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Stephen King confirms 'The Dark Tower' Movie

slashfilm.com — Who's doing it? The writers of ABC's "Lost". “I know J.J. Abrams’ work and Damon Lindelof, who is his collaborator on Lost. Damon is just a total comic-book freak, and he loves the Dark Tower books. I trust those guys, and they have a lot on the ball."

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  • MrBabyMan, on 10/10/2007, -20/+8Old news. Sorry, bury this. Apparently I was the only person not to know this. Still cool, though!
  • suxmonkey, on 10/10/2007, -1/+34DAMNIT I didn't know! The Dark Tower? AND done by the guys who do Lost? I think I just shat myself twice.
    • screwzluse, on 10/10/2007, -1/+34/crosses fingers for multiple movies

      1 movie will NOT work
      • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Considering the success of the LotR movies and Harry Potter movies I wouldn't worry too much about that. The suits would probably be pissed if it wasn't going to be a sequence of movies.
      • wolferz, on 10/10/2007, -5/+0hmm... King did site LotR as one of his inspirations for the dark tower series. Perhaps the movies inspired him further?
      • sibhod, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I am currently on Book 7, and I've been fantasizing about a video adaptation since I started. But I've been thinking the whole time that a movie, or series of movies, will not do the story justice in any way. Even if it were 7 movies, one for each book, much of the story would have to be dropped or changed to squeeze it all in.

        Really it should be a 7 season TV series. If HBO would pick that up I'd be satisfied.
    • ShagratOfMordor, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2Send it in and maybe they'll use it. It couldn't be worse than the excrement that was the first half of lost season 3.
      • Shanobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0They only had two seasons of Twin Peaks to rip off.
    • Scarfy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I hope this doesn't get messed up like most of the other Stephen King movies.
      Oh and Clint Eastwood as Roland, all the way.
      • picklepete, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I also thought that Clint Eastwood would have been a perfect Roland... He may be too old at this point though.
        • sibhod, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1After Roland ages many years between book 1 and 2, I think Eastwood would be perfect. Roland is suffering from arthritis and rheumatiz, so he's obviously pretty old.
  • burkinaboy, on 10/10/2007, -2/+8Jeebus - same here. Great book series and the folks from "Lost" are just the ones to do it justice on-screen.
  • hichala171, on 10/10/2007, -9/+2J.J.Abrams? Eh, he directed MI:III, which was quite a ridiculous movie, when it could have been sweet like a Bourne movie. Look for Dark Tower to be PG-13, and have many eh parts. ....though Lost wasn't too bad at first, so maybe. I'm skeptical though.
    • codered1322, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2hichala171? Eh, he would rather watch Grey's Anatomy.
    • zardoz73, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5MI:III was directed quite well, actually. I thought it was far better than MI:2. Good action sequences all around. It flopped because Tom Cruise decided to get all Zenu crazy about the same time.

      As for the Dark Tower, though, that's a LOT of story. Can it be condensed into a 3 hour movie? Hmmmm.
    • wolferz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1If they did an MI movie in the Bourne style they would get lynched. Thats like doing Bond in the same style as the Hardy Boys. Not cool.

      Don't get me wrong. I'm fans of all four pretty equally.
    • neozeke, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Is it even possible for the Dark Tower to be rated PG-13?
  • CiDaemon, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7They're going to make "a movie"--as in one movie--covering the entirety of the series? It'll outplay Return of the King in that case!
    Although a series of 7 wouldn't be a whole lot better, I guess. Then again, Harry Potter seems to be working fine...
    • JCSaint, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3These books are so varied I'm not sure it would translate well to the screen whether it was one movie or seven. I hope they don't ***** it up.
    • MrFisty, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Yeah, some books will hold themselves as single movies better than others. 1,2,3 and 5 would hold well. 4 might feel too slow and different to the others seeing it's mainly flashback. And 6 always felt like half a book to me. And nothing annoys me more than movies that abruptly end so you have to watch the sequel (Matrix 2 and Pirates 2, I'm looking at you).
      • sibhod, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Book 4 is a solid, self-contained story. Much more so than any of the other books. If anything it would make the best stand-alone movie, but it runs into the problem of people anticipating much more of a story continuation after the ***** tease ending on book 3.
    • wolferz, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1I've only read the first book so far and I have to say that the pace is awe-inspiringly slow with *****-tons of internal dialog. You could easily fit 2 books into two and a half hours at that pace. In which case a trilogy is possible.

      not that thats a bad thing
  • valleyvideo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+36Diggs to King for charging them $19 for the option.
  • fadeout, on 10/10/2007, -1/+21Thankee Sai!
    • SigmaOne, on 10/10/2007, -5/+3Hopefully the movie doesn't turn out to be "ka-ka".
  • SuperiorKarsch, on 10/10/2007, -4/+5From the writers of "Lost"?? God we'll be confused..
    • Disneyisevil50, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Obviously you didn't read the book series, you'd be confused anyway.....so the movie is going to be super confusing i guess
      • SuperiorKarsch, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1King's easier to follow than that show.
  • baraqiyal, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2I'd like to see Daniel Craig as Roland.
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Are you kidding?
    • Disneyisevil50, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Gary Oldman!
      • baraqiyal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Gary Oldman as The Man in Black, maybe.
    • friday04, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8I always pictured Clint Eastwood when I read those books. He's probably too old to pull it off now but he was in my head when I thought of Roland.
      • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Probably because he was in King's head when he thought of Roland. Eastwood is the obvious choice but he's definitely too old now.
    • thedonutofdoom, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0how about clive owen?
    • vall3yman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1the eyes would be right ... but that would be about it, it should be someone who looks a little more weathered than craig
    • JCSaint, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Hugh Jackman? He has the look but I'm not sure he could pull it off.
  • jessebeans, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16I hope they do 7 movies... the books were so good... i will be pissed if anyone tries to cram all of that into 2 hours
    • Sornos, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I don't see how they could even do it if they tried. Well, without montages anyways.
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I'm guessing maybe an epic trilogy, much like LOTR. Hopefully they can make it more movies but it needs 3 at the least.
    • cerealman, on 10/10/2007, -6/+0Seven movies? The Gunslinger hardly qualifies for a good first film. Don't get me wrong, it's a great introduction (with one of the greatest opening lines of any book ever), but it would hardly warrant a movie of it's own.
      • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -2/+0I agree. I only kept reading because someone I trusted told me to. Thankfully. :)

        Hell...it inspired half my first album all before book 5.
      • GenericNumber1, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2For those of you that don't ALSO want to dig up your book in curiosity the first line is "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed."
        • Scarfy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Yes, we can see that you've read the book.
    • BigTuna, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I wish I could say the same thing.... After the 4th book, the whole series went to *****. Rushed to print and a total hack job. The first time I've ever been disappointed by anything King has written (and I've read everything he's done). What promised to be such an epic series just ended up puking all over itself. It was too bad. :/
      • ArthurEld, on 01/18/2008, -0/+0the dark tower was an amazing series the whole way through and the last book was the best one. i cant believe anyone especially a king fan would say that the last thee books were a "total hack job" i mean they were incredible and the ending, brilliant. did you even finish the series?
        • worstendingEVER, on 01/24/2008, -0/+0are you retarded? that ending sucked the big one! and it made the rest of the books make no sense at all. ide say worst ending to a book by far.
  • HunterTV, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Abrams is a good solid choice, maybe not the best, not the worst. Least likely to ***** it up horribly.
  • kickcows, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10sold it to him for $19. brilliant.

    people - the writers of LOST - jj, damon and carlton, LOVE AND WORSHIP stephen king. there's no way they'd mess this series up. i mean, come on. on henry gale's balloon - one of the sponsers is nozz-a-la cola.

    fanboys making a movie of their favorite writer. no wrong can come of this.
    • AMSRay, on 10/10/2007, -7/+1Well, Peter Jackson was a Tolkein fan. Look how that turned out. If you never read the books it was good, but for those of us who did it was one big WTF?
      • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7I read the books and was a fan of them and thought the movies were about as good as they could've been. There was plenty I wasn't thrilled with but it could've been so, so much worse.
      • cerealman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Um.. it was damn good, even for those of us who read the books, as well as other writings by Tolkien.
    • ShagratOfMordor, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Peter Jackson loved King Kong and that was an ***** disaster.
    • bledig, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1not always right

      Dungeons and Dragons...
  • JigsawX, on 10/10/2007, -0/+29The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
    • cerealman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8By far one of the best opening lines of any book.
      • Memnochxx, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Not one of the best, THE best.
      • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I prefer the last line in the series.
        • emmcubed, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Oh sweet fancy Moses, don't tell it! I just finished "Song of Susannah".
          • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Aren't YOU lucky. :) I remember how solidly I was entrenched at that point...I read them a bit more than a year ago. Probably start over before the year ends.

            ENJOY. ;)
    • bytor4232, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Second only to: In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit
  • TheFinaleofSeem, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Just one movie, or are they going to do a seven part series? If it's just one movie, then it's gonna suck. If it's seven movies and they try to cram everything in, it'll probably suck as well. I don't know how they can pull this off, but I'm hoping like hell that Abrams will do a good job on it. So, what are the casting choices? I could see Hugh Jackman as Roland, but there's probably a better choice out there. And who could play the infamous Randall Flagg?
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Hugh Jackman, eh? I could live with that, I guess. But he'd have to get rid of that natural smirk of his and work on looking cold. Part of what made him a good Wolverine was the subtle warmness under the gruff exterior. That's totally wrong for Roland.
    • WhiskeyTango, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6If only Clint Eastwood was younger, like circa Unforgiven. He's still bad ass, but has that weary, walked 1000 miles look to him. That was pretty much the image of Roland in my mind.

      All I know is that if Jeremy Irons steps anywhere near this, I'm going to cry.
    • opeth70, on 12/05/2007, -0/+0I'd much rather have Hugh Laurie as Roland, we need someone who look more.... world weary I guess would be a good term for it. As for Clint Eastwood, I'd say Callahan, Song of Susannah.
      http://www.thedarktower.net/artwork/7/Will%20you.j ...
  • christian689, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4cool and while your at it please remake the movie versions of 'IT' and 'The Stand' two of the best books ever
    • corvairkid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Just don't remake Christine. There aren't enough '58 Plymouths left.

      Shout to anyone from Tulsa and their failed '57 time capsule.
  • synaesthesia, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Holy hell. Edward Norton as Eddie, Edward Norton as Eddie.

    This could be amazing. I only hope it can live up to its potential.
    • gnslngr1919, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Norton is too ***** serious to pull off Eddie. He and Sean Penn need to calm down a bit and do a comedy or something. I don't really know who else could do it, but I would be happy with pretty much anybody other than Norton.
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I love Edward Norton but as Eddie? Eh, I'm not so sure. Although for Susannah I think Gina Torres (Zoe, Firefly) would be AMAZING!
      • stillakid67, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Damn Straight! She'd Kick the lobsters asses.
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Good idea. I'd be happy with that.
    • cthulhukb, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Edward Norton is pushing 40. Eddie Dean is 21 when he enters the Dark Tower story.
    • krets, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I always thought James Franco would make a good Eddie.
  • gnslngr1919, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I have said it before and I'll say it again: The Dark Tower should be a 7 season (or six if you cram the first two together) animated series on HBO. That way you get the time needed to tell the story and the animation allows for easy work for the actors and an easy change of style for the different parts.
    • OdinEye, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I'll second the TV series suggestion wholeheartedly. There are reasons why King's short stories turn out to be the best movies (e.g. "Stand By Me") made from his work. There is really far, far too much information and detail in that series to distill into a single movie, or even a series of movies. A TV series is really the only way to go.

      Not sure I can go along with the animation idea - probably allow for too limited an audience to maintain interest for the length of time needed to allow it to complete - even on HBO.
    • corvairkid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I'm one of the small minority still pissed at HBO for what they did and are still doing to Carnivale. Yes, the Dark Tower series is already out in book form so we know how it ends but I'd rather not get into an animated or live action version only to have it canceled after two seasons because the episodes "cost too much."
    • honeylil86, on 05/26/2008, -0/+0The Dark Tower book series...Steven Kings best work that he's
      worked on for more than 20yrs?Be a HBO series... that's alittle
      weak man,bad idea,and an insult to kings work.You SHOULD
      be ashamed of yourself for even saying that.ANYONE who thinks or says that Sh*t should.Shame on you.
  • pianonotes1010, on 10/10/2007, -9/+4The ending ***** sucked.
    • fireballfreddy, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2After finishing the series, I really wished that van had hit him just a little harder.
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Blasphemy and lies! :P I loved it.
    • cerealman, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3Um, no, the ending rocked. First, SK warned you about reading onward, and you weren't happy so you wanted more, and you got it. It fit, it made sense, and worked great. Those that didn't like the ending are just so used to the Hollywood endings that are so cliche.
      • GarySZ, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That's why I loved Roland's end, but absolutely hated the ending for Eddie, Jake, and Susannah - that screamed to me of the "Hollywood" everyone lives happily ever after type ending... bleh.
    • Nichiren, on 10/10/2007, -1/+3I think King was right when he said that there was no other way for that ending to go. Did you have a better suggestion?
      • satanatnmtedu, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Yes. Roland dies in a bloody, horrifying spray. The ending was ***** lame.
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4The very end I liked, it was clever and it worked. The final battle with the Crimson King, on the other hand, was anti-climactic and a huge let down. As was the death of Flagg. I'm sorry, but you don't have the two primary villains from an entire series of books killed easily by secondary characters.
    • stillakid67, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Brilliant ending, different and how else could you have done justice to Roland? I agree the Main Evil Guys went too easily.
  • Rikushix, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Holy crap, JJ Abrams on the Dark Tower. I swear I just orgasmed.
  • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0OMFG YAY! With those boys on it you know it will turn out good! I creamed my jeans. :D
    Ka-tet to the big screen, woot!
  • aitozed, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2V.Mortensen as Roland
    • cerealman, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Don't see it. Roland has to be harder, darker. Roland isn't a friendly guy. Remember, he scares SK.
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Too pretty.
    • ArthurEld, on 01/18/2008, -0/+0mortensons not bad for roland not quite like i pictured him but he's the best celebrety sugestion ive heard so far, i still think they should go with someone unheard of though.
  • ARMADILDO, on 10/10/2007, -8/+0*****
    this is going to be ***** dry fanboy worship of the material
    the dark tower needs a real director not some tv hack

    stephen king needs an independant artist to interpret his rambling prose (which i love)
    example
    KUBRICK'S version of the SHINIING

    if you get somebody transcribing the books to screen you get the tv miniseries version of the shining

    im sure it will be decent, but to have kubrick (too late) , jodorowsky, or even lynch directing it would be amazing
    • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0How about:

      Watch first, THEN complain. Makes you look pretty pussy to complain about something that hasn't happened. Just sayin'....
    • supermanred, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Calling JJ Abrams some TV hack is like calling Picasso some painter hack or Einstein some scientist hack.

      Give 'em a chance. They love Stephen King and his work, and will probably do their best to do it justice.
      • Shanobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0How about, Abrams is a guy who likes to imitate concepts he's seen elsewhere, but with a mild personal spin. Let's face it, he LOVED Twin Peaks, and would probably have babies with Lynch and Frost if he could.
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I got news for ya - BOTH versions of The Shining were crap. Stephen didn't like the first one and the fans didn't like the second. I hated both, though the acting in the first one was superb.
      • Sarzec, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Shelly Duvall has never been "superb" in anything. I liked the original otherwise tho...
        • Shanobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0The first Shining was superb, which is why it tends to appear on many "most influencial" lists written by directors.

          And I agree with the original post here, King likes to ramble about divergent things that his stories could do without. It shouldn't take 4 pages for a character to get to the bottom of a set of stairs.
    • Shanobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Lynch would make a terriffic choice of director for a King movie, but you just know King would HATE the results. Not that it matters, I think King genuinely liked Creep Show.
  • zeropointD, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1Welcome to six months ago. Check the date on the article.
  • BuckyDent, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1NICE!
  • baalzebub, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2The Man in black fled across the desert, and the gun slinger followed...

    those are an awesome series of books, i hope the movie does Steven King justice...
  • Surefoot, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1http://digg.com/television/JJ_Abrams_to_Direct_The_Dark_Tower_Series
  • notchristopher, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1If you have read the series you know that this is a crying shame...
    • ArthurEld, on 01/18/2008, -0/+0really cause i have read it and i think this is awsome. i know ofcorse that the movies can never possibly match the books but still why not. ever since i finished the books ive been craving a movie, i cant get enough dark tower.
    • honeylil86, on 05/26/2008, -0/+0What are you talking about?Your a crying shame.If anyone read
      these books and did'nt like it,something is SERIOUSLY wrong
      with you.
  • lokimon, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1If they go 7 movies, it should be the best 6 and half movies ever... followed by the worst ending in the history of storytelling.
    • donalb, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Spot on. I was about to make a similar comment.
    • ArthurEld, on 01/18/2008, -0/+0what are you talking about? worst ending? it was the best possible ending fo it. it's what makes the rest of the story make sence and gives you a whole new look at the story. if you think the ending was so bad tell me how do you think it should have ended?
    • honeylil86, on 05/26/2008, -0/+0That's some funny sh*t.
  • cfd339, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5Oh come on now. The ending was inspired and at the same time evil as hell. I remember being first stunned, then pissed, then blown away when I realized that it was the only possible ending.
    • anonym41414, on 10/10/2007, -3/+2It wasn't the "only possible ending." It was damn lazy storytelling.

      The first book is strong, the second pretty darned good. With the exception of a few bits and pieces, they went downhill from there.
      • satanatnmtedu, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Absolutely agree. There were many possible endings. King didn't know how to end it. So, he used a hack method.

        Anyone who thinks it was the only way to end it should go back to talking about how 9/11 was an inside job.
        • drdendro, on 10/19/2007, -0/+0Um...."many possible endings" ? I'm curious how that could be limited to "many." Any ending he could imagine was a possible ending. He imagined one, and that's the ending. Remember, it's his story. Your ideas for "possible endings" are irrelevant. Also, you may find that after you know the ending, re-reading the series is exceedingly interesting. It has had that effect on me. However, your "9/11 inside job" comment reveals much about your general outlook. Your experience may (must) differ significantly from mine.
        • ArthurEld, on 01/18/2008, -0/+0"many possible endings" wtf are you talking about Stephen kings ending was perfect, no other ending would work. did you want it to end with Roland entering the tower and setting everything right then going home to Gilead with Susan and all his childhood friends and living happily for the rest of his life, if that's what your looking for in a book don't read Stephen king, go read a ***** kids book. seriously id like to hear one of your possible alternate endings. there's no way it could have ended better than it did. you probably just don't fully understand the ending.
      • drdendro, on 10/19/2007, -0/+0Ya gotta be kidding. #1 Reads like it was written by a college student. It was. Wizard & Glass stood above the others for me.
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I agree with you.
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Replying again, since it cut out half my post. >,< Anyway, I agree with you. It felt like SK was telling a true story and it ended the way it did because ... well, that's how it ended! :) IMO a lot of the people who hated the ending were not in it for the journey. I have a feeling they are the types of people who skip to the last page of a novel to see the ending.
      • krets, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I totally agree. Those books are all about the journey. I feel sorry for those people who hated the ending so much that they're spoiled on the books.
  • masgaster, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3I hope the story doesn't come back from Hollywood ruint.
    • Disneyisevil50, on 10/10/2007, -5/+1How could it? Stephen King ruinded it himself
    • Oomsoup, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I C wut you did thar.
      Although wasn't it more, roont?
    • masgaster, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Ha! I knew I'd misspell that!
  • ScotchInBox, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Awesome. When I first read this I was thinking Clint Eastwood would be perfect - now - probably Christian Bale. Still waiting for the Stephen R Donaldson - Thomas Covenant series - that would be crazy as long as Hollywood doesn't have their grubby paws in it.

    So sick of the same cookie cutter B.S. - example: "I, Robot" - what an effin, pathetic, POS - could have been an awesome movie but totally ruined by Hollywood one-liners - great movie made horrible by a casting director and greed. Great effects and such but entirely neutered by "return on investment"
    • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I want the *other* Donaldson books...The GAP Cycle books. I think those would beat the piss out of most all science fiction movies, if done right.
      • ScotchInBox, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0That would be totally awesome too - even more darker. HAVE to be rated R to do it justice. - good stuff!
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Bale is too boyish. It works for a young Bruce Wayne, but as Roland it would be awful.
      • ScotchInBox, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I see your point but I'm thinking it would be a "happy medium" of profit versus substance. He's a decent actor that still hasn't broken out yet.
        • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0AND there is always make-up.... I think Bale would be a badass anything. Of course, I saw The Machinist before any of the others.... :)
  • SigmaOne, on 10/10/2007, -5/+0Well, the first book wasn't that great, but the rest of them were f*ing amazing, so I guess if they don't do seven movies, they could make six, and just mash the first two together since the first one was so short.
  • OdinEye, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Viggo Mortensen isn't a bad call for Roland.

    I was actually thinking of Timothy Olyphant from Deadwood - he plays the ultraserious, uptight and humorless hardass very well, though he may be a bit young looking to play Roland. Adam Baldwin might be a reasonable candidate as well (big and gruff). As for the others I don't have an opinion on Eddie, but for Susannah I'd picture Gina Torres as a good candidate. Jake should be played by an unknown.
  • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5My big fear: they try to make Roland more sympathetic. Do you really think he's going to drop Jake on purpose in the film? He's a cold blooded killing machine for most of the series, that won't go over well with movie execs.
    • honeylil86, on 05/26/2008, -0/+0He's not that cold blooded,I mean he warms up to his friends
      in the story.I think the movies gonna be HOT!,theres really no choice.This to me is one THE greatest stories of all time,the BEST story I've ever read.If the movie was anything less than
      beyond GREAT,I'd be extremely disappointed,cause I plan on being the first person with tickets to see it.
  • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Most of my life I found it easier to say bad about King than good...until I read The Dark Tower books. That is some FINE fiction.

    I've never seen 'Lost' though and have no idea why I should be happy. Anyone wanna tell me? (I am not going to watch 'Lost'...I have little time for tv and its lies.)
    • ScotchInBox, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Lost had a good script ruined by commercialism. If I didn't have a Tivo I would have been gone a LONG time ago. Just end it already - the cow is dead and they're still milking it.
      • Shanobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I don't know if I'd say it was ruined by commercialism, but I will say that it's a one-level knock off of Twin Peaks, on an island.

        Missing is all of the psychological subtexts, and subtle levels of complexity.
    • honeylil86, on 05/26/2008, -0/+0Word,I never seen that sh*t Lost either,the hell is that about
      anyways?Why the hell does people keep talkin about it?And more importantly,what does it have to do with the Dark Tower?
  • Disneyisevil50, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0God, I hope they are allowed to fix it, or do something, to the last 2/3 books. I've said this before on these boards, but the books are very different from eachother, book 1 has a completely different feel from the other 6, the last two have a retarded feel.

    Pretty much books 1,2, and 3 were great, book 4 was unecessary, but not bad, book 5 was a complete crazy tangent withough much to do with the overall plot of the books, and annoying because you want to know more, and books 6 and 7 were a complete letdown and leave you wondering if Stephen King even tried.
    • ArthurEld, on 01/22/2008, -0/+0you are an absolute idiot, first of all how can you say that book four was unnecessary, the whole point of the book was too show us how Roland became the way he was when he is first shown in the gunslinger. book five was extremely interesting with an action packed ending that leads nicely into book six which is not the best book king has ever written but overall not bad, I especially like the way king describes New York, an the book seven, my favorite of the series, is so action packed and so cool, i mean seriously how can you not like it, the part where Susanna and Roland are running in the dark tunnel under discordia and when they meet dandalo, and then the ending, in my opinion, was perfect,
    • honeylil86, on 05/26/2008, -0/+0The complete story was perfect,from 1st to last.I dont agree with you at all,
      and sorry you have bad taste in a GREAT story,and opinions.
  • LowROI, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2PLEASE GOD let this be at least a 3 part trilogy. We can't have this amazing series dumbed down to fit inside 2 hours.
    • corvairkid, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0At least Micheal Bay isn't directing it.

      "My pump primes backwards. Press the wrong button and I'll piss oil on you! HA HA"

      Or maybe Blaine would have "high rise double pump" carburetors.
  • cfd339, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I've always had the feeling reading King that he had no idea what was going to happen next either. Sometimes his books just take a hard left turn and go some other way for no real reason other than that he felt like it.

    You know what? Good. So be it. Not every book has to be perfectly crafted and fully foreshadowed in the manner of a mystery. King tells stories and the stories is different each time he tells it.
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1And that's related to a possible movie how?
  • Burrito, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1Hugh Jackman? Viggo Mortensen? Daniel Craig? Are you all high? Roland is a teen in the first book. He's the youngest to ever complete the gunslinger training. It will be an unknown actor.
    • Disneyisevil50, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Roland was a teen in flashbacks, wtf book did you read
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I haven't reread The Gunslinger since it was altered by King, so maybe this changed, but he was in his thirties at the start of the series. A great deal happened between his completion of the training and the beginning of the book, some of it chronicled in Wizard and Glass.
    • satanatnmtedu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1And, even if it were true, multiple actors can play the same character in the same movie or movies. Your lack of imagination suggests that you think the ending was "the only way" like many other maroons.
      • Shanobi, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Wouldn't it be FANTASTIC if they scored Hayden Christiansen?

        Well, WOULDN'T IT??? ;)
      • ArthurEld, on 01/22/2008, -0/+0the ending is fine why do people keep wanting to change it, and yes there is only one ending to the dark tower, or one legitimate ending at least and thats the one thats at the end of the book which is an awesome ending
    • ArthurEld, on 01/22/2008, -0/+0the ending is fine why do people keep wanting to change it, and yes there is only one ending to the dark tower, or one legitimate ending at least and thats the one thats at the end of the book which is an awesome ending
  • TroubleInMind, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Dude, this article is from six months ago...
  • Memnochxx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Oy!
  • Disneyisevil50, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Amazon reviews link, read the first 2 reviews on the page http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Tower-Book/dp/1416524525/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/104-4045223-0198341?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187579847&sr=8-2
  • HydrogenY, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0Cool. If they can figure out a way of removing that stupid Scooby Doo charactor from the movie I think it'll be okay.
  • SirFoxx, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3Josh Holloway as the Gunslinger FTW.
    • Larke2000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3while reading the books i always pictured clint eastwood as roland. although i can't see him writhing around on a beach fighting off the lobstrocities. :)
  • master2828, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I don't think there is anyone who can do justice to the series, I have a feeling it will be a disappointing distortion of the story. If they stayed true to the book only fan boys will see it..over and over again. Seriously I'd like Roland to live on in fiction the way I see him, once it's on screen you can't of (the shining) Jack without thinking of Nicholson. Just finishing up reading the series for the second time. After the ending I was like he's right the journey is the best part I've gotta relive that one again.
    "...He who kills with his gun has forgotten the face of his father. I kill with my heart"
    You say true
  • Larke2000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1the only thing that worries me is that the ending isn't a typical hollywood ending. i know they have to take liberties when converting a book to movie, but please leave the ending intact. and i'm really only talking about the (non-spoiler) character(s) that may or may not be alive walking through a something of something to get to something and what happens at the very something of the something.
  • kindrobot, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Best way to do this would be to shoot all live action for several hours of movie, release the first part and see how it goes before spending billions on post production/effects for the rest. Then at least it's in the can and could be finished somewhere if part one fails. Keep the cast available for reshoots under contract at a specified time.

    Say.. the rest on HBO, Sci-Fi, Showtime? Maybe even ABC? (censored? sucky) With a complete version for DVD? Crazy ideas, but then again so was the LOTR trilogy. It could be the way to do large stories in the future, so that they can eventually be told complete without investing billions and risking the whole studio.

    Then again, someday soon these types of films will get cheaper and cheaper. The tools are there, the talent is there, the computing power is close. The biggest cost involved with render farms these days is POWER. Ever toyed around with a few (say, 10) computers? The bill at the end of the month is interesting to say the least.

    There is no second month.
  • vdemona, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1This is right up my alley! The guys from Lost are doing it? This is awesome news!
  • hagingtree, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1HOLY EFFING ***** this is the best news I have ever read on Digg.

    Movies based on Kings horror = Crap
    Movies based on Kings non horror = Great

    Where does the Dark Tower Series stand? it could go either way.... I dont care it will be great!
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Definitely not horror, though it's horrific in spots.
  • jordanlund, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Hmmm.... let's see here...

    Book 1 is a collection of short stories. It might be better done as 4 15 minute mini-movies. Use them for previews.
    Book 2 needs it's own flick.
    Book 3 needs it's own flick.
    Book 4 needs it's own flick.
    Book 5 and 6 could be condensed down into one flick.
    Book 7 needs it's own flick.

    So that's at least 5 movies plus previews.
    • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1You'd turn the first book into a series of previews? Well, iff`n that aint the nuttiest idea I've heard all day.
      • hagingtree, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I would put books 1 and 4 together in the first movie, open with Roland walking in the desert, when he stops to camp the first night at the ashes of Flaggs fire the movie should flash back to the story told in Wizard and Glass, then shoot forward to the present.
        ltd be hard to interupt the flow of the entire film series with a movie that goes back in time set right in the middle of the whole thing.
        • terminal157, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That would destroy the mystery of the character that's so important to the story. You're not supposed to know much about Roland at first.
    • BrapAllgood, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0I am guessing 5. Two of the books don't stand up by themselves so well, but THE WHOLE STORY could be mildly rewritten into 5 movies. As someone said earlier, so much of it is internal dialogue...with proper visuals, much could be skipped en masse.

      I say 5.
    • Larke2000, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2i wonder how they will handle book 4. people who haven't read the books are in for a surprise after they watch a very intense 2 and 3. i just can't see book 4 as a stand alone movie.
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