Stephen King's Epic "The Dark Tower"

[Agentsands77]

These two books, more than any other in the series, go hand in hand.

In the sense that they are crucial books for Roland's character, yes. These two books contain some of the most crucial events for Roland. But that has nothing to do with why I dislike the books... in basic concept, I like the events, and I certainly like their repercussions.

On another note, what's never made sense to me is why people get upset over the Roland-Mejis backstory as if it's something new and unexpected.

It was entirely expected, and even looked forward to on my part. I really wanted to explore Roland's background and see what led him towards the Dark Tower, even though I'd found the flashbacks thus far rather underwhelming.

And not only was backstory for Roland necessary and important, Book IV was the perfect place for it. I simply wanted a tighter, less indulgent backstory, as well as one that brought some nice surprises and creativity to the table. The only aspect of it I found myself intrigued by was Rhea of the Coos.

And yeah, it even continued into the later books, with Callahan and Ted, but they were pretty damn useless and terrible characters anyway, so if you want to talk about pace killing space wasters- look to the latter 3 books

I grew very attached to Callahan and Ted Brautigan in their respective novels.

 

[Rez]

It certainly has the Western tone down, moreso than any other entry. It doesn't make up for King's prose being offensively poor, though, especially in the non-revised edition.

Maybe it's just my hatred for the last 3 books, but the constant wink-nudging he inserted into the revised edition towards them makes me overlook some of the less polished writing for what is quite simply the better book. I've always been partial to the Jack Kerouac method of writing and not looking back, and the idea of going back and republishing your novel with a bunch of quick fixes and another editory scan just pissed me off. That being said, I kind of like the quick and dirty writing of the original Gunslinger.

And really, are you going to try and tell me the writing in the final book is better? If we're going to talk about piss poor prose, look no furthar

 

[Agentsands77]

Maybe it's just my hatred for the last 3 books, but the constant wink-nudging he inserted into the revised edition towards them makes me overlook some of the less polished writing for what is quite simply the better book.

I like the fact that the first book now reflects the final three. It helps to bring THE DARK TOWER together as a whole. Furthermore, what references are there are certainly not going to be caught by those who don't know the ending already.

I've always been partial to the Jack Kerouac method of writing and not looking back, and the idea of going back and republishing your novel with a bunch of quick fixes and another editory scan just pissed me off.

I don't mind it at all. I'm actually very intrigued by King's comments that he's considering re-writing/editing the entirety of THE DARK TOWER to make it work as a whole.

And really, are you going to try and tell me the writing in the final book is better?

It's more inoffensive, and therefore, better.

 

[That-Guy]

I recently started reading the Dark Tower series, and I'm on the fourth book, "Wizard and Glass" right now. I'd love to see the series made into a movie, but I honestly don't know how it could be done unless the entire thing was filmed at once, LOTR-style. The reason being is the character of Jake... whenever you cast a kid in a movie, (especially one around the age of 12), chances are by the time you make a sequel, he'll have grown significantly. So perhaps the only way to do the series right is doing an HBO mini-series (not a regular network one, because they're always crap). But of course, I'd much rather see it on the big screen if it's feasible. Here are some casting ideas. Bear in mind, I'm not done with the series yet, so some of these ideas may change...

Roland Deschain - Hugh Jackman

Roland is a difficult role to cast; although he's middle aged through much of the story, he's a bit younger in the first installment, not to mention the flashbacks. Jackman could be aged accordingly or made to look more youthful fairly easily. Roland is also said to resemble Clint Eastwood... I can't think of an actor today who looks more like Eastwood than Jackman.

Eddie Dean - Jonathan Tucker

I've been a fan of this guy ever since The Black Donnellys... I think he'd suit Eddie because while Eddie is a wisecracker, he also has an unshakable nobility and determination that needs to be evident... I think that Tucker could pull that off nicely. Here's to hoping he gets a good role soon so he doesn't have to star in more crap like "The Ruins."

Susannah Dean/Odetta/Detta - Sanaa Lathan

One of the most complex characters in the series, Susannah requires an actress who can play someone both very noble and deeply disturbed. Lathan showed that she can play a pretty f**ked up (yet still sympathetic) character on Nip/Tuck... maybe she'd be right for this role.

I have more, but it's 5 AM so I'll post them later. For now, what do you think?

 

[Nightmare]

MMM sanaa lathan.

 

[That-Guy]

mmmm indeed.

 

[Browncoat]

Very solid choices.

When I read the books, for some reason, my brain heard Thomas Jayne's voice as Roland.

 

[cerealkiller182]

I always thought Roland was supposed to be way older than Jackman.


And I always thought Seann William Scott as Eddie Dean. I know everyone has this one thought about him as the goofball jokester but I have seen him do better in a few other things.

 

[xwolverine2]

never read the books but im not too thrilled about anyone besides Frank Darabont directing a King movie..

 

[cerealkiller182]

never read the books but im not too thrilled about anyone besides Frank Darabont directing a King movie..

AGREED! 1000% (not a typo )

 

[Sawyer]

Frank Darabont would make this into a better movie(s).

I want to see Frank doing The Stand.

 

[odiin]

I want to see Frank doing The Stand.

But The Stand's already been done and it was pretty good as is.

 

[batgirl2119]

i dunno i think the stand can be done better or at least updated. i thought frank was working on cell though.
as for jackman as roland it works i've pictured him or viggo.

 

[Nightmare]

But The Stand's already been done and it was pretty good as is.

Thats one creepy ass avatar.

 

[Sawyer]

But The Stand's already been done and it was pretty good as is.

Meh. I havent seen it yet (mostly because I havent seen the DVD at any store I've been to), but IMO, since it was 14 years ago and made for TV, it could use some freshening up.

 

[green]

And I always thought Seann William Scott as Eddie Dean. I know everyone has this one thought about him as the goofball jokester but I have seen him do better in a few other things.

That's actually a really good idea IMO...I can really see him early on as the drug addict and then coming into his own later. I wouldnt have though of him but

Im definately all for Jackman as Roland.

 

[cerealkiller182]

That's actually a really good idea IMO...I can really see him early on as the drug addict and then coming into his own later. I wouldnt have though of him but

Im definately all for Jackman as Roland.

Where Eddie Dean goes in the book (i have read the first 4 only mind you) seems a lot like Seanns character in Bulletproof Monk (which lacked as a film but was able to spotlight a side of Seann that has been overlooked by the severely lacking movie)

 

[That-Guy]

Hmmm.. Hadn't thought of Stifler as Eddie, but I could see it, definitely... he could definitely pull off the funny lines and maybe the dramatic stuff too.

I also like the idea of Viggo as Roland. He was another one that I'd considered; the only reason I picked Jackman over him was because of the Clint Eastwood resemblence.

 

[The Navigator]

I'd like to see a Drawing of the Three movie. But not by Abrams.

 

[Browncoat]

I'd like to see a Drawing of the Three movie. But not by Abrams.

My favorite in the series.

 

[Galactus]

Lindelof On "Dark Tower" Status
By Garth Franklin
Wednesday, September 3rd 2008 12:35am
"Lost" executive producer Damon Lindelof picked up the rights to Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series last year. Now, AMC TV has chatted with him about how it's coming along.

The bad news is that we have to wait until "Lost" is finished before he can work on it, however the plan is to adapt the seven books into a seven film series.

"The Dark Tower is to me every bit as daunting an adaptation as the Lord of the Rings trilogy must have been for Peter Jackson, except we've got seven books we're looking at. And the idea of doing that at the same time Carlton and I are bringing Lost to a close is simply not viable" says Lindelof.

He adds that "There are always Dark Tower conversations, but the figuring out of what this will look like as a movie has not begun. If The Dark Tower were in the right hands, I would love to see seven movies executed just right. But you have to get people to see the first one to get them to come and see the second one."

 

[That-Guy]

F**k Lost. They can cancel it for all I care. I want my seven Dark Tower movies, dammit!

 

[Galactus]

Dark Tower Feature Film Update
Source:MTV May 1, 2009


Fret not, Stephen King fans. "The Dark Tower" adaptation is still coming. The last solid update came in September of 2008, when producer Damon Lindelof expressed his intentions of what he'd like to do with the property. Now, with Star Trek arriving in theaters, "The Dark Tower" buzz is bound to grow louder with Lindelof and J.J. Abrams coming out of the woodwork to his the publicity circuit.

MTV sat down with Abram recently who revealed he's been talking to King about the "Tower" books. "Damon is obviously still on 'Lost' and we’ve been working on Star Trek together. As soon as 'Lost' is done, hopefully we'll begin tackling that."

That's a big project to tackle. And make no mistake, they're talking film and not television. It's going to be big.

Pretty much the same as what they said back in September, but I'll still use that as an excuse to bump the thread

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I read the first book a year ago, and didnt think much of it to be honest, not enough to make me seek out the others immediatly anyway.

 

[TNC9852002]

Lost is my favorite show on TV, Mission Impossible 3 was great, Cloverfield was a blast, and Star Trek is amazing.

I think J.J. Abrams will be able to deliver...but, I could be wrong..I've never read the books myself (I can't find time to finish any book whatsoever), but I've taken time to find out what the Dark Tower series is about and...I just can't see ONE film doing justice from a 7-book series. They would have to break up the 7 books into a trilogy to make it work.