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The Dark Tower

Sunarep

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dark-tower.jpg


Holy hell it is about time The Dark Tower gets a thread on fanedit.org!

The man in black fled across the desert
and the gunslinger followed...

This thread is dedicated to one of the strangest stories ever told

Think Lord of the Rings but with Back to the future, having Clint Eastwood as the main character sparkled with a little bti of Trainspotting while also travelling across time and space - culminating in the fundamental question:

why?

What if there is a place where all places meet? An axis holding together our reality?
And what if... just think what if this place goes beyond those places, like a stair? What if out of everything there is a room - is it empty? is there god looking down to us?
What if you could climb this stair and open the door and see whatever is in this room?

What would you want to find out?

To me The Dark Tower is the best story I have ever read but I know that this doesn't mean anything since hardcore harry potter fans will tell you the same about potter or any other fantasy series, so I know this doesn't have a lot of weight

I just can say that no series has made me ponder more about the nature of god (if there is one that is), our black and white thinking, virtues that outlast temporary shinign things as well as the fundamental nature of humans and storytelling

I just had to get this off my chest since I am currently revisiting this fantastic series and I hope that others give it a try as well... following one of the most interesting protagonists on his endless journey towards a tower
 

havok1977

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I'm also a huge fan of The Dark Tower, i devoured all the books and loved Roland and his Ka'tet every step of the way.

I hope that the planned project for adapting it does it justice, but I recently heard that there were some financial difficulties around it, and this even after they announced the most important piece of casting!

If only this will not grind production to a stop; but as of right now, I'm not getting my hopes too high...
 

Sunarep

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To me Bardem is the thing that makes me have hope

Director wise and screenwriters wise... meh

but Bardem is really one of the best actors I can think of and most important: it is not a fan-request
i hate nothing more than when the studios bow to unimaginative fancasting (i.e. johnny depp for anything) because they mostly focus on shallow appearances

to me roland's casting was always: it has to be bold, it has to offend purists who can't see past surfaces , it has to be someone who nobody imagined for the role (see ledger, keaton and reeve)

He doesn't have to look like roland but he has to capture roland's feel and right now i am listening to drawing of the three, imagining how bardem might fit in and tbh i would just love his take on it

the gunslinger is a figure that has travelled through our mythology he changes and reappears, first to browning, then to king who knows how he will reappear in the future - a movie would just be another version of the gunslinger and by god i hope it is not just a rehash of the book but something fresh

i don't want a word by word translation of the dark tower - that would make the movie inferior to the books, make it just a quotation chamebr for the book instead of a fresh living breathing story
 

Q2

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I am a huge fan of the DT series, though I am not sold on Bardem at all. He still has a thick accent and I don't know if only a few months of training can lessen it. I also am not a fan of Howard as director.

With that said I am interested in their method of production, though it sounds like Universal may be backing out of it. It's still being debated from what I understand. I'm curious how they'd handle
King injecting himself into the story
something I didn't really care for even in the books. I think that portion was a bit of a let down.

On a recent re-read I did find the last three books felt rushed and more like first drafts. I'd love to see a revised (i.e. material cut) version at some point to quicken it up a bit.
Flagg and Roland's child
were dispatched too easily. A shame, really, such build up for quick kills, especially
Flagg
.

Still, even with its faults, it's still a terrific story, one I will read several more times I'm sure.
 

Zagadka

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I heard a lot of good things about The Dark Tower even though I didn't read it.

Unfortunatelly, I know that movie won't be good. Why? Because of AKIVA GOLDSMAN (grr) He is on of the worst screenwriters in Hollywood! He is rich and has a good contacts in companies but his works are awful! He ruined EVERY GOOD stories from the book to script.

He made my favorites books such as Angels and Demons or I am Legend to be shallow and hollywoodish as a movies. Beside, just look at the posts of angry fans:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326040/board/

Sorry, guys. He will ruin it as every book he adapted.
0)
 

Mark Moore

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If he's not considered too old, I'd like Jamey Sheridan to be cast as Marten.
 

havok1977

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Zagadka said:
Unfortunatelly, I know that movie won't be good. Why? Because of AKIVA GOLDSMAN (grr)

I used to feel the same way about Goldsman as you express here, however his screenwriting duties over the last couple of years on Fringe have really turned that opinion for me, granted a TV series like that is original output and not an adaptation; so I will not judge based on that until I have seen actual footage.

However I do agree that I am legend was a total train-wreck tho, and perhaps the screen writers guild should come up with penalties for such atrocious work.

@TC: I agree that those antagonists were dispatched in a very anti climatic way, a shame really.... and regarding Bardem's accent: I think it would actually help to depict Roland as the otherworldly quasi western anti hero that he is.
 

theslime

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I used to think Goldsman was the worst hack in Hollywood, but Fringe taught me otherwise. Hope he'll be able to keep up the good work. To be honest, I'm more worried about Howard. Lindelof/Abrams was the PERFECT team for this, too bad that never happened.
 

Zagadka

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It's only half bad news. Believe me, fans were really upset that Akiva Goldsman was chosen as screenwriter and so do I. He has money and well known name in Hollywood but he is considered as one of the worst screenwriter - he destroyed greats books such as Angles and Demons, I am Legend as well as created horrible script for Batman and Robin. Ron Howrd is not nr 1 choice too - he usually creates dummy, patetic Hollywoodish shits (not everything, of course, but still).
Besides, I don't like Howard because he tends to jump on the bandwagon of mainstream goings-on and other people's ideas.
You see? Others don't like they works too. It's not only me opinion:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000165/board/threads/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0326040/board/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1648190/board/


So, what a relief that such people without passion like Howard and Goldsman won't create that movie.
Sunarep, don't worry - maye some day there will be more honorable creators for this project. Better not to have movie, than movie that sucks!
 

nOmArch

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Only thing is IMDb forums are 90% full of complete idiots who think they know what they are talking about.

I only bother to go there these days for shits and giggles.
 

geminigod

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The thing that excited me the most about this project was the TV movie crossover idea. The experimental nature of it appeals to the astronaut in me. On the other hand, I agree with some of the sentiment regarding Goldsman and Howard. Goldsman did write some great Fringe episodes, but he also took part in destroying it last season. The second half of 3rd season was one of the worst epic failures I have ever seen for a TV show.

I also have developed a great fear whenever I hear beloved projects announcing that they will film multiple movies simultaneously. I get that this may make sense from a time and money standpoint, but precedence shows us that it is very dangerous to not walk away for a while to gain some perspective and feedback prior to starting on a sequel.
 

Q2

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I'm not disappointed to see it abandoned. Hopefully it will stay that way. Best to leave it a book series because, quite frankly, I'm not sure how they'd pull off the stuff in later books... when a certain king is introduced.
 

theslime

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Personally, I loved Fringe season 3, and I don't think Goldsman had much say in the story anyway. He's only a consulting producer and writer for hire. Pinkner and Wyman are the showrunners, and they seem to be pretty clear about where they want the story to go. So I think Goldsman has proven that he doesn't have to screw up good material. Howard, on the other hand, is a total hack, and should be kept away from this at all costs. He's a decent producer, though. As long as he keeps away from any actors. :)
 

Sunarep

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Bummer... I still wanna see an adaption, I don't care if it is close to the books or not, the dark tower is a story about stories so it doesn't have to follow the same path - there is more than one interpretation of roland's quest
 

havok1977

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theslime said:
Personally, I loved Fringe season 3, and I don't think Goldsman had much say in the story anyway. He's only a consulting producer and writer for hire. Pinkner and Wyman are the showrunners, and they seem to be pretty clear about where they want the story to go. So I think Goldsman has proven that he doesn't have to screw up good material.

I agree on this, until Game of Thrones came along, Fringe has been the best current TV show for me by far including season 3. And I'm avoiding the GoT thread because I'm only at episode 4 and havent read the book...dont want any spoilers!

I wish that Dark Tower gets made with someone who will be able to handle it, I can only echo what others have said: going the Harry Potter route on it by almost one movie per book won't cut it as too much would be left out, the Movie / mini series format would have been the best; and with things as they are perhaps it will never get made that way regardless of future possibilities.

Also, thunderclap's concern is quite valid too, but perhaps it could be worked around by taking a liberty and replacing that guy with anyone else who will do have most of the same interactions with the partial Ka tet and leave it at that.
 

Sunarep

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Also, thunderclap's concern is quite valid too, but perhaps it could be worked around by taking a liberty and replacing that guy with anyone else who will do have most of the same interactions with the partial Ka tet and leave it at that.

SPOILER DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ DARK TOWER VI

While I love King's inclusion and think that it is one of the most important aspects of the story I can see that it might come of as narcism (which it isn't to me in the book) if done in the movies.. but seeing as roland has appeared to others and king is just one of the many who happen to hear the turtle there is no problem in replacing king with another author who suffers the same fate as king (imho the car accident HAS to be in it since it was the main driving power behind the last three books whether you liked it or not) and has to be saved

imho the entire story of dark tower is not about good/evil, it is just a setup for creative force (the writer) who has to restore the tower (imagination) otherwise our world runs barren
 

geminigod

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theslime said:
Personally, I loved Fringe season 3,

The first half of season 3 was great. Then it took the most dramatic turn I have ever seen in a TV series. Right when the show was running at full steam, they abandoned everything they had setup and drove the story into the ground. It went from being my favorite show on TV to being almost unwatchable.

I always defended Fringe as not being like Lost. I said they had a clear path. The questions the plot raised had answers. The fantastical stuff in the show was grounded at least partially in science. Now this is all bullshit. I was wrong. It is exactly like Lost.
 

Sunarep

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The fantastical stuff in the show was grounded at least partially in science. Now this is all bullshit. I was wrong. It is exactly like Lost.

never trust a show after Lost, especially if it promises answers, that's why i switched to game of thrones ;)
 

Q2

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geminigod said:
The first half of season 3 was great. Then it took the most dramatic turn I have ever seen in a TV series. Right when the show was running at full steam, they abandoned everything they had setup and drove the story into the ground. It went from being my favorite show on TV to being almost unwatchable.

I always defended Fringe as not being like Lost. I said they had a clear path. The questions the plot raised had answers. The fantastical stuff in the show was grounded at least partially in science. Now this is all bullshit. I was wrong. It is exactly like Lost.

I have to disagree. After season 3 I knew I wanted to own Fringe. I think it is one of the most interesting shows on tv today.
 
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