Kevin's Watch

What the what?

There are some crazy rumors going around the web about this. Today is the first I've heard of this, but it sounds like Javier Bardem has been offered the role of Roland.
Even weirder is that there will be movies and some mini-series in between the movies to tell the full story. And casting rumors for Susannah have a white actress pegged for her.
Weirdness.
I'm certainly excited about the prospect of a Dark Tower movie, but I don't see Javier Bardem as Roland, and I think Susannah should be black. The feature film/mini-series thing is intriguing though.

He's probably too old now, but Kurt Russell would have been perfect for Roland.

Suze is black. Changing that radically changes the story.

This.

Will.

Suck.

A few points:

1) I don't care if Susannah is white or black, so long as the movie writers make her less annoying than King did. I swear, my least favorite character in the whole 7 books (well, maybe except for Dandelo), but King obviously thought she was friggin' awesome!

2) How cool would it be to see Blaine in full 3-D glory?!

3) I hate Javier Bardem. And that stupid No Country movie.

4) The first three Dark Tower books are great. I hated book 4, although everyone else seemed to like it, and then the last 3 were c.r.a.p. I can easily see the movie actually improving the source material.

5) Change the ending. It was horrible.

Horrim Carabal wrote:1) I don't care if Susannah is white or black, so long as the movie writers make her less annoying than King did. I swear, my least favorite character in the whole 7 books (well, maybe except for Dandelo), but King obviously thought she was friggin' awesome!

You lose everything that made her character who it was if she's not black. "Honk Mafahs" is going to sound stupid coming out of a white girl's mouth.

Horrim Carabal wrote:2) How cool would it be to see Blaine in full 3-D glory?!

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh, maybe. I'm not a real fan of 3D.

Horrim Carabal wrote:3) I hate Javier Bardem. And that stupid No Country movie.

I absolutely, 100% agree with this.

Horrim Carabal wrote:4) The first three Dark Tower books are great. I hated book 4, although everyone else seemed to like it, and then the last 3 were c.r.a.p. I can easily see the movie actually improving the source material.

Book 4 (WaG) is one of the best things King's written. Judging by the articles, that'll be covered in one of the mini-series. The last three books were pretty bad.

Horrim Carabal wrote:5) Change the ending. It was horrible.

, But the ending was awesome (the coda, not the actual 'happily ever after' ending)! I always mix the two up.....I like the circularity of the story, not the Scooby-Do reunion.

Cail wrote:

Horrim Carabal wrote:2) How cool would it be to see Blaine in full 3-D glory?!

Ehhhhhhhhhhhh, maybe. I'm not a real fan of 3D.

That's only because we don't have 3D yet. We have stereoscopic 2D.

One of my hobbies, when I'm in a really cranky mood, is to go to Best Buy or Video Only, and point out that the picture on the TV is fuzzy. When they try to tell me it's 3D, I ask why the image doesn't change when I move around the room.

Fortunately, I'm not that cranky very often

Cail wrote: "Honk Mafahs" is going to sound stupid coming out of a white girl's mouth.

Again, I don't care if she's black, so long as she's less annoying.

Cail wrote:Book 4 (WaG) is one of the best things King's written. Judging by the articles, that'll be covered in one of the mini-series. The last three books were pretty bad.

Well, like I said, lots of people liked book 4. I didn't, I saw the decline. Read The Waste Lands again, then Wizard and Glass. Tell me you can't see a decline.

Cail wrote: But the ending was awesome (the coda, not the actual 'happily ever after' ending)! I always mix the two up.....I like the circularity of the story, not the Scooby-Do reunion.

I don't like the circularity, but it could have been ok if done better. Basically the ending was a huge anticlimax. Why is the Crimson King stuck on a balcony throwing Harry Potter grenades? He's supposed to be...like he was in Insomnia. Powerful. Significant. Not an old loser tossing sharpers and cutters like Whiskeyjack.

And the Dark Tower was so underwhelming.

After the buildup of the first 3 books...its just a big disappointment. Don't get me started on Dandelo, Flagg's end (wtf was that?), Mordred, etc etc etc.

Words can't describe my disappointment with the end of book 7.

The Waste Lands is the best of the first three. It doesn't hold a candle to Wizard and Glass. Wolves of the Calla wasn't horrible, and could probably make for a rather good film.

The problem I had with the lead up to the ending, was that the Crimson King was erased, which was stupid. The Man in Black's death was stupid. Basically, everything leading up to the ending was stupid. Now granted, I cried my eyes out when Oy died, but it was still just another pointless death.

To steal King's words, it took him until Wizard and Glass to truly get on the beam with the story. Then he had his accident, and lost it.

Oh, and if Suze ain't black, you've got no story.

Cail wrote:The Waste Lands is the best of the first three. It doesn't hold a candle to Wizard and Glass.

We'll have to agree to disagree there. I do think WaG was better than the last 3 books. Some of the Wizard of Oz imagery didn't work for me, and there was no scene like the vacant lot scene in The Waste Lands, which is one of the best scenes King has ever written, IMO. Also the Blaine stuff (the lead-up and foreshadowing, not the actual meeting with Blaine) was awesome in Waste Lands.

Cail wrote: The problem I had with the lead up to the ending, was that the Crimson King was erased, which was stupid.

Sure was!!

Cail wrote: The Man in Black's death was stupid.

Amen.

Also, Dandelo was stupid. Mordred was stupid (ever read The Fionavar Tapestry? He's Darien). CK being an impotent old man was stupid. The Dark Tower itself was underwhelming. Patrick's role was shoe-horned in and dumb. Etc etc etc

Cail wrote: Basically, everything leading up to the ending was stupid.

Yup, pretty much.

Cail wrote:Now granted, I cried my eyes out when Oy died, but it was still just another pointless death.

Oy didn't even get ressurected in that "Scooby Doo" ending as you called it. Oy didn't deserve it??? Geez King.

Cail wrote:To steal King's words, it took him until Wizard and Glass to truly get on the beam with the story. Then he had his accident, and lost it.

He should have waited, let more time pass. He seemed in his author's notes to always be afraid he wouldn't live to finish the story. It seemed like a rush job, those last 3 books.

What's this Scooby-Doo ending being mentioned? Been a while since I read the 7th DT, and I only read it once. But I recall Roland getting to the top of the Tower, opening the door, and ending up back in the desert. I don't recall any reunions. Did I miss something incredibly major?

Cambo wrote:What's this Scooby-Doo ending being mentioned? Been a while since I read the 7th DT, and I only read it once. But I recall Roland getting to the top of the Tower, opening the door, and ending up back in the desert. I don't recall any reunions. Did I miss something incredibly major?

Yeah there was a note from King saying that the reader should not continue...and he was right.

Alternate people and doppelgangers and sick reunions. It was truly horrible.

I don't remember even being aware of that. Guess I took the note from King seriously. Sounds like the Harry Potter epilogue to me. Blergh.

It was like the ending of LOST. Like Roland's supporting cast got reunited in the afterlife. Roland himself returned to the beginning of his story, so he wasn't involved in that ending. I have no problem with it personally, but some things that make me wonder if the films can be made are things like "will Marvel Comics allow them to use Dr. Doom in the movie?" and stuff like that.

Could you please either put a spoiler alert up, or move this to the King forum?

I put (Spoiler Alert!) in the thread title. I'd be surprised if anybody interested enough to read this thread hasn't read the series, though. The final book came out almost a decade ago.

Thanks, I'd like to read the series one of these days and have heard of Roland, I tried to look away while reading but caught some stuff I shouldn't have...

Rigel wrote:
One of my hobbies, when I'm in a really cranky mood, is to go to Best Buy or Video Only, and point out that the picture on the TV is fuzzy. When they try to tell me it's 3D, I ask why the image doesn't change when I move around the room.

Love it

Funny that __ Mentioned LOST, 'cuz those bastards almost took responsibility for this project....

___ wrote:The final book came out almost a decade ago.

My disappointment lingers.

LOL!! figures that i'd be the only one to think Bardem might be good in this role. heh.

(i love this about myself! i knew who john cale was too! hee!)

Oh, I'm sure Bardem will be good in this role - he's a good actor. I just don't see Roland with his face. Then again, I didn't think Viggo Mortensen was right for Aragorn from the few things I saw him in, and out of the supposed final three for Roland (Christian Bale, Viggo and Bardem), Viggo would have been who I would have picked. We'll just have to see.