When you’re a movie buff it’s hard to imagine that people have seen certain movies, especially if they’re the type of movies that create a huge reaction in the population considering their overall message. But even with that in mind, it’s wise to realize that a lot of people either don’t watch movies that often or don’t put as much stock in them as some folks do. The fact that Stephen King hadn’t seen Fight Club until a little while ago would have been less than important if the author hadn’t started going on Twitter to recommend movies that he’d been inspired to watch at one point. But thinking that he hadn’t watched Fight Club still wasn’t that big of a deal, even if people treat it like something that is hard to believe. There is a reason that it didn’t happen right away though, and it’s one of the best reasons that a person could possibly think of.
The same year that Fight Club came out, 1999, was when King was struck by a van and sent to the hospital with multiple injuries that left him rather banged up for a while. While the movie came out in October he was in no shape to go watch it, and even by the time it was out of theaters it was likely that he wouldn’t be in great shape to sit for a couple of hours in a theater seat without feeling the pain that it would have caused. On top of that, the pain medications that he was on left him understandably loopy, so even if he had sat through the movie it’s likely that he wouldn’t have remembered. After recovering it’s possible that he could have gone and procured his own copy of the movie in order to sit down and watch it, but it’s also likely that being the busy person he is that the idea slipped his mind a time or two, which is pretty normal.
Let’s put it this way, those that think that it’s so easy to go out and watch a movie are typically those that don’t have a lot of outside interests or much going on in their lives that demands that much of their time. It’s great to have the time to make it to a theater or to go out and find a movie that you’ve been wanting to watch for some time, but sitting down for a couple of hours at a time to watch something isn’t something that everyone gets to do these days. Taking that time is important by all means, since that period of relaxation is what helps us to recharge and in some ways to become inspired by what we see or simply enjoy the story that’s in front of us. But thinking that King didn’t watch Fight Club for the next 20 years or isn’t hard to believe since it’s likely that the author is pretty busy most of the time jotting down his own stories for people to enjoy, not to mention poring over whatever other business he might have when it comes to seeing his stories adapted to the big or small screen.
There are likely plenty of movies that a lot of us would love to sit down and watch, but unless we have that time to take, or decide to take the time even if we don’t have much of it, then the movies are going to have to wait. Personally, there are plenty of movies I’d love to sit and watch, and there are those that I’ve taken the time to watch, like many others, but there are those times when things don’t work out that way. One would think that it would be more interesting to see what Stephen King thought of Fight Club however than the fact that he’d finally watched it. At the very least it would appear that he did happen to like the movie from his tweets, but focusing on the fact that he actually watched the movie feels a bit short-sighted. Oh well, people tend to focus on what they want to.
One thing that a lot of movie buffs need to remember is that a lot of people enjoy movies, but there are plenty of folks that have other things to do with their lives. Those of us that make our living reporting on movies and various forms of entertainment need to dial it back just a bit from time to time and realize that people if they really want to see a movie, will likely get around to it at some point. If nothing else, it’s fun to think of what it might have been like for King to watch this for the first time, but if one is skilled enough they can learn how to see a movie from a different viewpoint each time they watch it.
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