The latest film adaptation of a Stephen King story isn’t quite what you might expect. The Life of Chuck isn’t about monsters or haunted hotels—it’s about memory, love, and the beauty of ordinary moments. The film stars Mark Hamill and Tom Hiddleson, but for executive producer Scott Lumpkin, who grew up in Fairhope, this project hit close to home—literally. The movie was shot in Mobile and Baldwin counties. It tells a surreal story about the worlds inside each of us.
“The universe is large and contains multitudes... but it also contains me.”
Those are the opening lines in the trailer for The Life of Chuck—a movie that unfolds not in a straight line, but in fragments, like memory itself. It's a story that asks what it means to live a life... and what happens when that life fades. The film was directed by Mike Flanagan. He’s one of Lumpkin’s frequent collaborators. The two have worked on several projects including Oculus and Dr. Sleep. It’s Lumpkin’s job to balance the art and business of the film, bringing together the creative and financial sides.
“I think I’ve done every single one of Mike Flanagan’s movies,” the Fairhope native recalls. “And all of them have been this puzzle that you read and go, how do I make this movie?
Alabama often includes the pieces Lumpkin needs for a Flanagan movie. But this puzzle was harder. Production started as the country was still recovering from COVID—then the Screen Actors Guild went on strike. Budgets were tight. People were wary.
“The world was on strike,” said Lumpkin. “People were afraid to negotiate or deal with you about certain things. And so I reached out, made a promise we can deliver it in this time for this money—and then, oops, maybe I can't get all of it this way. So you're trying to remove it and juggle around and fit it back into the box too.”
But, Lumpkin says the chaos of the outside world mirrored what happens in the story.
“As much as it feels like a post-apocalyptic film, our industry was almost in this sort of post-apocalyptic survival mode,” he said.
Lumpkin calls this production art imitating life—and life imitating art. He’s worked on more than sixty films but says this one feels a little different each time he sees it. It’s personal. It’s not just that it was shot close to where he lives, but it’s also a story of a man looking back on his life and asking, “Am I doing this right?”
“I realized, oh, it's just him appreciating those moments, those beats,” Lumpkin observed. “And those beats are the ones that are glowing and those are the ones that you had wished you had spent another time, an extra minute soaking up.”
That is where Lumpkin connected with the character of Chuck.
I've spent my life chasing all these things, what are the ones that mean the most?” he said.
Lumpkin’s interest in making movies started back in seventh grade, when his father brought home a video camera. Filmmaking has always been about solving puzzles—lining up the pieces so stories can be told.
“I’ve gotten pickier about my puzzles. I've gotten a lot more protective of the people that are on the team and how I assemble the puzzles and who we work with in the fact that I need to stack it to succeed and deliver because we're only as good as our next movie,” he confided.
Even with decades of movies, The Life of Chuck gave Lumpkin something new. It was chance to see the magic through his daughter Lily’s eyes. She has a small role in the film and walked the red carpet at the movie premiere with her dad.
“With Lily it was fun,” Lumpkin recalled. “She'd never been to a premiere, so it was, she's 17, so she knew every actor that was in the room and what TV shows they were and all the exciting fun part of the red carpet. And so the buzz and the excitement of that part was fun through her eyes.”
He calls this Lily’s “Life of Chuck” moment.
“Those are the moments that you soak up and those are the places the more you can see and do and experience and kind of hold that close, those are the things that are valuable,” he said.
And, for full disclosure, watch for the Rabbi at the funeral scene. That part is played by none other than my husband John. APR news has been reporting on it for a while. And John’s scene even made the trailer to promote the movie in theaters. While the film may tell Chuck’s story, it's really about the everyday, extraordinary moments that stay with each of us.
The Life of Chuck is now playing in theaters.
