Warner Bros. is fresh off of their eight-film, multi-billion dollar Harry Potter franchise, and are no doubt looking for something new that they can reel off over the next few years to hopefully take its place on their balance sheet. It would appear that one franchise they're considering is The Dark Tower, the huge three-film, two-television-season project that's being shepherded along by Ron Howard and Akiva Goldsman.
Multiple sources are saying that Warner Bros. is talking about the project with its producers, but hasn't gone to the point of saying that they're in "negotiations" yet. It'd make a good fit for Warner, though, should they wish to proceed with the project, as they could produce the television seasons through their sister company, HBO, although most of the news stories floating around indicate that Warner would only be willing to commit to the first movie and not all three of them at one go. Javier Bardem, rumored to be the lead choice for Roland Deschain, is reportedly still on board for the project, presuming it can get off to some kind of timely shoot; currently he's filming Skyfall, the latest James Bond film.
Despite all this good news, I still question whether or not Akiva Goldsman is really the right person for the job. He's had some hits, but most of his mass-market attempts at filmwriting have been pretty goddamn awful; this is the man who wrote I, Robot, Batman & Robin, and Lost In Space, after all. Maybe that's cherry picking the worst of his stuff, but still: Batman & Fucking Robin.
Heeey, I, Robot isn't bad.
I like I, Robot, I Am Legend and A Beautiful Mind which he's done and they're all based on books so maybe he can do it?
He did The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, but I'll let him off on account of the books being terrible in the first place.
Oh just give it up movie studios. Stephen King wrote something that can never be done proper justice in film given the liberties that will most likely be taken with it.
Not every book can be made into a movie. Well, not every book can be made into a movie AND done right!
Now go back to making sure Superman Man of Steel doesn't suck!
C'mon Rorie. That's not fair. Sure he wrote Batman & Robin, but he ALSO wrote Batman Forever.
...
That doesn't sound right ;)
I'm just kidding, he's fine. He also wrote episodes of Fringe, and movies like Cinderella Man and I Am Legend. He'll be fine.
Also, I'm with theodacourt. I liked I, Robot. Even though it has absolutely nothing to do with the classic sci-fi anthology story.
I like how studios worry about budget for films and I see crap like Battleship. If only good source material would get a decent budget...
Please God let someone pick this up. As long as we've got Ron Howard instead of Uwe Boll or Michael Bay.
I'd just accept a HBO type miniseries at this point. A few seasons and be done with it already.
Just let it die!
Seeing how this is an article about The Dark Tower I feel like i have another opportunity to talk about how disappointed I was with the last Dark Tower book.
Yo! That last book was GARBAGE! Oh my God was that ending terrible.
@Hailinel:
It was a hell of a lot better than Omega Man(movie-wise of course).
Also, whats the deal with I, Robot? I thought it was pretty entertaining. Sure there were plot holes, but no more than some of the more renowned sci-fi films out there(of course it veered far from the source material)
@Hailinel: You are right that it was a terrible adaptation, but it was a great film and an adaptation at the same time (I guess in my opinion). I'd rather see a good film that's a light adaptation than a film that's bad because it's such a close one.
Drop the TV series crap and just make seven movies. That'll keep WB going for at least a good, I don't know....10 years or more?
I've never read Dark Tower. Should I?
@LaserLambert said:
Absolutely, the series falls apart a little near the end but totally worth reading, especially if you enjoy any of Stephen Kings work.
I do and I don't want this to happen. If it were done well it would be pretty amazing but it seems more likely that it wont be.
@LaserLambert: I would recommend it if you can. However I still haven't read the entire series. I do know it has been adapted to comic books as well.
It can be a bit slow at points but overall, it is a very unique and surreal dark fantasy that is a surprise coming from Stephen King.
@TheSouthernDandy: Oooooh yeah this is Stephen King. I forgot about that, I have been known to enjoy a King or two.
@ZombiePie said:
Completely agree... Having invested what felt like my entire life to that series, sometimes having to wait over five years between books... The way he bashed out those last 3 books in a matter of months and ultimately copped out with the worst ending ever (that even a 5 year old could have come up with)... was total GARBAGE !
And showed a complete lack of respect to the fans who had invested the years into the series.
God damn it they have to stop toying with me like this!!!
Also dudes complaining about the ending how exactly would you have preferred it to end? I think King did a fine job.