The US writer Stephen King (Portland, Maine, 1947) has been one of the world's best-selling authors for decades. How can the overwhelming success of his numerous works be explained? Perhaps by the boundless inventiveness of his literature? And what else is behind the longevity of his astonishing career?

Parody musical based on Stephen King's bestselling novel.

István, a király ("Stephen, the King") is a Hungarian rock opera written by Levente Szörényi (music) and János Bródy (lyrics), based on the life of Saint Stephen of Hungary. The storyline was based on the play Ezredforduló (Turn of the Millennium) by Miklós Boldizsár, who co-wrote the libretto. The opera was first staged in 1983 on an open-air stage in Budapest. This first performance was also made into a 1984 film, directed by Gábor Koltay, and its music released on an album. The musical became a smash hit and is still very popular in Hungary and among Hungarian minorities in neighboring countries.

Ghost nation? Violent home? Traumatised country? What does the horror of one of the most famous writers of our time hide? What does his fictional America expose? To what extent does cinema feed itself off his unique vision and expression of fear? In other words: what kind of America is Stephen King telling us about?