I usually agree with your take on things Bob Gray but, you make some serious assumptions with what I wrote. I never said her character wasn't important, I never said I thought guns and action was the story. The ethinic differences are not the only reason she's so horrible. I believe she is described in the book as an equal oppertunity monster. We're talking about something as easy as having the screen play swap out "white and honkey" for other colorful language. The character is just as likely to spew her venomn at black Roland as white Roland, because she's vile. A chunk of Detta's character development has to do with the violation that he was in her head. If you need a race reason, traveling with "white bread" Eddie would do it too. Why is it hard to envision that she wouldn't act exactly the same no matter what Rolands race is?
If you swap things out and change them, you alter the story. The story is based on the relationships and motivations of the characters. Race is an important facet of Detta. While she is a monster, deleting out the racial aspects of her anger would water her down and undermine the forces that made her into a monster. Spewing "generic" venom isn't the same. It is shallow. Then she is just crazy/hateful for no good reason. The character from the book is black and has a long history which is steeped in bigotry against her, the Civil Rights Movement, and her race strongly affects the personalities and perceptions of both Odetta and Detta. Can they dumb the character down? Sure. Can they make her tirades generic? Sure. Can they rewrite the story utterly? Sure. That doesn't mean they should.
I don't see how selecting a lead actor who is a fit for the role (except he's not white) as being an "idiotic convenience".
Here is where we differ. There are probably hundreds of actors "fit" for the role. Altering anything to get a specific actor is an idiotic convenience. We, the fans, have waited a long time to see the Dark Tower on the screen. Swapping out skin color isn't what we are talking about. We are talking about altering huge chunks of the text because a particular actor is hot right now. It is beyond just an idiotic convenience. It is downright moronic.
No film version is going to show ALL of Detta's character development (aka backstory). No screenplay covers every bit of backstory that's in the book. I get that we all want it to be exactly like the book....but it's a differnt piece of art, a different medium altogether.
Not being able to get all of it isn't a good reason to throw the rest of it out. I've heard this excuse time and time again. The problem is we aren't talking about them just leaving things out. We are talking about their rewriting the story. There is no good reason for it. It has already been written and written well.
And re-read the ending of Drawing of the 3 "Detta takes a good long while to fade even after Suzanna is made whole" are you joking?
No. I'm not joking. Try rereading the entire series. Detta reappears and remains relevant in the larger story. She is part of the battle against Mia.
There's NOTHING that would keep them from casting Elba in this part.
Let's tell the truth and shame the devil here. They aren't talking about him for the part because of his considerable acting chops. They are talking about him because it gets press. They are talking about him because free press is useful. They are talking about him because he is a hot commodity right now. That's it.
On the other hand, if they were looking to whitewash Detta, that would completely invalidate her character. But Roland could be black and it won't ruin the story.
Again, you are missing my point. If they are going to change Roland's ethnicity just to grab a hot commodity for the part, it means they aren't really interested in the story as written. It means that every single thing in the books is in flux. Let's take it step further. By your logic, there is no reason Odetta/Detta can't be white. Multiple Personalities and hate could travel couldn't it? I can think of tons of great actresses with the chops to play her. I mean if they are going to take the racial bias out of Detta and make her venom more generic, there is no reason for her to have any of that Civil Rights background is there? I'm not being snide. I'm pointing out that if Roland's race doesn't matter, hers doesn't either. For that matter, Eddie could be a Russian living in New York. Why not? I mean one young man is pretty much the same as another right? By your logic the details don't matter. I disagree. I think the specific details are what differentiate one story from another.