Here is a clarification from King's message board:
"I asked Steve for clarification on this and his response was that no deal has been finalized. If and when one is, it will be a 3 year option which he will sell them for $19. I can tell you from experience that there have been many times when an option has expired before a film is made so even an option doesn't mean it's a done deal. "
Finally there are some images available from The Dark Tower panel at Comic Con. Thanks to Dread Central we can now see what the event looked like. Read about the event and check out their photos here.
Here is more from Comic Con. Quint over at AICN has done an interview with King that will be published tomorrow but he also has a report about the panel discussion about The Dark Tower:
-Right now there are no plans to bring on any other artist for the Dark Tower comics. King loved Jae Lee's work and says that these books are firmly Lee's, Furth's and David's vision.
-The comics will follow Roland through Mejis (all Book 4 stuff), but it definitely WILL go past Book 4 and all the way up to Jericho Hill, which King demanded a giant splash page from Lee.
- Regarding further Dark Tower comics, King said, "There's always more stories."
- Hal from 2001 inspired Blaine the Mono (and that is the truth).
- When King writes, he doesn't see his characters, he doesn't tend to visualize them. "It's like I'm behind their eyes... maybe if they looked in a mirror..."
- King views the Dark Tower series as a first draft and plans to rewrite the entire series, but he promises he won't make them the Special Editions. The originals will always be out there.
Now for the two biggest newsworthy bits to come out of the panel:
- When asked if he'd turn another one of his books into a comic series with Marvel, King said he and Quesada were just beginning to talk about doing a version of The Stand as a Comic series. That made me perk up. How cool would that be?
- And the JJ Abrams bit. King said that Damon Lindelof and JJ Abrams did express interest, especially Damon, and wanted to develop the project. King said he was resistant to everybody in the past, but trusted Abrams and Lindelof. He said he trusted Frank Darabont, too, but he felt Frank always had too much on his plate. When Abrams and Lindelof approached King about trying to make the project work, King responded, "I'll tell you what... you can option the books and see what you can do with it." Nothing is set up, but they have the option... and if it doesn't work out, then no harm no foul, yeah? How much did Abrams and Lindelof pay for the option? $19, of course.
Here is a report from The Dark Tower panel at Comic Con
The Special Events Hall at the 2007 New York Comic Con was filled to capacity for the Marvel Comics “Dark Tower” panel on Saturday afternoon. And the man everyone was there to see was the last to take the stage. Marvel EIC Joe Quesada moderated the panel, and introduced artist Jae Lee, Robin Furth, Peter David, Ralph Macchio, Richard Isanove and Chris Eliopoulos. Quesada then welcomed to the stage “one of the greatest creators of the last 50 years, maybe ever,” Mr. Stephen King. The vaunted novelist took the stage to thunderous applause, and a standing ovation, and a pair of Imperial Stormtroopers were forced to keep order with the mountain of photographers. “If you keep calling me Mr. King, I’m gonna kick your ass,” King warned Quesada.
Eli Roth talks about Cell at Comic-Con
In a brief bit of news from NYCC's Hostel Part II panel, filmmaker Eli Roth revealed that Cell, his big screen adaptation of the Stephen King novel, is currently in the script-writing stage and would be his next project.
"Cell… the writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, they were the writers for Ed Wood and 1408, which is an awesome, really scary script. It's going to be so good. They're working a draft right now, so by the time I finish Hostel Part II the script should be ready. I really want to read it."
Focusing on the "curse" of modern technology, Cell tells the story of humanity's last hope — a group of individuals who band together to survive a world infested by zombie-like killing machines. Reverberating through cell phones across the planet, "The Pulse" (as it becomes known) changes all who hear it into relentless killing machines, capable of death and destruction to any one who stands in their way.
I got some mails from some of you about that Frances Sternhagen had been replaced by Marcia Gay Hardin as Mrs. Carmody. This morning I got to ask Frank about it and it is not the case. Sternhagen is still in the movie and she is playing the role of Irene.
Latest news on The Mist:
Marcia Gay Harden and Toby Jones have disappeared into "The Mist," Dimension Films' adaptation of a Stephen King story being helmed by Frank Darabont, who also will produce.
The script, written by Darabont, is set after a strange storm blows through a Maine town and its citizens are attacked by deadly creatures. A group of townfolks barricade themselves in a supermarket and struggle for survival. Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher, Laurie Holden and Amin Joseph already have been cast.
Harden will play Mrs. Carmody, an outspoken and ultimately divisive member of the trapped group; Jones will play Ollie, a mild-mannered supermarket manager who is forced to take heroic measures to save his life and the lives of others.
Shooting begins this week in Louisiana. Castle Rock will produce along with Dimension.
Harden won an Academy Award for her work in 2000's "Pollock" and was Oscar-nominated for 2003's "Mystic River." She will next be seen in "The Invisible," directed by David Goyer, and recently completed production on Paramount Vantage's "Into the Wild," directed by Sean Penn.
British actor Jones played Truman Capote in last year's "Infamous."
I can now give you the release dates for issue 2, 3, 4 of The Dark Tower comic and the Gunslinger's Guidebook.
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #2: March 7
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #3: April 4
Gunslinger's Guidebook: April 11
The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #4: May 2
This was sent out from King's office today:
The February selection of a signed book through The Haven Foundation will be Hearts in Atlantis (hardcover). The price will be $60 plus shipping. The books will go on sale beginning at 12 noon Eastern Time on February 23rd. We have a total of 25 copies available and will be offering them in small lots at random times throughout the day so that they will not sell out within the first 2 minutes of going on-sale as they did in January. We do not take pre-orders or telephone orders.
The March selection will be Dreamcatcher (hardcover), also at $60 plus shipping, and the April selection will be Black House (hardcover) signed by both Stephen and Peter Straub for $80 plus shipping.
We will announce the dates for the March and April sales in future newsletters.
PLEASE NOTE:
Anyone who has purchased a signed Stephen King book through The Haven Foundation will not be eligible to purchase another signed copy. We have a one signed book per household lifetime limit in order to give as many people as possible the opportunity to get a signed book.
OK, I have some very interesting news for you about the upcoming Dolan’s Cadillac adaptation. It’s correct that Dennis Hopper is indeed interested in being in the movie but it’ll be a movie that is somewhat different from King’s story. The screenplay is however written with King’s blessing.
As in King's story, Dolan is a gangster in Las Vegas but his main business now is human trafficking. The wife isn’t called Francey (as reported earlier). She’s named Elizabeth like in the short story. Also Robinson doesn’t have a first name in the script. He is just referred to as Robinson; a grade school teacher, just like in the story, who must have his revenge upon a well-protected, ruthless gangster in an armored cadillac.
More news to come about this so make sure your on the update list.
I just talked to King’s office about the Dark Tower movie rumors and they said that King and J.J. Abrams is talking about it but nothing has been agreed upon yet. So, it could happen but it might not.
I usually don’t report on rumours until I get it confirmed…and I’m working on getting this one confirmed or denied…but this sounded to big to pass up on. BUT, SEE THIS AS A RUMOUR UNTIL IT’S CONFIRMED:
IGN reported this today:
February 13, 2007 - IGN has exclusively learned that J.J. Abrams is poised to direct The Dark Tower, based on the Stephen King literary series.
Sources advised us that an official announcement is forthcoming. We have been unable to determine whether Dark Tower will be a film project or a TV miniseries, although the latter is a more likely prospect given the complex nature of King's seven-book series. Given Abrams' success on the small screen -- and King's well known love for the Abrams-produced TV series Lost -- the tube seems a better fit for The Dark Tower.
Sources also added that Abrams is indeed only producing Star Trek XI. It was recently reported that Abrams would not direct Trek XI, as many had assumed, but would instead turn his attention to a secret Paramount project titled Cloverfield. Might Cloverfield be a codename for The Dark Tower? Or a completely separate project?
(Interestingly enough, Entertainment Weekly did an interview last year with King, Abrams and his Lost producing partner Damon Lindelof, who reportedly brought a rare first edition of The Gunslinger to the meeting.)
Often described as King's magnum opus, The Dark Tower, as Wikipedia reminds us, "tells the tale of lead character Roland Deschain's quest for the 'Dark Tower.' The Dark Tower is often described in the novels as a real structure, and also as a metaphor. Part of Roland's fictional quest lies in discovering the true nature of the Tower. The series incorporates themes from multiple genres, including fantasy fiction, science fantasy, horror, and western elements."
"In the story, Roland is the last living member of a knightly order known as gunslingers. The world he lives in is quite different from our own, yet it bears striking similarities to it. Politically organized along the lines of a feudal society, it shares technological and social characteristics with the American Old West, as well as bearing magical powers and the relics of a highly advanced, but long vanished, society. Roland's quest is to find the Dark Tower, a fabled building said to either be, or be located at, the nexus of all universes. Roland's world is said to have 'moved on,' and indeed it appears to be coming apart at the seams — mighty nations are being torn apart by war, entire cities and regions vanish from the face of the earth without a trace, time does not flow in an orderly fashion; even the sun sometimes rises in the north and sets in the east. As the series opens, Roland's motives, goals, and even his age are unclear, though later installments shed light on these mysteries."
This news about J.J. Abrams comes on the heels of Marvel's recent launch of the limited comic book series The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born
Production Weekly reports that Dolan’s Cadillac is on again:
Dennis Hopper is in negotiations to star in “Dolan’s Cadillac,” based on one of Stephen King’s most suspenseful short stories. Production is scheduled to begin in April, with Hopper playing James Dolan, Las Vegas’ most ruthless and untouchable mob boss. A dark and riveting revenge tale about Las Vegas middle school science teacher Tom Robinson whose beloved wife Francey witnesses an execution in the desert and is then targeted for death by the mobster who committed it, notorious Vegas crimelord Jimmy Dolan. Dolan’s vast wealth stems from his control of The Mandarin casino. Dolan succeeds in having Francey killed before she can testify against him. Faced with resistance from law enforcement, Tom sets out to avenge his wife’s death on his own.
As promised, here is my interview with Frank Darabont. I’m glad to tell you that it’s very long and that he talks about everything from The Mist and The Long Walk to The Monkey and even The Dark Tower. Read and enjoy!
More Dark Tower covers coming:
The midnight release of Stephen King’s Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1 at nearly 150 retailers across the country is almost here and Marvel wishes all of the retailers participating the best of luck. Marvel is equally as excited as all the retailers and fans across the country and wants to wish unqualified success to every store participating.
"The response we have received from retailers participating in the midnight opening has been overwhelmingly positive. The mainstream attention it has drawn to the direct market and to this first issue is unrivaled in the recent history of the industry. Should this prove as successful as it appears it will be, I think we'll see more of this type of mainstream event happening in the future," said Marvel Senior VP of Sales David Gabriel.
The night of Tuesday, February 6th, comic stores across the United States will be opening their doors for a midnight release for the first time in comics’ history. In a landmark moment for comics, Stephen King fans and comic fans will ring in Wednesday (also known as New Comics Day to comic fans) at 12:01 to get the premiere issue of Stephen King’s Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born.
Marvel also wishes to announce that due to the tremendous popularity of the variant cover program, each issue of Stephen King’s Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born will feature a sketch cover, as chosen by Jae Lee, and an all-new variant cover by one of the top artists in the industry. Issue #2 will feature a variant cover by superstar artist David Finch (New Avengers, Moon Knight) and the sketch cover by Jae Lee seen for the first time here. Stay tuned to Marvel.com for more on who the other variant cover artists will be.
In an interview I have done with Frank Darabont he reveals that Frances Sternhagen (Misery), Alexa Davalos, Sam Witwer, Bill Sadler (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile), Jeff DeMunn (The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile) and Brian Libby (the prisoner in The Woman in the Room) will join Thomas Jane, Andre Braugher and Laurie Holden in The Mist. The full interview will be online tomorrow.
Here is some indications that The Dark Tower comic will be released in other languages then English. This is from a mail sent out from King's official site:
The foreign translated version deals are being worked through now and when we have more information we will let you know in which languages and territories they will available.
Darkhorizons reports that Andre Braugher and Laurie Holden has joined the cast for The Mist.
Andre Braugher and Laurie Holden will join Thomas Jane in Dimension Films' adaptation of the Stephen King novella "The Mist".
The script, written by Darabont, is set after a strange storm blows through a Maine town and its citizens are attacked by deadly creatures. A group of townfolks barricade themselves in a supermarket and struggle for survival.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Holden will play the female lead and Braugher a high-powered attorney who is a neighbour of Thomas Jane's leading character. Shooting is slated to begin in mid-to-late February in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Bev Vincent had the following to report on his message board today:
There's supposed to be a sneak peek about 1408 on Entertainment Tonight today. I've also heard that the movie will preview at Fangoria's Weekend Of Horrors in Chicago the weekend of Feb 23rd.
Every week comic book fans look forward to Wednesdays, the day new issues go on sale. On Feb. 7, one of those comics will be the first issue of a new seven-part series based on the Stephen King novel “The Dark Tower,” from Marvel Entertainment. To commemorate the event, almost 150 comic book retailers across the country will begin selling the issue at the stroke of midnight. A list of participating stores can be found at www.marvel.com/news/comicstories. Fans who flock to Midtown Comics in Manhattan will see a couple of special guests: Peter David, who writes the dialogue for the series, and Jae Lee, the book’s artist. The store will open for one hour.
Mellencamp talks about The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County:
Mellencamp will also spend time with author Stephen King polishing "The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County," the "play with music" that they've been working on for the past several years. The two got together in November to continue putting it together, and Mellencamp says "that's really another reason why I'm not gonna be on tour this summer, 'cause I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be ... working on this musical," including meeting with potential producers and investors.
"Steve is the sweetest guy you could ever meet; there's nothing weird about him or demonic or anything like that," Mellencamp says. "I remember once we were playing in Green Bay, Wisc., and he came out and played acoustic guitar on a song. I went back to get him, and his hands were shaking. I said, 'You gotta be sh*tting me -- the man who scared the world is scared to walk out in front of 10,000 people?!' He said, 'Yeah, I'm f*cking afraid!' I said, 'Get your ass out there!' He's just the sweetest guy, and he's great to work with."