“The Woman in the Room” by Frank Darabont. A.K.A “A love letter to all Dollar Babies”

“The Woman in the Room” by Frank Darabont:
A.K.A. “The Dollar Baby that opened doors every filmmaker dreams of entering.”
A.K.A. “Why create films most will never see.”
A.K.A. “A love letter to all Dollar Babies.”

Warning: Before I start to talk about Frank Darabont’s Dollar Baby, I will talk about some other things and I will talk a lot. I will talk about Darabont, Dollar Baby filmmakers and also about the reason why they make movies that most people will never be able to watch.

So, once you guys are aware of it, let’s get start it:

So, that is it. I am writing this text on December 30th, 2024, and tomorrow the Dollar Baby Deal will end. Or at least it will be the end of it as we know it. It was a fun ride, wasn’t it? For those who made the movies, for those who watched them and for those who wrote about them. I was blessed because I could do all those things. The movies are not that easy to find to watch, most of the best ones aren’t on-line.

So, if you had the chance to watch them at a film fest or at some special screening, well, you are a lucky fellow. Aaaand, if you are one of those that were blessed by the chance to make a Dollar Baby, man, you also know how lucky you are, how special this Dollar Baby is and will be forever.

Yes, it is special and unique, believe me when I say it. No matter if your Dollar Baby was part of only 1 film festival or a 100. No matter if it got 19 awards or not a single one. No matter if only your parents and your friends in college had the chance to watch your movie, you do know that you had the chance to make something unique and you did it. You got the chance to adapt a story from your favourite author and you did. You got the chance to express yourself, show your vision of the world and your ideas and you did. You took the first step to try and become what you have always wanted to be and you walked that step. The Dollar Babies were the first step to many young filmmakers, no matter how far the journey took them after that. At least they took the first step.

So, let’s think about that for a second, let’s think about the reason why someone chooses to make a movie that most people will never be able to watch.

When you wanna be a filmmaker and you are really up to go after it, you will soon find out that there is a hard road ahead of you. A road that most people won’t ride on for too long, because it is a hard and unfair road, where just your talent won’t be enough to keep you on the track. There are many who dared to dream about this road and many who believed the promises that the road itself makes. The only thing for sure on this road, the only thing I can promise you about this road is that, no matter how long you stay on it or even how successful you will become, I promise you that you will have some fun, because making movies is too damn good.

After a lot of study you will feel like you are ready to make your first movie, but the first bump in this road is a question that every young filmmaker faces: which movie should I shoot first? Because this young filmmaker probably has a lot of ideas of his own, maybe (s)he thinks that her/his ideas are genius and maybe (s)he will try some of them. And that is a rookie mistake. Why? Let’s face it: there is a 50% chance that this “genius” idea is really genius. Or even less. And sometimes even the really genius ideas become bad movies because the filmmakers aren’t ready to do a great movie yet.

What I use to say to young filmmakers is that they should not use their favorite original ideas for their first movies. Because the first movies are meant to try things and it is where it is allowed to make mistakes. Otherwise, someday in the future you will probably look back to your first movies and realize that they were good ideas, but you fucked things up because of your unexperience.

So, if people would think about it they would face once again that question: which movie should I shoot first? I used to recommend them to adapt some authors which have the rights of their work in the public domain. Or, before the Dollar Baby program entered its last year, I used to tell young filmmakers about the Dollar Baby program. Why? Because you would have a great story to tell written by a famous author that has millions of fans around the world, so not only you would have a good story at your hands, but also people willing to watch your movie. But yes, there was a catch…

I always hear the same question when I explain the rules of the Dollar Baby program: why should I make a movie that I won’t be allowed to post on-line and will never be able to make money from it. I used to have a lot of answers for that question, but one of them is the main theme of this review: Frank Darabont!

If you are a fan of Stephen King (the books or at least the movies based upon his work) you probably know at least one of Darabont’s movies based upon King’s work. Darabont is the filmmaker responsible for what I call “The perfect Stephen King Trilogy”: “The Shawshank Redemption“, “The Green Mile” and “The Mist“. Why perfect? Because these three movies adapt not only great stories, but also sides of King’s work which make King such a unique author.

“The Shawshank Redemption” is a great story that happens decades ago covering decades of a friendship between two convicted prisoners at a state prison in Maine. Two perfect characters and a great story. A drama, not a horror story. And who knows me knows that I love King’s work, but instead of preferring his horror stories like most people do, I prefer King’ stories that will make me cry. Don’t get me wrong, I love King’s horror stories, but I think that it is in drama where he shows the world how good he really is as an author. That is the main reason why I chose “All that you love will be carried away” to make my own Dollar Baby. King really understands the soul of lonely people and that is why I love Andy Dufrene the same why I love Alfie Zimmerman.

“The Green Mile” on the other hand is also a drama, but with a touch of supernatural and violence. And when King writes stories like this one he also nails it. In those stories there is violence too, nasty people too, and all the elements King is so good at writing about. But the main thing is not horror, monsters or the supernatural. It might have violent lives or sad lives. Usually both mixup. Great stories indeed. “Hearts in Atlantis“, “Dolores Claiborne“, “Gerald’s Game“, “Apt Pupil“, etc etc.

And, of course, there is “The Mist“: an old fashioned horror story, the genre which made King famous in the first place. Nasty monsters outside of a supermarket trying to get inside of it, the characters trying to survive. Aaaand even during this nightmare, we realize that the main problem of humanity is humanity!!! That is such a “Juice of King’s work!”!!

That is why I consider these three movies a perfect Stephen King Trilogy. When I used to believe that I would have the time (and money) to make another two Dollar Babies, my wish was to make something like Darabont did, but in short movies: I already had my drama, after that I would try something close to Bachman’ style (I wrote a screenplay for “In the Deathroom“) and to finish my trilogy I would shoot a horror movie. But, in the end I did not have either the time or the money for it.

But, once again, why was Frank Darabont my main answer when people used to ask why make movies that most people will never be able to watch? Well, because Darabont did it. He did and got people’s attention. Frank not only was the third Dollar Baby filmmaker but also he is the one who went higher in Hollywood after shooting a Dollar Baby. He is the Dollar Baby filmmaker that has his work known worldwide. He directed three movies produced by Warner Brothers based upon King’s work and he also was responsible for bringing to TV Robert Kirkman’s masterpiece “The Walking Dead“. And, let’s face it: which young filmmaker doesn’t want to have something close to this in his life? I know I wanted it when I made my Dollar Baby.

When I started to read more about Darabont’s career I became really surprised when I saw how many other famous projects he was part of, some of them were movies that I love and have in DVD: Darabont wrote “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors“, he wrote this one with Chuck Russel aaaaand Wes Craven himself. I am such a nerd for Kruger’s movies!!! This third one is one of my favourites. Another movie that I did not know Darabont was part of is “Frankenstein” directed by Kenneth Branagh, the one with Robert De Niro as the monster. I love this movie and Darabont was one of the writers. He was also one of the writers of two other horror movies from the 80s that I have never watched, but they are pretty famous too: the remake of “The Blob” and “The Fly 2“. In TV , years before “The Walking Dead“, Darabont also had great TV shows in his career: “Young Indiana Jones“, “Tales from the Crypt” and “The Shield“. As a director, besides the perfect trilogy he also directed another movie I watched on the big screen: “The Majestic“, with Jim Carrey.

Now, let me ask you again: which young filmmaker would not wanna a career like that? Chances like those, choices like those… And it all began (or at least passed through) with the Dollar Baby project. That is why his name used to be my answer.

The Dollar Baby program was a great start to young filmmakers. It was a way to have a great story to tell, so at least if you did not screw things up with the screenplay you would have a proven good story at your hands at the price of one Dollar. Of course, there are many other things that you would need to have a good short movie, but at least having a good story was one thing you could cross off from your list. Now you could make your mistakes in other areas without sacrificing an original idea of yours. With luck and/or if you surround yourself with a great cast and crew you could end up with a good short movie in your hands. A good movie that people would wanna watch.

And having a good short movie based upon a story by Stephen King in your early career, man, that could open doors for you. It did for Darabont and so many other filmmakers around the world. Damm, it did for me!

In a quick chat between us from SKSM some names were mentioned as filmmakers that had well known works after they did their Dollar Babies:

Jeff Schiro was the first dollar baby filmmaker with his “The Boogeyman“. And some of the many great things he did after that did become  worldwide known projects: he directed an episode of the TV show “Tales of the Darkside“, he also directed a music vídeo for the Ramones!!!! Jeff directed their music vídeo for the song “Time Has Come Today“. Later Jeff became a well successful editor of many projects.

James Renner directed a version of “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” in 2004. He wrote 6 books after that.

Nick Wauters directed a version of “Rainy Season” in 2002, after that he had a good career at TV: he is co-creator of “The Event“, a TV show King himself recommended. Nick also wrote some episodes of “The Vampire Diaries” and  “The 4400“.

Derek Simon wrote and directed A version of “A Very Tight Place” in 2012. Later he also worked on some pretty famous TV series such as “The Americans“, “Graceland” and “Supergirl“. He was the writer and producer of this last one, a TV show that I used to watch and enjoyed.

And for a next release of a King movie we have Ranjeet S. Marwa, a Dollar Baby director that directed two Dollar Babies (almost three) and now is gonna have the chance to release a long feature based upon another Stephen King short story. In 2012 he directed a version of “The Man Who Loved Flowers” and in 2013 he directed a version of Cain Rose Up. His almost third Dollar Baby was a version of “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” that he almost directed in 2017, but it was canceled. But now he has another Stephen King movie to call his own: he is about to release a long feature based upon the short story “Autopsy Room Four“!!!!!

Also speaking about Dollar Baby filmmakers that had well known projects after the Dollar Babies, here are some of my personal favourites: Elio Quiroga, directed the only version of “Home Delivery” in 2005 and Óscar Garrido told me Elio became huge in Spain, directing long features movies and also writing some awesome books. Billy Hanson not only directed the amazing “Survivor Type” in 2012 but also directed the long feature “Bone Cold” which was available in streamings. Billy also wrote great books. Paul Inman not only is a very kind man, but he also directed the amazing “That Feeling” in 2021, later he also became a book writer and in December he is releasing a new movie: “The Weather Channel“.

The list would go on and on for a while, (and please forgive me if you also became a successful artist after your Dollar Baby and I did not mention you), but I need to keep writing and I haven’t even started to talk about Darabont’s Dollar Baby yet. So I will close by talking about myself a little, because I am the perfect example of a filmmaker that did not become known.

My version of “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away” also opened doors for me: it has been 10 years since I filmed my Stephen King Dollar Baby and since then I was part of a lot of independent movies, short and long features. But I consider myself closest to most of the Dollar Baby filmmakers rather than from Darabont and the other names I mentioned in here before. Because I didn’t have a hit, I did not become a known artist. My work did not become known worldwide, not known in Brazil, not known in my state, not even in my own hometown. And that is ok. I am an independent artist and yes, I would love it if my work would reach more people, but I am ok if it never happens. Life goes on and nowadays I have other priorities in my life. I had great times making movies and I hope I will have other opportunities to be on set again, but I am ok if it never happens again.

I believe that most of the Dollar Baby filmmakers are like me in that subject: they had a dream once, they pursued that dream and had a lot of fun in the process, but in the end that road never took them to where they first wanted to reach. Not becoming a known artist is the reality for most of us. And that is ok. For some of us, like me, after a while art becomes a hobby. I am still grateful that I had not only the chance to make my Dollar Baby but also for every opportunity that I had to be in a movie set before and after the Dollar Baby. Once you are in a movie set you can see the magic happening. Once in there you can see the lines you wrote while you were alone in an apartment becoming some character’s true in the mouth of a great actor. And that is so beautiful.

Stephen King helped so many young filmmakers to begin on that road. And we are all grateful for that. King helped “small” careers like mine the same way he helped big careers like Darabont’s. Darabont’s Dollar Baby was not only an important step in his career, but also it is a great short movie.

Aaaaand now we can start to talk about Frank Darabont’s Dollar Baby, “The Woman in the Room“, the one I used to believe was the first Dollar Baby ever.

One of the many things that makes this Dollar Baby a very well adapted short movie is Darabont himself. His choices as a screenwriter and a director really makes the difference.

In the screenplay, what he chose to be faithful to the original short story and also what he chose to change or add is really impressive. Those choices of his show a maturity as an artist that we don’t usually see in young filmmakers. For instance, he chose to be faithful to most of the dialogues between Johnny and his mom, only adding a small one at the end scene. That is it, that covers all that really matters from what King wrote about their relationship. We can see that he loves his mom and that the choice the character needs to make is not a burden to him to get rid of the problem, but to release from pain someone he loves. And that is the main theme about this story: how far would you go to make someone you love stop suffering?

What Frank chose not to adapt was also relevant: we don’t see a drunk Johnny the same way King wrote it, and it is a good thing. It is a different lecture of that character, a pretty interesting one. He is in pain, he is suffering from the dilemma, but we can see how nervous he is by how many cigarettes this guy smokes. And it is a lot. In some other versions of this short story we see the drinking and it works, but I prefer Darabont’s choice. It suits better, at least for his vision of the story.

Something that he also let out while adapting was the little lines that King wrote for Kevin, Johnny’s brother. In the movie we see Johnny talking on the phone with his brother, but we can’t hear Kevin. And that helps the audience to feel how lonely Johnny is feeling. The cinematography helps in this scene to make us understand that too, because the camera keeps getting close to Johnny during the scene, slowly, and stops right in his face in a close up, man… I really wanna see this Dollar Baby on a big screen one day, this cinematography deserves it. But I will get back to the cinematography later, let me finish talking about the screenplay.

A new thing, a new scene that Darabont wrote for this short movie was Johnny’s visit to an inmate at the prison. In this scene we not only really understand the gravity of Johnny’s mother’s illness, but also we go deep in Johnny’s dilemma. At his first conversation between Johnny and his mom we see him holding the pills and it is possible to understand what he is considering to do, but only when he is talking with his client in jail we truly understand Johnny: he is a mess, he is tired, he is angry and he is struggling to do what he think what is right. So he not only asks his client how many people he killed but also wants to know how it feels. The inmate does not understand why Johnny wants to know that, but we do. Johnny is afraid of what that choice will do to him after his mother is gone. And when the inmate tells him that one death was personal to him, that he killed a friend to make the friend’s pain go away, well, that was exactly what Johnny needed to hear. Frank Darabont, thank you so much for such a beautiful scene, a scene where we see that even a “monster” has heart and sometimes does the right thing.

And yes, I consider Johnny’s choice the right thing. It is a personal story for Stephen King and also a personal story for me too. Only someone who saw a dear to him suffering in a hospital bed can truly understand what it feels like considering to pull off the plugs. Once again, Darabont,  thank you. Thank you for helping us not to feel such a monster for considering doing something like that.

What else? The nightmare scene, man… A new scene that Darabont wrote in which with no lines once again we go deeper and deeper into Johnny’s dilemma. He is in an empty hospital corridor and his mom is in a wheelchair. She is wrapped in a shroud. Johnny runs away, her mother runs after him. The scene ends at the elevator and in there Johnny uncovers his mother’s face and smiles. He hugs her and smiles. Man, that is such a well written/imagined/directed scene. Almodovar would be proud of it.

The cinematography once again is a thing to look at in this scene. In the whole movie, actually, but this scene is one of its best moments. The empty bottle of pills, the camera going inside of it, later the camera almost at the ground in the corridor and then chasing Johnny. The cinematography is one of the best things in this short movie for sure.

But what I consider the real best thing is the way Darabont directed the movie. He was a real maestro in every single aspect. It is not hard to imagine that this young filmmaker brought to the world later movies like “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile“, because what these two long features have in common with this Dollar Baby is how bittersweet some scenes are. And the cast, man, the cast… Darabont shows in this Dollar Baby that he really knows how to choose his cast. Years before Morgan Freeman or Tom Hanks he directed Michael Cornelison and Dee Croxton. Michael was perfect in his role, but who really stole the spotlight was Dee Croxton, she really nailed it. Almost without moving a muscle she gives us such a beautiful performance. Just by the way she talks we feel how tired and in pain her character is. And the way she looks at her son, so sweet… Dee, thank you for that amazing performance.

The final scene really gets me everytime I watch this Dollar Baby, because once again without lines the cast shows us so much. The way they look at each other, the way Johnny can’t look at some moments, he cleaning his fingerprints off the medicine bottle and his mother watching and later grabbing the bottle… That is something King did not write, the mother awake and watching while Johnny was cleaning the fingerprints and she made sure that her own would be in that bottle. King did not write that and I bet we wish he had when he saw the movie. Darabont,  thank you so much for that scene.

And thank you so much for this Dollar Baby and the other projects you gave the world after it. You were an example for so many young filmmakers, myself included. Your success as a filmmaker was a light that many of us followed and because of that some of us also showed the world beautiful projects. Thank you for that.

Thank you, Stephen King, for everything, but especially for the Dollar Baby Program. With that you gave the world not only Darabont’s, Schiros, Quirogas and Hansons, but also gave a chance to many filmmakers so they could take their first steps in their careers. My “first step” was beautiful,  for me at least. Thank you for that. Long Live the King.

The Dollar Baby’s grade? Well, this time SKSM won’t give one. Because the Dead Guy has only 19 fingers and he usually uses just 5 to give the grades, but not even the whole 19 would be fair to what this Dollar Baby represents. So, instead of giving a grade to “The Woman in the Room”, the Dead Guy will use his both hands to honor not only this Dollar Baby but also every single short movie that exists (official or not) and also the Dollar Baby Program. Yeah, baby, The Dead Guy’s hands are applauding!!!!!!

That is it for today and for 2024. Have a great New year’s eve, guys. See you next year!

Leonardo Granado.