Abrams Won't Tackle The Dark Tower Director steps aside on King adaptation Source: MTV
Our first thought was he lied in every word, that mischievous producer with malicious eye askance... Well, lied isn't quite right, but JJ Abrams has finally put to bed the hints and rumours that he might be embarking on a perilous journey to Stephen King's seven-volume, incredibly epic fantasy series, TheDark Tower.
Talking to MTV, he confirmed his position that "After working six years on Lost, the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time. I'm such a massive Stephen King fan that I'm terrified of screwing it up. I'd do anything to see those movies written by someone else. "
Movies? We'd have thought a long TV series would be a better format, but even that would be insanely ambitious. Abrams' Lost co-producer Damon Lindelof had also been aboard the project, but said earlier in the year that watching Zack Snyder wrestle with Watchmen had given him the fear: "In terms of saying where can I digress from the material, I just get headaches thinking about changing anything."
So is there any chance of hope rekindling? Will Abrams ever relent, and turn aside once again into that ominous tract? "My guess is The Dark Tower will get made because its so incredible," he says. "But not by me."
In fact, we'd reckon that it probably won't get made by anyone for, if ever there was a King book(s) that was truly unfilmable, it's The Dark Tower, with its parallel universes, skipping timelines and characters drawn heavily from King's other novels... including, at one point, King himself. Brave and tinged with genius will be the man, or woman, who brings the story of Roland Deschain to the big screen without too much compromise. Is there anybody out there who can do this? Readers, your thoughts, please...
The Dark Tower is not unfilmable...the same was said about LOTR remember. What the Dark Tower has going for it is relative obscurity; the outcry over certain bits left out of/put in LOTR were because those books are soooo widely read and known.
King himself admitted that TDT was not a massive seller. Less fanboys to pander to = more liberty able to be taken with the source material. Abrams would be perfect but others could attempt it. Its a shame Abrams has shied away because he states he is... Read More
My personal choice for wrtier/director would be David Cronenberg. He's the only director I can think of who could translate the more horrible, grusome and strange elements of the book with complete conviction and maturity. Howard Shore for the music and Viggo Mortensen for Roland. Perfect. ... Read More
I think your thinking of Naomi Watts of King Kong fame. Naomi Harris is definitely black. I agree though Kevin Costner would be awful. Once we create time travel we can go back to the 80s and cast Clint Eastwood ... Read More
The Samaritan are you perchance smoking crack. Despite the fact that Kevin costner can't act if you had read the books you would know and be aware of serios plot lines that revolve around the fact that Susannah is quite black. Not a pale, blue eyed blonde. ... Read More
Kevin Costner as Roland? NO WAY! We can think of someone else can't we? Frank Darabont is a good choice to direct, but i'd really would've like J.J to direct it. Damn you J.J ... Read More
Frank Darabont and Guilmerro Del Torro (is that how you spell it?) to direct.
Kevin Costner as Roland
Naomi Harris (pirattes of the caribbean) as Susannah
Dave Annable (skinny, brown eyes, plays a convincing recovering drug addict) as Eddie
Shane Haboucha (Stephen King's Desperation) as Jake
CGI as Oy ... Read More
Look to the graphic novels that have come out recently..
They follow the story in chronological order (effectively starting with Wizards and Glass) and are busy filling in the gaps leading up to the first book - the gunslinger.
Oh god.
I'm a nerd.
;-) ... Read More
Let's not forget that stephen king films make brilliant and epic cinema. If only someone was brave enough to tackle the epic that is the dark tower series. ... Read More
Just a 'lil thing Empire: this quote;
"After working six years on Lost, the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time. I'm such a massive Stephen King fan that I'm terrified of screwing it up. I'd do anything to see those movies written by someone else". This was said by DAMON LINDELOF, not J.J Abrams. ... Read More
