The First Shining Scene Written by Jack Nicholson (& Why)

The Shining has many memorable scenes, one of which, written by Jack Nicholson, became more personal to him. That's why.

The Shining is full of memorable scenes that have become part of popular culture, including one written by the film's leading man, Jack Nicholson. Many of Stephen Kings' works have been adapted into films, but not all have been as successful as their source material. That was the case with The Shining, which was brought to the big screen in 1980, directed by Stanley Kubrick who co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Diane Johnson. Although The Shining is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies of all time, it can't really be considered an adaptation of King's novel due to the many changes made to it.

Kubrick's The Shining uses the characters and stories in the novel as a psychological film set in the Colorado Rockies, about a man named Jack Torrence (Jack Nicholl). Mori)'s frustrated writer and recovering alcoholic gradually losing his sanity. Jack Torrence is one of Jack Nicholson's most beloved characters right now, but he did more than bring Jack and his struggles to life as he also wrote one of Jack's most memorable scenes , and all because of the personal issues he had to deal with Years ago.

Why Jack Nicholson Wrote The Shining’s Typewriter Scene

Shaun R. Karli in "Being Jack Nicholson: Male Characters from Easy Rider to The Shining" explains that some of the films Jack Nicholson starred in have scenes related to his life, "The Shining" is no exception. In Kubrick's film, there's a scene in which Jack, struggling with writer's block, tries to work after his wife Wendy (Shirley Duvall) approaches him , he reacted aggressively to her, screaming at her to stop interrupting him while he was typing. In an interview with The New York Times, Nicholson revealed that he wrote that scene himself because that's what he looked like when he was divorced (divorced his horror-film co-star Sandra Knight in 1968), so he poured out all his frustration and stress about that particular scene between Jack and Wendy.

Nicholson has a daughter with Knight, born in 1963, so Nicholson felt the pressure of "being a family man with a daughter" to continue his career as an actor and writer. Nicholson recalls accepting a movie job during the day and writing a Movie night, so while he was in his "little corner", his wife walked into "something she didn't know, this madman", so he told Kubrick about it, and the scene was written into the movie. Nicholson said in an interview with critic Michael Simment that while filming that particular scene, he recalled an argument he had with Knight, so the typewriter scene was very, very personal to him.

What Stephen King Thinks About Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance

Stephen King was not shy about his thoughts on Kubrick's take on The Shining, and he also had some thoughts on Jack Nicholson's role as Jack Torrence. King disagreed with the idea of ​​casting Nicholson, as it would have led audiences to quickly speculate that Jack Torrence would go mad for Nicholson's famous role in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. King found it more disturbing that the role needed a "normal guy" to drive him into madness, and suggested either John Voight or Michael Moriarty. Kubrick actually chose Nicholson before he finished the novel because he felt he was the right man for the role. While Stephen King's concerns were understandable, in the end, Jack Nicholson brought One of the most memorable performances in horror, his performance as Jack Torrence has more personality to him than it seems.