Elba's Casting CONFIRMED?!!

Baz said:

One thing we have to be grateful for is now this thing is actually happening, after all the years of waiting. Its something.

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Sir, I must respectfully disagree. As it stands now, DT is a unique series of novels enjoyed by an exclusive group of constant readers and relatively unknown to the vast sea of illiterate idiots at large--and I kinda like it that way. It's like our own special club. Once it becomes a 'film', it is at the mercy of critics, haters, and fiends who don't deserve it.

But that's just me: I like my books a helluva lot more than these here newfangled moving pictures.

AnnaMarie said:

My point was, when a book is written for young people the movie should also be written for them.

DT was not written for children. It was written for adults, so I completely agree the movies should also be for adults. (though there is nothing in it I would not allow my teen to read, even at 13)

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Oh, I agree completely. However, I don't think that is what is going to happen here. Right now Hollywood wants any vaguely fantasy series they can get their hands on to try and milk the venue. The only thing they see when they examine the Dark Tower is a multi-movie deal with black hats, heroes, and even a boy with special powers. I'm sad to say that the character of Jake (or Jack if they rename him) is probably going to become as important as the Gunslinger. Think about the Hobbit movies (I shudder). Bilbo Baggins was hardly the central figure in them. We are going to see that here too. It goes to motivation. We are fans. We want to see the story we love translated to the big screen. I'm sure Sai King would too. Hollywood could care less. Their motivation is purely about appealing to the broadest audience with guaranteed sequels. The movies will be designed for that purpose alone. The bad guys will become cartoons of their former selves, the heroes cliche, and the conflicts entirely staged. Hollywood would like the adoration of the books fans, but ultimately they don't care about us. We aren't the target audience.

Why haven't we heard more about who is being cast as Odetta/Detta or Eddie Dean? Instead, we hear only about a press grabbing selection for Roland, the Man in Black (whose actual appearances in the novels are lean), and a re-imagination of a Low Woman into a Femme Fatale. The reason this project has languished for YEARS is because the great Directors who have come and gone couldn't get support to do the films even remotely like the books. Their interest waned as the battles with the studio stretched on. Finally, they found a Director willing to play ball. That is all that is going on here. While it appears to have finally leaped the last hurdle to get made, I remain unconvinced this thing will ever make it to our theaters.

muskrat said:

Sir, I must respectfully disagree. As it stands now, DT is a unique series of novels enjoyed by an exclusive group of constant readers and relatively unknown to the vast sea of illiterate idiots at large--and I kinda like it that way. It's like our own special club. Once it becomes a 'film', it is at the mercy of critics, haters, and fiends who don't deserve it.

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Perfect.

muskrat said:

Sir, I must respectfully disagree. As it stands now, DT is a unique series of novels enjoyed by an exclusive group of constant readers and relatively unknown to the vast sea of illiterate idiots at large--and I kinda like it that way. It's like our own special club. Once it becomes a 'film', it is at the mercy of critics, haters, and fiends who don't deserve it.

But that's just me: I like my books a helluva lot more than these here newfangled moving pictures.

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For me, Kings work has made some of the best films around. The films were a doorway to the books.

I kinda thought this for a while, and might of mentioned it a long time ago on the older version of this forum.. But I think this work needs to be passed on to the next generation, in film form too. It just feels that important. It has the potential to be the greatest version of his work put on to film, in the right hands.

In the book itself there are so many inspirations taken from film. Seven Samurai (Wolves of the Calla), Wizard of Oz (Wizard And Glass), The Good The Bad And The Ugly (gotta be an inspiration for The Gunslinger lol) and the Harry Potter nod in the final book. There's probably more. Its just seems natural to me that it should happen.

Baz said:

For me, Kings work has made some of the best films around. The films were a doorway to the books.

I kinda thought this for a while, and might of mentioned it a long time ago on the older version of this forum.. But I think this work needs to be passed on to the next generation, in film form too. It just feels that important. It has the potential to be the greatest version of his work put on to film, in the right hands.

In the book itself there are so many inspirations taken from film. Seven Samurai (Wolves of the Calla), Wizard of Oz (Wizard And Glass), The Good The Bad And The Ugly (gotta be an inspiration for The Gunslinger lol) and the Harry Potter nod in the final book. There's probably more. Its just seems natural to me that it should happen.

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Well, maybe if John Huston were still alive, or Clint Eastwood were twenty years younger and willing to do it (maybe even direct), if we had a 13 year-old River Phoenix to play JAKE (Jack? Who he?), an unlimited budget, no studio tampering...if if if if...

Baz said:

For me, Kings work has made some of the best films around. The films were a doorway to the books.

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I had never seen a Stephen King film before I started reading his books.
Glad the movies brought to read his works, really.

I just feel now with this movie, I am going to have to start defending myself all over again to people. And I despise that.
"No, no. You have to read his books, he's wonderful."

And get a look, "He's that horror guy with the axe and hotel and that car, right? He's sick."

We've all been there.

Robert Gray said:

Oh, I agree completely. However, I don't think that is what is going to happen here. Right now Hollywood wants any vaguely fantasy series they can get their hands on to try and milk the venue. The only thing they see when they examine the Dark Tower is a multi-movie deal with black hats, heroes, and even a boy with special powers. I'm sad to say that the character of Jake (or Jack if they rename him) is probably going to become as important as the Gunslinger. Think about the Hobbit movies (I shudder). Bilbo Baggins was hardly the central figure in them. We are going to see that here too. It goes to motivation. We are fans. We want to see the story we love translated to the big screen. I'm sure Sai King would too. Hollywood could care less. Their motivation is purely about appealing to the broadest audience with guaranteed sequels. The movies will be designed for that purpose alone. The bad guys will become cartoons of their former selves, the heroes cliche, and the conflicts entirely staged. Hollywood would like the adoration of the books fans, but ultimately they don't care about us. We aren't the target audience.

Why haven't we heard more about who is being cast as Odetta/Detta or Eddie Dean? Instead, we hear only about a press grabbing selection for Roland, the Man in Black (whose actual appearances in the novels are lean), and a re-imagination of a Low Woman into a Femme Fatale. The reason this project has languished for YEARS is because the great Directors who have come and gone couldn't get support to do the films even remotely like the books. Their interest waned as the battles with the studio stretched on. Finally, they found a Director willing to play ball. That is all that is going on here. While it appears to have finally leaped the last hurdle to get made, I remain unconvinced this thing will ever make it to our theaters.

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Thank you.

AnnaMarie said:

Harry Potter and The Hobbit were written for kids. The movies should also have been for kids.

And as I said somewhere, I think HP followed the books reasonably close.

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Harry Potter and The Hobbit WERE NOT written for kids. It's kinda funny you think they were written for kids. Harry Potter is too complex for kids, as is The Hobbit. Parents may read those books to kids, but neither one was "Made" for kids. They both reach a much wider audience. Just saying...

The original Harry Potter was written for youth,

Dempsey Wilson said:

Harry Potter and The Hobbit WERE NOT written for kids. It's kinda funny you think they were written for kids. Harry Potter is too complex for kids, as is The Hobbit. Parents may read those books to kids, but neither one was "Made" for kids. They both reach a much wider audience. Just saying...

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The Hobbit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Hobbit takes cues from narrative models of children's literature, as shown by its omniscient narrator and characters that young children can relate to, such as the small, food-obsessed, and morally ambiguous Bilbo. The text emphasizes the relationship between time and narrative progress and it openly distinguishes "safe" from "dangerous" in its geography. Both are key elements of works intended for children,[73] as is the "home-away-home" (or there and back again) plot structure typical of the Bildungsroman.[74] While Tolkien later claimed to dislike the aspect of the narrative voice addressing the reader directly,[75] the narrative voice contributes significantly to the success of the novel.[76] Emer O'Sullivan, in her Comparative Children's Literature, notes The Hobbit as one of a handful of children's books that has been accepted into mainstream literature, alongside Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World (1991) and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (1997–2007).[77]

Moderator said:

Perhaps I misconstrued what you were saying. It was this comment that I was referring to and I took it as that you think Stephen should be telling the producers of the film that any changes or casting choices that fans don't agree with is BS, for the benefit of the "TRUE" fans.

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If you misconstrued it, so did I. It came across to me exactly the same way.

So, according to SK's Facebook page about half an hour ago, Elba/McConaughey are CONFIRMED!!

“I've been fleeing across the desert since long before anybody paid me to flee across the desert."

Movies are stupid.

So is the character of Suzannah out now in the movie, since she hates white men in the novel, or will they cast her as being white, so she can hate blacks? It's so confusing. (Brooklyn Decker for part of Suzannah, baby!!! )

I knew I shouldn't have read this post but I couldn't help myself.
-I like Idris Elba just fine.I hate that he is going to play Roland.
-Um.....Stephen King selling out for money? In what universe would he want/need more money? Come on now.
-I don't understand why people get upset over what S.K. has said about the casting.What else COULD he say? That's not to say he ISN'T happy with it (how would I know) but if he wasn't can you imagine the backlash that would be unleashed on him? Jeez,who would would knowingly bring that kind of stress down on their own heads?

Dark Tower Movie Will Begin Production in Seven Weeks!

I'm upset. Can't even read the notice.

Alas in South Africa -- I guess I won't be trying to finagle a set visit!