Stephen King's The Dark Tower

Kur4mA

Yeah read the books and then weep if this goes ahead folks. Ron Howard is not the man for the job here. The Dark Tower cannot be a PG film that's safe for the kiddies, but Ron is gonna go ahead and ruin it regardless.

filmfan

It's so hard to capture his true horror novels with the level of terror and suspense that you feel when reading the books. Unfortunately, the most successful adaptions are ones that only touch on the supernatural. It's a pity, but your own imagination is always scarier:)

cadea

Can't believe only one other poster picked up on this, but if Ron Howard is involved and the TV part is NBC and not HBO/Showtime there is no way any justice can be done to the series. A PG-13 Dark Tower will be unwatchable.

me-skywalker

Lu Tze wrote: »

Book 8, what!? Scratch that, just clicked on the link.

I could only ever have imagined Clint Eastwood (in the dirty harry era) playing Roland though, so no sure how enthused i would be about a film, struggling to think of who would suit now?

Viggo Mortensen would be cool for me. Mabe Christian Bale can get himself into another Trilogy. Please not Hugh Jackman though...

Dohnny Jepp

Christain Bale has two voices. Sex phone operator, and creepy sex phone operator.

Roland isnt a sex phone operator:P

willonzo

ATTN: Ron Howard
RE: Casting notes, Dark Tower series

Russel Crowe IS Roland (except he won't do TV work, have to replace him with Sawyer from Lost, explain this with some sci-fi regeneration gobbledegook.)
Val Kilmer IS Blaine the Mono (his work on the new Knight Rider is going down a storm) (and he evidently WILL do TV work)
The villian from the Saw movies IS Walter O'Dim (the human, not the puppet, he was also okay on Lost)
Reincarnated River Phoenix IS Eddie Dean (No, we will not accept Joaquin Phoenix as a substitute.)
Justin Bieber IS Jake Chambers (think of the crossover appeal, tweens have never been big King fans. Until now!!!)
The girl from Precious Based on the Novel Push by Saphire IS Susannah Dean (She is so hot right now. Also, the pregnancy thing will resonate.)
Anne Coulter IS Rea the hag. (No further comment required.)
The dog from Frasier IS Oy.

Token serious suggestion: Sam Elliot has to be Stephen Deschain, Roland's da. Either him or Clint. Or Scott Glenn, though he may be better as Eldred from book 4.

housemap

is the dark tower better than the stand ?

Zapp Brannigan

Viggo has to be Roland, he just has that weather-beaten, worn-down look about him. Plus you know he'd put in an amazing performance.

Russell Crowe? Roland fights with guns, not with his fists!

Dohnny Jepp

housemap wrote: »

is the dark tower better than the stand ?

Probably more epic, yet very different. I rather it to the stand, many don't.

Skerries

willonzo wrote: »

The girl from Precious Based on the Novel Push by Saphire IS Susannah Dean (She is so hot right now. Also, the pregnancy thing will resonate.)

bagsy not me for pushing her wheelchair!

Boo Radley

muireann50 wrote: »

For any Dark Tower fans, its been announced that Javier Bardem has been offered the role of Roland, I assume if they have announced it that means its pretty certain that he is going to accept. While I hadn't pictured him as Roland, he is a good actor and with some blue contacts I think he could be good!

Stole this from literature. I'm happier about this than Bale taking on the role.

http://www.bscreview.com/2011/01/javier-bardem-offered-the-dark-towers-roland-deschain/

Otis Driftwood

Im very happy with this.Bardem is a wonderful actor.His performance in No Country For Old Men is in retrospect very Roland like.Single minded,supremely focused,ice cold and willing to do pretty much anything to reach his goal.Good news indeed.

Kess73

Boo Radley wrote: »

Stole this from literature. I'm happier about this than Bale taking on the role.

http://www.bscreview.com/2011/01/javier-bardem-offered-the-dark-towers-roland-deschain/

Interesting choice, and the more one thinks about it, the easier it is to picture Bardem in the role.

Actually his No Country For Old Men co star Josh Brolin might not have been bad in the role either.

Dohnny Jepp

I would have prefered Brolin, I really don't like this decision.

Zapp Brannigan

For me Viggo was Roland. But I hope (if this is true) that Bardem does the character justice.

Tar.Aldarion

Oh didn't know about this, I adore these books, they are fantastic. I'm reading one again right now in fact. Mmmm. This book 8 thing confuses me!

nyarlothothep

The book 8 thing sounds like its in fairly dodgy territory, Roland hunting a werewolf bleh. I'd like to get more info about the old ones, thats one of the best elements of the books.

tman

Zapp Brannigan wrote: »

For me Viggo was Roland. But I hope (if this is true) that Bardem does the character justice.

I still feel the same, in fact up until a few minutes ago I had my mind made up that this will be total ****e without Viggo as the lead (let's be honest, he was practically born to play Roland!)
The pic in this article almost has me convinced that Bardem could look the part

Tar.Aldarion

no idea who that is but looks passable I suppose. Don't know any actor hard/cool enough to be roland. :-p Gonna read these books again, they are great, and gf started the first today too. Just in time for some film action.

patch

Didn't clint eastwood only last week state that he's open to a return to acting if the right part came along?
Just putting it out there...:D

Otis Driftwood

patch wrote: »

Didn't clint eastwood only last week state that he's open to a return to acting if the right part came along?
Just putting it out there...:D

Too old at this stage unfortunatly.:(

Tar.Aldarion

would have been great for it all right

patch

It's been a long time since I read any of the novels, the first being my favorite, but I pictured clint in spaghetti western mode as roland.
IIRC the later books say that roland is actually quite old, especially considering the climax.
So I reckon an old clint wouldn't be too far off the mark.
Having said that, viggo would be the number one choice for me.
Javier is a fine actor, but roland he certainly isn't.

Zapp Brannigan

Hasn't King said that Roland was based off Clint's character in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly?

JP Liz V1

Source

Javier Bardem has officially signed on to star as Roland Deschain in Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, surprising literally nobody.

This is no normal casting news however, as the project is planned as an ambitiously huge franchise.

As well as a trilogy of films, the story will continue through three TV miniseries that are planned to follow each film.

The New York Post quotes a source as saying: “Bardem has signed on to the first movie and the miniseries, but the intention is that he will star in all three movies and each of the TV series.
"It's an enormous deal for any actor, but Bardem was always the first choice.”

The Old West-inspired fantasy epic sees "Gunslinger" Deschain on a journey to find the mythical Dark Tower, with the hope of saving civilization.

Production on the first film looks likely to start this September with Howard directing.
The first of the TV series will follow and then the franchise will continue inexorably, into the distant future, seen only by whatever alien race conquers us humans.

Otis Driftwood

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice!


I watched No Country For Old Men Saturday night again.He is the frickin man.

Tar.Aldarion

Suppose he will have to do, he's no clint though!

Zapp Brannigan

Ooh I like the sound of the mini-series. Means the books won't be entirely butchered to fit into a trilogy of films.

kickarykee

A friend of mine read them all and really loved them.
He told me about the story and I got curious though I don't like Stephen King so I asked him to tell me a short version of them and it seemed quite alright - apart from the ending. Like it is the problem with basically ALL Stephen King books :-/

I'm gonna watch the trilogy if it comes out but I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna read the books ... at least not beforehand as I usually do.
My friend also told me that in order to really appreciate the books you should have read every other major Stephen King book since most of the characters appear in it and he doesn't explain everyone's story in The Dark Tower since he expects people to know them from the other books, anyway (which was somethinge else that bothered me ...)

patch

kickarykee wrote: »

A friend of mine read them all and really loved them.
He told me about the story and I got curious though I don't like Stephen King so I asked him to tell me a short version of them and it seemed quite alright - apart from the ending. Like it is the problem with basically ALL Stephen King books :-/

I'm gonna watch the trilogy if it comes out but I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna read the books ... at least not beforehand as I usually do.
My friend also told me that in order to really appreciate the books you should have read every other major Stephen King book since most of the characters appear in it and he doesn't explain everyone's story in The Dark Tower since he expects people to know them from the other books, anyway (which was somethinge else that bothered me ...)

Dunno what your friend told you, but the ending is quite unlike any other king books I've read.
If you're inclined to read them at all, the first book is very short.
You'd be missing out to not have the main character set up the way king intended.
As good an actor as javier is, I can't see him as roland of the books.
Better to get a good foundation for the character from the source material in this case. IMHO.

Sad Professor

Bardem seems perfect for this imo. I don't really understand why so many people are opposed to him. I can't remember what Roland's physical description is in the book (honestly, who cares), but in terms of character I never imagined him as Eastwood.

shadowcomplex

how does dark tower tie in with salems lot

Lu Tze

The priest from salems lot turns up in book 5 i think - its been a long time since i read them - and the books are sitting on my bookshelf 10,000 miles away so i wont be reading them anytime soon

Otis Driftwood

^
Yer right.

You could read the entire Dark Tower cycle and have never read a King book and it would still make perfect sense.Its not that there is any major cross over.As someone that has read most of Kings stuff there are things that turn up in TDT and it always brought a smile to my face but thats just me being a bit of a nerd.:o

TheoBoone

I wouldn't for a second say that the part of Roland isn't important to the Dark Tower, but it's even more important to remember that he's not the only part in the Dark Tower series. I would say that their casting choices for Eddie, Suzanna, Jake and Fr Callahan(I think Clint Eastwood!!!) are going to make or break this thing. So I'd be keeping an eye out for who they cast for Eddie and the gang over the next few months.

I do have to say that Bardem is a solid choice for Roland though. I'm yet to see him in anything good outside of No Country For Old Men and Biutiful, so this should be interesting.

Also, just to mention in, I think Benecio Del Toro would make a great Randal Flagg.

Otis Driftwood

Just looking on IMDB there,some other cast members have been announced too.

Norman Reedus (Boondock Saints,Cigarette Burns) as Eddie Dean.I really like this casting and am glad that it wasnt given to a pretty boy.


Michael Biehn (Reece in The Terminator) as the man in black.Interesting choice and I think a good one.

Nick Mancuso as Enrico Balazar.Relatively small part in the series but Mancuso is a competent actor.Liking these choices thus far.

Source

Sad Professor

Sounds bogus to me. Anyone can edit IMDB. People make up sh*t on it all the time. I'd take anything you read on there with a punch of salt.

FortuneChip

Otis Driftwood wrote: »

Michael Biehn (Reece in The Terminator) as the man in black.Interesting choice and I think a good one.

Source

Johnny Ringo a la Tombstone?

muireann50

Some possible bad news from Variety

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118036473

Universal's "Dark Tower" movie trilogy and interlocking TV series, seen as a hugely ambitious project from the start, may wind up being too big for the studio's appetite.

Sources tell Variety that in the past few days, the project, based on Stephen King's sweeping seven-book-and-counting series, has run into budgetary complications that have caused Universal execs to rethink original plans. Insiders expect U brass to meet in coming days to decide whether to put the project into turnaround, whereby producer Imagine Entertainment could shop it to another studio, either to partner with Universal or take over entirely.
To be clear: Sources tell Variety that as of Thursday, Universal is moving ahead as if the project is going forward. The studio had no comment.
Ron Howard unveiled plans in September to adapt "The Dark Tower" for three films -- at least the first of which he plans to direct -- bridged by a pair of TV series. Universal soon came on as a distributor, given Imagine's production deal with the studio; NBC (or an affiliated cable net) was expected carry the TV component.
Javier Bardem's deal to play the lead role of Roland Deschain is nearly closed, while Howard is still eyeing thesps for other roles. Howard and Brian Grazer are producing through Imagine, while Akiva Goldsman is set to write the script.
With a project of this size and scope, it wouldn't be unusual for any studio to weigh its risk-sharing options -- or pulling out -- at this stage of development. And "Dark Tower" isn't the only major project that Universal has recently reconsidered. "At the Mountains of Madness," which had Guillermo del Toro set to direct and Tom Cruise circling to star, was scrapped on the brink of lensing after U calculated that it would struggle to make money with its $150 million budget and R rating.
That project went into hibernation in March, not long after the newly minted NBCUniversal CEO Steve Burke was in Universal City for meetings with NBC and Universal Pictures brass.
King's "Dark Tower" epic has been long pursued for screen adaptation, but the series' length and scope -- rooted in a post-Apocalyptic realm resembling the Old West as well a parallel modern-day world -- has been a tough nut to crack for scripting and production planning. Before Imagine announced its adaptation plans, J.J. Abrams and "Lost" co-creator exec producer Damon Lindelof had optioned rights from King for $19 (a key number in the "Tower" universe). But they weren't able to find a take on the material that satisfied their ambitions. Nonetheless, the Imagine team and U felt confident they had a workable vision. In announcing their plans for "Dark Tower," companies set a May 17, 2013 target date for release of the first film.

Outkast_IRE

was just listening to muse and thinking , these guys could be a great addition for a musical score , they can do epic yet modern , and have a fondness for westerns as some of their music is inspired from the classic western scores .

Heckler

TheoBoone wrote: »

I wouldn't for a second say that the part of Roland isn't important to the Dark Tower, but it's even more important to remember that he's not the only part in the Dark Tower series. I would say that their casting choices for Eddie, Suzanna, Jake and Fr Callahan(I think Clint Eastwood!!!) are going to make or break this thing. So I'd be keeping an eye out for who they cast for Eddie and the gang over the next few months.

I do have to say that Bardem is a solid choice for Roland though. I'm yet to see him in anything good outside of No Country For Old Men and Biutiful, so this should be interesting.

Also, just to mention in, I think Benecio Del Toro would make a great Randal Flagg.

Bang On. I'll go with Bardem as Roland but they need to keep the other players fairly unknown I think. Clint Eastwood as Fr. Callahan would be great. I think Viggo Mortensen would be a good choice for Roland as well. Knowing Hollywood it'll be Beyonce as Suzanna and Daniel Radcliffe as Jake. I really doubt we'll see this done well tbh. It should be a long mini-series or nothing and I hope King has a major influence on it. Any nominations for the voice of Blaine ?

Edit: sorry for the thumb down. Didn't mean it for your post.

Reedit: Just saw Ron Howard attached to this. Not sure about that at all at all.......

Sad Professor

This is no longer happening. At least not at Universal, who have killed the project for what seems to be budgetary reasons.

http://www.deadline.com/2011/07/universal-wont-scale-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower-studio-declines-to-make-ambitious-trilogy-and-tv-series/

indough

i dont see how it would translate anyway, unless they changed it a fair bit

Morag

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/19/us-darktower-idUSTRE76I06Q20110719

Universal pulls plug on Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"

Universal's ambitious adaptation of Stephen King's fantasy series has been canceled, TheWrap has confirmed.

The first film was slated to begin production this summer, but shooting was delayed last spring with the studio announcing that it needed to make the project more cost-effective.

That temporary delay became permanent this week, and now deprives Universal of a film series that it had hoped to make a linchpin for its film slate for years to come.

The studio declined to comment.

All told, the project was supposed to involve three movies and a television series.

The scope of the production and King's bona fides attracted big talent. Ron Howard was expected to direct and produce the first movie; Akiva Goldsman was lined up to produce and write and Brian Grazer was also on board as a producer. Javier Bardem was supposed to star.

Yet after being announced with great fanfare last fall, "The Dark Tower" ran up against a very different corporate culture after Comcast took over the studio in January.

More than ex-corporate parent G.E., Comcast leans toward the frugal, and the very expensive "Dark Tower" clearly left the people who control the purse strings uncomfortable.

Following Comcast's acquisition, Universal has shown a willingness to make cuts. In March, the studio scrapped plans to make Guillermo del Toro's $150 million adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's "Mountains of Madness." Gone it seems, are the days when risky adult dramas such as "Public Enemies" could get $100 million budgets because of the caliber of the talent involved.

But in cutting "The Dark Tower" from its schedule, Universal does run the risk of alienating one of its most loyal and profitable partners, Imagine Entertainment. Howard and Grazer's production company has earned millions of dollars in profits for the studio with hits such as "American Gangster" and "A Beautiful Mind."

On Monday, Universal apparently decided that the risk was so great that "The Dark Tower" wouldn't join that list.

stevenmu

That's a real shame, but it is better than a half-assed attempt at least, hopefully it can be revived at some point in the future.

bombidol

ROLAND.

Mickeroo

I'm more miffed about At The Mountains of Madness getting canned.

nyarlothothep

I find it a bit strange that Mountains of Madness would cost 150 million to make, they wander around caves for a bit, I don't see how that should cost 150 million.

Tipsy McSwagger

bombidol wrote: »

ROLAND.

I would prefer Dennis Quaid for Roland.



Aaron Paul as Eddie Dean.



Gina Torres as Susannah.

bnt

And ... it's back. Maybe. Deadline is reporting that Warner Bros. might give the first film a green light within two weeks, with Ron Howard directing, and that Russell Crowe could be cast as Deschain. The talk is of a film trilogy followed by a TV series.