A DARK TOWER Movie Trillogy & TV Series?

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=28859

Now this is a real jaw-dropper. In an age when uncertainty about budgets and success means most filmmakers are pruning projects back to the bare minimum to avoid costs and risks, Ron Howard and producers Brian Grazer and Akiva Goldsman are planning to turn Stephen King’s massive novel series The Dark Tower into a trilogy of movies. Oh, and a TV series that will run between them.

It was reported back in April that Howard, Grazer and the rest were cooking up an idea for a film and follow-on TV series, which was the only way they, through production company Imagine, could adapt the sprawling tale of Roland the gunslinger and his quest to save humanity by reaching the titular structure.

Now Deadline has more details, including the fact that Imagine partner Universal’s film and TV sections have won the deal to host the trilogy and the TV series, beating down Warners (which is where Goldsman has his production company) for the chance. We sort of hope they faced off with an actual gunfight given the material, but we’re pretty sure it was just boring business negotiation.

And here’s the even more intriguing part. The current plan calls for Howard to direct both the first film and at least the entire first season of the series, which he’s comparing to Peter Jackson’s efforts on Lord of the Rings. “What Peter did was a feat, cinematic history,” Howard tells the site. “The approach we’re taking also stands on its own, but it’s driven by the material. I love both, and like what’s going on in TV. With this story, if you dedicated to one medium or another, there’s the horrible risk of cheating material. The scope and scale call for a big screen budget. But if you committed only to films, you’d deny the audience the intimacy and nuance of some of these characters and a lot of cool twists and turns that make for jaw dropping, compelling television.

“We’ve put some real time and deep thought into this, and a lot of conversations and analysis from a business standpoint, to get people to believe in this and take this leap with us. I hope audiences respond to it in a way that compels us to keep going after the first year or two of work. It’s fresh territory for me, as a filmmaker.”

The three filmmakers apparently first considered adapting King’s series when they were working on A Beautiful Mind, but figured he’d never sell. Until, that is, King gave JJ Abrams the rights for $19. But Abrams and his collaborators could never make it work, so when the option became available again, Grazer and Howard jumped on the chance.

Right now, the thinking is to launch the story with a film, then run the first season on television (how many episodes has yet to be decided, and we’re not sure we see Howard making 22 of the blighters), then a sequel film, followed by a second TV season that will chart the younger days of Roland’s life, as chronicled in a prequel comic that King was involved in creating. But it would mean a big name signing on for both the first film and at least two seasons of TV.

Can it work? Is it too ambitious? If anyone can pull it off, it’s these three, but what say you? Good idea? Or will it collapse like a cowboy shot through the noggin?

Still too many variables at play here for me to get excited. There have been so many failed attempts to mobilize this project over the years that I don't think I'll believe it until I see it. If Abrams couldn't crack the story, I'm skeptical that Goldsman will have better luck. On a related note, certain aspects of this book series are unfilmable in my opinion, so if you're a fan of the books it's tough not to imagine you'll be disappointed by whatever they decide to cut out or whatever shortcuts they decide to create. But the idea of a movie/TV series combo where each component is as essential as the other is intriguing, especially if they actually put as much time and passion into each. Then again, I think the majority of Ron Howard's movies are bad (generally speaking, I'd say one out of every three movies he makes is above average), so--while he could pleasantly surprise me--Howard's involvement is more of a minus than a plus. And Brian Grazer brings nothing to the table creatively. I'm rooting for this to happen and for it to be good, but at this juncture I'm not optimistic.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

I can't imagine this being very good if it does happen. When I read the series I remember numerous occasions where I said to myself "this can never be made into a movie and have the same effect".

That being said, I'll watch it with little expectations and hope for the best.

The only good book was 3. I read up to halfway through five. Don't know why. But 3 was amazing and the only one I can see as a movie.

3 > 2 > 1 >> 4 >> 7 >> 5 >>> 6 imo

Wow. Yep.

I find Wizard and Glass to be a bit overrated. I prefer Drawing of the Three

Really? 1 and 2 are better than the other ones? I read 1 and thought it was pretty shit. 2 was better but still not particularly amazing. If from all the others I have to read, 3 is the only one that is going to be better than the previous two, then I may just not even bother continuing.

Depends what you like, really but if you didn't like 3 you may as well not continue.

1 and 7 are my favourites...

Hell yeah, Ron Howard!! Maybe that means we'll get Tom Hanks, he'd be the best Roland ever!

3 is easily the most interesting, adventurous, and exciting, literally no drags throughout the entire book. 2 had a lot of drags as do all the others.

3 is by far the best book.

3>4>2>1>6>5>7

Ok I change my mind. Wizard and Glass isn't a bit overrated. It's a lot overrated.

FUCK that would have been awesome. Samurai Jack was the shit, stylistically.


And Wizard and Glass was my favorite, closely followed by The Wastelands and The Drawing of the Three.

Close enough.

7 is my favourite, but 2 was pretty amazing too, I thought. I loved them all, though.

3>2>1>5>4

4 was a lot faster paced in comic form though. Didn't read 6 and 7, but 5 was going a little better than four. did not finish it though.

6 is like the worst piece of shit I've ever read.

But yeah 3 is the best.

I loved the first four, Wizard and Glass was probably my favourite, despite the retarded ending with the 'Wizard'. The final three ranged from amazing to terrible and seemed to flip back and forth at will. It made me pretty angry at black women in general for being ridiculous. Final book was generally pretty fantastic though.

As for this new series. I doubt it's going to work, but it will be an interesting watch.

4>2>>5>3>>1>>>6>>>>>>7

3>5>7>2>1>6>>>>4 for me. Hated W&G so much it hurt me. Loved Wolves despite fan hatred of it, and Wastelands is one of the best fantasy books ever written by anyone.

I really don't see this series ever being done by anyone. I've tried to figure it out as a movie/TV series in my head for years and could never figure out how to cast Jake since he is in all 7 books, but he never ages. It is true for other characters as well, but it is harder to stop a child from looking older over a decade than it is for an adult. How do you cast that? A new actor every few movies? Ug. And what child actor could play that part? None that I can think of....

This news had me excited and scared all day.

Which is why you rated it the highest?

Wizard and Glass is the fourth book in the series.

The Talisman is way better than the Dark Tower series anyway

They need to make a movie out of THAT shit

Yep and thank god that The Stand was a GOOD adaptation for once

What the fuck, the movie was 8 hours long, what more do you want

I don't understand how you don't like Wizard and Glass. I admit, when I first heard that almost the entire book took place in the past, I was a bit skeptical, but once I started I just could not put it down.

what

FUCK could've sworn it was the third. The 4th is my favorite, then

Fuck.

So this has officiallly been announced:

http://www.stephenking.com/promo/dark_tower_film_and_tv/news_tracker/

I still can't get through Wolves of the Calla

Re-reading the whole series, now that I've discovered .epubs. The first book is a lot better than I remembered, and I can't wait to get to books 3 and 4.

Did anything even happen in Song of Susannah?

A black woman shot a spider-humanoid abomination out of her vagina. That's about it.

Stephen King lamely wrote himself into the series as well.

Yeah, that was pretty much a pole-vault over the shark.

Holy shit, the change in King's style of writing between Wizard and Glass and The Wolves of the Calla is so obvious and definitely distracted me throughout the rest of the series. By the time I had reached the end I was so frustrated that I didn't even care about the ending anymore.

That was probably the idea. While I liked the series and the ending as a whole, the writing was wildly inconsistent from Wolves onward.

That explains why I stopped caring there.

Surprise surprise. This project is dead again.

good