So as the most adapted author alive today (about 100 projects — not bad considering Shakespeare’s ultimate figure of 500), just what is it about King’s work that directors and screenwriters — King among them — can’t get right?

The American frontier myth of tough, pragmatic action, heroism, sacrifice and accomplishment is all-pervasive thanks to the myriad global media that emerges from the American self-image, and the net result is our adoption of everything from their work ethic to their trade policies.

"There’s a old saying about sex and pizza," Olyphant says, "When it’s good its good and when it’s bad it’s still pretty good. I find that tends to apply to my job."