Dark Tower movie or TV mini?

[Me!]

This news is kinda old, but it\'s the first I\'ve heard of it.

Who is Lost in The Dark Tower?
IGN has the exclusive scoop here!

February 13, 2007 - IGN has exclusively learned that J.J. Abrams is poised to direct The Dark Tower, based on the Stephen King literary series. Abrams\' production company Bad Robot had "no comment" on the matter.

Sources advised us that an official announcement is forthcoming. We have been unable to determine whether Dark Tower will be a film project or a TV miniseries, although the latter is a more likely prospect given the complex nature of King\'s seven-book series. Given Abrams\' success on the small screen -- and King\'s well known love for the Abrams-produced TV series Lost -- the tube seems a better fit for The Dark Tower. That said, IGN now has reason to believe the project will be for the big-screen.

Sources also added that Abrams is indeed only producing Star Trek XI. It was recently reported that Abrams would not direct Trek XI, as many had assumed, but would instead turn his attention to a secret Paramount project titled Cloverfield. Might Cloverfield be a codename for The Dark Tower? Or a completely separate project?

(Interestingly enough, Entertainment Weekly did an interview last year with King, Abrams and his Lost producing partner Damon Lindelof, who reportedly brought a rare first edition of The Gunslinger to the meeting.)

Often described as King\'s magnum opus, The Dark Tower, as Wikipedia reminds us, "tells the tale of lead character Roland Deschain\'s quest for the \'Dark Tower.\' The Dark Tower is often described in the novels as a real structure, and also as a metaphor. Part of Roland\'s fictional quest lies in discovering the true nature of the Tower. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror, and western elements."

"In the story, Roland is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West, as well as bearing magical powers and the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland\'s quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to either be, or be located at, the nexus of all universes. Roland\'s world is said to have \'moved on,\' and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams — mighty nations are being torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish from the face of the earth without a trace, time does not flow in an orderly fashion; even the sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland\'s motives, goals, and even his age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries."

This news about J.J. Abrams comes on the heels of Marvel\'s recent launch of the limited comic book series The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born.

then I found this:

King confirmed the news to a crowded room at the New York Comic-Con:

“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. When they said they wanted to talk about doing this, I said, ‘You know what? Why don’t you buy the option on this and see what you can come up with.’ They asked, ‘How much do you want for an option?’ I said, ‘$19.’ (A key amount that comes up frequently in the books) And that’s what they paid me, and that’s where it is.”

“I said no to everybody until recently, because I didn’t think much of the chances of it being a good movie,” King told the crowd. “I mean, this is my life’s work, since the time I was 22 years old. It’s very important to me. Usually, with the other [books], I don’t give much of a shit. My attitude is, ‘Go make a movie, and if it’s good, that’s terrific, and if it’s bad, then it will go to the video stores and back shelves of Blockbuster, and I still get royalties on the book.’”

King also revealed that he turned down an offer from longtime collaborator Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile):

“Frank did come to me, and I know Frank from before either one of us had a pot to piss in. Frank said, ‘Gee, I’d like to do Dark Tower.’ I said, ‘Frank, give me a break! You’ve got The Mist, The Monkey. You’ve got the prison stories. … Stop putting so much on your plate!’”

May-be I’m missing something but, why wouldn’t king trust Darabont with Dark Tower? His previous adaptations are arguably some of King’s best movies. Well, for right now it looks like Abrams and Lindelof have their chance, but who knows when, where or if we’ll ever see the result.
The Dark Tower is a epic series of seven books written by King from 1982 to 2004. The story follows Roland Deschain�s quest for the �Dark Tower,� which is often described as a real structure, and also as a metaphor.

source

[Overexjoesure]

HBO series... Anything else would be absolute shit. Each book would be a season.

[Yoda]

That would be nice, but I don\'t think that HBO would commit to it.  I think that the set and special effects costs would be tremendous and that was the downfall of ROME.  But I definitely agree that it should be a mini-series, maybe 2-3 each night, with each night being a book, but if they decided to do it chronologically, it would change that as well.

[FrankZappa]

no, it should be a multi movie release like lord of the rings. I remember king saying he would be long dead and burried before he would let someone make a movie out of it though.

imo 99% of all king mini series suck ass. for the love of god I hope they don\'t destroy another 7 books by doing that.

[Overexjoesure]

HBO or bust. They would have the ratings Rome never had (it was a shitty show anyways,and I\'m glad it\'s gone). Stephen King\'s fanbase, I\'m sure, would subscribe to HBO just for this one show.  A tv mini series would be a terrible idea. TV adaptations of King works have proven stale, spotty and just plain awful, time after time after time.  The Storm of the Century was the only decent one because he wrote it specifically for television.  I\'ve heard mumblings about HBO, I only hope they pan out....

[Yoda]

I disagree that Rome was shitty, but I also think that HBO won\'t belly up the costs for it.  I\'d like to see it, but I don\'t think that you could spend a whole season on each book, especially the first.

I also don\'t think that it would work for the big screen unless they alter the ending a bit.  I won\'t say any more as to spoil the ending.

[FrankZappa]

It could work fine for the big screen. If it is ever made, I want it to have a lord of the rings look and budget or nothing at all. I mean, I\'d still go see it, but I\'d be screaming in pain at the screen through half of it.

Just like every miniseries.

Except Langoliners. For some reason that one seemed to  be spot on.

[Overexjoesure]

HAHA Paul,  I was thinking Langoilers before, but didn\'t want the blowback.  Truly an enjoyable doozie thanks to an oddly androgynous blind girl, a coked out schziophrenic yuppie and a sleiuthing Dean Stockwell.

But do you seriously think they\'ll be able to include the bulk of each book in a 3 hour movie. I doub it. You know how much detail is involved. HBO could provide that creative space. The Dark Tower is already a franchise, which as I stated before, means dedicated viewers from day one who know the story.  Carnivale, while an incredible show, started from scratch and plummeted because of how indepth it got.  On top of the Dark Tower series HBO could buy the rights to the Talisman trilogy too and any other Dark Tower off shoot.

[Me!]

http://videomedia.ign.com/ev/ev.swf\' flashvars=\'object_ID=885149&downloadURL=http://moviesmovies.ign.com/movies/video/article/977/977406/abrams_tower_042809_flvlow.flv&allownetworking="all%"\' type=\'application/x-shockwave-flash\' width=\'433\' height=\'360\'>

http://movies.ign.com/objects/885/885149.html\'>The Dark Tower at IGN.com

[FrankZappa]

Today on wootshirts

I might actually get this:
"There Are Other Worlds Than These"



Liam Neeson Probably Agrees
2nd place in Derby #108: Architecture, with 724 votes!

You know what we want to know? Why didn’t that movie Krull ever catch on? It had a cyclops, and a giant spider, and an evil space alien, and that cool throwing star with spikes that wasn’t actually a glaive, and there was even a scene in a swamp. It was just as good as The Never Ending Story, when you get right down to it. Except you didn’t have to watch a horsey die. That poor sad horsey.

Anyway, we’re going on record as saying that Krull should have gotten a lot more respect. And you know what? There’s probably some other world where it did. A world where people actually camped out for Krull 2: Kruller and where this summer’s smash hit was a reinterpreted crossover version that generated controversy among the old fans at the same time it created new ones.

Who cares about a world where Kennedy lived or nobody signed the Magna Carta? Who’d be interested in a Civil War fought with Uzis or a China controlled by Japan? It’s Krull that matters. Just Krull. Only Krull.

And, maybe this shirt. But mostly Krull.

Wear this shirt: when you’re watching Krull. Really, give it a try. It’ll surprise you.

Don’t wear this shirt: if you prefer The Beastmaster over Krull. Who would have an opinion like that? We’ll tell you who. A GREAT BIG LOSER! Yeah! Wooo! Krull rules! Go Krull! Wooo!

This shirt tells the world: “Once upon a time, there was an enchanted kingdom that lived on a shirt. That’s all I got so far. But I’m trying to see if I can get a development grant from Peter Jackson.”

We call this color: White Cas… um, we mean, White Keep.
SmartPost

Design Placement: Centered

Design Size:
3X – S: 15” x 16.03”
WXL - WS: 11.25” x 12.02”
K12 - K4: 8.5” x 9.08”

Pantone Color(s): 123C – 157C – 1655C – 7472C – 7532C

Please check our sizing chart before you order. The Woot Tee follows a classic closer-fitting style. If you prefer a baggier look, order a larger size. If there is not a larger size, consider starting a belly-hanging-out trend.

[Me!]

that\'s a pretty sweet shirt, not sure what it has to do with Krull, but sweet shirt none the less.  Might have to get one....

[obsession600]

I get the feeling that shirt flew over woot\'s head.
While I like the idea, the color choices and drawing style make me worry that the back of that shirt features Roland and Eddie holding hands and playing "hide the tower".

[Me!]

Discordia

http://stephenking.com/multimedia/dt_video/medium/

[FrankZappa]

come and play 11/30/09

:thumbsup:

[Yoda]

Not DT related, but SK new book Under The Dome is available for preorder at Target for $8.99...