The Dark Tower series filmed adaptation

[St. Troy]

Counting down to Oct 19, approx. 7:20 pm (NY time). Nice time for a trailer.

[fernandito]

Their trepidation was understandable though. A play by play translation of the novels is practically impossible.

I think the first three books at least you could make very faithful adaptations with modest budgets (maybe the third one would be bigger).

Book 4 would really be the only one that I could see causing issues given that it's almost entirely one big flashback. 5-7 could be reasonably trimmed if you remove a lot of the stuff about telling stories in DT5 (as much as I like Callahan's arc that could easily be removed) and trekking through the snow in DT7.

Putting content aside, the first 3 books provide a structural conundrum.

Let's assume that Roland's flashback to his youth - which is a sizable chunk of The Gunslinger - is saved for a possible tie in TV series.. you'd practically be done with all things Gunslinger before the one hour mark. What then? Do you dip into Drawing of the Three? Where do you start, where do you end?

You can't cover both books in one film because then you'd be dangerously close to the 3 hour mark, something studios frown upon because that means less showings per day, a death kiss for a new IP like this which is already facing an uphill battle.

There's a lot more to adapting this series than just replicating the events of the novels on the screen...

This is why a multiyear cable TV commitment would've been best - time for all the stuff the casual moviegoing audience has no time for: 50-60 hours of desert, gunfire, tragedy, immorality, good, evil, love, madness..

I agree that Television would have been the optimal outlet, but then again there's no guarantee that the story would be a smash hit just because it's on a Television format.

If anything TV execs are typically more trigger happy when cancelling content. Who's to say they wouldn't cancel the series 6/10 episodes in if the ratings weren't as spectacular as they were expecting?

What sort of HUMOUR can we expect from this film?

Obviously there is going to be at least one scene where Roland gets a taste of the mundane luxuries of Jake's world and drops (again, at least) one malapropism...but what else? Perhaps some black comedy from Walter as he interacts with his minions?

An equal dosage of both.

I wonder who this team was... Anybody here want to raise a hand (Bev/David/Ari?) or is there a silence contract till the film is released?

My money's on Bev lol.

[mae]

[Ben Staad]

What does "IP" stand for?

[Isamu Dyson]

What does "IP" stand for?

Intellectual Property, in this instance.

[Randall Flagg]

What sort of HUMOUR can we expect from this film?
... Perhaps some black comedy from Walter as he interacts with his minions?

I thought we weren't going there anymore.

[herbertwest]

Ron Howard & Brian Grazer On The Beatles, ‘Dark Tower’ And 30 Years Together

and at the end:
HOWARD:(...) We’re developing the television part, now. We don’t know what platform it will be on at this point, but we’re developing the content in hopes for more movies that will cover the epic and the characters involved.

Interesting interview. This particular comment caught my eye...

One of the things we did was put together a team of Dark Tower researchers, devotees of the books. We wanted to restructure the novels to be most cinematic and Stephen King agreed completely and understood the journey we were on immediately and supported it. We used this group to inspire our thinking and stay in the universe of Dark Tower.

I wonder who this team was... Anybody here want to raise a hand (Bev/David/Ari?) or is there a silence contract till the film is released?

I'd say Bev, Robin Furth at least

[CyberGhostface]

Let's assume that Roland's flashback to his youth - which is a sizable chunk of The Gunslinger - is saved for a possible tie in TV series.. you'd practically be done with all things Gunslinger before the one hour mark. What then? Do you dip into Drawing of the Three? Where do you start, where do you end?

You can't cover both books in one film because then you'd be dangerously close to the 3 hour mark, something studios frown upon because that means less showings per day, a death kiss for a new IP like this which is already facing an uphill battle.

I think if they wanted to they could make a 90 minute film from The Gunslinger just following adult Roland shooting up Tull, meeting Jake and pursuing Walter. Peter Jackson was able to make ten hours out of a 300 page book and while I wouldn't want to see that happen with DT I think there's enough material to fit it into one standard movie, even if it means adding a little bit of new material.

If anything TV execs are typically more trigger happy when cancelling content. Who's to say they wouldn't cancel the series 6/10 episodes in if the ratings weren't as spectacular as they were expecting?

This goes more for the movies although it could apply to the hypothetical series well...(and this question is for everyone here, I'm curious as to what their opinion is)

Which would you rather have:

1. A very faithful (or faithful enough like Peter Jackson's LotR) adaptation of the first three books that ends before the fourth book can be adapted

or

2. A finished version of the series that is nonetheless very different from the original books, one that crams the entire series into half as much time as it needs and rearranges and cuts out major sections of the story as well as giving considerably different versions of the original characters?

[Merlin1958]

Let's assume that Roland's flashback to his youth - which is a sizable chunk of The Gunslinger - is saved for a possible tie in TV series.. you'd practically be done with all things Gunslinger before the one hour mark. What then? Do you dip into Drawing of the Three? Where do you start, where do you end?

You can't cover both books in one film because then you'd be dangerously close to the 3 hour mark, something studios frown upon because that means less showings per day, a death kiss for a new IP like this which is already facing an uphill battle.

I think if they wanted to they could make a 90 minute film from The Gunslinger just following adult Roland shooting up Tull, meeting Jake and pursuing Walter. Peter Jackson was able to make ten hours out of a 300 page book and while I wouldn't want to see that happen with DT I think there's enough material to fit it into one standard movie, even if it means adding a little bit of new material.

If anything TV execs are typically more trigger happy when cancelling content. Who's to say they wouldn't cancel the series 6/10 episodes in if the ratings weren't as spectacular as they were expecting?

This goes more for the movies although it could apply to the hypothetical series well...(and this question is for everyone here, I'm curious as to what their opinion is)

Which would you rather have:

1. A very faithful (or faithful enough like Peter Jackson's LotR) adaptation of the first three books that ends before the fourth book can be adapted

or

2. A finished version of the series that is nonetheless very different from the original books, one that crams the entire series into half as much time as it needs and rearranges and cuts out major sections of the story as well as giving considerably different versions of the original characters?

Admittedly I am overdue for a re-read, but what did, Jackson do do wrong in the films? I thought he did a really good job of it IMHO

[Br!an]

Admittedly I am overdue for a re-read, but what did, Jackson do do wrong in the films? I thought he did a really good job of it IMHO

The movies were not completely faithful to the books. They were faithful to the story in general, but when you get down to specifics they weren't the same. He did a really good job of bringing an epic series to film though. He took far more liberties with The Hobbit.

"Sure, it's not really THE LORD OF THE RINGS ... but it could still be a pretty damn cool movie. " -- Peter Jackson

"Lord of the Rings is perhaps the most faithful screenplay ever adapted from a long novel. This is not just because our writing quartet is devoted to the original and would share other fans' resentment if it were"mistreated". Tolkien has an advantage over Dickens, Tolstoy and other epic writers. His story lines have a clear sweep and are less concerned with the byways and subplots which characterise 19th century novels. Consequently the major milestones of the Fellowship's journey are intact. Inevitably, even in a three-film version, there will be some omissions of characters and elisions of events but as the story unfolds onscreen and as the landscapes are seen for the first time, little will be missed.
"The enthusiasts who have read the novels over and over may notice every change but in doing so they will miss the point. Peter Jackson's movie does not challenge the novel's supremacy any more than the distinguished book illustrations by Howe, Lee et al were meant to replace Tolkien's descriptive words. Paintings, drawings, animations and at last the feature films all augment our appreciation of Lord of the Rings. And just watch the book sales rise as New Line's publicity for the film gears up.
"Another point on this, the question that dominates my email: the adaptation of masterpieces from one medium to another is as old as literature. Most of Shakespeare's plays are re-workings of stories, poems or written history. When I moved Richard III from stage to screen, I was determined to make a good film in honour of a great play. Had I left every scene and line of the text intact in the movie, it would not have been a good one. Kurosawa's Throne of Blood, my favourite version of the Macbeth saga, distorts Shakespeare to spectacular effect. The play which inspired it remains intact."

-- Ian McKellen, October 3, 2000

"Tolkien has become a monster, devoured by his own popularity and absorbed into the absurdity of our time. The chasm between the beauty and seriousness of the work, and what it has become, has overwhelmed me. The commercialization has reduced the aesthetic and philosophical impact of the creation to nothing…. They eviscerated the book by making it an action movie for young people aged 15 to 25. And it seems that The Hobbit will be the same kind of film."

-- Christopher Tolkien, July 5, 2012

The Complete List of Film Changes
http://www.theonering.com/complete-list-of-film-changes

• Introduction

The Hobbit

• General Changes
• An Unexpected Journey
• The Desolation of Smaug
• There and Back Again

The Lord of the Rings

• General Changes
• The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Two Towers
• The Return of the King

• False Rumours

[CyberGhostface]

Admittedly I am overdue for a re-read, but what did, Jackson do do wrong in the films? I thought he did a really good job of it IMHO

I actually love the original LotR film trilogy although he did make a number of changes that I wasn't crazy about.

With The Hobbit on the other hand he took a fairly short book and made it into three very long films and the end result is something that's a bit of a bloated mess. They tried to make it another epic when the story doesn't call for it and it really falls short in comparison. But the main point I was making was just that it would be possible to make the first DT book into a standard-length movie. Another example would be 'The Mist' which is about a hundred pages and was made into a two-hour movie. And that one was pretty faithful to the original short story until the ending.

[Merlin1958]

Admittedly I am overdue for a re-read, but what did, Jackson do do wrong in the films? I thought he did a really good job of it IMHO

I actually love the original LotR film trilogy although he did make a number of changes that I wasn't crazy about.

With The Hobbit on the other hand he took a fairly short book and made it into three very long films and the end result is something that's a bit of a bloated mess. They tried to make it another epic when the story doesn't call for it and it really falls short in comparison. But the main point I was making was just that it would be possible to make the first DT book into a standard-length movie. Another example would be 'The Mist' which is about a hundred pages and was made into a two-hour movie. And that one was pretty faithful to the original short story until the ending.

Well, yeah he went a bit crazy with "The Hobbit", but I think he was looking at it from a film aspect, blending "Silmarillion/appendices" topics into it. I'm a devoted, Tolkien fan and I didn't have a real issue with the films. I thought he did a pretty good job with a monumental task.

[Bev Vincent]

Ron Howard & Brian Grazer On The Beatles, ‘Dark Tower’ And 30 Years Together

and at the end:
HOWARD:(...) We’re developing the television part, now. We don’t know what platform it will be on at this point, but we’re developing the content in hopes for more movies that will cover the epic and the characters involved.

Interesting interview. This particular comment caught my eye...

One of the things we did was put together a team of Dark Tower researchers, devotees of the books. We wanted to restructure the novels to be most cinematic and Stephen King agreed completely and understood the journey we were on immediately and supported it. We used this group to inspire our thinking and stay in the universe of Dark Tower.

I wonder who this team was... Anybody here want to raise a hand (Bev/David/Ari?) or is there a silence contract till the film is released?

I'd say Bev, Robin Furth at least

I'm not involved.

[Isamu Dyson]

Sound Mix: IMAX 6-Track | Dolby Surround 7.1 | Dolby Atmos | Datasat | 12-Track Digital Sound

IMAX, eh? I am intrigued. Can we expect to witness 3D vampires getting blasted by Roland?

[St. Troy]

Which would you rather have...

Option 1, as King's story (and not that of whatever random screenwriter(s) happened to have accommodating schedules and/or needed the work) is the only reason I care at all at this point. I would watch the "option 2" movies out of curiosity and also because I generally like movies and happen to like this cast.

[webstar1000]

Sound Mix: IMAX 6-Track | Dolby Surround 7.1 | Dolby Atmos | Datasat | 12-Track Digital Sound

IMAX, eh? I am intrigued. Can we expect to witness 3D vampires getting blasted by Roland?

There will be 3D no question.

[fernandito]

Happy Birthday Idris Elba, our chosen Gunslinger!

[WeDealInLead]

Those are fine looking guns. I hope a high end toy line gets the license and makes these babies in 1:1 ratio. They'd look very nice as bookends to a hardcover set.

[fernandito]

Those guns are fucking beautiful.

The six shooters are nice too.

[The Gasherman]

Which would you rather have:

1. A very faithful (or faithful enough like Peter Jackson's LotR) adaptation of the first three books that ends before the fourth book can be adapted

or

2. A finished version of the series that is nonetheless very different from the original books, one that crams the entire series into half as much time as it needs and rearranges and cuts out major sections of the story as well as giving considerably different versions of the original characters?[/QUOTE]

If I pick option 1, do I at least get to see Blaine crash and burn?

[Sai Sheb]

Always wanted to see what was in the waste lands... I say #1

[Cixelsyd]

Counting down to Oct 19, approx. 7:20 pm (NY time). Nice time for a trailer.

It's actually counting down to 7:19 pm (NY time), which is written as 19:19 in 24 hour time.

So, October 19 at 19:19. The marketers (who work with the studio and the filmmaker in developing the marketing plan) seem to really GET the world here, and that is a very good thing.

[Isamu Dyson]

https://twitter.com/Junkie_XL/status/777914139381555200

[Steve]

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/21...g-wizard-glass

[mae]

Guys, when posting links, also do a copy-paste of the article or at least a part of it. Bare links are never very informative. And they can change or go defunct.