Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" Coming To Film & Television
 

The Dark Tower to Become a Film Trilogy and TV Series

http://www.scifinow.co.uk/wp-content...rk-tower-1.jpg
by SuperHeroHype
Sep 9th, 2010

Based on Stephen King's series of novels

Universal Pictures Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley—along with Jeff Gaspin, Chairman, NBC Universal Television Entertainment and Angela Bromstad, President, Primetime Entertainment, NBC & Universal Media Studios—today announced that Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have acquired the rights to produce three films and a television series based on the seven epic novels, short stories and comic books from Stephen King's The Dark Tower.

Ron Howard will direct the first film and the first season of television, which will be written by Akiva Goldsman. Goldsman will produce the film through his Weed Road Pictures with Howard and Grazer for Imagine Entertainment. Howard, Grazer and Goldsman will executive produce the television series for Universal Media Studios. Kerry Foster will executive produce the first film for Weed Road Pictures along with Todd Hallowell and Erica Huggins for Imagine Entertainment.


Full story here: http://www.superherohype.com/news/ar...-and-tv-series

Very exciting news for fans. Still some lingering questions. NBC is one of the producing partners which concerns me a little. Not sure I like the idea of the series being on network television.

The basic film/tv breakdown (if I'm reading this right) seems to be something like:

Film 1 - The Gunslinger
Season 1 - The Drawing of the Three
Film 2 - Wastelands
Season 2 - Wizard and Glass
Film 3 - Wolves of the Calla/Song of Susannah/Dark Tower

As much as I want this to happen, I almost wish they wouldn't. This is my favorite story line, and I don't see how they can do any of it justice on TV or in film.

This had better be epic!

Indeed!

I think it can be done, and I like the approach in theory. But I can't see the series being network. And I really can't see shoving Books 5, 6 & 7 into one film. That's insane.

But the idea is cool. And it seems like all involved care deeply about the property.

We'll see what happens...

yeah. we're gonna shove, what, 3500-some pages worth of complex, complicated plotlines into (if we're lucky) nine hours of movies and MAYBE 15 total hours of show? I just don't see it. I've been wrong before, though.

Yep. It would have to be 100 hours long.
Plus, don't we all picture Roland and the other characters a certain way in our minds? I'm guessing we all have a different picture. When they assign an actor to the character it makes it hard to get into sometimes.Which ending will they use? The one King wants to end book 7 with or the one after where Roland presses to the top of the tower only to find himself caught in and endless cycle of time? Or do they write their own ending?

The Mejis story will be a crowd pleaser IMHO. Young men and women and young love and politics and bad guys and evil and witches and such.
How will they portray the Breakers? The Rods? The slow muties? Andy the Robot Messenger (many other functions)? The people in the Calla?
TheTull scene will be graphic.



Ron Howard is all good.
Okay I want to see it.

I'm shocked it's taken this long for this story to come to the screen. The first four books, in particular, should translate really well to tv/movies, IMHO...

My bet is that the movie ends with the ending King gives us. Then the Coda comes after the credits as little added bonus. :rockon:

Much like the original Dune series, I made it through the first two or three books before I crapped out halfway through whichever one I was reading at the time (can't remember now, its been years).

Stephen King was a much better author before he became too big to have to listen to the editors.

Exactly. And how long are the series' going to be? How many total episodes? 1 hr or 30min episodes? I think a lot of good ground can be covered in the series if they are 1hr episodes, limited (or NO) commercials, and 13 - 24 episodes each.

I personally would love to see The Gunslinger as a movie. Then have books 2 - 6 as a cable series. Then end the whole thing with a film of The Dark Tower VIII. The second film would have to be 2 1/2 or 3 hours and some of the material would have to be covered in the series to really do it justice.

I would tend to agree. But The Dark Tower is just completely awesome. I actually don't think it gets long winded at all until the final book.

Looking at the list, IIRC it was Wizard and Glass that lost me. I've picked it back up a couple of times over the years, but could never get into it again in any way. Too disjoined and verbose, and I particularly remember despising the Detta Walker character.

Yeah, Detta's a pill. But Susannah is a pretty fantastic character.

Funny that you lost your way during Wizard And Glass. That tends to be most people's favorite.

It took three tries for me to finally finish The Gunslinger. It was so difficult for me to get into, but once I'd hit book 3, I was completely and totally hooked.

I'll definitely give the movies/series a shot, though.

This has disaster written all over it.

I'd say it has potential disaster written all over it. But if - IF - they can pull it off...

Also, I think casting is going to be paramount in this endeavor. I imagine getting "elite," "A-list" stars to sign on to this kind of thing (movie + series) with the time commitment it will require is going to be a bitch. Miscast Roland it's over.

Ron Howard. That's why I say it has disaster written all over it.

Yup, especially when NBC gets 5 weeks in and decides to cut it due to low ratings, throwing everything into a mess.

Question is... does he have the balls to NOT cast Tom Hanks?

Another question is... what part will his brother be playing?

LMAO

It could be good, if it's very dark and gritty in the way it looks. But if it's got that made for network tv gloss for the tv portions it will suck.

Keeping the cast together could be an interesting issue as well.

I did find it funny that I had just read a short story about Roland when I first saw this. I might just have to reread a couple of the first books, because there is a lot I have forgotten.

The more time I spend thinking about this... the less I actually like it. Splitting the series into two formats is such a gamble. And the downside massively outweighs the upside.

The Dark Tower has a built in audience, to be sure, but what about new fans? Are people going to commit to this idea? It'll be like watching every other season of LOST in a movie theatre. It'll be difficult to keep this from being too confusing. The series is hard enough already.

Hehe, if he was a bit younger, I think he would make a good Sheemie.

He should have been cast as the Trash Can Man in Stand. No make up needed.

Which short story, Little Sisters of Eluria?

That is such a great short story. I'm hoping they work it into the tv series.

This.

Why the **** would split it into a TV series and movies?

If they are going to do tv, I would hate it to be on network or basic cable. The violence alone screams for HBO or Showtime to do it right.

Some names being bandied about by comments to the article to play the part of Roland:

Viggo Mortenson
Ray Stevenson
Thomas Jane
Timothy Olyphant

Viggo Mortensen would be awesome.

The doctor bugs make it into the series (in the Dixie Pig).
Yeah, it was a good short story.

I would love Viggo Mortensen to play Roland. I also really like the idea of an unknown though. I've also heard Aaron Paul's name thrown around for Eddie Dean, which I love. And, though I'm sure she'd never commit, I can't picture anyone buy Zoe Saldana playing Susannah.

I always envisioned Susannah as being a little older (although zs is in her 30s).

I'm not sure she might not be a little too good-looking for the role.

She probably is... but she could act the hell out of it. I also pictured someone slightly older (not much), but make-up can fix that pretty easily.

I'm sure it won't be her, but in my perfect version of things... absolutely. :)

Angela Bassett is exactly who I've always seen as Susannah.

I could live with Bassett. That's who I pictured most of the time I was reading the series. I didn't latch onto Zoe until after I saw Star Trek and Avatar.

And King better ****ing

Oh, I had the biggest crush i think i've ever had on zoe after i saw avatar (5 times).

Angela Bassett easily for this one. Zoe is just too tooth-picky for the role.

Oh, hellz ya! I only saw Avatar once... but I've never felt that way about a blue CGI Thunder-Smurf before. She makes me angry in my pants.

Is that what they mean by short-tempered?

LMAO

I can't tell if I should be offended or not. Don't care. Too funny. :thumb:

I about blasted the **** outta you before I read that he was joking. no joke (or homo).

LMAO

Or better yet they could cut that entire ridiculous ****ing sequence out altogether.

:huh: .... that's one of my favorite aspects of the story....

JOSH HOLLOWAY

FTW!

That's who my wife and I have been championing for a while now.

He would be a good choice, but I really like Olyphant. He's definitely got that steely-eyed gunfighter look about him.

He does, but he also has this anger boiling just under the surface presence to him that I'm not sure would work for Roland. It's been a few years since I read the series, so my recollection may be off, but I always envisioned Roland as being more of an Obi Wan badass yet still calm mentor type. Kind of like Gandalf with a gun.

But I am a big fan of Olyphant.

Before I even knew his name, I remembered Olyphant in a very dark HBO war movie called When Trumpets Fade. He only had a small part (an officer who wigs out in combat), but he was so intense in that roll that I remembered him in stuff I saw later.

You know what I like about Olyphant? He actually kind of looks like Stephen King. I mean, in a sort of fantasy idealized sort of way. Which is great since King describes Roland as such. He might be perfect, actually. I never would have considered him... but yeah... could work.

Apologies Red, I'm not very good at keeping my opinions to myself.

:D

No worries, man. You are completely entitled to your opinions. No matter how wrong they are. :evil:

Seriously though. If they are going to include that aspect of the story... don't you think King should do it?

Given that King appears in every single movie of his and also given that in this one there is actually a King character it would seem to make a lot of sense to have King play himself.
So they will probably cast someone else.

Yup, that is the one.

LMAO

My thoughts exactly.

Ron Howard's first movie based on Stephen King's The Dark Tower has been scheduled for May 17, 2013.

www.comingsoon.net

The problem with making any Dark Tower movie is that you have to start with book one, and that one is the slowest book of the bunch. If it tanks we don't get the drawing of the 3, which is my favorite of the series.

It is a slow book. But I think it lends itself to film better than most of the other books in the series. It has the biggest upside, I guess. I think it could/should be visually stunning and it'll be the shortest of the films. There's a lot that can go right with Gunslinger. It's everything that comes after that makes me nervous. :) At least on film. The books get better... but the potential for ****-up also exponentially increases.

The man in black fled across the desert and the gunslinger followed.

Reminds me of Mad Max.

Always a fighter but with a huge dead space inside him...

I saw that somebody on the site with the full story suggested james mcavoy for eddie... i could get behind that!
I like olyphant for roland, not sure who i'd like to see as susannah. I don't know if i'm excited or scared for this whole project! It could be very awesome or incredibly terrible... It is such an awesome story! I read through it probably once a year, and i'd hate to see it get trashed!

?

I would think they'd combine several books into a movie if only 3 movies are planned.

ROFL

You don't think they'll just pick 3 books out of the 7 and leave the other 4 books completely out?

I'm sure the content of the final three books will be massively truncated. Some have speculated that Wolves & Song of Susannah may be cut almost entirely.

I guess we'll have to wait and see. I am excited for a little more info on the exact breakdown.

That would suck if they cut Wolves. I thought that story was awesome.

Wolves is actually my favorite book in the series. I'd be really, REALLY bummed to see it cut. It's a really exceptional book. It's so visual too.

I enjoyed the story, but it felt a little out of place in the meta-story. I could definitely see the vast majority of that book being cut...

Would it be wrong to say they aren't really wolves, rather they are robots that can be deactivated by shooting the mini-radar dish on their heads? And that Andy the Messenger Robot, along with Benny Slightman's dad, are betraying the Calla to the wolves?

I think it would be okay to say that as long as you didn't say that Eddie dies a couple of books later, then Jake shortly thereafter but it's okay because Susannah joins them again in some alternate world leaving Roland to find and enter the tower all by himself in a typical Steven King hell-of-a-story-teller-but-can't-end-a-book-to-save-his-life ending.

Bitter? Bitter, party of 1, your table is ready in the "haven't been laid in 10 years" section.

WTF are u talking about? Where did you get bitter out of what I said?

Ha! I'd love to see The Wolves of Calla on film, but in terms of the overall storyline it can be removed. Plus, how would they get rights to use the Harry Potter snitches, Dr. Doom (from Marvel/Disney's Fantastic Four) etc. The tie between Wolves and Salem's Lot is pretty badass though! Those tie-INS might not work as well on film. I say they should cut most of Wolves almost all of Song of Sussanah (a completely skippable book aside from a few creepy creature moments, BTW) and cut a lot out of Dark Tower to make up the ending.

I'm finding a lot of people out there on the world wide interwebs share these sentiments. And, I suppose I can understand them.

But, as I said, Wolves is probably my favorite book in the series. Wizard And Glass being a close second. And (I'm probably in the minority here also) I LOVE the meta-fiction of Song. So, I'd be sad to see a lot of that stuff go. But in the interest of steamlining... if they're going cut stuff, that seems like the "right" stuff to cut.

This is why the whole damn thing should be a cable series. Then, you don't really have to cut anything.