABLY NOT THE BRIGHTEST BULB IN THE
CHANDELIER AT THE BEST OF TIMES.
>> Stephen: NOT A GENIUS.
NO, I WOULDN'T SAY SO.
>> Stephen: NOT A MASTER MIND.
HE'S GOT THAT DEER IN THE HEAD LIGHTS LOOK SOMEHOW.
( LAUGHTER ) SO, UH --
>> Stephen: DEER IN THE HEAD LIGHTS HOPING THAT'S TWO
MOTORCYCLES THAT ARE GOING TO GO RIGHT BY HIM.
>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: AS A WRITER, HOW
IS THE REALITY OF COVID AND WHAT WE IN THE UNITED STATES AND WHAT
EVERYONE AROUND THE WORLD HAS GONE THROUGH, THIS UNPRECEDENTED
THING IN THE LAST 100 YEARS, HOW DO YOU THINK THAT WILL AFFECT
YOUR FICTION OR REALLY THE FICTION OF ANY WRITERS BECAUSE
HOW COULD YOU WRITE ABOUT THE TIME WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW AND NOT
INCLUDE THAT?
>> WELL, I STARTED "BILLY SUMMERS," THE NEW ONE, IN 2000
AND -- OH, THANK YOU!
GOD BLESS YOU!
>> Stephen: IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO GET OUT THERE THE NEWS THAT
YOU WRITE BOOKS.
> THAT'S RIGHT, THAT'S RIGHT.
( LAUGHTER ) BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE THING IS,
WHEN YOU PUBLISHED A NEW BOOK, YOU'VE GOT TO GET OUT SOMEWHERE
AND SHAKE YOUR AS A LITTLE BIT.
>> Stephen: WORK THAT MONEYMAKER.
>> SHAKE THAT MON GAINEYMAKER, BABY.
I STARTED IN 2019, AND THERE WAS NO COVID THEN, AND I HAD A
COUPLE OF CHARACTERS THAT I HAD TO GET OFF THE STAGE FOR REASONS
THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE PLOT.
WE WON'T GO THERE.
BUT, SO, I SAID, YOU KNOW, I TELL YOU WHAT, I'LL PUT THEM ON
A CRUISE SHIP, AND THEN COVID CAME ALONG, AND I SAID, NO, THIS
IS PROBABLY NOT GOING TO WORK.
SO WHAT I DID WAS I TOOK THE WHOLE BOOK, WHICH WAS SET IN
2020, AND SHOVED IT BACK TO 2019.
NOW, WRITERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT FOR LONG.
SOONER OR LATER, SOMEBODY'S GOING TO HAVE TO DEAL WITH THIS
THING HEAD ON.
>> Stephen: WE'LL HAVE TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK.
DON'T GO AWAY.
WHEN WE COME BACK I'LL ASK STEPHEN KING WHAT STEPHEN KING
FAVORITE STEPHEN KING STORIES ARE.
STICK AROUND