Dark Tower to be a combo movie and TV series

[alteran]

This arguably deserves a thread of it's own, but since this one is petering out and obviously related, I'm tossing it here.

Ron Howard is heading up a team that has closed a deal to do Steven King's 7-book series "The Dark Tower" as a never before done movie-tv hybrid (http://www.deadline.com/2010/09/universal-lands-stephen-kings-the-dark-tower-and-plans-unprecedented-featurenetwork-tv-adaptation/).

Really.

Having read The Dark Tower, all I can say is wow. This folks, is crazy ambitious. I'm not sure how well it will translate, but Ron Howard and his crew are seriously talented, and the article hints that Steve King is excited about it.

As I understand it, they're going to do a movie, then bridge the gap between the first and second movies with a television series season. As I read it, they're going to do that with every book, but maybe some of the seasons will cover books, with movies being the next book.

Howard has signed on to direct the first movie AND season. Actors will have to sign on for the duration of the series, Harry Potter style.

The only prediction I'm willing to make is that if they actually do it, "Dark Tower" threads could very well give the Lost threads a run for their money.

[JasonEvans]

Yup, it deserves its own thread.

Holy !@#%!^!^, what an amazing undertaking! Mad props to Ron Howard for taking this on. It will be fascinating to see if he can actually get the budgets in place and financed to make this work.

Lets say it is a $150 million boxoffice hit as a movie -- that would probably translate to about 18-20 million tickets sold. Some of those would be repeat viewings, but you'd be looking at a built-in TV audience in the 15 million person range, which is a very good number for a TV series. That's about what CSI, one of the highest rated dramas on TV, would get in a typical week.

The risk, of course, would be that if viewers started to lose interest in the TV series or after one of the movies, you would have a very expensive product on your hand with -- potentially -- a limited audience. Of course, that is the exact same risk New Line took with Peter Jackson and LOTR and that turned out pretty darn good for them (they made hundreds of millions of dollars).

--Jason "amazingly, even though I have read more than a dozen King books, I have not read The Dark Tower" Evans

[Lord Ash]

VERY interesting! I love that... while the Star Wars folks certainly tried to mix movie and TV in some ways, it was just so darn Jar-Jared up that no one above a certain age would have noticed.

Jason, I too have never read the series although everyone RAVES about it. Now is as good a time as any!

BTW, would it be really inappropriate to start talking Stephen King books in this thread? Just finished one (Under the Dome) and another that SHOULD have been a King book (The Passage) and wanted to see what folks thought:)

[bjornolf]

This is SO awesome. Any King fan who hasn't read this series owes themselves to do it. He ties almost every book he's ever written together in this series, which is just crazy. I think that, if they do it right, the series/movies combo would translate VERY well. The question, of course, is will they do it right?

[JasonEvans]

By the way, here is an old thread (http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/forums/showthread.php?12610-The-Dark-Tower) where DBR folks talk about reading The Dark tower and how it is connected to many other King books.

Sadly, I have not read most of the King books connected to The Dark tower other than It, The Shining, and Eyes of the Dragon. I never read The Stand or the Talisman or many of the others mentioned in the thread. Ahhh well. I think I am going to try to tackle The Dark Tower anyway.

--Jason "I read a lot of early King -- Firestarter, Thinner, Night Shift, Different Seasons, Pet Sematary, Christine, Needful Things... I stopped reading him around 1992" Evans

[Lord Ash]

Oh man, do yourself a favor and read The Stand. Absolutely one of his best; very thoughtful in that he really goes into detail about what would happen if the world ended, and how mankind would cope. Really great book. Along with "It" it is my favorite King book.

I haven't read some of his more "classic" older ones, like Carrie and Cujo. I tend to gravitate instead towards his big-page-count epics.

I just read "Under the Dome" which is his most recent... started strong, but man, in the end it was really pretty bad. I was angry that I wasted so much time with it. I felt somewhat the same with "Salem's Lot."

[JasonEvans]

Along with "It" it is my favorite King book.

"It" was the King book that caused me to stop reading King. I was loving the story, really enjoying the characters and what was happening... right up until the moment the bad guy was revealed as a giant spider from outer space. Ugggh! Lame!!

--Jason

[Lord Ash]

Hm, okay, I understand that sentiment... but the general feel of the town, and the child visions of horror and all of that... good stuff.

Did you not stick around for the very ending of It? The ending was super lame:(

[cato]

I think that, if they do it right, the series/movies combo would translate VERY well. The question, of course, is will they do it right?

My friend has been following the attempts to get a movie deal done for a long time, and I've always been skeptical that the movie will get made. I just wasn't sure how it would translate. However, I recently watch Book of Eli, which told a story similar to many of the gunslingers' adventures. Maybe it would translate better than I thought.

[cf-62]

"It" was the King book that caused me to stop reading King. I was loving the story, really enjoying the characters and what was happening... right up until the moment the bad guy was revealed as a giant spider from outer space. Ugggh! Lame!!

--Jason

It got me hooked on King. I, of course, simply ignore that the giant spider from outer space is the source of evil in the world.

[JasonEvans]

A disturbing update...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/imagine-denies-dark-tower-trilogy-185926?_r=true


Word leaked Thursday that Universal and its new owners at Comcast had serious budget issues with the massive project....

Two sources close to the project say that Comcast executives have heavily scrutinized the plan, mainly due to budgetary concerns. The sources also say that the final portion of the project has been found creatively lacking.

A final decision is said to be expected soon on whether to move forward, seek additional financing partners or cancel the project entirely. But cast and crew have been told to stop prepping the project.

-Jason "I really hope they pull it off as the notion of doing something long-term on both TV and movies really appeals to me" Evans

[SuperTurkey]

A disturbing update...

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/imagine-denies-dark-tower-trilogy-185926?_r=true

-Jason "I really hope they pull it off as the notion of doing something long-term on both TV and movies really appeals to me" Evans

Come on, Kabletown, pull it together!

[JasonEvans]

Well, looks like it is not happening (http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Universal-Passes-On-Ron-Howard-s-The-Dark-Tower-25752.html). Apparently, Universal was balking at the idea of producing 3 films and a TV series with no guarantee that audiences would be on board with the massive undertaking.

The folks behind this effort say they are going to keep trying, but I am not optimistic. Not everyone is willing to take the risk that New Line did with Peter Jackson.

-Jason "pity, I find that whenever they try these mutil-film exercises, it tends to work more often than not" Evans