7. 11/22/63 (2011)
Why It Should Be Made Into A Movie... Every time I hear the plot synopsis for a King novel summed up in a sentence, I always end up frowning and occasionally cringing, too: "Really? That's what he's writing about?" But that's because it's all too easy to forget how King frequently takes a one-note concept ("dog has rabies") and uses it to transcend the subject matter entirely, to the point where it seems like an insult to sum up his stories in sentences that don't relay more info. That's the case with
11/22/63, which has come to be described as "man goes back in time through a magic door to prevent the JFK assassination" It's kind of goofy-sounding on the surface, but this is a great, gripping book, and one that really deserves to be glimpsed on the big screen at some point, if not only because the idea is so damn intriguing, but because King manages to craft a wholly original and twisty plot out of an everyday fantasy.
Why It Never Will Be... Of all the entries on this list,
11/22/63 probably has the best chance of getting a big screen adaptation - but when you consider the budget that one would have to find into order to do a period movie of this sort, it becomes pretty clear as to how difficult it'd actually be (in this day and age, anyway). Recent creative differences just put an end to a potential Jonathan Demme-directed version - King and Demme didn't see eye to eye, and it was cancelled as a result. Although I think we'll hear about future adaptations, I can't see a studio committing to one during this extended season of blockbusters, sequels and remakes. Who wants to see a movie about JFK, right?