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You have to hand it to director Ron Howard for not giving up on his adaptation of The Dark Tower, based on author Stephen King's post-apocalyptic Western novel series.
The project has been mired in setbacks that has included Universal passing on the ambitious adaptation last July, despite Academy Award–winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) attempts to bring down the movie's budget via rewrites. With a plan that includes a trilogy of movies with two TV series, there's no doubt Howard and producer Brian Grazer's Dark Tower is an unprecedented adaptation, but with HBO agreeing to air the TV portion last October, Warner Bros. was close to taking over the project in March. With Goldsman reportedly turning in yet another draft, it looks like Warners is even closer to giving Dark Tower the green light, though it looks like a casting change will be in order.
russell crowe as roland deschain? >> Posted 08.03.12 by Ryan -
Javier Bardem might yet begin his quest for the Dark Tower.
Nothing has been easy for director Ron Howard and his ambitious plans to adapt The Dark Tower, based on the popular, post-apocalyptic Western series from author Stephen King. Howard's plan for a trilogy of movies and two TV series to bridge the movies was unprecedented, and one that Universal ultimately rejected last July, even after Academy Award–winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) performed rewrites to help bring down the movie's budget.
Howard, Goldsman, and producer Brian Grazer remained resolute, and promised to continue to find financing and another studio to distribute, and it looks like they've been successful. Deadline reports that Warner Bros. is "very close" to a deal that would allow Howard to direct the first movie, possibly in early 2013. Warner Bros. has been long-rumored to be the studio that would take over The Dark Tower, especially after HBO, also owned by Time Warner, agreed to air the TV portion of the adaptation last October.
Bardem is still attached to play gunslinger Roland Deschain, who becomes humanity's last hope as he searches for the fabled Dark Tower, said to be the nexus of all universes. Bardem's participation would depend on scheduling. Goldsman, meanwhile, is finishing another polish of the script for the studio.
The news has to good to The Dark Tower's many fans, who are anxiously awaiting the eighth volume of the series, The Wind Through the Keyhole, which will arrive on bookshelves in April.
Posted 03.13.12 by Ryan -
I Am Lengender? I Am More of a Legend?
Looks like someone will have to come up with a title for the sequel to 2007's I Am Legend, likely screenwriter-producer Akiva Goldsman. Deadline reports that the studio has closed a deal with Goldsman and Overbrook Entertainment, Will Smith's production company, for another installment.
more about the planned installment >> Posted 02.18.12 by Ryan -
For years, Oscar-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has been trying to break into directing, specifically for a movie adaptation of the 80's novel Winter's Tale and it looks as though, thanks to two big names in Hollywood, he will finally have his chance. Vulture reports that Goldsman "called in every favor he had" and eventually scored Will Smith and Russell Crowe — arguably saving the movie and jump-starting production.
The novel, which was written by Mark Helprin, is set in nineteenth-century and present-day Manhattan and tells the tale of a thief who falls in love with a dying girl who lives in one of the houses he robbed. Besides Smith and Crowe's roles, no other casting has been completed.
budget was obstacle to production >> Posted 02.02.12 by reelz -
Fox's pair of kid-friendly Fantastic Four (FF) adaptations were highly successful in terms of box office numbers, bringing in a combined total of $619 million worldwide, but the movies were shredded by critics and never even came close to winning over die-hard comic book and comic book movie fans (for the laundry list of reasons why, check out this "hater" forum over at SuperHeroHype). Aware that the current franchise had already run its course after only two movies, Fox announced back in August 2009 that it was rebooting FF and that Green Lantern scribe Michael Green had been hired to write the script.
Since that time, however, we've heard nothing but rumors about the FF reboot, from the supposed title of the new movie to the actors who might be playing Mr. Fantastic. Though producer Akiva Goldsman has dropped the project, Fox hasn't given up on the FF reboot just yet — in fact, the studio can't, unless it wants the rights to revert back to Marvel — and is currently looking at directors. According to Variety, the current "frontrunner" for the job is up-and-coming director Josh Trank, whose feature debut, the "found footage" superhero movie Chronicle, opens in less than three weeks.
more about FF and Chronicle >> Posted 01.14.12 by BrentJS -
At times, director Ron Howard's plan to adapt Stephen King's massive The Dark Tower series seemed too ambitious to work. Turns out, it was.
Deadline reports that, after having issues with the budget that ultimately delayed the adaptation's start date, Universal Pictures has decided to pass on the project. The plan for The Dark Tower was to adapt the novel series — which consists of seven novels (soon to be eight) and a short story — into a trilogy of movies, with two TV series to air in-between to help bridge the movies. Howard's A Beautiful Mind screenwriter Akiva Goldsman wrote the script for the first movie and TV series, but, according to the report, Universal would only commit to the first movie and not the series. This wasn't good enough for Howard and producer Brian Grazer, whose Imagine Entertainment production company will retain the Dark Tower rights.
who else could make Dark Tower? >> Posted 07.19.11 by Ryan -
The recent "official" casting of Javier Bardem in the role of Roland Deschain for Universal Pictures' upcoming The Dark Tower adaptation seemed like a sign that the studio was forging ahead with a potentially profitable franchise. Based on Stephen King's series of seven novels and a short story (with an eighth novel on the way), The Dark Tower was planned for a trilogy of movies, with two TV series bridging the trilogy, and had Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman (A Beautiful Mind) adapting the first movie and TV series with Academy Award–winner Ron Howard directing at least the first movie and Bardem set to star in all aspects of the franchise.
So, with so many aspects of the Dark Tower already in place, why is Universal second-guessing the entire franchise?
what's going on? >> Posted 05.06.11 by Ryan -
The Dark Tower finally has its gunslinger.
Director Ron Howard has been searching for an actor to play the lead role of Roland Deschain since acquiring the rights to author Stephen King's mammoth Western/Sci-fi/Fantasy/horror Dark Tower series.
Viggo Mortensen and Javier Bardem were reported as frontunners for the role in early January, but by the end of the month, the part was offered to Bardem. No confirmation followed, though producer Brian Grazer revealed last month that Bardem was "locked in psychologically." Finally, it looks like Bardem will indeed play the role of Deschain, who is humanity's last hope to save civilization as he quests to find the Dark Tower.
Multiple sequels as well >> Posted 04.07.11 by Ryan -
A planned movie adaptation of Stephen King's The Dark Tower series, described by the author as his "magnum opus," turned out to be too daunting a task for J.J. Abrams (Star Trek) to handle, prompting the acclaimed director to can the project and return the rights to King in November 2009. But a property as rich and expansive as The Dark Tower was not destined to sit along the sidelines in Hollywood for long. Several months later Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Akiva Goldsman were said to be developing an adaptation.
In September, NBC Universal officially announced the project, which will include three movies and a TV series, with Goldsman and Howard writing and directing, respectively, the first movie and first season of the series, and all three men co-producing the franchise. So, what is the status of the project now, three months after the official announcement? In a recent interview with Deadline, Howard said that things are "going well" and that it is "incredibly stimulating to work on."
what did Howard say and what is The Dark Tower all about? >> Posted 12.15.10 by BrentJS -
Universal Pictures has announced their release schedule through 2013, which was highlighted by a few high-profile projects. First on the list is Larry Crowne, the comedy that Tom Hanks is directing and starring in with Julia Roberts and a strong supporting cast. Larry Crowne opens on July 1, 2011, opposite Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Mark your calendars >> Posted 10.30.10 by Ryan