Originally Posted by Rahfa
Yeah, let's hope that they fully respect how crucial what's-his-name is to all of us.
Yes
No
Yeah, let's hope that they fully respect how crucial what's-his-name is to all of us.
Hahaha....yeah, I don't know if that really helped prove my point...I think not!
Yeah, let's hope that they fully respect how crucial what's-his-name is to all of us.
I started a facebook page "Sarah Jones as Susannah Dean in The Dark Tower". Please look it up. I REALLY think she's the only one who could pull Susannah off perfectly. Don't get me wrong Angela Bassett has the body, the look, and can definitely be a bad ass, but Sarah's the REAL deal.
I don't mean to be the voice of doom, but I could see this going the same route as Eragon or Golden Compass.
Two movies that were clearly set up for sequels, but due to low box office receipts, died after the first film in each series.
And I agree rahfa...the Rankin-Bass Hobbit was great!
They will have to dumb it down...but I don't think that is a bad thing. Frankly, I think the last three books could have used a little dumbing down.
Hey, wouldn't it be cool if they got Anthony Hopkins, who played Ted Brautigan (aka what's his name) in the HIA movie to play the same character?
FOR SALE OR TRADE
Dark Tower 7 Artist Edition n/a
The Waste Lands 1st Edition in Shrinkwrap $200
1984 Grant Gift Edition of The Talisman $400
Lisey's Story ARC $50
.
.
WANTED
Signed 1st Edition of Storm of The Century (Paperback)
Link to her IMDB? All I can find is a white actress,
Angela Bassett is just to old/famous to play her.
I just did a google and I assume they're referring to this Stage actress..
There's no reason a stage actress could not make the transition to film/tv of course. Apparently she has made some tv appearances already.
I think she's a bit too old for Susannah though. I know it was implied in the book that Susannah had a few years on Eddie, and that she was actually a bit older than she would like people to believe* but I'd say early thirties is about the limit. (Well unless she looks a good deal younger.) I forget how old Susannah was in the books but I don't think she was over 28.
Actually Jones might just pull it off.
EDIT- Actually, her face is familiar.
*Typical woman. Heh, heh.
I read HEARTS IN ATLANTIS, 'SALEM'S LOT, INSOMNIA, BLACK HOUSE and EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL after finishing the DT series (although I had seen the HIA movie before Ted's character is reintroduced in DT).
The bottomline is that while reading those books earlier may have made reading DT a richer experience, you don't need them to tell this story.
That was what I meant too and I did the same. What's in the books should be enough and anyone curious enough could always read the related works.
I'm curious if in the last movie anthony hopkins will play ted brautigan again or will he be too old by then?...
for that matter was the hearts in atlantis movie any good? I've never seen it but i know hopkins played brautigan
if the worlds gonna end then let's get it over with, i got shit to do
Slight HIA spoilers
Spoiler:
oh well that is total bullhockey, i do hope that they leave all the DT connections in though
if the worlds gonna end then let's get it over with, i got shit to do
Seeing Hopkins would certainly get people's minds working, but since the HiA movie did have all the DT connections removed, that would really confuse everything.
I didn't even know there was a HIA movie.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
I'm very excited about the dark tower film and the series, but at the same time i'm worried that they will mess up the story.
That was a really good English accent at the start! I should have noticed on her Wiki (I thought.) She had me fooled... and I'm English. How embarrassing. Some American actors can't pull it off. They tend to either use too much of their own twang, and it comes out hybrid or they over exaggerate.
Join the club!
Welcome, sai!Pleased to meet ya.
http://movies.ign.com/articles/112/1121704p1.html
Why the Dark Tower Matters
We break down Stephen King's fantasy epic and why the upcoming movie/TV deal is such a big deal.
September 17, 2010
Like so many fantasy franchises before it, The Dark Tower has long been a fixture at Hollywood. Many studios and directors have voiced an interest in adapting Stephen King's epic series of novels, but the Tower remained elusive. That is, until earlier this month, when it was announced that the team of Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman, and Brian Grazer will adapt the novels. The most interesting part of this announcement is that the adaptation won't be just for film or television, but both in a collaborative effort.
Tower fans the world over are no doubt celebrating this announcement. But others might be left scratching their heads. King himself has admitted that the Dark Tower books appeal to a niche of his readership, and they tend to lack the mainstream recognition that stories like The Stand, The Shining, and Carrie do. Just what the heck is a Dark Tower anyway?
With that in mind, consider this feature a primer to to the world of Dark Tower. Here we explain the makeup of King's unique fantasy world, introduce the main characters, and explore why The Dark Tower is such an exciting property for Hollywood. We don't expect the first Tower movie to debut for a few years, so new readers still have plenty of time to dip their toes into this epic saga.
The Story
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
This iconic line opens the first Dark Tower novel, The Gunslinger. This book introduces a world that has "moved on". Imagine a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western where the desert reaches on forever and only a few decaying pieces of technology offer any clue that civilization once thrived. The gunslinger is Roland Deschain, the last surviving member of a legendary band of knights who protected the realm of Mid-World. The man in black is his enemy, a trickster who holds answers to Roland's many questions, but only if he can be caught.
The one driving force behind all seven Tower novels is Roland's desire to reach the fabled Dark Tower. It's not made immediately clear what the Tower is or what Roland hopes to accomplish by reaching it. All readers know is that the Tower holds the key to potentially restoring Roland's dead world.
The Gunslinger follows Roland as he chases the man in black. Along the way, he stumbles across a boy named Jake who seems to have stumbled into Roland's world from our own. Jake is the first of many travelers who are swept up in the epic quest for the Dark Tower. Later novels expand the scope of Mid-World as Roland and his band traverse forests, mountains, ruined cities, and the wastelands at the far edge of Mid-World.
Stephen King is best known as a horror writer, and there are many horror elements at work in the Dark Tower novels. Roland encounters demons, zombies, human/animal hybrid mutants, bloodthirsty robots, and even more strange sights along the way. But there's also a strong fantasy element to King's writing in these books. King writes in the introduction to The Gunslinger that he was inspired by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy – not necessarily in terms tone or setting, but in the desire to chronicle an epic quest across many thousands of pages. And that's exactly what the series does. Locations change, and characters come and go, but the books always remain fixated on Roland's multi-decade quest to reach the Dark Tower and redeem his world.
The Characters
The Dark Tower is packed with many major and minor characters across its thousands of pages, but the core cast remains fairly constant. Roland and his allies feature prominently in just about every novel, and their ultimate enemy never changes. In this section we break down the main character, their motivations, and their role in the search for the Tower.
Roland Deschain – Roland is a gunslinger, a cross between a medieval knight and a Wild West lawman. He is the last of an order that was begun by the legendary Arthur Eld, the King Arthur of Mid-World's history. The gunslingers once protected a vibrant kingdom known as Gilead. But now Gilead is long dead and the world lies in ruins. Roland carries Arthur Eld's twin revolvers in his quest for the Tower. This last gunslinger is very single-minded in his pursuit, and he often isn't afraid to sacrifice others in favor of what he sees as the ultimate greater good. That selfishness begs the question – is Roland even fit to enter the Tower should he reach it?
Jake Chambers - Jake is the first of several displaced travelers Roland encounters in his journey. Jake hails from 1970's Manhattan, where he was an introverted but very bright prep school student. Despite the strangeness of Roland's world, Jake finds it may be more to his liking than his old home. Roland and Jake form an uneasy but strong familial bond. Jake's presence finally suggests to Roland that there may be more important things than the Tower after all.
Eddie Dean – Eddie Dean is a troubled young man from the New York of the '80s, a world where Stephen King is a popular novelist and where heroin is the prime driving force in Eddie's life. Stranded in Mid-World, Eddie is forced to battle his crippling addiction and embrace a greater destiny for himself. Eddie might be the first in a new line of gunslingers, if only he can cast off his own self-doubt and weakness.
Susannah Dean – Susannah Dean hails from a New York of the '60s. This "Lady of Shadows" is not one woman, but three. A childhood accident leaves Susannah suffering from multiple personality disorder, while another leaves her legs cut off at the knees. The latter disability impacts her little in the quest for the Tower, but her fractured mind proves to be one of the most dangerous enemies Roland and his friends will contend with.
Oy – Oy is a billy bumbler, a common species of mammal in Mid-World. A cross between a dog and a badger, Oy's most distinctive trait is his ability to speak simple words and phrases. Oy exhibits great intelligence, suggesting he isn't just mimicking the sounds of his compatriots.
The Man in Black – The Man in Black travels under many names in King's novels – Walter O'Dim, Marten Broadcloack, Randall Flagg. In all of these forms, the man in black is a trickster and sorcerer who takes great pleasure from toying with human lives. Though generally an antagonist to Roland, he is also seen to help the gunslinger on his way from time to time. Only towards the end of the series do this shady villain's true motivations become clear.
The Crimson King - More so than the shady man in black, the Crimson King is Roland's true opponent in the search for the Dark Tower. This villain isn't introduced until midway through the series, but his hand is felt in many of the dark forces and challenges Roland confronts. The Crimson King is a powerful being who craves the power of the Dark Tower for his own ends, and one who has a surprising connection to Roland and the gunslingers of Gilead.
The Mythology
One of the qualities that makes the Dark Tower franchise so memorable is the vast and intricate mythology surrounding the books. Roland's world shows many influences. On the surface, Mid-World seems a cross between classic Spaghetti Westerns like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and popular Arthurian legends, with a dash of Lord of the Rings thrown in. King's world is even more complex than that, borrowing from many facets of pop culture. In his journeys, Roland passes rusted Amoco gas pumps, decrepit military tanks, and other relics of a highly advanced society disturbingly similar to our own. A piano player is a dusty frontier saloon might belt out an old Beatles tune on his piano. Everywhere in Mid-World, aspects of familiar literature, music, film, and comics crop up in unusual and unexpected ways.
The mythology of The Dark Tower is also more far-reaching the seven core novels of the series. Over the decades, King has worked to connect his dozens of novels and short stories in a larger storytelling multiverse. Much of this is accomplished through the Tower novels. King's stories frequently reference one another in small or significant ways. Randall Flagg, the central villain of The Stand, is another name for the man in black. The Crimson King, in the guise of a character called Aballah, is the central villain of King and Peter Straub's The Black House. Ted Brautigan of "Hearts in Atlantis", Father Callahan of Salem's Lot, and several other characters eventually appear within the Tower novels. King's novel Insomnia, which initially seems to have nothing to do with the Tower mythos, eventually proves so vital to Roland's story that it might as well be considered the unofficial eighth Tower novel. Even the author himself eventually comes to play a role inside his own epic tale.
The story of Roland has only expanded further in recent years thanks to a series of comic book mini-series from Marvel. These comics flesh out and expand the account of Roland's past in the days before and during the fall of Gilead. Some material is adapted from flashback scenes in the original novels, but the vast majority is original content.
It takes quite a bit of reading for fans to appreciate the true scope of the Dark Tower mythology. The writer has crafted an entire multiverse where many worlds all revolve around the Dark Tower. The Tower casts a shadow on every world, but only in one central world is it a physical place.
Why Dark Tower Matters
In case you missed the recent announcement, plans to adapt the Dark Tower novels to film are finally moving forward. However, these plans don't involve a simple series of movies, or even a full slate of seven film adaptations a la Harry Potter. Instead, The story of Roland and his quest will unfold both in theaters and on TV in a uniquely collaborative effort. Three movies will form the backbone of the adaptation, with a pair of television seasons happening in between. Where the first TV season will focus on the same characters and conflicts as the movies, it appears that the second will be more focused on Roland's past, likely drawing inspiration from Marvel's comic book storylines.
If you're wondering why all of this is such a big deal, there are several reasons. For one, no project this ambitious has really been attempted in Hollywood before. Yes, there have been some instances of TV and film syncing up. Joss Whedon's Firefly began on television and wrapped up in the form of the Serenity movie. But this arrangement calls for viewers to regularly switch back and forth between television and film. It requires the actors to make a lengthy, multi-year commitment to their roles that might make even the cast of Lord of the Rings cringe. This approach is certainly a risky one. If box office numbers prove disappointing right away, there's little hope of reviving the franchise, and NBC and Universal will be out a very large investment. There's always the danger that fans will never see the entire saga brought to life on screen.
But if this approach proves successful, fans should be in for a treat. The Dark Tower has long been considered one of the major unfilmable stories. The mythology is too vast and the scope too wide to easily capture in a series of two-hour movies. This hybrid TV/movie approach affords the filmmakers the time they need to fully explore Roland's story – offering many more hours of film without going colossally over budget (or asking viewers to return to the theater every summer for 20 years straight). The books are still highly challenging to adapt, and we have no guarantee that the filmmakers will be successful in their attempts, but the combination of film and TV grants them many advantages.
And if this approach does prove successful, don't be surprised if other popular franchises are grated similar treatment. How many other stories are considered unfilmable because of their vast length – comics like Neil Gaiman's Sandman or novels like Proust's A Remembrance of Things Past? Usually a story is considered unfilmable because of more than just length. Still, combining TV and film allows a production crew to exploit each medium to its fullest and not have to fret about length and brevity. The success of Dark Tower could mean good things even for audiences who don't care one bit about the series if it leads to the green-lighting of other seemingly unfilmable properties.
Above all, The Dark Tower is an important project because it offers something new to Hollywood. The film and TV industries are not renowned for their creativity and originality. One runaway success will beget countless imitators. In the wake of Harry Potter, numerous other children's fantasy novels have appeared and fizzled out. A few massively successful superhero movies have led to a flood of follow-ups and a climate where just about every Marvel and DC hero is headed to the big screen in some form. Studios may find that, just as with Harry Potter's numerous successors, it's awfully hard to replicate the success of the original thing.
Audiences need something new and original to dive into for once. Lackluster box office receipts and apathetic TV viewers only confirm this fact. The Dark Tower offers a chance for Hollywood to actually deliver something unique and original. Plenty of Stephen King's more mainstream works have been adapted for TV and film. The Dark Tower is an entirely different beast.
Done well, audiences will flock to the Tower movies and religiously tune in each week to new episodes of the TV series. Done poorly, at least fans still have the original books and comics to fall back upon. The best part is, The Dark Tower is the rare sort of franchise that can find box office success and not inspire a wave of imitators.
How many other novels offer a similar scope and eclectic set of story elements? How are other studios supposed to put forth their own me-too projects? There's little to lose from a Dark Tower adaptation, and plenty for viewers to gain from this monumental undertaking.
Why The Dark Tower Matters
We break down Stephen King's fantasy epic and why the upcoming movie/TV deal is such a big deal.
Like so many fantasy franchises before it, The Dark Tower has long been a fixture at Hollywood. Many studios and directors have voiced an interest in adapting Stephen King's epic series of novels, but the Tower remained elusive. That is, until earlier this month, when it was announced that the team of Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman, and Brian Grazer will adapt the novels. The most interesting part of this announcement is that the adaptation won't be just for film or television, but both in a collaborative effort.
Tower fans the world over are no doubt celebrating this announcement. But others might be left scratching their heads. King himself has admitted that the Dark Tower books appeal to a niche of his readership, and they tend to lack the mainstream recognition that stories like The Stand, The Shining, and Carrie do. Just what the heck is a Dark Tower anyway?
With that in mind, consider this feature a primer to to the world of Dark Tower. Here we explain the makeup of King's unique fantasy world, introduce the main characters, and explore why The Dark Tower is such an exciting property for Hollywood. We don't expect the first Tower movie to debut for a few years, so new readers still have plenty of time to dip their toes into this epic saga.
The Story
"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
This iconic line opens the first Dark Tower novel, The Gunslinger. This book introduces a world that has "moved on". Imagine a Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western where the desert reaches on forever and only a few decaying pieces of technology offer any clue that civilization once thrived. The gunslinger is Roland Deschain, the last surviving member of a legendary band of knights who protected the realm of Mid-World. The man in black is his enemy, a trickster who holds answers to Roland's many questions, but only if he can be caught.
The one driving force behind all seven Tower novels is Roland's desire to reach the fabled Dark Tower. It's not made immediately clear what the Tower is or what Roland hopes to accomplish by reaching it. All readers know is that the Tower holds the key to potentially restoring Roland's dead world.
The Gunslinger follows Roland as he chases the man in black. Along the way, he stumbles across a boy named Jake who seems to have stumbled into Roland's world from our own. Jake is the first of many travelers who are swept up in the epic quest for the Dark Tower. Later novels expand the scope of Mid-World as Roland and his band traverse forests, mountains, ruined cities, and the wastelands at the far edge of Mid-World.
Stephen King is best known as a horror writer, and there are many horror elements at work in the Dark Tower novels. Roland encounters demons, zombies, human/animal hybrid mutants, bloodthirsty robots, and even more strange sights along the way. But there's also a strong fantasy element to King's writing in these books. King writes in the introduction to The Gunslinger that he was inspired by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy – not necessarily in terms tone or setting, but in the desire to chronicle an epic quest across many thousands of pages. And that's exactly what the series does. Locations change, and characters come and go, but the books always remain fixated on Roland's multi-decade quest to reach the Dark Tower and redeem his world.
The Characters
The Dark Tower is packed with many major and minor characters across its thousands of pages, but the core cast remains fairly constant. Roland and his allies feature prominently in just about every novel, and their ultimate enemy never changes. In this section we break down the main character, their motivations, and their role in the search for the Tower.
Roland Deschain – Roland is a gunslinger, a cross between a medieval knight and a Wild West lawman. He is the last of an order that was begun by the legendary Arthur Eld, the King Arthur of Mid-World's history. The gunslingers once protected a vibrant kingdom known as Gilead. But now Gilead is long dead and the world lies in ruins. Roland carries Arthur Eld's twin revolvers in his quest for the Tower. This last gunslinger is very single-minded in his pursuit, and he often isn't afraid to sacrifice others in favor of what he sees as the ultimate greater good. That selfishness begs the question – is Roland even fit to enter the Tower should he reach it?
Jake Chambers - Jake is the first of several displaced travelers Roland encounters in his journey. Jake hails from 1970's Manhattan, where he was an introverted but very bright prep school student. Despite the strangeness of Roland's world, Jake finds it may be more to his liking than his old home. Roland and Jake form an uneasy but strong familial bond. Jake's presence finally suggests to Roland that there may be more important things than the Tower after all.
Eddie Dean – Eddie Dean is a troubled young man from the New York of the '80s, a world where Stephen King is a popular novelist and where heroin is the prime driving force in Eddie's life. Stranded in Mid-World, Eddie is forced to battle his crippling addiction and embrace a greater destiny for himself. Eddie might be the first in a new line of gunslingers, if only he can cast off his own self-doubt and weakness.
Susannah Dean – Susannah Dean hails from a New York of the '60s. This "Lady of Shadows" is not one woman, but three. A childhood accident leaves Susannah suffering from multiple personality disorder, while another leaves her legs cut off at the knees. The latter disability impacts her little in the quest for the Tower, but her fractured mind proves to be one of the most dangerous enemies Roland and his friends will contend with.
Oy – Oy is a billy bumbler, a common species of mammal in Mid-World. A cross between a dog and a badger, Oy's most distinctive trait is his ability to speak simple words and phrases. Oy exhibits great intelligence, suggesting he isn't just mimicking the sounds of his compatriots.
The Man in Black – The Man in Black travels under many names in King's novels – Walter O'Dim, Marten Broadcloack, Randall Flagg. In all of these forms, the man in black is a trickster and sorcerer who takes great pleasure from toying with human lives. Though generally an antagonist to Roland, he is also seen to help the gunslinger on his way from time to time. Only towards the end of the series do this shady villain's true motivations become clear.
The Crimson King - More so than the shady man in black, the Crimson King is Roland's true opponent in the search for the Dark Tower. This villain isn't introduced until midway through the series, but his hand is felt in many of the dark forces and challenges Roland confronts. The Crimson King is a powerful being who craves the power of the Dark Tower for his own ends, and one who has a surprising connection to Roland and the gunslingers of Gilead.
Source.
holy crap, along with my suggestion, it would be a true blood reunion!I think she would be a great choice for Suze. I've been watching True Blood and she totally has the chops.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."
Good article! There are a point or two which are incorrect if I wanted to be pedantic: I.e.
(as we find out later that's only half right) but overall a good introduction for newbies to the Dark Tower.Eddie Dean is a troubled young man from the New York of the '80s, a world where Stephen King is a popular novelist
brain shattering, glasses fogging, nervetwitching, NERDGASM
if the worlds gonna end then let's get it over with, i got shit to do
Oy looks like a lemur.
I like the casting choices. I had to google Mads Mikkelsen. Interesting.
I just realized that's not a real poster
damn i'm stupid
if the worlds gonna end then let's get it over with, i got shit to do
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
