Stephen King's The Dark Tower

tok9

Idris Elba is a very good actor. I've always thought he's had an excellent screen presence.

I can't say much on the character etc.

intheclouds

It's not going to work for me. I've a very specific mental image of Roland, those cool blue shooters eyes can't happen if his race is changed.

Mickeroo

Only read the first book yet but I'm delighted with that casting.

intheclouds

Presumably they'll have to rewrite the "honky mahfah" parts.

PaddyTheNth

Big fan of Elba as an actor, he'll do a good job as Roland but as mentioned him being black will significantly change the dynamic with Detta.

Apart from skin colour he's quite different from how I'd pictured Roland, I'd seen him as leaner. Shame to lose the blue gunslinger eyes!

Liam McPoyle

Doesn't work for me at all.

As mentioned, it would completely change the Detta arc which is pivotal in Susannahs overall development.

He is a fine actor but does not fit this role at all.

Sad Professor

I'm surprised how much people have a problem with this. I always found Roland a terribly bland protagonist in the books. He's King's self-insertion (before he literally self-inserted himself that is). This sort of thing just doesn't play play well on screen, so I assume they've had to make substantial changes to the character. So what colour his skin is won't matter. It's not like they are going to stay close to the books. Nor should they – they are awful in places.

L'prof

Elba is a fine actor, I don't see the problem with this. Then again I've always been amused when actors have to change their accents for roles where for the life of me I can't see how it matters! Black gunslinger? Big whoop!

intheclouds

L'prof wrote: »

Black gunslinger? Big whoop!

It's not "black gunslinger" that's a problem for me, it's "black Roland Deschain". I grew up awaiting the next instalment of each Dark Tower book so I developed a 20 year relationship with the characters. Roland is a white guy with blue eyes.

faceman

intheclouds wrote: »

It's not "black gunslinger" that's a problem for me, it's "black Roland Deschain". I grew up awaiting the next instalment of each Dark Tower book so I developed a 20 year relationship with the characters. Roland is a white guy with blue eyes.

The eye colour and skin colour don't make the character

intheclouds

faceman wrote: »

The eye colour and skin colour don't make the character

Oh they definitely do for me. I'm sorry, but I can't unimagine 20 years of described physical characteristics. It's simply part of who Roland is that he has cool blue shooters eyes.

Heckler

Big fan of Elba but this doesn't work for me. Roland in my mind is Clint Eastwood-esque. Tall, lean, white with startling blue eyes.

Its nearly up there with casting Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher. And as others have said it will change a lot of things with Odetta.

I don't really see the reason for it. Any number of other actors (Mortensen, Bale etc ) would be a better choice. Be interesting to know who might have been approached before Elba was cast.

Liam McPoyle

Just reading the piece above again. Its from some random paper that I've never heard of.

Until I hear it directly from Sony, the director or King himself, I will take it all with a pinch of salt.

Frank O. Pinion

What's the opposite of "whitewashing" a character?

Sad Professor

Frank O. Pinion wrote: »

What's the opposite of "whitewashing" a character?

Well, in a racial context, whitewashing means excessively downplaying a minority's racial or cultural differences in order to blend in better and be more acceptable. So I guess the opposite would be stereotyping, which is about exaggerating racial differences – to the advantage of the majority group who gets to present the minority as "the other".

I'm not sure how either concept is relevant to Elba's potential casting as a cowboy. I mean, when Tom Cruise was cast as Jack Reacher, I don't remember anyone arguing it was because the filmmakers were concerned there weren't enough short people in movies. Tom Cruise was cast because he's Tom Cruise – a big, intense movie star who can get film financiers to part with their cash. His height wasn't an issue for anyone except fans of the books who insisted the various descriptions of Reacher as being 6ft whatever were essential to the story.

Maybe Elba is being cast as Roland because he's Elba. A very charming and masculine actor who has a built-in fanbase already, many of whom think he would make a fantastic Bond regardless of his skin colour – and not because of it.

Heckler

Be surprised to see King sign off on Elba assuming he has any say. The Tower series is Kings Magnum Opus.

Its Kings western and he always had a Man with no name in mind for Roland. Sorry but not Elba.

Heckler

Prediction here. Make a bad one off movie wold be awful,a reasonable 3 movie deal (never gonna happen because not enough people read King (yes millions do but not the demographic for a DK series) or a HBO series which could be amazing if they do it right.

McDermotX

Heckler wrote: »

Be surprised to see King sign off on Elba assuming he has any say. The Tower series is Kings Magnum Opus.

Its Kings western and he always had a Man with no name in mind for Roland. Sorry but not Elba.

Think King has been quoted as saying he has no issues with Roland's colour, only how fast he can draw, so I'd imagine there's little issue in that regard, it would be just at the periphery of the major changes that would need to be done to the material in any case.

That said, Elba is not even close to the image of Roland conjured in my mind from reading the books IMO, but beggars can't be choosers and I'd remain open, considering there's still plenty of time for the rug to be pulled from under this one again.

OwaynOTT

No problem with himself apparently being cast apart from the fact that Roland is half starved when we meet him in the post and has gone through some considerable periods of deprivation.
Elba needs to do a bit of a Bale and lose some of his bulk to be believable as Roland.

Boo Radley

Stephen King on 'Dark Tower' Movie: 'It's Likely to Happen':

"I think that it’s more likely than not that Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will be in it," says the author about long-awaited adaptation

Zillah

Having waded my way up to the fifth book and finally given up, I'm very curious as to what content they are going to include. King has some cracking ideas, but he's also a dreary, lazy blowhard half the time too. I read the rest of the plot on wikipedia and I have to say, it sounds like it takes a hell of a nosedive.

Is the movie just going to be the first book, or are they planning a series?

weemcd

Zillah wrote: »

Having waded my way up to the fifth book and finally given up, I'm very curious as to what content they are going to include. King has some cracking ideas, but he's also a dreary, lazy blowhard half the time too. I read the rest of the plot on wikipedia and I have to say, it sounds like it takes a hell of a nosedive.

Is the movie just going to be the first book, or are they planning a series?

It does take a nosedive tbh, I found the 5th book to be the worst in the series, and if you can get past it the pace and quality picks up again a little. The series did however peak with The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. After this all the books meander to an extent, and King becomes more and more indulgent to the point of

writing himself into the story

Before the last chapter of the last book he writes a strange letter, it's almost apologetic to the reader about how the story ends. I didn't mind the actual ending too much, what bothered me more was how much he dragged it out before getting there. The series should have been trimmed by at least one book, I personally would have cut wolves of the Calla in half, and trimmed from The Drawing of the Three also.

If they improved the pacing, edited down some of the filler and generally tightened everything up, a well made series could surpass the collection of books, as far as being a cohesive story.

Elba and McConaughey are inspired and unconventional choices. Looking forward to this a lot, despite the fact it will be very difficult to make, and even harder to do well.

intheclouds

^^^
Good post above, sums up the quality pretty well. However, despite flaws there were some parts I really did enjoy, but overall, yes, nosedive after Wizard and Glass.

I loved the actual ending, but, could have cut so much to get there. Cant see any movie adaptation indulging in so much rubbish tbh.

Abbey Lee (Mad Max) has been cast as Tirana

Anyone who's finished the books will find that more than a little baffling, not the actress but the role she is to play. I'd also guess many readers could struggle to recall the character, I had to look it up to remind myself.

I'm hopeful for the films and realistic in my expectation that they will not be rigidly sticking to the source at this stage.

intheclouds

Deleted User wrote: »

Abbey Lee (Mad Max) has been cast as Tirana

They must be completely changing the storyline for a screenplay - thats the only guess I can make at it.

intheclouds

intheclouds wrote: »

They must be completely changing the storyline for a screenplay - thats the only guess I can make at it.

The 1st book would make for a great film especially Tull, but for a series they are going to have to introduce a few things earlier I'd say like the drawing of the three etc. but that character is just waaaaaaayyyy out of left field lol

Please let there be lobstrosities :pac:

intheclouds

Deleted User wrote: »

Please let there be lobstrosities :pac:

Did-a-chick? Dud-a-chum?

Zillah

intheclouds wrote: »

Did-a-chick? Dud-a-chum?

DOD-A-CHOCK!?

Who the hell is Tirana?

intheclouds

Zillah wrote: »

DOD-A-CHOCK!?

Who the hell is Tirana?

She was mentioned in the Dixie Pig, very very minor.

Zillah

lol, all the news articles are like "DARK TOWER GETS ITS FEMALE LEAD".

Doesn't the book open "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger and his friend Tirana followed?"