I loved this series of books, but this look like a significant change to the story.  I guess we'll see how that turns out.

 

Hearing Idris say the "Aim" quotes I think sold me - he can be Roland.

 

This one is pretty high on my interest list this summer.

I hope the trailer isn't indicative of the film. It seemed pretty heavy on Jake.

 

Roland views everyone around him as instruments. It's part of his character journey. Only later does he realize he needs others to form his Ka-Tet and find the Tower.

Well, if the rumors are true and this is a post-novels, more enlightened version of Roland perhaps that explains it?

 

I'm spit-balling, the trailer seems to indicate a very different outline of the story.

I don't care what it ends up being, I'm all-in.

 

I don't care what it ends up being, I'm all-in.

 

As am I.  I love the Elba casting from the get go and seeing this on film is what I imagine Tolkienen nerds felt like when LOTR hit the theaters.

 

I'll be there the first weekend.

 

Well, if the rumors are true and this is a post-novels, more enlightened version of Roland perhaps that explains it?

 

I'm spit-balling, the trailer seems to indicate a very different outline of the story.

It's possible but I hope that's not the case. Roland's journey is really the key to the entire series.

 

But this is definitely a must-watch for me, I'm merely worried it won't be as good as it should be (and it won't be due to the casting, which I think is excellent).

I know a lot of eager book readers are going to be upset that this isn't a faithful retelling of the story, but I'm coming around to the idea that it would be for the best if it were not.

 

There is just so much material, it all can't be done, nor should it. Some of the older stuff is also a bit dated, particularly any of the racial themes from the second book. There are also several parts of the book that seemed to be a bit contrived or Deus ex-Machina-ish; there's plenty that could be re-worked. Also, they were already going to get a certain demographic of fans upset by the casing of Elba.

 

And frankly, as popular as this book is with core Stephen King fans, there aren't nearly enough of us that upsetting the apple cart would be a huge deal. Stephen King might be the world's best selling author, but I'd bet these books didn't have anything close to the following of stuff like Harry Potter, and it's not nearly as timely as all of those movies based on novel series of teenage dystopian worlds or vampires that were all the rage the last decade.

Never read it......but trying to make a movie the same as a book is always a bad idea. It's just, the changes need to make sense...

 

Never read it......but trying to make a movie the same as a book is always a bad idea. It's just, the changes need to make sense...

 

And King movies always have the same problem; he does so much inner-monologue in his books that when you try to re-create that on the screen the characters are constantly explaining themselves and it always sounds like an unrealistic personal interaction and lazy writing.

 

And King movies always have the same problem; he does so much inner-monologue in his books that when you try to re-create that on the screen the characters are constantly explaining themselves and it always sounds like an unrealistic personal interaction and lazy writing.

 

One of the many reasons Dune has failed so many times.....

 

I know a lot of eager book readers are going to be upset that this isn't a faithful retelling of the story, but I'm coming around to the idea that it would be for the best if it were not.

 

There is just so much material, it all can't be done, nor should it. Some of the older stuff is also a bit dated, particularly any of the racial themes from the second book. There are also several parts of the book that seemed to be a bit contrived or Deus ex-Machina-ish; there's plenty that could be re-worked. Also, they were already going to get a certain demographic of fans upset by the casing of Elba.

 

And frankly, as popular as this book is with core Stephen King fans, there aren't nearly enough of us that upsetting the apple cart would be a huge deal. Stephen King might be the world's best selling author, but I'd bet these books didn't have anything close to the following of stuff like Harry Potter, and it's not nearly as timely as all of those movies based on novel series of teenage dystopian worlds or vampires that were all the rage the last decade.

 

Great post Nick.  I loved LOTR as a book, but I think the movies transcended the book by cutting all the filler and really emphasizing the best of the book.  I'm hoping the same here.

 

I loved the Dark Tower Saga, but I'd be lying if I didn't say there were entire sections that bored me or I thought were just plain stupid.

I couldn't care less if they change events but changing the core motivations of the characters is something else entirely.

 

It's why I loved Civil War and hated BvS. Marvel got the characters right and changed around events to make it work on screen. BvS actually stuck with more of the events but got the characters all wrong.

 

I couldn't care less if they change events but changing the core motivations of the characters is something else entirely.

 

It's why I loved Civil War and hated BvS. Marvel got the characters right and changed around events to make it work on screen. BvS actually stuck with more of the events but got the characters all wrong.

 

Except WW, they got her right.*

 

*Actually, I have no idea what she's really like in the comics, but I thought that character was good in the movie.

 

Except WW, they got her right.*

 

*Actually, I have no idea what she's really like in the comics, but I thought that character was good in the movie.

I quite liked WW in BvS but she didn't really do much.

I tried to read the dark tower when I was a kid - maybe 14 or so - and didn't like it. Maybe I should try again.  Movie looks good.

 

I couldn't care less if they change events but changing the core motivations of the characters is something else entirely.

 

It's why I loved Civil War and hated BvS. Marvel got the characters right and changed around events to make it work on screen. BvS actually stuck with more of the events but got the characters all wrong.

 

I guess I didn't see in the trailer that motivations were changed entirely. Perhaps they will be but I thought the trailer covered about 1% of what's happening in the story.

 

Also as to how the trailer was heavy on Jake, perhaps the film will be too. But just spit-balling here, in the books Roland is drawn up as a stoic, non-communicative type. The trailer may have needed Jake to do all the exposition because the movie was faithful to Roland's character (at least his character in the early novels) who really only spoke when necessary. Kind of hard to give an un-knowing audience any idea what to expect with Elba just giving the camera a dead-eyed stare for two minutes.

 

I guess I didn't see in the trailer that motivations were changed entirely. Perhaps they will be but I thought the trailer covered about 1% of what's happening in the story.

 

Also as to how the trailer was heavy on Jake, perhaps the film will be too. But just spit-balling here, in the books Roland is drawn up as a stoic, non-communicative type. The trailer may have needed Jake to do all the exposition because the movie was faithful to Roland's character (at least his character in the early novels) who really only spoke when necessary. Kind of hard to give an un-knowing audience any idea what to expect with Elba just giving the camera a dead-eyed stare for two minutes.

To be clear, in no way am I saying the film will get it wrong, only that the trailer didn't feel right to me.

 

But it's a trailer, not the film itself.

 

I tried to read the dark tower when I was a kid - maybe 14 or so - and didn't like it. Maybe I should try again.  Movie looks good.

 

It's a daunting task.  Plan a month to get through it.