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'The Dark Tower': Javier Bardem Offered Lead Role, Jennifer Carpenter Shortlisted
Ace Showbiz ^ | January 27, 2011 | Ace Showbiz

Posted on 01/27/2011 11:31:45 PM PST by OddLane

Javier Bardem is apparently the strong contender to play Roland Deshain in "The Dark Tower". After he was mentioned as frontrunner along with Viggo Mortensen, he is now reported to have been officially offered the lead role. Deadline Hollywood says formal negotiations haven't yet begun but the filmmakers have shown great enthusiasm that they have found the right actor.

(Excerpt) Read more at aceshowbiz.com ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat
KEYWORDS: javierbardem; ronhoward; stephenking; thedarktower
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1 posted on 01/27/2011 11:31:52 PM PST by OddLane
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To: OddLane

Very, very few King movies are actually worth anything. I can’t possibly see the Dark Tower being done in a way that’s understandable without taking psychotropic drugs before watching it.


2 posted on 01/28/2011 12:22:51 AM PST by VeniVidiVici (WTF with Obama!!)
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To: VeniVidiVici

Darn it, I am going to have to finish the series. I think the train ride will be difficult to make into a movie. Forget which book that is in.


3 posted on 01/28/2011 1:16:20 AM PST by ican'tbelieveit
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To: ican'tbelieveit

“Darn it, I am going to have to finish the series.”

You have 2 years: first movie in the trilogy not being released until 2013


4 posted on 01/28/2011 5:13:56 AM PST by DrC
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To: OddLane; ixtl; waterhill

The man in black fled into the desert and the gunslinger followed......(((ping)))


5 posted on 01/28/2011 7:07:00 AM PST by Envisioning (Call me a racist,........one more time.....)
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To: OddLane; Envisioning

Don’t know if it will really be good. And yes, I HAVE read all seven (that’s right, seven) novels. Unfortunately, from my point of view, the series went downhill after the third book.

To Envisioning: Despite my comment above, that line is still on my all time favorite list for openings. (Others provided upon request)


6 posted on 01/28/2011 7:44:47 AM PST by ixtl (You live and learn; or you don't live long.)
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To: DrC

So the book series is much longer than a trilogy; there are six books I believe? Think I have made it to book four.


7 posted on 01/28/2011 8:04:01 AM PST by ican'tbelieveit
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To: VeniVidiVici
Very, very few King movies are actually worth anything. I can’t possibly see the Dark Tower being done in a way that’s understandable without taking psychotropic drugs before watching it.

Misery was good. Stand by Me was okay. The Running Man was fun. So was Shawshank Redemption.

The Dark Tower series would lend itself well to film, especially the second book, The Drawing of the Three. But it would be ridiculous to try to compress everything into just a few hours. The reason some of King's earlier stuff was so good in print but not in film is because a lot of the story takes place in the character's mind and the humor didn't come across (Needful Things was REALLY funny in print). It's hard to show that on the screen. The Dark Tower series is a lot less like that than earlier works.
8 posted on 01/28/2011 8:12:19 AM PST by aruanan
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To: ican'tbelieveit

“there are six books I believe?”

I dunno. I used “trilogy” since I believe the article said they planned to cover the story in 3 movies, the first to appear in 2013.


9 posted on 01/28/2011 9:53:38 AM PST by DrC
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To: VeniVidiVici
I agree, although I think they've been on an upward trajectory since The Shawshenk Redemption.

There are still a lot of clunkers, especially those freak shows directed by his buddy, Mick Garris, but you also have some good ones.

Either way, as a Tower junkie I'm definitely going to give this a shot, at least the first film.

10 posted on 01/28/2011 1:33:10 PM PST by OddLane
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To: ican'tbelieveit
The end of The Wastelands (Book III) and the beginning of Wizard & Glass (Book IV).

One of the best literary cliffhangers ever written, IMO.

11 posted on 01/28/2011 1:36:14 PM PST by OddLane
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To: aruanan
It's funny, I've heard people say good things about Needful Things.

I've never actually seen the film, but I tend to agree with your analysis of it, based upon the novel.

There's a rich vein of dark humor in his novels.

I haven't finished any since the final, eponymous volume of The Dark Tower though.

I think that was the zenith of his career as a horror novelist.

12 posted on 01/28/2011 1:42:20 PM PST by OddLane
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To: OddLane

Have you read Under the Dome?


13 posted on 01/28/2011 8:56:02 PM PST by ican'tbelieveit
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To: ican'tbelieveit
No.

The only post-TDT novel of his I've attempted is Duma Key, which wasn't bad.

On the other hand, it wasn't good enough for me to want to renew it after reading approximately 200 pages.

14 posted on 01/28/2011 9:39:49 PM PST by OddLane
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To: ican'tbelieveit
To answer your earlier question, there are seven books.

The Dark Tower

Wizard & Glass is my favorite, but there are so many things about the last book that I love, especially the final conclusion.

The Drawing of the Three is the one that got me hooked on the series.

15 posted on 01/28/2011 9:42:31 PM PST by OddLane
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To: OddLane

You should try it. I was pretty impressed. What would happen to a subset of people if they are cut off from the rest of civilization. All sins will be revealed.


16 posted on 01/28/2011 9:49:25 PM PST by ican'tbelieveit
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To: ican'tbelieveit
It has to be better than the last post-apocalyptic novel he tried his hand at.


17 posted on 01/28/2011 9:52:28 PM PST by OddLane
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To: aruanan

‘Christine’ was well done, and so were ‘It’, ‘Sometimes They Come Back’, ‘Carrie’, and ‘The Langoliers’.
Of course, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ was a masterpiece, and ‘The Green Mile’ was excellent.


18 posted on 01/28/2011 10:02:10 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: Lancey Howard
The Langoliers was dreadful.

Almost every television adaptation of King's work, with the curious exception of the The Stand, has been dreadful.

As much as I admire Bronson Pinchot as an actor, I'd rather watch a marathon of the worst episodes of Perfect Strangers than that movie.

19 posted on 01/28/2011 10:23:43 PM PST by OddLane
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To: ican'tbelieveit

Same here.


20 posted on 01/29/2011 9:22:27 AM PST by RandallFlagg (Let this chant follow BHO everywhere he goes: "You lie. You lie. You lie.")
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