OT: Dark Tower Fans
Given the number of bibliophiles on the board, I wanted to see what people thought about the Dark Tower series and the upcoming movie production of the books.
I am a huge Stephen King fan, and I count the Dark Tower series as one of his finest accomplishments (among many great novels). I have read and re-read the Dark Tower books a handful of times and always come away amazed by the creativity and complexities of the story, characters, etc.
Having said that, some of the TV / movie remakes of King's work have been hit-or-miss. Hits include Shawshank, Stand by Me, Green Mile, and a couple others. Shawshank and Stand by Me, in particular, rank high on my all-time favorites list. But, most recently, I was really disappointed with Hulu's 11/22/63 series. It completely distorted the book's plot line, and - frankly - I just thought it was ktishy.
With that in mind, what do people think / expect / hope from Arcel's adaptation of the books? I am somewhat curious about the storyline and how they have approached the chronology of the books. That'll be interesting, especially for the purists, like myself.
Unfortunatiely, early reports haven't exactly been glowing, but I remain optimistic and purchased my tickets for Friday night! Would love to hear people's opinions!
and I'll probably re-read it before September just to refresh. Looked... decent I'd say.
* I'd also really like to see The Stand properly remade and maybe the Talisman.
I loved the tv miniseries of the stand...granted I havent seen it in almost 20 years.
I also enjoyed the langoliers.
August 1st, 2017 at 12:55 PM ^
I'm very disappointed in the casting of Idris Elba as Roland for the movie.
I love Idris Elba, but he is not Roland. Roland is supposed to be ancient and bare a close resemblance to King.
I'll still watch it.
Im Halfway through the third book of this series, when I heard who was playing Roland I about fell out of my chair
I just want to see Oy on the big screen.
Some of the Reddit forums went crazy when Idris was selected. Although I was surprised, I can't hate it simply because The Wire remains one of my all-time favorite shows! I'm excited to see what he brings to the table, even if it is a departure from the anti-hero / hero description of Roland.
If you want to see Idris at his best, check out Luther.
August 1st, 2017 at 12:56 PM ^
That's totally fair. As a show, Hulu did a good job of creating an interesting story with a great cast (I am a James Franco fan)...And - to your point - the book is pretty long, so maybe they did the best they could. More often than not, I lean more to the "book-purist" perspective, and it was difficult to watch all the meaningful changes Hulu made to King's initial story. Having said that, King was an Executive Producer on the show. So, maybe I should just suck it up!
I never read that one but I thought the show was great.
August 1st, 2017 at 12:59 PM ^
I'm looking foward to Mr. Mercedes coming next month on Audience channel. I enjoyed the book and hope they do it justice.
I was not aware of the Audience network, so I was a bit concerned, but I like Brendan Glesson I've seen a number of good reviews already, so I will have to figure out how to get it.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/mr-mercedes-review-1024904
http://deadline.com/2017/07/mr-mercedes-review-stephen-king-david-e-kel…
It's on my directtv package. Rich Eisen show is on it as well if that helps. Sometimes you have a channel and don't know it.
Seeing The Dark Tower Saturday. I'm hopeful but not hugely optimistic. The books really fell off after Wizard and Glass, so that tempers my enthusiasm as well.
It looks like it could be pretty good. I still love the mini-series though. Tim Curry was an amazing Pennywise.
I really loved the first 3-4 books the rest...meh. The short story was great though. I anticipate the movie will suck but I'm going to see it anyway.
i'm definitely more excited for the new It movie
I enjoyed everything else about the series once Roland got past Tull. I know the world building was necessary, but man...I started The Gunslinger in 2013 and didn't pick it up for 3 years before finishing it and the series last year.
Cautiously optimistic. I think Elba can give the personality required, but I'm generally disappointed by adaptations, and turning this into something with mass appeal probably doesn't match with what I want to see.
But can someone clarify - how does this fit with the books? I think I read it's a sequel, but to what - the final book?
The final book does leave room for another timeline to start. Ronald does pick up the bugle (I think) instead of the the jawbone and starts on the quest again.
in the Dark Tower series are absolutely amazing. Wolves of the Calla was really good for the first 75% - then started the downhill slide. When SK wrote himself into the story it completely jumped the shark and I quit reading.
I went back a year later and finished it - I wish I hadn't. He ruined one of the greatest story arcs ever in his rush to finish after his run-in with a mini van. I will never forgive him.
I expect the movie to suck overall. Hope I'm wrong.
After his accident there was talk he wouldnt finish the series. It took so long for him to begin writing again I had gotten married, had kids, moved back to Michigan from Denver and lost interest. I own Wolves of Calla but have never read it due to apathy and friends who had little good to say.
Blaines a Pain. Some of my all time favorite SK. I will go see the movie just to see if Blaines in it and how they treat it.
or compressed. From what I've read, the storyline is different/compressed.
I loved the early books in the Dark Tower series, but really disliked the last book. Folding in King himself was weird and didn't work for me. For such a good story and characters, it kind of came off the rails for me at the end.
Its a sequel or a follow up to the books, in which Roland has all the required tools...
At least I think that's what it is.
That's the explanation of it that I've read. I actually like that as a plot device; it stays true to the story while also giving them license to do their own thing.
I picked up Wizard and Glass at an airport without having any knowledge of the series. I was a little leery about jumping in mid-stream but it actually worked out pretty well. Heck of a love story. It was fun going back to read the rest. Not so fun reading the later novels once they were released...
I am a huge Stephen King fan. He got me into reading when I was 18, and I've read 15-40 books a year since. That said, I only got to the third "Dark Tower" book before I lost interest.
Looks awful. Does not look gritty enough.
I am a fan of Idris Elba so hopefully he can make something happen but he has never played a character like this before.
I've read most but not all of his stuff and think the Dark Tower is among his best work. It also seemed like, if donw well, it'd be a great movie franchise. But, from what I understand the movie uses the characters but sort of departs tangentially from the story told in the books and doesn't try to tell the series. I am hopeful it will be good, but given the mixed results of bringing his work to the screen (Thinner had such promise) I won't hold my breath.
but it was a long slog to get there. Not sure how the Suzanna/Detta-Roland relationship would work given the race issues in the book that I assume won't be there in the movie.
is being turned into a 95 min movie, or why they'd start with the last one...seems strange.
IT looks very good, can't wait for that. But The Stand is the best thing he has written. That is an epic story!