Pajiba

The ONLY way you can improve this post is by adding Gael Garcia Bernal somewhere in there.

I dunno, maybe he could be the director, best boy or key grip or something. I'm shallow. Sue me.

Viggo and Javier. Man. This is the best post evah!

Is Bardem able to completely lose that accent? I guess I have not seen him in enough films to know. Anton Chigurh sounded different, but he was not in the Roland ballpark. Mortensen's voice is certainly much more like what I heard in my mind while reading.

Last I heard, Viggo had retired from film making after doing The Road. He might come back for the right offer and film.

Javier Bardem could so pull off the Gunslinger of the Dark Tower series. So could Viggo. Either way, it'll make this an occasion where I sit down for one of Ron Howard's movies.

Anything would have been better than what we got.

Oh, so the ending of "Dark Tower" (I never read it) was just like
THE STUPID GIANT OUTERSPACE SPIDER that he used to ruin "IT"?
(that still pisses me off)

Lindsay,

Daniel Day Lewis would be fantastic as Roland. We'll never get that lucky. Really, they should do a Tron-cgi number on Eastwood and have him do it since he is actually the basis for Roland in the books.

I still don't know what to think about the ending. It was awful but made sense in a weird way. It certainly wouldn't work for the films/series though. I think there would be riots.

I'm with SLW. I'm excited and scared to death of this. The potential for this to be ruined is phenomenal. It's a huge work and King's books are rarely translated to film well.

Then there's the very real possibility that I'll be really into this and it won't make the money they hoped to, the plug gets pulled partway through and I get left with one movie and half a season or something.

My brain stopped at Ron Howard because of, you know, the screaming.

Sam Elliot?

**SPOILER ALERT******RAHHHHH*****ALSO LION****

DC, how on earth is Stephen King's Avatar hopping in at basically the last second and r-r-r-rubbing the bad guy out with a pencil eraser anything short of a huge smirking fuck-you to people who'd plowed through 30-some-odd billion pages of setup? This guy is supposed to be the embodiment of evil, and he gets taken out by a freehand artist that's also a compusive revisionist? "Aaahh fuck I messed up the flames coming out of his dick. Lemme try again. *skritch skritch skritch* now..." "NO you asshole leave it alone that killed him! YAY"

I also gave up after "The Drawing of the Three." It was just such a deviation from what went on in "The Gunslinger" that I couldn't adjust. It would be like Superman suddenly discovering he wasn't from Krypton, but was cloned from Hitler's personal sex midgets. Too strong of a shift. I want to get back into, but y'know...I don't.

Also, if I'm forced to choose between them I'd go with Viggo. I'm sure it has something to do with having just seen The Road like 6 months ago, but he's certainly got the acting chops to play a badass, half-starved, reality-shifting gun-fighter.

Oh my crap, they're still planning to do that? And is Stephen King going to play himself? Or is that role going to go to Clint Howard?

Who is spurting this retired-Viggo nonsense?

He has another film with Cronenberg about Sigmund Freud.

Which is good because The Road would've been a completely ehh movie to end a career on. If you're going to officially retire from acting, it's a good idea to end on a high-note.

You hear that, Gene Hackman?! You don't just leave us with a fucking Ray Romano comedy!

IMMENSE SPOILERS IN RESPONSE
IMMENSE SPOILERS IN RESPONSE
IMMENSE SPOILERS IN RESPONSE
IMMENSE SPOILERS IN RESPONSE

Ian >> A friend of mine who did not enjoy The Crimson King's demise or Walter's end earlier in the book for that matter put what he considered the severe anti-climax of those two confrontations in these terms, more or less: "What if at the end of Empire/Jedi Luke and Vader never fought and some completely new character swooped in and settled the conflict with something that was not a lightsaber?"

I understood his point, but for whatever reason I was not disappointed in those developments in the least. I think for me it's because I don't find the analogy to be appropriate. The great anticipation that I had throughout reading The Dark Tower was never focused upon that good vs. evil angle. For me the central focus was always about Roland and The Tower itself. What is the mystery at the nexus of these universes that King has created? And in that respect - as ForbiddenDonut mentions above - I believe the ending to be flawless and completely in the spirit of the tale. I mean that not only in reference to what is found at The Tower's apex. I also refer to the alternate universe resolution between Susannah, Eddie, and Jake, as well as Roland's stirring homage to his many companions as he demanded entry at The Tower's door.

Certainly those villains enriched the story, and I understand that these are King uber-villains that stretch across several other books of his. Thus, many readers were especially invested in how these foes could be vanquished. Perhaps my relative lack of other King reading compared to the King completists thus diminished their significance and any need I might have for some cliche showdown or a means of defeating them that seemed more appropriately arduous.

By the time we reached the Crimson King, I felt book seven and the series as a whole had given us more than enough of "pistols at dawn." I thought the different conflicts throughout the series ran the gamut of creativity, and all entertained me. The extremely "meta" means of beating the Crimson King did seem to me to keep with all the other "meta" characteristics that we were given in books five through seven. On top of that, I was so exhausted by the journey that it was a relief at that point to find this relatively minor deus ex machina. The real doom for Roland awaited at the top of The Tower, which is what I found to be the satisfying coup de grace. I don't know - perhaps the lunacy of The Crimson King in some ways also manifests the state of mind that King himself had reaching in attempting to complete his magnum opus?

Many readers didn't dig the inclusion of King in the story at all. (I myself do have one minor quibble with the end of book six in that respect.) I found that facet of the narrative organic when you factor all that was going on in King's life at the time, as well as the implications of a Tower that includes all universes - real and fictional - in its purview, but that's just my opinion.

And for the record, in the many years prior to reading The Dark Tower series, I had expressed the opinion that King was great at set-up but tended to fall short with his endings. As such, I had been extremely nervous for years about the ending of The Dark Tower and how its contents could possibly fulfill my expectations. Perhaps that fear of disappointment has put me in denial, but the ending of The Dark Tower satisfied me so much that I won't ever offer that blanket critique of King again.

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From what I recall, Roland is supposed to look like Randolph Scott so...

And as for the ending, King ends most of his books with some shittacular ending. (**cough** Cell **cough**)

I have yet to find a book that he knows how to end. He can write a good story, but can't end one to save his fucking life. It's like...I'm done. Now it's time to think of some shit.

And the movies are even worse!

That is, "...that King himself had reached..."

Well, I guess it wasn't a "blorp" to me. I just found it to be part of the universe's varied tapestry. Anyway, we can respectfully disagree. :- )

If there was a Director of the Institute for Accountability and Morals in Film, then the he/she/Lizzard Overlord would not allow Viggo Morbidsen to don any hat (unless it is the hat of morbidity) and mount a horse after the atrocity that was Hidalgo. Naturally the part would go to James Purefoy.

Oh I don't know, I think Viggo has a lovely following seat. At least *I* wouldn't mind following it.

Was the ending worse than Under the Dome? Cause that one BLEW. I could never really get into the dark tower series. I got about halfway through the first one but it seemed like nothing ever happened. And what little happened didn't make sense. I probably just didn't get far enough... I should pick it up again.

Oh and My vote is for Viggo. The man's all style.

OH MY GOD Daniel Day-Lewis would be totally awesome. He could definitely un-Ron Howard the movies.

"He could definitely un-Ron Howard the movies."

Neat trick, and quite an accomplishment. That should be its own award category in the shitacular Academy award show. Maybe we need more categories more like that one.

* Best performance by an actor able to step out of the shadow of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Her Amazing Overacting Ego.

* Best performance by an actress able to remain unscathed by Aging Al Pacino and His Hammy Expressions and Flying Saliva.

* Best actress able to transcend Michael Bay's BigMacMovieMcMachine and maintain her dignity (kinda).

* Least wooden performance by that boring Avatar actor whose name always escapes me sam something or other.

* Best performance by Orlando Bloom (this category comes around (blessedly) only every 13 years.

I think I'd watch an award show like that. Maybe. Kinda.

actually they aren't. I picked the actors based on how old they be. and Eddie and Susannah are no spring chickens. and well Jake's a 12 year old. and if Haley Joel Osment's still alive, he could do it.

SPOILERS AHOY!!

-Books 5, 6, 7 were post-accident King exorcising his demons. Any original plans he may have had for the end of the series (a bigger role for Walter/Randall Flagg, for ex) were scotched after his near death and hence the last 3 novels are a mess of convoluted ass. That said, I loved the ending of book 7.. Hell I loved the last 100 pages or so starting w/ Susannah's emotionally wracking departure right to Roland opening the top of the tower...finally, after all those years and wheels (sorry) only to discover there would be no peace for him, ever.

That said, if this ambitious adaptation (which I have doubts will ever come off) happens I'm guessing Howard will scrap large portions of the bullshit (i.e. King showing up in his own story) and do some Dexter-style revisioning to make a more coherent narrative. I'd have no prob w/ that, though I have major doubts if a pablum-serving bore like Howard could make this work. Like him or hate him, JJ Abrams would be a much better guy to take this on...he knows how to establish a mythos and while he's had trouble sticking the landing on a couple of shows, he'd already have an established ending to work with.

Good Stephen King ending: Carrie.

Immensely sucktastic Stephen King ending after an awesome 1,000ish pages: It.

I haven't read any of the Dark Tower series, but I would watch Javier, Viggo or Olyphant do almost anything, so I'm down.

We're looking for a a six-footer with piercing, blue bombardier's eyes; someone like a cross between a quaker and a cherokee, and with the voice of a king.

I have to say, Viggo Mortensen sounds about right to me, but I think the best plan would be to find a completely unknown actor of Day-Lewis caliber. Much to wish for, you say true, I say thankya, but my hope all the same.

I think Eastwood could play Aaron Deepneau, though.

Back in the day King could end a book. The Shining, 'salem's Lot, The Talisman, and The Stand immediately come to mind. IT's ending was odd, but the rest of the book is so damn good I can forgive it. I used to be a huge King fan but since the accident he is seriously off his game. I gave up on Under the Dome after 300 pages because it was just King 101 to me. Same old characters, different circumstances.

The Dark Tower 7 was a mess that is saved (in my mind) by the last gun battle and the emotionally shattering approach to the Tower with Roland shouting the names of the fallen. And the twist at the end was hinted at over and over again but it still hit like a hammer when it comes.

As for the casting of Roland, I have a hard time either Viggo or Javier are going to commit to the the scope of the Dark Tower. Movies are fine but they want it to be a TV series too and I don't see either one of them doing it. They should call Kiefer, he's not doing anything right now.

I hope Viggo is cast. I love being right. Even over 5 years later.

Lordninja >> Per my recollection, when Eddie and Susannah are scooped up in The Drawing Of The Three, he is in his early 20s and she is in her late 20s. (And, of course, Jake has to be a plausible "younger brother" for them for the sake of the story's dynamic and the ultimate resolution.) It seems likely that the characters would be aged up to try to give it star power, but it wouldn't be true to the source material. Eddie in particular needs a ton of the (sometimes obnoxious) sass that suits a guy in his early 20s.

I'm a long-time Dark Tower (rabid) fanatic and I don't think either of these men could play Roland Deschain properly.

Viggo looks most like him, but he's too pretty. Roland is not pretty, he's weather-beaten and skinny and in the second book Eddie assigns him the name "Old long, tall, and ugly" because Roland IS long, tall, and ugly.

I don't think Javier Bardem should play him either, as Stephen King makes it a point to highlight Roland's blue bombardier's eyes.

So there.