NEWS - THE DARK TOWER

The Man in Black, Jake and Roland in New York

Posted: July 3, 2016, 23:20
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Now we have photos of all three main characters from The Dark Tower movie. Eddie and Susanna might appear but so far we only know for sure that The Man in Black, Jake and Roland will be in this one and below you can see all three from this weekend’s filming in New York.

Click for a larger image

Click on the image for a bigger version.

The Dark Tower Filming In New York

Posted: June 29, 2016, 21:21
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The Dark Tower will be filming in New York this weekend according to OLV.

Here is where they will be this weekend:

Thursday, 6/30: 27th St and Madison Ave, NYC
Thursday 6/30 – Friday, July 1: Walker St, NYC
Friday, 7/1 White St and Broadway, NYC
Saturday, July 2: 26th St and 3rd Ave, NYC

Read the entire article here.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

Matthew McConaughey Talks DT

Posted: June 27, 2016, 14:24
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Here is an interview with Matthew McConaughey and in the end he mentions The Dark Tower:

He bids me goodbye to return to The Dark Tower, in which he plays the villainous Man in Black to Idris Elba’s dystopian sci-fi Western hero. Even in that world, good and evil are relative depending on whose shoes you’re standing in. McConaughey considered whether his Walter Padick, the greatest villain in the Stephen King multiverse, would believe himself to be evil incarnate. He pauses. “He sure doesn’t think he is,” he says. “A good villain believes he’s a minister of peace.”

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

King & Arcel Talk Elba And McConaughey In Podcast

Posted: May 18, 2016, 08:31
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For those seeking an early preview of how the February 2017 film is coming together, Entertainment Weekly presents this podcast version of our conversation with King himself, as well as director and co-writer Nikolaj Arcel.

In the pod you’ll hear the two men describe approximately where the film will pick up within the storyline of King’s books, and both address why Elba was the right choice for Roland the Gunslinger — and why McConaughey was chosen as the sinister, shape-shifting Man in Black.

Claudia Kim Cast as Arra Champignon in Dark Tower

Posted: May 8, 2016, 23:57
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More The Dark Tower casting news. This one is from comicbook.com.

The Tracking Board is reporting that Claudia Kim (7th Grade Civil Servant, Marco Polo) has joined the cast of the feature film adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower.

Kim, 31, is expected to play Arra Champignon, the kind-hearted, pregnant wife of Charles Champignon. The couple are ambushed by Farson's men, and she ends up getting raped, murdered and having her baby cut from her womb, all while her husband is forced to watch.

Thanks to Lou Sytsma

DT Casting; Jake's Friend Timmy Cast

Posted: April 29, 2016, 22:46
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Here are the latest Dark Tower casting reported by Deadline.

Two weeks into the start of shooting in South Africa, The Dark Tower is beefing up its cast with the addition of Michael Barbieri, I’ve learned. Reps for the 14-year-old are deep in talks to have him join the highly anticipated Nikolaj Arcel-directed adaptation of Stephen King’s bestselling series, set to come out on Presidents Day weekend next year.

Barbieri is slated to play the role of Timmy. Showing up in The Waste Lands book from 1992, the character is an offbeat pal to the Jake Chambers character, to be played by Tom Taylor.


Thanks to Douglas Dowie.

King & Arcel Comment On Dark Tower

Posted: April 29, 2016, 16:40
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This article has been out for a few weeks but there are some quotes from King that might be of interest.

“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story,”

and

“They’re still holding on to this idea that they can do a TV series, and they’ve got it pegged for that, and it would seem everyone involved is waiting to see if the movie clicks with audiences before going all in with a massive franchise. Other people have tried fantasy spectacle. Sometimes it works, sometimes it works really well when it’s based on a series of books, like 'The Hunger Games' or 'Harry Potter,' and sometimes it doesn’t. What I have to go back to is this: We have Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, two great actors. You’ve got a great production team and Akiva Goldsman as the primary script writer. The team is in place, so we’ll hope for the best.”

Director Nikolaj Arcel said this:

“A lot of it takes place in our day, in the modern world”

Thanks to Herbert West

Dark Tower Set Photos Online

Posted: April 28, 2016, 09:24
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Today with social media things are showing up so much faster than usually. In the live chat I had this las Tuesday I was actually asked when we would see photos from the filming of The Dark Tower and I guessed in late May. Today the first ones are here…

I have collected what I found online and if you find other, please let me know so that I can add them.







Thanks to Lou Sytsma and Herbert West

Jackie Earle Haley Negotiates For The Dark Tower

Posted: April 15, 2016, 01:01
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Deadline reports that Jackie Earle Haley in negotiations for a co-starring role opposite Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey in The Dark Tower.

Haley will play Sayre, a menacing humanoid who is the vampire leader and kowtows to no one.


Here is a description of Sayre from The Dark Tower WiKi.

Richard Patrick Sayre is a high-ranking can-toi and a member of the Sombra Corporation. He has the usual low man fashion sense, dressing himself in a garish suit. He also has the pool of blood on his forehead that never spills over.

As revealed in Wolves of the Calla, Sayre lured Father Callahan to Sombra's offices by offering a million dollars to the charity he was working for. It was a trap, where Sayre intended to use Type Three vampires to give Callahan AIDS. His plan failed when Callahan committed suicide by jumping out the window.

In Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower, Sayre is the man in charge of delivering Mia's baby. He calls Susannah/Mia in their hotel room, telling them to go to the Dixie Pig. He takes them through the door into Fedic, where Mia is placed on a bed to deliver Mordred Deschain. After his birth, Susannah grabs a gun and shoots Sayre in the head.

Jake Chambers Cast

Posted: March 10, 2016, 22:53
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Entertainment Weekly reports that Tom Taylor has been cast as Jake Chambers in The Dark Tower Movie.

Sources close to the production have confirmed to EW that newcomer Tom Taylor will play the key role of Jake Chambers, a young boy who Roland crosses paths with in the series’ first book on his hunt of the man in black. Taylor previously appeared in the BBC series Doctor Foster and also showed up in the now-cancelled TNT series, Legends, as the younger version of Sean Bean’s protagonist, Martin Odum.


Read more here.

Thanks to Hans von Wirth

Dark Tower Movie Has New Releasedate

Posted: March 5, 2016, 20:03
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Sony Pictures has announced a slight shuffle in their 2017 release schedule and moved The Dark Tower back a month. New release date is now February 17, 2017.

The Dark Tower, which it was recently revealed will begin production in seven weeks in South Africa, has moved from its original release date of January 13, 2017 to February 17, 2017. An adaptation of the Stephen King novel series, the film will open against Universal Pictures and
image: http://images.intellitxt.com/ast/adTypes/icon1.png
Legendary Pictures’ The Great Wall and 20th Century Fox’s Maze Runner: The Death Cure. Nikolaj Arcel will direct the film which stars Idris Elba as Roland “The Gunslinger” Deschain and Matthew McConaughey as the evil Man in black.

Source: Coming Soon.

Thanks to Rick Urban.

The Dark Tower Confirmations

Posted: March 1, 2016, 16:26
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A lot of stuff has not been confirmed about The Dark Tower movie:

- Nikolaj Arcel will start shooting the movie in South Africa in seven weeks.

- The Premier date is January 13 2017.

- The first movie won’t be based on the first book. Based on clues given by Arcel it’ll probably be based on the third book, The Waste Lands.

- Idris Elba is confirmed to play Roland.

- Matthew McConaughey is based to play The Man in Black.

- Abbey Lee will likely play Tirana.

“The thing is, it’s been a looong trip from the books to the film,” King says, putting it right in context: “When you think about it, I started these stories as a senior in college, sitting in a little sh-tty cabin beside the river in Maine, and finally this thing is actually in pre-production now.” He laughs. “I’m delighted, and I’m a little bit surprised.”

About the movie not being based on the first book.

King says the movie will open with the first line from the first book. “It should start that way,” he says. “I’ve been pretty insistent about that.”

“[The movie] starts in media res, in the middle of the story instead of at the beginning, which may upset some of the fans a little bit, but they’ll get behind it, because it is the story,” King says.

Arcel declined to specify which books his movie focus on, but he did offer this clue: “A lot of it takes place in our day, in the modern world.”

King and Arcel on Elba.

The author, who raves about Elba’s recent work in the child-soldier drama Beasts of No Nation, says he hopes fans of the books have no problem accepting a man of color as Roland. “For me the character is still the character. It’s almost a Sergio Leone character, like ‘the man with no name,’” King says. “He can be white or black, it makes no difference to me. I think it opens all kind of exciting possibilities for the backstory.”

Arcel acknowledges that skin color actually was an important factor in the relationship between Roland and Susannah, the black amputee he drew into his world from her life in 1964. In the books, she is not thrilled to find herself yanked into another dimension by a grizzled white guy. “Some fans are asking, understandably, ‘What about the racial tension?’” Arcel says. “But as the story progresses that will be made clear, how we’ll deal with all those things.”

Some Tweets...



Read the full article here.

Thanks to Alex Maidy‎.

Abbey Lee To Play Tirana in The Dark Tower

Posted: February 18, 2016, 22:15
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Is today April 1st? No? OK then…

If it’s correct that Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will play Roland and Flagg a third role has now been cast. Deadline reports that Abbey Lee will play, and I quote, “the female lead role of Tirana”.

If you’re like me you’re now asking “who is Tirana? And why are they calling it a lead?”

Well this is Tirana:

A low woman in the Dixie Pig. Partner of Andrew. She struck the sköldpadda from Callahan’s hands

I don’t know about you but IF this is true it worries me a lot. What part of the story are they adapting and what are they focusing on?

King on Dark Tower Movie: It's Likely to Happen

Posted: February 10, 2016, 00:15
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In an interview with Rolling Stone King talked about The Dark Tower movie. Here are some of the things he said:

"It looks to me like it's more likely than not it'll happen at this point. Let's put it that way."

"I think that it's more likely than not that Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will be in it. But I can't say with any certainty. I know that they're trying to make deals with these actors [and] with Sony, and that's the extent of my knowledge."

King also said he want to write about Jericho Hill:

"I'm never done with The Dark Tower. The thing about The Dark Tower is that those books were never edited, so I look at them as first drafts. And by the time I got to the fifth or sixth book, I'm thinking to myself, 'This is really all one novel.' It drives me crazy. The thing is to try to find the time to rewrite them. There's a missing element – a big battle at a place called Jericho Hill. And that whole thing should be written; I've thought about it several times, and I don't know how to get into it."

"I'd have to go back, read all the material before I could get myself in a frame of mind to do that. So, man, I just don't know. I'm a pretty instinctual writer, and I don’t have any game plan. I’m very unprofessional about that part of it; I can strap myself down in a chair and write every day, but the ideas come when they come. Maybe it will come time to write the Jericho Hill thing one day too."

Thanks to Lou Sytsma & Dimitris Tso

Elba as Roland, More Than a Rumor?

Posted: January 9, 2016, 22:35
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Looks like the casting of Idris Elba is a bit more solid than just a rumor. Akiva Goldsman, who is writing and producing the project, spoke to IGN at the 2016 winter Television Critics Association press tour while promoting his new WGN America series Underground.

"I think Idris Elba is the greatest possible idea for casting for Roland, and I'm unbelievably proud of it as a collaborator on this enterprise and because I think that he's a great actor and I couldn't be more thrilled that he is likely to play a part," Goldsman said. "I understand that people who are thoughtful about the storytelling and the racial politics of the storytelling might want to understand how that informs that storytelling, and I respect that and I hear that, and those things are not things we didn't think about or don't think about. The racist a--holes should go f--k themselves."

When asked to clarify whether changing the race of Roland was part of the initial conception of the movie or something that came about in the casting, Goldsman said,

"100 percent it was literally, entirely who do we think the best guy for the job is and can we get him. That was it."

"For me, casting is an extrapolation. As soon as you are having an actor play a character, whether they be living or fictional, it's different. Movies are not lives, movies are not books," he said. "I think what we do as filmmakers is we interpret, and you are welcome to agree with our interpretation at any turn, but I encourage you to do it based on thoughtful, aesthetic acceptance and open-heartedness and not bias."

My reactions from this is this:

1. Please don’t think that everyone that don’t want Elba as Roland are racists. I know I’m not.
2. The line "I think what we do as filmmakers is we interpret” is making me a bit worried that they might not follow the book as much as interpret the books.

I guess we’ll see come January 27 next year…

Source: IGN

Thanks to Douglas Dowie

The Question No One's Asking Is Why?

Posted: December 12, 2015, 14:44
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The news or rather rumor that Idris Elba is considered to play Roland The Gunslinger has absolutely exploded on Internet. People have argued that it's a good thing and that it's a bad thing. King himself commented that it doesn't matter to him.

The once that's against Elba as Roland is it basically because it would mess up the relationship between Roland and Detta/Odetta where she is a black woman that hates Roland because he's white.

The once that are for Elba as Roland on the other hand claims that the story could be altered and still work and that we could still get the conflict between Roland and Detta /Odetta.

Personally I thing much of the relationship between Roland ans Detta/Odetta would be lost if they were both black. But if someone in advance would have told me that the ending of The Mist would have been better when changed I might not have believed that either so I guess anything is possible I just don't see it now.

What I'm surprised by is that no one seems to ask WHY they want to change it! The only reason I can see is that they either think that the story itself will be better or that they can't find someone who will do Roland better or as good as Elba. I don't believe in either of those two reasons and if so they are just changing it for the changing itself and that is just plain wrong if you ask me.

So, until someone gives me a good reason as to why they should change King's (in my opinion good story) and risk it not being as good I'm voting "No" on Elba.

Lilja

Idris Elba To Play Roland Deschain? [RUMOR]

Posted: December 10, 2015, 11:55
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According to Deadline Idris Elba is the front-runner to play Roland Deschain In The Dark Tower. Deadline isn't revealing a source for this and no one seems to want to comment on it so I would just treat this as a RUMOR for now and if you ask me, an unlikely to happen rumor.


But if it would happen, what would you think about it?

Thanks to Dimitris Tso

The Dark Tower Not Set in Stone...Yet

Posted: December 8, 2015, 11:51
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In a recent Reddit AMA Ron Howard was asked about the status of The Dark Tower movie, and while he did say that work is being done, it turns out that there’s no guarantee that the work will ever actually lead to anything.


Thanks to Dimitris Tso

Matthew McConaughey as Flagg or Roland?

Posted: November 17, 2015, 08:36
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Will Matthew McConaughey play Flagg in the upcoming movie version of The Dark Tower? Or will be play Roland The Gunslinger? Well rumor says that he has been offered to play either of these roles. Personally I would prefer Flagg. That way they could also cast him as Flagg in The Stand as it has been rumored earlier. Please note though that this is just a rumor and its source is labeled as ”a person familiar with the project”. So please take it as a rumor for now.


If you could decide, would you cast him as Flagg, Roland or none of them?

Nikolaj Arcel to The Dark Tower?

Posted: June 2, 2015, 22:45
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Deadline reports that Nikolaj Arcel is the choice to direct The Dark Tower.

EXCLUSIVE: Nikolaj Arcel is the choice to direct The Dark Tower, the Stephen King novel series set in a world woven with magic and revolving around the gunslinger Roland Deschain. I’ve heard talks will begin shortly toward a deal that will have him overseeing a rewrite and directing the film. Sony Pictures Entertainment signed on earlier this year to co-finance the franchise with Media Rights Capital — it gives new topper Tom Rothman a strong franchise play — and now it looks like they’re near to naming the helmer who’ll bring this massively ambitious project to life.

Let's see if it happen this time...
Rick Urban, Lou Sytsma and Douglas Dowie

Sony & MRC to fast track The Dark Tower Movie

Posted: April 10, 2015, 20:16
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Sony Pictures has teamed with MRC to co-finance The Dark Tower. Sony will distribute what is planned to be the first in a series of movies. A complementary TV series is also being developed by MRC.

The new script is primarily based on the first book in the series, The Gunslinger, and the relationship between Roland and Jake. The film is a blend of horror and fantasy. The latest draft of the script is co-written by Akiva Goldsman and Jeff Pinkner. It was totally reconceived by Goldsman and Pinkner from the version that had been previously developed and which took root first at Universal and later at Warner Bros. Goldsman is producing through his Weed Road with Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and Erica Huggins, and I believe the author is also in a producing capacity. Pinkner will be exec producer.

Sony and MRC will go right out after filmmakers with this script, and put this on the fast track that hard-core fans of King’s book have long desired. Numerous stars including Javier Bardem and Russell Crowe have eyed the role of the gunslinger, but that role won’t be filled until after the director is set.

King, who options his works for $1 and likes to see progress, has been incredibly patient as this mammoth project — it’s his answer to Tolkien’s Middle Earth novels — has taken its time and its twists and turns. He’s sparked about where the project is now.

“I’m excited that The Dark Tower is finally going to appear on the screen,” he said in a statement. “Those who have traveled with Roland and his friends in their search for the Dark Tower are going to have their long-held hopes fully realized. This is a brilliant and creative approach to my books.”

Tom RothmanSaid Rothman: “There are few projects out there that compare with the scope, vision, complex characters and fully drawn world that Stephen King has created with The Dark Tower. I am a giant fan. And, as Stephen himself does, we love the direction that Akiva and Jeff have taken. This is a great opportunity for a director to put his or her stamp on a cool global franchise.”

Source: Deadline.

The Dark Tower Concept Art Revealed

Posted: June 26, 2014, 08:36
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Here are some really cool news about The Dark Tower movie(s). As you all know by now it’s not going to happen in the direct feature but not that long ago Ron Howard planed three movies with a TV series in between each and for those he asked concept artist and illustrator Gregory Hill to some concept art for it. And now Hill has published those on his website.


The Manni Village


Tull


Tull


Devar Toi


A Harrier Near The Speaking Ring


The Speaking Ring


The Thinny


The Dogan

They also did two videos to show you Tull.




Thanks to Ari

King on The Dark Tower

Posted: June 19, 2014, 10:02
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“I was very excited when Ron Howard got involved with that project, His original take on it was the best. He wanted to do the movies — three tentpole movies — interspersed with a number of TV series that covered Roland and his adventures as a young man. It was a brilliant concept, and I’m pretty sure it would have worked. [But] what sometimes happens in Hollywood and in filmmaking is, the financing fell apart, or the studio started to have second thoughts.”

Liam Neeson as Roland?

Posted: January 23, 2014, 09:32
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This is still just a rumor so take it for that and nothing else as for now.

Schmoe Ville reports that:

Ron Howard is going to make this with MRC and Imagine for around 60 million or so. And he’s likely doing this next. There’s going to be a TV series as well since it’s MRC and I’m thinking it may end up being at Netflix.

And…

I hear Liam Neeson is interested.

How much of this is the truth remains to be seen tough but please let me know what you think of Neeson as Roland? Good or Bad?

Aaron Paul to play Eddie Dean?

Posted: January 21, 2014, 22:56
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Aaron Paul as Eddie Dean? Well, maybe. This is from Cinema Blend:

We’ve heard this before. But Paul was in Sundance recently promoting a new film, and was asked by Ain’t It Cool News about the Dark Tower books and whether he’d ever been considered for Dean. The character is a strung-out junkie pulled into a mystical realm by the story’s main hero, Roland, a gunslinger. Dean becomes a hero, despite his numerous flaws. Sounds a lot like Jessie, no? Anyway, Paul says that he hasn’t read all of the books (there are seven), but dropped this huge bomb:

Here is what he said...

I've had a ton of meetings on that. I just had a general sit down with Ron Howard, who is a huge fan of the show, which is such a crazy thing to even think that Ron Howard even knows who I am. They're definitely planning on making it. … I'm excited. Their goal is to do three films, but also have a television element to it, which will be very interesting. From what I hear, Eddie Dean is a pretty epic, iconic character.


Thanks to Gordon W. Olson

Howard talks Dark Tower

Posted: September 16, 2013, 08:33
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The Truth Inside the Lie has found an interesting (but not hopeful) interview with Ron Howard about The Dark Tower.


Empire: I'm sure your vow of silence will cover it, but...Stephen King himself appears in The Dark Tower. Have you thought about how you might tackle that?

Howard: Yes! And I will admit that Stephen said, "I don't have to be in this." But that's not to say that he won't be!

New hope for DT movie?

Posted: May 17, 2013, 10:07
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Here are the latest news about The Dark Tower Movie.

After getting rejected by two studios on an ambitious multi-platform treatment of Stephen King’s seminal novel series The Dark Tower, Grazer, Howard, Akiva Goldsman and King streamlined their original ambition to adapt nine volumes into three features and two limited-run TV series. Now, Media Rights Capital is committed to make a single movie with Russell Crowe as the gunslinger Roland Deschain, with more movies coming if the first gets results. This isn’t set in stone, as Grazer tells me that he has just been approached by a Silicon Valley investor willing to finance Dark Tower as originally constructed, Now it’s a matter of deciding what path to take.

So, what do you Think? Will Russell Crowe be a good Roland?

Thanks to Herbert, Anders and Ari

The Dark Tower on Netflix?

Posted: May 3, 2013, 08:32
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In an interview with Netflix’s Chief Content Office, Ted Sarandos, the question about The Dark Tower came up. No confirmation but not a denial either...

Arrested Development creator Ron Howard has also been circling Stephen King’s The Dark Tower – any chance Netflix could pick it up?

I spoke to Ron about it, actually. The last time we talked about it the thing was being kicked about HBO – but it’s no longer there. Once Arrested Development gets through we’ll keep talking about it.

What do you think? Can Netflix pull it off?

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