project was abandoned. King stated he saw the unfinished rough cut with the footage shot and thought it was "very good". In 1995, Chicago's Defiant Theatre staged a full-scale adaptation of the novella at the Preston Bradley Center in Chicago, IL. The novella was adapted and directed for the stage by Christopher Johnson. Veteran stage and film actor William J. Norris starred as Kurt Dussander. Sony Pictures released a film version of Apt Pupil in 1998. The film was directed by Bryan Singer. Brad Renfro stars as Todd Bowden and Ian McKellen stars as Dussander. The ending of the film is significantly different. The song "A Skeleton in the Closet" by the thrash metal band Anthrax is based on the novella. Funk supergroup Cameo frequently adds the lyric "Don't pull a Bowden" when performing the anti-violence song "Word Up". The Family Guy episode "German Guy" is a parody of the novella. See also Stephen King short fiction bibliography Notes References Stephen King, Summer of Corruption: Apt Pupil (published in Different Seasons), Viking Press, U.S.A., 1982. 1982 American novels Fiction set in 1974 American novellas American novels adapted into films Novellas by Stephen King Novels set in the 1970s Thriller short stories Novels set in Los Angeles Novels about Nazi fugitives Novels about neo-Nazism