Columbia Pictures
By Fatemeh Mirjalili/Aug. 28, 2022 11:00 pm EST
The film focused on Gordie’s journey
‘I thought, why didn’t I have that?’
Richard Dreyfuss, who portrayed an older version of Gordie, chimed in, stating that Reiner worked to enhance the story in every way he could. In the novella, the death of a particular character is given away in the beginning, but Reiner made sure it remained a secret until the film’s end. “I think it’s one of the ways that Rob improved on the story. You don’t know that until the end and it breaks your heart,” the actor revealed.
“In the book, when they have the face-off at the end and they stare down the gang of older boys who want to take back the body, it was Chris Chambers who picks up the gun. As we were going through, Andy Scheinman said ‘What if Gordie picks up the gun?’ Keeping with the whole idea that it’s Gordie’s journey. When we screened it for Stephen King, he says, ‘When you had Gordie pick up that gun, I thought, why didn’t I have that?’”
