The Dark Tower (Nikolaj Arcel, 2017)

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Binker · #1 Post by **Binker** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:43 pm

Binker wrote:Also, apparently a TV-miniseries of The Dark Tower is in the works with JJ Abrams attached. These are actually the only King books I've read in the past few years. I ran through pretty much everything he wrote from the ages of 11-12. A couple years ago, I decided I wanted to finish this series and chose to start from the beginning. The last three books are just complete disasters, not even worth discussing, but I enjoyed the first four and I thought the story within a story of Roland's youth in book four was the highlight of the entire series.

Anyway, I don't see how these can possibly be translated to the screen. Portals between worlds, elaborate back stories entirely unrelated to the central narrative, violently split personalities, King himself in the story, the plot would be impossible to follow on film without forcing the characters to explain it. Beyond all that, King is at his absolute kookiest with the language here. Virtually all spoken word would need to be rewritten, and the constantly repeated little sayings unique to King's world entirely cut out.

Bit of an update on this, Christian Bale's rumored to be in discussions to play Roland

#2 Post by **domino harvey** » Mon May 11, 2009 9:48 pm

He's certainly humorless enough

flyonthewall2983 · #3 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Sun Dec 26, 2010 9:05 pm

Article about the upcoming film/tv adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower.

talker · #4 Post by **talker** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 12:24 am

I'm a little worried about The Dark Tower. One of Kings books that I truly enjoyed every word of, and I can see it being treated as a comic book style adaptation. There is something elementally disturbing about the dark tower universe that will be difficult to translate cinematically, especially in the space of one film. And the right Roland? It's gotta be somebody who looks past his prime, beat up. Mickey Rourke's probably to big, physically. Is Sam Elliot too obvious?

_______________________________________

dad jokes

flyonthewall2983 · #5 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Tue Jan 04, 2011 6:24 am

Well, there isn't just one film being planned. According to what's been released in the press so far there will be three, with the first one out in 2013. The two sequels will be out over the next two years, and in the time between the movies being released, NBC will air a show devoted to filling in the gaps between the films.

I haven't really read the books, but I'll definitely start soon. This project has a higher chance of failure than success, but one has to admire the scope and depth that this project is shaping up to be.

flyonthewall2983 · #6 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Wed May 06, 2015 3:42 am

Anything on The Dark Tower lately?

bainbridgezu · #7 Post by **bainbridgezu** » Wed May 06, 2015 3:59 am

flyonthewall2983 wrote:Anything on The Dark Tower lately?

Just that it's supposedly back on as a combination film franchise and television series, now with Ron Howard set to produce the whole thing but not direct any of it.

flyonthewall2983 · #8 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Wed May 06, 2015 4:14 am

So not much has changed other than Opie not directing.

#9 Post by **mfunk9786** » Wed May 06, 2015 4:21 am

Somehow that is even more annoying than not using someone's last name.

#10 Post by **domino harvey** » Thu Dec 10, 2015 3:17 am

Idris Elba is likely to sign on as Roland in the Dark Tower, with McConaughey playing Flagg in this in addition to in the Stand

#11 Post by **domino harvey** » Tue Mar 01, 2016 7:50 pm

domino harvey wrote:Idris Elba is likely to sign on as Roland in the Dark Tower, with McConaughey playing Flagg in this in addition to in the Stand

Stephen King has confirmed, starts shooting in April

#12 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 1:43 pm

First pic of the Man in Black

Magic Hate Ball · #13 Post by **Magic Hate Ball** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 3:52 am

He looks like a Zoolander villain.

colinr0380 · #14 Post by **colinr0380** » Sat Jul 02, 2016 7:35 am

According to a wikipedia quote from an interview with King around the casting of 1990s Stand TV series, Flagg should be played by someone who "would make the ladies' hearts go pitty pat, that looked like the type of guy you would see on the cover of one of those sweet, savage love paperback romances", so that's probably what they're going for here too. A seductive bad boy!

You know, I'm still rather surprised that they're tackling the convoluted meta-multiverse Dark Tower series head on rather than trying to do something like The Stand again, though I certainly appreciate the ambition here. We're also going through an age of epic high fantasy at the moment so I'd have thought something like The Eyes of the Dragon might have been a safer, though more obscure, bet. That's also the one with Randall Flagg literally as an evil court magician!

But then I'm biased as Eyes of the Dragon has one of the more unique and time consuming methods of escaping from a locked tower that I've seen! If only that guy from A Man Escaped was left only with a dollhouse in his cell!

#15 Post by **domino harvey** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 7:34 pm

Interesting speculation on the Dark Tower adaptation (massive spoiler for the book series):

Spoiler

Elba's Roland has the Horn of Eld, meaning this film is likely a continuation / restart promised by the end of the last book and not a straight adaptation. If so, I think it is a smart move in that, knowing they can't film seven books' worth of material, they can do it this way and still be canon-abiding while hitting whatever highlights from the last round they want

flyonthewall2983 · Fri Jul 15, 2016 8:37 am

willoneill · #17 Post by **willoneill** » Wed May 03, 2017 1:24 pm

Trailer ... something about this doesn't feel right

#18 Post by **domino harvey** » Wed May 03, 2017 3:23 pm

willoneill wrote:Trailer ... everything about this doesn't feel right

Fixed

matrixschmatrix · #19 Post by **matrixschmatrix** » Wed May 03, 2017 3:49 pm

Wasn't expecting the Kazaam vibe

Roger Ryan · #20 Post by **Roger Ryan** » Wed May 03, 2017 4:30 pm

...and then there's the photo of the Overlook hotel (Timberline Lodge) given a place of prominence on the psychologist's desk.

matrixschmatrix · #21 Post by **matrixschmatrix** » Wed May 03, 2017 4:32 pm

Is the music directly from For a Few Dollars More or does it just sound like it?

Bumstead · #22 Post by **Bumstead** » Wed May 03, 2017 10:07 pm

I liked it better as THE LAST ACTION HERO.

#23 Post by **swo17** » Wed May 03, 2017 10:11 pm

I haven't read the books or seen Kazaam. What am I missing?

#24 Post by **Mr Sausage** » Wed May 03, 2017 11:10 pm

matrixschmatrix wrote:Is the music directly from For a Few Dollars More or does it just sound like it?

It's lifted directly.

The Narrator Returns · Fri May 19, 2017 10:00 pm

A few reports are saying that this movie runs 85 minutes.

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