The Dark Tower (Post-release)

cayman shen

Master Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #21

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

God, I dunno. I mean, King envisioned this as a cross between a Sergio Leone film and Lord of the Rings. You're a casting director...what do you DO with that? I mean, I could see Hugh Jackman as Roland, because he reminds me a great deal of a young Clint Eastwood, but I dunno. He'd have to slim down a lot. Roland is NOT brawny. He's tall, and slim. It's not ideal. If David Carradine were less effeminate and alive, perhaps...
For Susannah: Vivica Fox
For Eddie: Actually, there's a few guys from Lost who might fit. He's young, cocky, a hint of pretty-boy, perhaps.
For Jake: tough. Very tough. If they pull a Jake Lloyd here, it all crashes down. They need this generation's Haley Joel Osmet. Or again, the kid from Let the Right One In. Someone brilliant, and a brilliant director to lead him. Everyone will be focussed on Roland, but Jake is the heart, almost literally, he is Roland's heart. The series will live or die on whether their Jake can act and whether he and Roland can sell their bond to the audiences. Which I doubt. Frankly, it will require art house tenderness, and that tenderness often gets washed gray by big budget b.s.
Oy: Either omit him or get a trained badger. Don't give us a ****ing CG billy-bumbler.

EDIT: I'm also worried about a major visual/tonal shift between TV and Feature Film. I mean, they can't afford to make the show look like the movie, I'd guess. Unless they reaaaallllllly go minimal on CG, which I pray for. Those who abuse CG have forgotten the face of their fathers.

One cool thing about the TV idea is they can work in things like Little Sisters of Eluria.

I wonder if Kind will play King and Fimalo, Feemalo, etc.

 

Last edited: Sep 9, 2010

Sigma-LS

Sr Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #22

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

firesprite said:

The three movies should deal with Roland's youth and the world before the fall of Gilead, giving people a good solid grounding in the world. The ending should be Roland coming back to Gilead and seeing his home destroyed, and then setting out on his journey to find the dark tower.

Click to expand...

Honestly Roland was pretty lame as a kid. King specifically stated the flashback was mostly supposed to be one of those cheesy dime store romance novels. I can do without the whole "I'm 14 and finding my way to manhood" bit.

Spoiler

The only really good stuff is fighting the Blue Coffin Gang, the battle with Flagg's militia, and after they get home the battle of "???" hill where the last of Gilead falls.

Man would I love to see Flagg's army of people armed with 10,000 year old diesel tanks and sputterguns though. Bet some of them carried Sneeches too.:love

Also does anyone think that the series might be based on the Dark Tower "sidestory" that King is currently working on that has nothing to do with the ka-tet?

 

Jedifyfe

Master Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Sep 9, 2010

• #23

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

This was one of my favorite games when I was a kid. These things go for over $300 now!!! Anyway, back to your thread...

Treadwell said:

So I guess we're not talking about this:

Click to expand...

 

CTF

Sr Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #24

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

I'm only familiar with Dark Tower due to a lot of friends going on and on 'bout it, but I know enough to realize that Ron Howard is a poor choice for this.

 

cayman shen

Master Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #25

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Well, he did Willow. Now if he can do Willow meets High Plains Drifter, he'll be getting there.

Honestly, some things don't translate well to screen, and I'm just not sure this is one of them.

 

J

jockdeboer

Well-Known Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #26

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

I read the first a long time ago. Great book. Waited forever for another installment and then never followed though to read the rest. Need to start over again...

 

cayman shen

Master Member

• Sep 9, 2010

• #27

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

I began reading them when DT2 came out in the mid eighties. DT3 quickly followed. Back then, if I liked a book, I often read it multiple times, so I've read the first three books a LOT. Then after a long wait, it seemed, he did DT4, and I didn't care for it. Another long wait. Then 5,6,7 right in a row. I've since gone back and re-read them all, and even come to really love DT4, but because for so long there was only 1-3, I know those ones inside and out.

The first one is the shortest, so you haven't lost a lot of ground!

 

AnubisGuard

Master Member

• Sep 10, 2010

• #28

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

cayman shen said:

Oy: Either omit him or get a trained badger.

Click to expand...

I'd always pictured Oy as more of a plump Coati.

 

CB2001

Master Member

• Sep 10, 2010

• #29

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Honestly, Goldsman shouldn't be ANYWHERE near being involved with any kind of adaptation. Seriously, "I Am Legend" was terrible. Even "The Last Man on Earth" was a better adaptation of the novella. The only thing that the recent film had anything going for it was the appearance of a world without a whole lot of living people. Other than that, it sucked. Of course, that's just my opinion.

When it comes to "The Dark Tower", I could sort of see Thomas Jane as Roland. Honestly, I think it'd be a great thing to have him do it, as it ties the film adaptation of "The Mist" into the adaptation of "The Dark Tower" (especially since in "The Mist", Jane's character works on a painting for a poster, which if you pay attention to it, is a painting about Roland and the events of "The Dark Tower". And, if you've also paid attention, "The Mist" novella ties into "The Dark Tower" novels as well).

 

Noeland

Master Member

• Sep 10, 2010

• #30

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

The series lost me with Wolves of Calla. It was just hokey with the dish throwing and the robot. I got about half way through that book, set it down and never picked it back up.

That said, the first three books are some of my favorites.

I like Ron Howard for the most part. The Missing was fairly dark and bleak, and if he can bring that style of storytelling to the dark tower films I think they might be pretty good.

I think the director of photography that he works with, Salvatore Totino, is damn good at what he does.

 

cayman shen

Master Member

• Sep 10, 2010

• #31

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Yeah, TJ might work, although sometimes he gives off a bit of a bad 80s TV actor vibe. I adored the Mist, however, and thought he was pretty good in it.

CB2001 said:

Honestly, Goldsman shouldn't be ANYWHERE near being involved with any kind of adaptation. Seriously, "I Am Legend" was terrible. Even "The Last Man on Earth" was a better adaptation of the novella. The only thing that the recent film had anything going for it was the appearance of a world without a whole lot of living people. Other than that, it sucked. Of course, that's just my opinion.

When it comes to "The Dark Tower", I could sort of see Thomas Jane as Roland. Honestly, I think it'd be a great thing to have him do it, as it ties the film adaptation of "The Mist" into the adaptation of "The Dark Tower" (especially since in "The Mist", Jane's character works on a painting for a poster, which if you pay attention to it, is a painting about Roland and the events of "The Dark Tower". And, if you've also paid attention, "The Mist" novella ties into "The Dark Tower" novels as well).

Click to expand...

 

J

Jannix Quinn

Sr Member

• Sep 10, 2010

• #32

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

I read most of the first book when it came out, but I couldn't finish it. I can't remember specific examples but to me it wasn't very well written. Like, it would say the main gunfighter dude would walk past an 'xtapalapakettle'*, but it wouldn't explain what an 'xtapalapakettle'* was. It was a long time ago though, so I am not sure.


*xtapalapakettle being random object or creature.

 

Apollo

Legendary Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• May 11, 2011

• #33

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Looks like this project is dead due to a huge budget.

At least that is what I am hearing

 

cayman shen

Master Member

• May 12, 2011

• #34

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Honestly, I think that's for the better.

 

IndyFanChuck

Sr Member

• May 12, 2011

• #35

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

I hadn't heard anything yet on this. I was trying to figure out how it was going to make Lord of the Rings type money. I don't think it can. Not at a PG rating.

I liked some of the books. I found two of the books almost unreadable. But I LOVED the first three!

 

cayman shen

Master Member

• Mar 1, 2016

• #36

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

So people lose their minds when cultures are whitewashed by casting Caucasian actors as Egyptians, Native Americans, etc, but the internet loves Idris Elba as Roland? Well that's a big steaming pile of double standard. Elba's a badass, but he's not Roland of Gilead with the blue bombardier eyes. Awful casting, and hypocritical as **** that the internet is apparently so in love with it.

http://io9.gizmodo.com/matthew-mcconaughey-and-idris-elba-are-nemeses-in-dark-1762134256

 

JoeG

Master Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Mar 1, 2016

• #37

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Sorry but I don't see how you can compare the two. There is nothing specific to the character of Roland Deschain that says he has to be white. Nothing about that would change who the character is fundamentally. In fact, I don't recall any distinction between races in Roland's world. Race only came into play once Odetta\Detta\Susannah was introduced.

 

NeoRutty

Master Member

RPF PREMIUM MEMBER

• Mar 1, 2016

• #38

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Well, Odetta won't be calling him a honk-y mo-fo anyway....

Funny... Honk-y gets the **** treatment without the dash.

FOR SPECIAL BLUE PLATE!

 

cayman shen

Master Member

• Mar 1, 2016

• #39

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Yeah, Roland being white was pretty damn important to Odetta's interactions with him, so it matters to HER arc if nothing else that Roland be white.

My bigger gripe is the hypocrisy though. It's a damn war crime if Johnny Depp plays a Native American, but Roland's race can just be swapped? You can't have it both ways. Either it's culturally insensitive, a betrayal of character, etc, or it's not. It can't be okay for one group and not for another.

And before someone inevitably accuses me of being racist, I'm not, so save it.

 

glunark

Sr Member

• Mar 1, 2016

• #40

Re: I know there are other Dark Tower fans here

Tonto is an american indian, Roland is a fictional character from a fictional world, that even in the context of the books, turned out to be nothing more than a figment of Steven King's imagination.

Roland can be anything that Steven King says he is.

If Steven King says Roland is black now, and speaks with an english accent, well that's just how Roland is.

They even managed to get Tonto to be a real indian back when almost noone played the right race.

Its no wonder you have only white people getting oscar nominated when white people play non white roles.

Oddetta is not even a character in the gunslinger, so if they make one film per book, its not going to be an issue for that first film.

After all this time its a mirical we are getting a film at all, but if you don't want to see the film because a black guy is in it, that's up to you.

I'll still be going.