The Dark Tower series filmed adaptation

[DMKfromIN]

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

The press release:
http://www.stephenking.com/promo/dar..._tower_pr1.pdf

For a whole month I knew about this and couldn't share anything. It was tought!

Thakee sai! I will read it ASAP; this is going to be the coolest thing in the history of all media (if they don't screw it up)!

[Walkingman79]

Ron Howard spotting at th U.S. Open tonight.No time for tennis Ronnie,you have a movie to be working on and it ain't no walk in the park!....but seriously get to work....

[RUBE]

Well Disney kills off parents in their movies all of the time so at least they wouldn't have a problem showing Roland's parents dying.

[Scoogs]

I was thinking about this the other day...

From a character development point of view, I'd like to see DOTT as the first TV series so they don't have to compress everything into 2 hours.

Additionally, with Ludd, the monorail, and the house, The Waste Lands would possibly require the most intense visual effects. Based on that, I'd prefer those elements to be put into the one of the films so they have a decent budget to work with.

Likewise, I think WaG would work well spread out over a full TV season.
I'm not quite sure how I'd like to see the last 3 book handled.

[velcro_fly]

What do they mean by

...the third film and beyond.

[east-tennessee]

I wish they would stay away from the TV series a just put there efforts ito 3-4 feature films.

[Empath of the White]

When I hear the name Akiva Goldsman, I think Batman Forever and Batman and Robin...needless to say I'll be at the theater on opening weekend, for sure.

[fernandito]

We already have a couple of threads dedicated to the film, but I'd like to use this space to discuss only the TV series when it's finally released.

Here's a snippet from BostonHerlad.com :

Stephen King announced his “Dark Tower” series will be turned into three movies and a TV series. The legendary horrormeister and Maine resident told Entertainment Weekly that “I’ve been waiting for the right team to bring the characters and stories in these books to film and TV viewers around the world.” It seems the right team has appeared, because powerhouse director Ron Howard will bring the first of the three films to the big screen, and will also direct the first season of the TV series.

[alinda]

This will be a very busy thread, I seem to forget when
I mean what the time frame will be. Will it take years do you think?

[Walkingman79]

I have been reconsidering my opinion of this project and would like to revoke my previous opinion.I was lucky enough to read the book first(before I see the movie)and nothing can take that away from me.I will always have the images the book conjured up in my imagination and the way I interpreted different aspects of the story so there is no need for me to feel like this movie will ruin anything for me.
After reaching this conclusion I can now join the team of people who are incredibly excited to see how this tale gets translated on the big screen!I have faith that the team asembled to make this movie,along with the direction of sai King,will do the story justice and even if it doesn't I am fortunate to have read this story when I did.The book will always hold a special place in my heart and if the directors stay true to the story it has potential to be one of the greatest movies ever made.So yes,I have done a complete 180. and realize I can't knock a project I haven't seen yet.I just hope the world is ready for the ka-tet

[RUBE]

What do they mean by

...the third film and beyond.

Maybe if it does well enough they will have a third TV series exploring the area that the comics are now covering between the events in W&G and The Gunslinger.

[Calla_Wolf]

Think on this.

Understanding the latter half of DT7 is, at the least partly, dependant on your knowledge of other King books (Insomnia is one that springs to mind). How will they get around this without dumbing down the story?

Also, that final showdown was jarring enough to read...how on earth will they film it without the whole thing descending into farce...?

This announcement makes me very nervous for the fate of something that meant and still means a good deal to me.

[Rahfa]

Think on this.

Understanding the latter half of DT7 is, at the least partly, dependant on your knowledge of other King books (Insomnia is one that springs to mind). How will they get around this without dumbing down the story?

Also, that final showdown was jarring enough to read...how on earth will they film it without the whole thing descending into farce...?

This announcement makes me very nervous for the fate of something that meant and still means a good deal to me.

Agreed....

Even the Salem's Lot connection in WOTC...yes, people will know who Father Callahan is - sort of - but how do they retell that story enough to give it context?

And Hearts in Atlantis is fairly important too, a much vaguer book. It's going to be tricky.

Although, really, I guess I don't care...I'm excited and if the project flops I'll be disappointed...but I don't feel that invested. I won't take any failure personally...haha...

[Brice]

I guess they will just have to include all king books with even a slight connection to the series.

[WeDealInLead]

I wouldn't make any direct references to Insomnia, 'Salem's Lot etc. Include that stuff in the DVD and Blu-Ray booklets. Financially, the SK camp should be more than able to pull that off. I'm sure I'm one of many who read TDT books first and then dug deeper into related books. Same could be said for people who'll watch the movies first. They'll either like it or want to explore it further or they won't. Either way, there is no way this won't be profitable for those involved.

[pixiedark76]

better a flop done correctly than a big blockbuster that doesn't tell the true story.

In all honesty, yes i am excited by the prospect of seeing this on the big and small screen, but in the same breathe if it doesn't get made **shrugs**

if its gets cancelled half way through for being a flop (because its true to the story) then thats ok with me too. I know how it ends

but thats actually true, whereas with a lot of series that do get canceled i have never known how it ends and these characters are floating around with no resolution.

so, yes honey i still prefer it to be done properly even if that means it flops than to be done in a big showy way with tom cruise playing roland and zac effron as eddie just cause it sells seats

I am now departing as i realise i am on medical drugs and alcohol and stopped making sense two sentences ago

I agree with candy. I don't care if it "flops" What does flop mean anyway, that film does not "make lots of money" i.e SELLS OUT! I would rather the DT movie be true to the story and make no money than have it suck and have it not resemble the story at all while making money.

I don't really care if this movie is a big success with the main stream movie goers. I am just happy that the film is being made. It only matters what true Dark tower fans think of the film. I could care less what other movie goers think!

[pixiedark76]

Too add to what I said earlier: If the movie/series gets canceled and the movie/series is true to the book and done right I would be happy. I would rather have it this way than the movie/series be a big blockbuster production and make lots of money.

I don't care if it is a blockbuster success. I would love the movie/series be a "cult classic" and have it be loved just by Dark Tower fans and Stephen King fans.

If the TV series gets canceled, the remaining episodes or the entire series could probably be released in DVD. (Kind of like Nightmares and Dreamscpes was released.) I would not mind if the movie/series was a "released straight to DVD" I just want a chance to see the Dark Tower on TV or the big screen.

[pathoftheturtle]

Of course, no one cares if it makes money... except for the people spending money to make it.

[Kvalhion]

I appreciate the effort that it's going to take to bring the DT novels to the big screen and television. Nothing is going to change my enjoyment of the books; if it is not successful or is vastly different from my imaginings I do not think that will lessen the books in my mind.

I also believe that if the DT novels are going to be made into tv/movies, this is certainly the way to do it. I really like the plan. A lot of times people really get excited about movies and to have a TV series in between to really fill in the gaps instead of having to wait a year or more between movies is a great idea.

I love the DT series and really hope this ends up as a smashing success. Even if it doesn't, I am very much looking forward to seeing what they come up with.

[Rahfa]

Yeah, but Father Callahan and whats-his-name from Hearts in Atlantis aren't peripheral characters...their entire contextual meaning within the story requires the reader to know who they are from previous works. If you made "Father Callahan" into "Father Smith," with no Salem's Lot connection, then the character himself has no larger meaning.

That's do-able, but it takes away from the gravitas of the whole narrative...then you're just dealing with a "quest" story.

They're actually taking a big chance as far as profits...we're all fanboys here, but the reality is The Dark Tower series is not Harry Potter or Twilight...a lot of people know about it, but far fewer are true fans...so, it will be actually be real easy for this not to be profitable, especially if the TV series angle doesn't pan out.

[DoctorDodge]

I think I'm gonna have to agree with that, Rahfa. Harry Potter, Twilight and Lord of the Rings were pretty much all big successes already with the original novels, and that made it very marketable to a lot of people, even those who've never even read the books. Actually, especially those who'd never read the books and wanted the shorter way of finding out what they were like!

Now, the Dark Tower...let's be honest folks, Stephen King is known mostly for his horror, at least as far as the people who've never read much of his work are concerned. I doubt the Dark Tower is as widely read as his horror novels, either. The studios are taking a massive risk with this, and whether it'll be great or not, the fact that it isn't as recognisable as certain "million books sold" series is gonna be a problem: the fact that the adaptation of Scott Pilgrim Vs the World has horribly bombed, despite being heavily praised is proof enough! If something isn't massively selling in books, then there's absolutely no guarantee it'll massively sell at the cinema, either.

[zerav]

This is my first post:

Most likely what Ron Howard and crew will do to the Dark Tower series will piss most DT fans off. There's no way that they can make all the fans happy. Ron Howard will probably be making these movies / TV series for people who have never read this stuff before, which will most likely mean toning more outrageous parts of the series down, and leaving entire parts out, just like Howard and Akiva Goldsman did on Angels & Demons. Nonetheless I am exited to see this series brought to life on the small / big screen.

[AIMB]

Hey, all. This is actually my first post here - I would've posted in the "Introduce Yourself" thread first, but I wanted to weigh in on this...

I just don't think Howard and Co. are the right fit for this. They could prove me wrong, but I'd have killed to see Frank Darabont in charge of this. He's done the best King adaptations out there and he's already breaking into the television world with "Walking Dead" on AMC.

I'm crossing my fingers and praying that they get this right, for their fathers' sakes.

Oh, and my pick for Sussanah is Rutina Wesly from "True Blood."

Yeah I agree, I have thought that from the first season of True Blood.
She gets on my nerves in the same way Susannah does, so...perfect!

[AIMB]

This is my first post:

Most likely what Ron Howard and crew will do to the Dark Tower series will piss most DT fans off. There's no way that they can make all the fans happy. Ron Howard will probably be making these movies / TV series for people who have never read this stuff before, which will most likely mean toning more outrageous parts of the series down, and leaving entire parts out, just like Howard and Akiva Goldsman did on Angels & Demons. Nonetheless I am exited to see this series brought to life on the small / big screen.

I think that is the case with EVERY BOOK that gets made into a movie/tv.

You have to take it for what it is. This is not going to be our Dark Tower. All you can hope is that they don't make a mockery out of it like a lot of King stories. If they put enough money into it it could be good.

And a lot of the things in the book would be so bad on screen I don't really want to see them. Some things are only good in the form of a book/your imagination.

[Cixelsyd]

Somehow I missed this news until today, but I am incredibly excited by this plan. I had always struggled with the competing ideas that you'd need the resources and scope of a big screen adaptation to really do the images from the series justice, but at the same time, you need more than two or three movies to tell the entire story as well, so a TV series would give you more time to do that.

This gives you the best of both worlds. Huge, sweeping imagery AND room for a ton of character development. I had resigned myself to Wizard and Glass being little more than short flashback sequences interspersed in the main action, but now we get to see the entire thing PLUS the comics stuff, from the sounds of it.

Still a little leery of Ron Howard, but it sounds like he's taking it seriously and trying to give it its proper due, so that's plus one for him in my book.