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Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series

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Post subject: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Fri 10 Sep , 2010 9:04 am
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http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/09/09/stephen ... tv-series/
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Director Ron (Apollo 13) Howard to direct first movie and TV series of King’s epic fantasy series

After what seems an eternity in development hell, Stephen King’s epic seven-book fantasy series (and related short stories and comics) The Dark Tower is heading for the screen. The big screen and the small screen. Because Universal pictures has announced that it’s making not just a trilogy of movies based on the novels, but a television series as well, and the talent behind it feel that this is the best way to get as much of the story on film as possible.

Apollo 13 and A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard will direct the first movie and the first season of the TV series, according to the official Universal press release – which, if we take the wording literally, would seem to suggest we’re talking a mini-series rather than a full 22-episode season, because we can’t see a director of Howard’s standing directing that many episodes (but they just mean he’s directing the pilot for the series). Howard, of course, has some fantasy pedigree: he directed Willow, but he has made some good films since (and The Da Vinci Code).

There will be a film first, then a season of the TV show, then a second film, After that, the press release intriguingly reveals, “the television series will pick up allowing viewers to explore the adventures of the protagonist as a young man as a bridge to the third film and beyond.” So it sounds like they’re hoping the TV show could be an ongoing venture.

The first The Dark Tower novel, The Gunslinger was published in 1982, and the final one, The Dark Tower, in 2004, though there are reports that King may be writing an eighth, The Wind Through The Keyhole (which seems to be a short story idea that has developed big ideas). At its most basic level, the series is about a character, a gunslinger (who in this series are more like an order of knights than Western outlaws) Roland Deschain, who is on a quest to find The Dark Tower, but the books incorporate themes from multiple genres including fantasy, science fiction, horror and adventure.

According to Howard: “By using both the scope and scale of theatrical filmmaking and the intimacy of television we hope to more comprehensively do justice to the characters, themes and amazing sequences King has given us in The Dark Tower novels. It might be the challenge of a lifetime but clearly a thrilling one to take on and explore.”

Producer Akiva Goldsman adds: “The worlds of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series are richly detailed, inter-locking and deeply connected. By telling this story across media platforms and over multiple hours – and with a view to telling it completely – we have our best chance of translating Roland’s quest to reach The Dark Tower onto screen. We are proceeding with tremendous excitement, fidelity to the source material and, quite frankly, no small amount of awe at this opportunity.”

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Fri 10 Sep , 2010 12:44 pm
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Now that sounds pretty cool! :thumbsup

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Fri 10 Sep , 2010 2:01 pm
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Do you like that series, Alatar? We listened to the first book not long ago and didn't like it enough to check out the sequel. :( I was really disappointed, because I was starting to like Stephen King's work (I've only listened to one other novel, "Under the Dome") and the Dark Tower series is supposed to be his best work. :scratch: It was touch and go there for a little while as to whether we'd even finish the book, but we didn't have anything else lined up for listening to- so we slogged through it.

Not to our taste at all. Does the style change after the first book? Does it get better? Or is the whole series like the first book? I can't imagine it being a good movie.

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Dave_LF
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Fri 10 Sep , 2010 7:34 pm
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The first book is the most difficult one. The style changes dramatically after that.


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TWT
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Fri 10 Sep , 2010 10:18 pm
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Interesting!

The Dark Tower is the closest I've ever come to liking a book/series as much as LOTR. I love the characters, the changing styles and the storytelling. I think its Stephen King's best work and the the best of modern fantasy.

I really like the idea of how they're going to do the movies and series. I think it might seem confusing if you haven't read the books but it makes perfect sense if you have read them. In a couple of the books King tells the back story of the main character for a prolonged period of time. So I guess the movies will follow the main plotline while the show will tackle the backstory and other related subjects. I like that idea a lot. Mainly because the of young Roland in book four was so moving and well told that it made me shed a few tears reading it. It will be nice to see that story not be crushed into a movie but be told through the tv series.

Thats my 2 cents. Thanks for posting Alatar, I hadn't come across this yet.


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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 11 Sep , 2010 1:40 am
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I read a Stephen King novel a loooong time ago (early high school) that I was thinking was this book. Now I'm second guessing myself. Did this book have a dog in it who could smell in color? I mean, he saw the scent trails as different colors, really, depending on who had left them.

Or now I'm wondering if that was an entirely different book altogether. Maybe that one had a dragon in it. :help:

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TheMary
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 11 Sep , 2010 6:01 am
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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This has extraordinary potential as long as Howard doesn't cast Hanks and Crowe. What we need are a bunch of no-namers.

I'm on the 4th book Wizard and Glass, well technically I'm taking a break right now, but I'll get back it soon. They can be tedious to read but that's just Stephen King, and yet I enjoy his work. Maybe it's a mood thing.

Lali, Eyes of the Dragon has the dog that smells colors. I googled it :D

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 11 Sep , 2010 1:29 pm
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TM, that's it!!!! Yes! :D Thank you!

Well, then, I guess that means I've never read The Dark Tower series. :shrug:

(I'm not a Stephen King fan, in general, though I did really like The Eyes of the Dragon.)

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TWT
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 11 Sep , 2010 2:40 pm
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Eyes of the dragon was the first King book I read.

TM, Wizard and Glass is the one I found to be quite emotional. Loved it the most!


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Crucifer
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 11 Sep , 2010 3:05 pm
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Lali, the Discworld series has a Werewolf Watchwoman who can smell in colours too... Might that be it?

I've read "The Dark Tower" series twice now and loved it both times. I enjoyed "The Shining" and "Cell" too, but recently got about 2/3rds of the way through "The Stand" and decided I'd had enough. "The Stand" actually put me off King, I think. Although I would like to see "The Dark Tower" on screen, and this does seem the best way to do it justice!

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LalaithUrwen
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 11 Sep , 2010 3:50 pm
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Ah, interesting, Crucifer. It was definitely the Stephen King book I was thinking of, though. I've not read any of the Discworld books.

Anyway, that concept completely fascinated me.

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Mon 13 Sep , 2010 2:28 pm
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Since the style changes significantly after the first book, I'll give the second one a try. :)

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Dave_LF
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Tue 14 Sep , 2010 2:05 am
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A good choice. :) If you don't like the second one either, you probably won't like the series as a whole. The only other outlier is #4, but in a good way.


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TheMary
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Wed 15 Sep , 2010 3:29 am
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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Crucifer wrote:
Lali, the Discworld series has a Werewolf Watchwoman who can smell in colours too... Might that be it?

I've read "The Dark Tower" series twice now and loved it both times. I enjoyed "The Shining" and "Cell" too, but recently got about 2/3rds of the way through "The Stand" and decided I'd had enough. "The Stand" actually put me off King, I think. Although I would like to see "The Dark Tower" on screen, and this does seem the best way to do it justice!
The Stand put you off of King? I'm curious to know why? Here's a story no one asked for, but my Mom used to read King until Pet Semetary, because I was the age of the child that was killed in the book at the time she was reading it, and that really kind of disturbed her. So she stopped reading King until The Stand. She adores that book, and I finally read it a couple of summers ago. It's the ultimate Good versus Evil book!


Crap I guess I just highjacked for a sec....new thread? :shrug:

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
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Crucifer
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Thu 16 Sep , 2010 12:17 pm
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It wasn't really the plot that put me off "The Stand". I was actually really really enjoying it until I got up to a point... It was around where the two bad guys in the good guy camp get together, and I decided I'd had enough of gratuitous sex and violence... I'm not particularly squeamish about sex, violence etc. in art, ("Salomé" is one of my favourite operas and that's as raunchy as they come"), but when it's in there and doesn't really seem to have that much to do, except be sexy or violent, I get a bit frustrated. I'm sure it had something to do with character development but it just felt a little gratuitous for me.

Getting back on topic, there were moments in "The Dark Tower" where I felt the same way:
[SHOW]

For example, I had no objection to the sex in "Wizard and Glass", because that was a coming of age story about love, and not much objection to when he's having sex with (19) Allie, because that's showing Roland's ability to detach, and also is an anticipation of the catastrophic events in "Wizard and Glass".

What I did object to was the minute descriptions of people eating bloody snot and so on, in the later books... Pretty grim and unneccessary, IMO. The sex oracles felt a bit pointless too. There are lots of other ways to test someone other than shagging them to death, as Blaine (Blaine the pain!) demonstrated.

What I loved about "TDT" were: Jake's essay, the roses, the voice of the turtle, etc. The mystical side of it, I suppose, and also the idea that the world was winding down. It was apocalyptic in a sort of apathetic way, rather than a hellfire and brimstone kind of way. I liked that, and also that pretty much all of the characters were ambiguous. The only motive was to get to the tower, and all else was secondary. That wasn't evil, that wasn't good, that was just old-fashioned human obsession!.

I guess what I'm saying is that, while "TDT" was more mystical and fantastic, I felt it told more of human nature than the stand. And it did so without being unnecessarily crude.


[/spoiler warning]

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Fri 17 Sep , 2010 6:43 pm
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Spoiler request:

We started listening to the second book today, and are so far severely unimpressed. Starting off by mutilating the main character? :uhoh: ICK! As we finished this morning's commute, the reader said something like, "And the Gunslinger fell down again in the sand," and my husband punched the off button and said, "and died."

We are very much inclined to leave it that way--- unless this is a dream sequence or something. Is it? So far the second book isn't any better than the first. :nono: Unrelenting pain and ugliness. :( Somebody! Please tell me that thing didn't really eat his fingers! :sick:

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Dave_LF
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Sat 18 Sep , 2010 4:08 pm
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It's been a long time since I read them, but I recall things picking up once he starts finding the doors (and other characters enter the story). But I'm afraid I can't give you the reassurance you're asking for. ;) The grotesque and unexpected are kind of the name of the game with King.


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Crucifer
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Mon 20 Sep , 2010 2:13 pm
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I'm afraid the fingers are gone, Maria, and it's going to get worse for a while yet. As Dave said though, when he starts actually drawing the three, it gets really compelling!

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MariaHobbit
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Mon 20 Sep , 2010 5:19 pm
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I think this book is probably not suited to audio format. I prefer to skim through the really icky parts of stories, but when you are held to the pace of the reader, it allows too much time for the imagination to really fill in the gaps. :shock: I'll probably try actually reading this one some time, but for now Stephen King is going into the same catagory as Tom Clancy and Michael Crichton: not good in audio- even though "Under the Dome" wasn't bad. I'm assuming that one was atypical.

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TheMary
Post subject: Re: Stephen King’s The Dark Tower to Become Film And TV Series
Posted: Thu 23 Sep , 2010 9:16 pm
I took the stars from my eyes, and then I made a map, And knew that somehow I could find my way back; Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too - So I stayed in the darkness with you
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Maria, you know you are reading a Stephen King book? King has one of the most imaginative minds I've ever read in a storyteller, and when I say "imaginative" I mean kind of warped and bizarre. I constantly ask myself "Where does he come up with this stuff?!" it's mind blowing. And the ick-factor is a King standard.

If there are two things you should know about Stephen King it's:

1) he's not a fan of the happy ending
2) he's big on gratuitous violence

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Lay down
Your sweet and weary head
Night is falling
You’ve come to journey's end
Sleep now
And dream of the ones who came before
They are calling
From across the distant shore

Why do you weep?
What are these tears upon your face?
Soon you will see
All of your fears will pass away
Safe in my arms
You're only sleeping


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