Dark Tower Movie/TV show in the works (Wait for it..)

[Mikelee0351]

If it's on HBO, they'll cast Rutina Wesley as Odetta, now that she's "dead" on True Blood. So..... have fun sleeping thinking about that future bitches.

[Serra]

Had no idea another book was coming out.. That has me so excited :3!!!!!

(No comment about the show being on HBO, I'm not getting my hopes about a show again..)

[Byrd]

Something occurred to me tonight. I'll be very curious to see, if they ever do the movie/TV show/whatever, how they do the casting of:

WARNING. MAJOR BOOK SPOILER.

Spoiler: show

Steven King himself. I'm aware he frequently does cameos in his own movies, but they're never significant roles, and he's a terrible actor, even if he's only trying to play himself. His role in the Dark Tower is relatively significant, and would take some acting chops. If he plays himself, I don't see how that could be anything but a distraction. And having another actor play "Steven King" seems downright strange.

[AzazaelFenrir]

Not to mention the new novel coming out in April. Although this one seems like it's more about Roland's early days (post-Hambry, pre-Fall of Gilead), so it would be hard to do as part on one storyline with the same actor.

Dear Constant Readers,

At some point, while worrying over the copyedited manuscript of the next book (11/22/63, out November 8th), I started thinking—and dreaming—about Mid-World again. The major story of Roland and his ka-tet was told, but I realized there was at least one hole in the narrative progression: what happened to Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy between the time they leave the Emerald City (the end of Wizard and Glass) and the time we pick them up again, on the outskirts of Calla Bryn Sturgis (the beginning of Wolves of the Calla)?

There was a storm, I decided. One of sudden and vicious intensity. The kind to which billy-bumblers like Oy are particularly susceptible. Little by little, a story began to take shape. I saw a line of riders, one of them Roland’s old mate, Jamie DeCurry, emerging from clouds of alkali dust thrown by a high wind. I saw a severed head on a fencepost. I saw a swamp full of dangers and terrors. I saw just enough to want to see the rest. Long story short, I went back to visit an-tet with my friends for awhile. The result is a novel called The Wind Through the Keyhole. It’s finished, and I expect it will be published next year.

It won’t tell you much that’s new about Roland and his friends, but there’s a lot none of us knew about Mid-World, both past and present. The novel is shorter than DT 2-7, but quite a bit longer than the first volume—call this one DT-4.5. It’s not going to change anybody’s life, but God, I had fun.

-- Steve King

The book was announced back in March but no date had been set. I am still hearing that he wants to do 2 more books in this time frame/era, or possibly in the 'younger' Roland time frame.

[Qalbert]

http://www.deadline.com/2012/03/step...javier-bardem/

EXCLUSIVE: When Universal Pictures said no to making three feature films and two limited-run TV series from Stephen King’s mammoth post-apocalyptic Western The Dark Tower, the partners in the film all pledged they were going to find a way to get a movie made. Well, I hear that Warner Bros is now very close to a deal that will give Ron Howard the chance to direct at least the first feature, potentially with Javier Bardem starring as gunslinger Roland Deschain. And Akiva Goldsman (who wrote the script) is producing with Brian Grazer and the author.

Basically the studio bought Goldsman’s script and are paying him to do a polish. Howard remains attached to direct, likely in first-quarter 2013. Pic is a co-production between Goldsman’s Weed Road and Howard and Grazer’s Imagine. Bardem’s participation would depend upon his availability, but he was firmly attached when the project was at Universal.

That is an amazing development for fans of the book and for a movie that has been searching for new backing since Universal let it go last July. Back then, Universal was deciding on three features and the two TV segments, which was perhaps the most ambitious movie project since Peter Jackson shot three installments of The Lord Of The Rings back to back.

Universal finally said no after telling the filmmakers two months earlier they were postponing the film for a summer shoot, ostensibly to trim the budget. I’m told the filmmakers did that anyway, before they shopped it. Universal at the time reviewed Goldsman’s script for the first film and the first leg of the TV series, and would only commit to a single film, which prompted the filmmakers to take it back and shop it. They had already hired comic book and Heroes and Battlestar Galactica writer-producer Mark Verheiden to co-write the TV component with Goldsman, which was to be made for NBC Universal Television (studio insiders deny the studio was only willing to make the movie and not the series). Subsequent to that, Grazer said in an interview the TV component would move to HBO. I’d heard Warner Bros has been interested for some time, and the arrangement with sister studio HBO makes a lot of sense. Goldsman also has his deal at Warner Bros, where he will soon make his directing debut on Winter’s Tale.

[AzazaelFenrir]

Just showed up in my email. Nothing really new, but a date!

An Epic Prequel to the Dark Tower Series



The Wind Through the Keyhole: A Dark Tower Novel
A stand-alone novel for both fans and first-timers to Stephen King's captivating Dark Tower series, ''The Wind Through the Keyhole'' introduces Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger, as a young teenager in the sprawling Mid-World.


Available 4/24/2012
List Price $27.00
Hardcover: $16.36
NOOK Book: $12.99

Overview

In The Wind Through the Keyhole, Stephen King returns to the rich landscape of Mid-World, the spectacular territory of the Dark Tower fantasy saga that stands as his most beguiling achievement.
Roland Deschain and his ka-tet—Jake, Susannah, Eddie, and Oy, the billy-bumbler—encounter a ferocious storm just after crossing the River Whye on their way to the Outer Baronies. As they shelter from the howling gale, Roland tells his friends not just one strange story but two . . . and in so doing, casts new light on his own troubled past.

In his early days as a gunslinger, in the guilt-ridden year following his mother’s death, Roland is sent by his father to investigate evidence of a murderous shape-shifter, a “skin-man” preying upon the population around Debaria. Roland takes charge of Bill Streeter, the brave but terrified boy who is the sole surviving witness to the beast’s most recent slaughter. Only a teenager himself, Roland calms the boy and prepares him for the following day’s trials by reciting a story from the Magic Tales of the Eld that his mother often read to him at bedtime. “A person’s never too old for stories,” Roland says to Bill. “Man and boy, girl and woman, never too old. We live for them.” And indeed, the tale that Roland unfolds, the legend of Tim Stoutheart, is a timeless treasure for all ages, a story that lives for us.

King began the Dark Tower series in 1974; it gained momentum in the 1980s; and he brought it to a thrilling conclusion when the last three novels were published in 2003 and 2004. The Wind Through the Keyhole is sure to fascinate avid fans of the Dark Tower epic. But this novel also stands on its own for all readers, an enchanting and haunting journey to Roland’s world and testimony to the power of Stephen King’s storytelling magic.

[6souls]

Warner Bros. is getting ready to make a decision on if they are going to move forward with Ron Howard's master plan to bring Stephen King's epic The Dark Tower supernatural western novel series to the big and small screens.

Screenwriter Akiva Goldsman is about to turn in his script to the studio for the first installment of the film series. According to Deadline the Warner Bros. will make a decision in two weeks on whether or not they are going to move forward with the first phase of the ambitious plan.

The biggest news to come out of this report is that Javier Bardem is no longer attached to the project as the main character Roland Deschain. Howard and producer brian Grazier have instead been talking with their friend Russell Crowe about taking over the lead role. Crowe worked with them on A Beautiful Mind. As excited as I was for Bardem to play Roland I think Crowe is a better choice. He's had experience with westerns already, 3:10 To Yuma being one of my favorites. As of right now nothing is officially set in stone, but when Warner Bros. makes their decision it will be based in part on Crowes attachment. Hopefully Crowe officially jumps on board as it will help the movies chances of getting made.

The plan is to tell the nine volume book series in the form of there movie and two limited run TV series. This is one of the most epically ambitious projects ever, and I hope it goes through! The studio just green lit a third Hobbit film, and I don't see why in the hell they wouldn't move forward on this Dark Tower series, this is the kind of franchise that makes history! Not since The Lord of the Rings has a movie project been big.

In two weeks we'll know what the outcome is, and I truly hope that the studio decides to move forward with this project. It would be a bloody shame if they didn't! Warner Bros. seems like the perfect home for this project. As of right now the TV part of the series would air on HBO.

http://geektyrant.com/news/2012/8/3/...ark-tower.html

[6souls]

Director Ron Howard’s ambitious adaptation of the Stephen King book series, The Dark Tower, has been struggling for over two years now in various iterations of development hell. Unfortunately (or happily – depending on how you feel about the project), it sounds as if The Dark Tower is once again losing traction.

We’re now getting word that Warner Bros. has passed on the recently retooled adaptation pitch – sending the project flailing back into development hell.

According to Variety, the studio isn’t interested in moving forward with the project – though no specific reason was given. Despite a lack of comment from Warner Bros, it’s easy to imagine why they’d be uneasy about taking-on The Dark Tower – specifically Howard’s infamously expensive plan to tell the story by alternating between big screen features and television miniseries.

While it can be hard to defend the ballooning cost of big budget movie making these days, Howard wasn’t just being greedy or overly-ambitious when he planned the movie/miniseries Dark Tower combo. The scale of the books could definitely benefit from the bang of big screen movie-making as well as lengthier (and more intimate) character pieces on the small screen. In a world where studios don’t have to weigh opportunity cost, Howard’s idea would be a no-brainer. However, the cost of such an ambitious venture was hard for Universal to swallow (even for a well-known Stephen King series) – think Lord of the Rings but with more installments and a full-scale television miniseries production to balance.

As a result, Universal withdrew their support of the project – since a scaled down version of The Dark Tower is even less-likely to succeed (and would have probably caused Howard to abandon the project altogether).

Fast-forward half a year and Warner Bros. was mulling over the possibility of resurrecting the project under their wing. As the studio debated whether or not they could greenlight one of the most expensive and formidable film productions in history, Hollywood heavy-hitter Russell Crowe threw his weight behind the project – asserting that he’d be willing to play leading man, Roland Deschain, if Warner Bros. decided to foot the bill. Unfortunately, unless Warner Bros. changes their mind, or another studio decides they want to get fan hopes up again, it’s unlikely that Crowe will make it any closer than former star Javier Bardem in his journey to gunsling across Dark Tower‘s post-apocalyptic landscapes.

Given the lackluster turnout for other book-turned-big budget movie franchise starters, such as John Carter, it’s hard to blame either studio for being wary of a commitment to Howard’s Dark Tower - especially since the plan, ideally, called for production to start on the first TV miniseries before finally tallies for the first film would be in. Any studio that signs-on for The Dark Tower will need to have a lot of faith in the overarching franchise, not to mention very deep pockets, in order to get the ball rolling again.

http://screenrant.com/dark-tower-mov...os-ron-howard/

[6souls]

Yesterday we learned that Warner Bros. passed on Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's plan to adapt Stephen King's book series The Dark Tower for the big and small screens. That just seemed like the dumbest mistakes anyone could make. The news king of pissed me off because I've been wait for a long time for this book series to get a proper adaptation, and two studios had passed on it! There was a fear that the movie might not ever see the light of day, but it looks it it's not dead yet!

Media Rights Capital is now in serious talks to take on the epic franchise that Universal and Warner Bros. both passed on. According to Deadline MRC’s Modi Wiczyk is a big fan of King's novel series, and they looking to "capitalize on the positive momentum they got from developing and financing the Seth MacFarlane-directed summer sleeper hit Ted." MRC's next big project is the Neill Blomkamp-directed sci-fi thiller Elysium with Matt Damon.

So not only is Wiczyk a fan of King's western fantasy series, but the company also has the money to acually back the project! The report says they expect a deal to be made quickly, which is awesome! Finally a studio that has the guts to step in and bring this story to life. I hope the movie blows up the box office so the studios that passed on it kick themselves in the ass with regret.

http://geektyrant.com/news/2012/8/21...financing.html
http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/did-...he-dark-tower/

[Qalbert]

http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/10/83...king-franchise

Stephen King's magnum opus, a fantasy-horror series known as The Dark Tower, is once again on the path toward being turned into a movie series. Deadline reports that Sony Pictures will finance and distribute the first movie in what is intended to be a larger franchise. There are eight books in the series, which is about a "gunslinger" in a magical, Western world who's trying to find a weakening tower that's keeping the world together. The first film will be based on the series' first book, The Gunslinger, and is being written by Akiva Goldsman, who previously co-wrote I Am Legend, and Jeff Pinkner, who recently co-write The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

Media Rights Capital is reportedly co-financing the project. It's also developing a TV spinoff on the side.

[tyven]

8 BOOKS? DID I MISS A BOOK? QALBERT PLS ADVISE

[Qalbert]

Wind Through the Keyhole? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dar...gh_the_Keyhole

[tyven]

WAT IN THE WORLD? how is this gonna add a book to the middle of the series 8 years after the series ended

[Qalbert]

dunno, never bothered to read it

[Nekonaruto]

I read it, and I liked it a lot...without wanting to give away too much: it's set between book 3 and 4 (if memory serves) but the actual story is (spoiler just in case)

Spoiler: show

A prequel to the whole series, with Roland as a kid, on his first mission, so to speak

Definitely worth reading in my opinion!

[Serra]

There was supposed to be another book too, no?

[tyven]

I read it, and I liked it a lot...without wanting to give away too much: it's set between book 3 and 4 (if memory serves) but the actual story is (spoiler just in case)

Spoiler: show

A prequel to the whole series, with Roland as a kid, on his first mission, so to speak

Definitely worth reading in my opinion!

i thought that's what book 4 was tho. wizard and glass with him and cuthbert and the other guy

[Kalmado]

I knew of Wind Through The Keyhole, but didn't know they were saying it was part of the series. I'll always look at it as a 7 book series. It's been a long long time since I've read any King, but I definitely recall many of his books having ties with Dark Tower, even if only the slightest. I wonder if we'll get any mentions of tie ins.

[Deftscythe]

First case of a movie adaptation where I'd be 100% okay with them changing the ending.

[Rulke]

^This.

I was just going to post that if the movie ending stays true to the books, the rage will be epic.