Not only have those behind The Institute adapted this tale for MGM+, though, but writer-producer Benjamin Cavell has revealed they made some big changes from the original novel: most notably focusing more on the character of ‘night knocker’ Tim Jamieson, played by Ben Barnes.
“The book introduces the character of Tim for the first 70 pages, and then he disappears for the next several hundred pages until [Tim and the young adults in the Institute] meet,” Cavell explained.
“And there was a real challenge. I mean, one of the big changes we made is that in the book, the town where he is night-knocking and sort of settling in and hiding out from his past is very removed from the Institute.
“I mean, it’s hundreds and hundreds of miles away in a different state. It’s in South Carolina, and the Institute is in Maine. It felt to us as though we’re missing an opportunity to have him nearby.”
So, in an effort to bring Tim closer to the action, both his storyline and that of the young adults in the Institute take place in the same area, and come together far more quickly than in King’s book.
But how did the author himself feel about the switch?
“At first he wasn’t certain about the change, when we first pitched it to him, just because it’s such a departure,” Cavell admitted.
“But we were able, Jack [Bender, director] and I, together we were able to sort of essentially show him why it’s not the departure that it feels like, and it’s actually just in some way amplifying what’s already there in the book.
“Michael Wright from MGM always says that they’re like two trains on a track and they’re just, you know, they’re kind of inexorably coming together.
“And that is, I think, helped by having Tim nearby, having Tim start to understand that something untoward is taking place at the Institute.”
That isn’t the only major change, however, with Cavell and Bender deciding to cast older stars as the young adults in the Institute – including newcomer Joe Freeman, son of Martin.
“We luckily found actors who were just a little bit older, starting with Joe Freeman, who’s a genius find for his first show, he does a remarkable job, as do our other kids,” Bender explained.
“The goal in casting slightly older kids was… we didn’t want to do a sadistic show, because these kids go through torture, right?
“But I will say that Ben’s and my approach to this has always been, let’s make this a little bit more of a dark ink version… Let’s make this a little more edgy.”
The Institute is now showing on MGM+.
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