Screen Rant » dark tower

Ron Howard Offers Hope For ‘The Dark Tower’

Niall Browne — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:20:08 +0000

Over the last year or so three big budget films from A-list filmmakers were put on hold by Hollywood studios due to their massive costs. The Lone Ranger had Johnny Depp starring as sidekick Tonto, with Jerry Bruckheimer producing and Gore Verbinski calling the shots. At The Mountains of Madness had Guillermo Del Toro attached to direct with Tom Cruise starring and James Cameron producing, while the final film was Ron Howard’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, with Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman penning the script and Javier Bardem in the lead role.

The Lone Ranger finally got to saddle-up in front of cameras when the budget was scaled back from $260 million to $215 million, while yesterday it came to light that At The Mountains of Madness may not make ...

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‘The Dark Tower’ May Be Resurrected By Warner Bros.

Sandy Schaefer — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 14:07:24 +0000

The Oscar-winning triumvirate of director Ron Howard, producer Brian Grazer, and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) saw their plans to bring Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series to the big and small screen dashed last year, when backer Universal was spooked off by the sheer cost and scale of the project – leaving the whole endeavor in a state of limbo.

Grazer previously teased the possibility of a leaner Dark Tower with a new “satisfying” ending eventually coming to fruition, but there’s been little movement on the project in the months since then. That’s changed now, seeing how Warner Bros. is reportedly near to closing a deal that would ensure (at least) one feature based on King’s post-apocalyptic, western-flavored magnum opus ends up being made.

Fans of King’s original Dark Tower novels have expressed somewhat mixed ...

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‘Dark Tower’ Producer Says Movie & TV Adaptation Could Still Happen

Sandy Schaefer — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:57:23 +0000

Director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer’s ambitious project, The Dark Tower - which called for Stephen King’s best-selling mythological saga to be adapted into a film trilogy and television series – collapsed this past summer, due primarily to Universal’s concerns about the costs of the duo’s cinematic endeavor.

However, just like Disney’s Lone Ranger movie returned from the dead recently, Dark Tower could be back on its feet for similar reasons – namely, the producers/creative minds behind the latter project have found a way to significantly lower the budget and address certain “creative concerns.”

Two of the main Dark Tower players moved on to other big projects after the King adaptation fell into development limbo: Ron Howard is currently shooting Rush and star Javier Bardem is set to begin work on the 23rd James ...

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Universal Cancels ‘The Dark Tower’

Rob Frappier — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:19:34 +0000

Ron Howard’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower has officially been canceled, ending the long-anticipated (and long-struggling) project once and for all.

Perhaps it was inevitable that The Dark Tower would be canceled. Despite having a bankable director in Howard and a big-name star in Javier Bardem, Universal put The Dark Tower into turnaround in May after executives became nervous over the project’s immense scale (which would have bridged a trilogy of films with made-for-TV specials).

According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Today was D-Day for Dark Tower because the studio had a July 15 deadline to commit to the movies or not.” In retrospect, it seems that Howard was overly ambitious about The Dark Tower from the beginning.

Although Howard said he couldn’t stop talking about the film in ...

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Ron Howard to Direct ‘Spy Vs. Spy’ & ‘Rush’; ‘Dark Tower’ Development Hell?

Chris Schrader — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:36:09 +0000

The future of Ron Howard’s ambitious adaptation of The Dark Tower series looks to be growing decidedly more grim with each passing day. Concerns over the project’s massive budget recently forced Universal to hit the brakes on the production.

Howard quickly jumped into damage control mode and insisted that everything was still on track, but his interest in an assortment of new films seems to indicate that we probably won’t be seeing Roland Deschain on the big screen anytime soon.

Warner Bros. is developing a live-action film based on MAD Magazine’s long-running Spy Vs. Spy comic strip and according to Deadline, Howard will be calling the shots. The strip centers around two warring spies who use outlandish and over the top booby-traps in an ostensibly unending struggle to eliminate one ...

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Ron Howard Talks About the Status of ‘Dark Tower’

Kofi Outlaw — Wed, 25 May 2011 19:14:25 +0000

Fans of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series were recently disappointed when it was revealed that Universal’s ambitious adaption of King’s series (which would unfold over the course of several years on both TV and movie screens) was in danger of collapse.

Well, perhaps “collapse” is a strong word: Universal’s new owner, Comcast, came to the table wanting a second look at the Dark Tower project (costs and such) and decided to put the project on pause while they doa their due dilligence. However, according to director Ron Howard – who is shepherding the project along - things are not as ominous as they may seem.

As Howard told EW:

“We had to pull back to our September start date due to budget delays and ongoing story development and logistical issues, but Dark ...

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‘The Dark Tower’ On The Verge of Collapse?

Ben Kendrick — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:40:43 +0000

Universal’s adaptation of Stephen King’s epic saga The Dark Tower is an ambitious project – set to include story elements from the main eight books as well as incorporate information from the novella and comic book series.

Now it sounds as if the immense source material, high-cost talent already attached to the project, and the over-complicated release plan for the trilogy (and supplementary TV installments), may be causing some executives to have cold feet.

According to sources close to Variety, despite the support of Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, the cost and long-term scope of the project have made Universal’s new owners at Comcast nervous – causing them to take another, closer, look at the plan and put The Dark Tower into turnaround (at least for the time ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: April 17th, 2011

Niall Browne — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 18:57:23 +0000

This week:

The box office travels to Rio, while we Scream again; Russell Brand sings Rock of Ages; Pesci gets Gotti; The Dark Tower gets a new writer; Galifianakis may have a hangover but he won’t R.I.P; Franco attends Jump Street – but will Johnny Depp? Trumbull may have Silent Running but he’ll be moving at 60 fps and Hallelujah – there’s finally a Jeff Buckley biopic.

Box Office

Rio was the box office champion over the weekend after grossing an estimated $40 million. The animated film which features the vocal talents of Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Tracy Morgan, will.i.am, Jamie Foxx and George Lopez surpassed predictions to again show that animated films are big at the box office. This could be the start of a new animated franchise for 20th Century Fox, giving the studio a steady income for the next few years.

Speaking of franchises, the Weinsteins dusted off the
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Javier Bardem Locked In For ‘Dark Tower’

Kofi Outlaw — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 14:57:03 +0000

At the beginning of the year it was announced that Universal Pictures had tapped actor Javier Bardem to star in the adaptation of The Dark Tower, the 7-novel sci-fi/fantasy/western series by acclaimed author Stephen King.

Since that initial announcement, we’ve seen Bardem slowly circling the massive and ambitious project, with producer Brian Grazer promising us just last month that the actor was “psychologically locked” for the role, and would soon sign on the dotted line.

Well, today Deadline is reporting that Bardem’s commitment to Dark Tower has gone from psychological to contractual; the Oscar-winning actor is in final negotiations to play Roland Deschain, the last living member of a “knightly order of gunslingers” who must save his world by journeying to ...

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Javier Bardem Is ‘Psychologically Locked’ For ‘The Dark Tower’

Niall Browne — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 19:34:38 +0000

In January we learned that Javier Bardem was the hot favorite to take the lead in Ron Howard’s screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower. The Spanish Oscar-winner still hasn’t signed on (he’s also mulling over a villain role in the next James Bond film) but the producer of epic undertaking, Brian Grazer, says that Bardem is “locked in psychologically” for the film and its follow-ups.

Bardem’s fellow Oscar winners, Christian Bale and Viggo Mortensen, were also in contention for the role of Roland Deschain, but Bardem came out as an early front-runner. Now it looks like the only thing that may stop the No Country For Old Men actor from taking the role is scheduling (and possibly salary negotiations). When Grazer was asked by MTV about The Dark ...

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Javier Bardem Offered Lead Role in ‘The Dark Tower’

Rob Keyes — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 03:42:01 +0000

Producer Brian Grazer said last week at the Golden Globes that he and director Ron Howard had made their decision on who they wanted to play the lead on their ambitiously massive adaptation of The Dark Tower. Grazer had also said we’d be finding out who that is in about a week and he wasn’t lying.

The two leading candidates reportedly headlining the wishlist of top Hollywood talent for The Dark Tower included Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen, two very talented and bankable leads, and it was in fact, one of these two leads that got the offer. Hint: He just got nominated for an Oscar!

While earlier today, the media frenzy was jumping on that man ...

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Dark Tower’s Lead To Be Announced This Week [Updated]

Rob Keyes — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 05:50:39 +0000

[Update: The lead role of Roland was offered to Javier Bardem!]

Javier Bardem? Viggo Mortensen? It’s a good problem to have, deciding between Oscar worthy talent to lead your franchise. One of the most ambitious film and television projects to date is about to announce its leading star and poster boy, and fans of the Dark Tower novels are eager to find out if a member of the Hollywood A-List will play that man.

Producer Brian Grazer revealed on the red carpet for the Golden Globes on Sunday that sometime this week we will find out who they have chosen to play Roland Deschain, the last of the “gunslingers” in the adaptation Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.

MTV had a brief moment to poke and prod Grazer for some ...

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Javier Bardem or Viggo Mortensen To Lead ‘The Dark Tower’ Franchise?

Ross Miller — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:08:09 +0000

In what is looking like one of the coveted roles in Hollywood, the search is now on for who will lead the movie and TV adaptation of Stephen King’s monumental book series, The Dark Tower.

Director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer have already mentioned a few names as possibilities to lead The Dark Tower, including Viggo Mortensen, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman and Jon Hamm (who is also rumored to play Superman in the upcoming reboot). However, there are fresh rumors now floating around of a new candidate being thrown into the mix.

According to sources over at NY Post, The Dark Tower adaptation has set off a “casting frenzy” in Hollywood for the lead role of Roland Deschain. Reportedly the top contender for the sought-after role is Javier ...

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Ron Howard ‘Can’t Stop Thinking’ About The Dark Tower

Rob Frappier — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 12:53:39 +0000

Stephen King is an incredibly prolific author, having written over 150 novels, short stories, screenplays and graphic novels over the course of his life. From brilliant horror literature like The Shining to poignant coming-of-age tales like Stand by Me (written as The Body), it sometimes boggles the mind to consider just how many important cultural touchstones King has delivered during his career.

The works that speak to King’s imagination best must certainly be the books in the author’s epic sci-fi/fantasy series, The Dark Tower. Not only does the series span seven novels (with an eighth on the way), but it also touches on many of King’s other books and stories, serving as a linchpin to the entire universe King has created through his body of work. (There’s even a whole Wikipedia ...

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Weekend Movie News Wrap Up: December 19th 2010

Niall Browne — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 21:36:22 +0000

This week:

1. Tron captures the top spot; Bill Pullman moves to Torchwood; AMC has Hell on Wheels; Legendary Pictures and Paul Greengrass won’t experience Jimi Hendrix; Nick Cassavetes knows the life of John Gotti; Ridley and Tony Scott read A Conspiracy of Paper; Sarah Jessica Parker, Halle Berry and Zac Efron celebrate New Year’s Eve; Syfy Ventures and Universal Pictures birth Syfy Films; Ron Howard talks Stephen King’s The Dark Tower; Ethan Hawke has an Exit Strategy for his movie career and Mila Kunis moves from the Black Swan to The Teddy Bear.

Box Office

Tron: Legacy won the belt of box office champion. The highly promoted and belated sequel to the ‘80s film grossed an estimated $43.6 million over the weekend. With a production budget somewhere in the region of $150-200 million, it’s safe to assume that the film will need good legs and strong international grosses to break even. ...

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‘The Dark Tower’ Movie Trilogy & TV Series On the Way

Ross Miller — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 01:24:43 +0000

Stephen King’s epic novel series The Dark Tower is practically begging to be adapted into either a movie or a TV series. Early in 2009 it was reported that J.J. Abrams and his Bad Robot production company were going to be bringing the book series to the big-screen. However, late last year Abrams revealed he wouldn’t be adapting the books after all.

But fear not Dark Tower fans as Deadline is reporting that Universal Pictures and NBC Universal have landed a deal to bring King’s epic to life. If it wasn’t exciting enough that King’s “magnum opus” is finally being adapted (for real this time), the adaptation will come to us in the form of not only a whole trilogy of movies but also a coinciding TV series.

How exactly can a TV series ...

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‘The Dark Tower’ Wont’ be Scaled by Abrams

Scott Miller — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:08:42 +0000

J.J. Abrams, the wizard behind Lost, Fringe, Alias and Mission: Impossible III told MTV that he won’t be bringing Stephen King’s Dark Tower series to the big screen and Shock Til You Drop overheard it. The producer/director/writer made it clear it wasn’t for lack of love:

“You’ll be hard-pressed to find a huger fan of ‘The Dark Tower’ than me, but that’s probably the reason that I shouldn’t be the one to adapt it… After working six years on Lost, the last thing I want to do is spend the next seven years adapting one of my favorite books of all time. I’m such a massive Stephen King fan that I’m terrified of screwing it up. ...

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The Dark Tower Film Update

Heath McKnight — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 03:45:32 +0000

It’s time to update you guys on the status of the big-screen adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, which is coming our way courtesy of J.J. Abrams and his production company, Bad Robot. We’ll also give you a little background on the project.

Stephen King is a major fan of Abrams’ Lost TV series (ending next year), and he met up with the producers behind the show, including Abrams and Lost co-executive producer Damon Lindelof. King famously sold the film rights for the entire Dark Tower series (seven books) to Abrams and Lindelof for only $19.00 (apparently the number 19 is big in the books).

Cinematical is reporting that the first Dark Tower (titled The Gunslinger) movie could roll out as early as 2010, but apparently not until ...

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