Stephen King Makes Peace With His Own Dark Half, Richard Bachman
Ever since Stephen King announced the "death" of his pseudonym, Richard Bachman, in 1985 he's been troubled by his decision. In his 1989 novel, The Dark Half, King contemplated a world in which the imaginary pseudonym would claim to be more real than the true author, and even fight to the death to prove it. Timothy Hutton plays both writers in the film version: Quiet family man Thaddeus Beaumont, and psychopathic "high-toned sumbitch" George Stark. The pair eventually grow so alike it becomes hard to tell them apart.
Right after that, King (or was it Bachman?) cooked up the novella Secret Window, Secret Garden. Published in 1990, right after The Dark Half, it too presented an author running up against his murderous, territorial alter-ego. (And because life is funny like that, Timothy Hutton was called in once more when the 2004 film Secret Window was made, meeting a bitter end as the new husband of Johnny Depp's ex-wife.)
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