‘Dark Tower’: Clashing Visions, Brutal Test Screenings Plagued Journey to Big Screen

L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link.

With millions of loyal readers and a fantastical setting, Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” book series has tantalized Hollywood. The movie business is always on the prowl for the next “Lord of the Rings” or “Harry Potter.” King’s novels, about a mysterious gunslinger on a quest to save the universe, had the markings of a potential blockbuster.

However, getting the promising adaptation to the big screen took more than a decade and suffered several setbacks along the way, as one top director and screenwriter after another — including J.J. Abrams, who originally optioned the material — tried and failed to wrest the author’s eight-book opus into a workable film. After Universal Pictures scrapped plans to make a series of interconnected films and television shows with Ron Howard running point, Modi Wiczyk, co-founder of Media Rights Capital, set the project up under a co-financing deal with Sony Pictures.

In 2015, MRC and Sony jointly announced they had found a way into the story and tapped Nikolaj Arcel, the Oscar-nominated Danish filmmaker behind “A Royal Affair,” to direct the movie.

With “The Dark Tower” poised to debut this weekend, multiple sources told Variety that the creative process — particularly in post-production — was plagued with problems and clashing visions. Wiczyk and Sony Pictures chief Tom Rothman downplay any suggestion that the movie faced major hurdles.

But when Arcel delivered an early cut of the picture that alarmed Wiczyk and Rothman, they considered bringing in a more experienced filmmaker to recut it. While the two men deny this and insist their joint contribution was limited to giving the director notes, one insider said that Rothman spent hours in the editing bay offering his input.
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More at the link.
 
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
 
Shame. Was looking forward to this, but it honestly doesn't look good to me. I'll catch it on Netflix someday.
 
I mean I'm sure we all expected this but still

Na3XQCp.gif
 
That's too bad. The announcement of this move was what finally motivated me to go and restart the series and finish it this time. I only got as far as book three on my first run. Currently on book 2 now and still enjoying it.
 
Really should have been a TV series. Its crazy to think this is a 90 minute film when they have enough material for like 4 seasons of GoT length episodes.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
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Jesus Christ.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
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Wonder if the Valerian test screenings had the same addendum. Certainly should've.

This has looked awful from the beginning... I hope it doesn't torpedo Idris Elba's career.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
Click to expand...

There is a lot going against this movie including rabid fans that will always hate on it. This is one of those movies I'm not going to listen to people on and judge for myself.
 
So this is going to be a pretty colossal bomb?

I wonder how long it will be before anyone else tries to adapt The Dark Tower into a film or TV series. Will they ever? We've seen reboots of Shining, It, and Carrie.....but those were made largely because the originals we quite successful.
 
So it doesn't just look like a poor TV movie and soon to be flop with potential to turn into a trash fire along the way, that's basically what it is. That's kind of unfortunate considering the two leads.

hydrophilic attack said:
i mean, the books are shit too

at least the last three
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You're not wrong. What happens to the
major series wide villains
is absolutely hilarious.
 
border said:
So this is going to be a pretty colossal bomb?

I wonder how long it will be before anyone else tries to adapt The Dark Tower into a film or TV series. Will they ever? We've seen reboots of Shining, It, and Carrie.....but those were made largely because the originals we quite successful.
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The Stand and The Dark Tower series are impossible to be made into movies. TV series or mini-series is the best way to go.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
Click to expand...

McCaughnehey is just about perfect casting for the Man in Black, and I can't believe Elba didn't do at least a semi-decent job, so the kid?

Well at least it will be a 90 minute amazing piece of shit.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
Click to expand...

Oh man, Sony test screening stories are the best. The ones that leaked out of The Last Action Hero set the gold standard.
 
It was a struggle to combine parts of several books into an 88-minute film that appeals to both King devotees and mainstream audiences.

Sony and MRC spent $6 million on reshoots to fill in more backstory about Elba's character's hatred for McConaughey's Man in Black. In addition, to better familiarize audiences with Mid-World, the film's magical setting, five minutes of exposition were cut and a new scene was shot to combine ideas that had been sprinkled throughout the picture.
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Lol.
 
Slayven said:
I love it when we get "what went wrong" or "Ain't my fault" articles before the movie even drops
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Yeah. Especially as I was hoping it would've been decent at least.

This thing had a lot of bumps. Really just want Elba to nail a blockbuster one of these days. Besides Pacific Rim, if that even counts.
 
Sony pictures seems to be just one mess after the other. I hope they can somehow reflect and why this is.

Do they have any big film talent that works with them?
 
I'm almost through the first book and I don't know what to think of it. Its not bad per se, but also not very interesting. how many times they gonna talk about this dudes dick?
 
BoogieWoogie said:
McCaughnehey is just about perfect casting for the Man in Black, and I can't believe Elba didn't do at least a semi-decent job, so the kid?

Well at least it will be a 90 minute amazing piece of shit.
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It's probably Matty McC

I'm guessing he chews the scenery but goes too far to the point where it becomes bad
 
Sony legit has to clean house. They needs to fire everybody that made decisions any decisions and hire new people. Their movie division reminds me of the current white house the last few months. In fighting and failing.
 
BoogieWoogie said:
McCaughnehey is just about perfect casting for the Man in Black, and I can't believe Elba didn't do at least a semi-decent job, so the kid?

Well at least it will be a 90 minute amazing piece of shit.
Click to expand...

I've also heard that while there are hooks for a sequel should this thing actually become successful, those sequels would likely be original adventures, and not anything based on any of King's books.

Not that this will be successful because Rothman trying to edit the thing (it's been cut to play like The Dark Tower was a modern YA novel, from what I understand) means everyone at the studio knows this isn't going to work, which is probably why they've been "selling" it the way they have.

The good news: Because of how they've been selling it, when it sinks like a rock, nobody will remember it ever happened after a couple weeks, so any negative effects will be minimal. This won't hurt Elba or McConaughey, or probably even the director.

It'll be like it never happened.
 
O_Atoll said:
Sony legit has to clean house. They needs to fire everybody that made decisions any decisions and hire new people. Their movie division reminds me of the current white house the last few months. In fighting and failing.
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Well, that's actually how Tom Rothman became chairman 2 years ago.

Bobby Roberts said:
I've also heard that while there are hooks for a sequel should this thing actually become successful, those sequels would likely be original adventures, and not anything based on any of King's books.
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So it really is the super quick NG+ True End path to the books? Lmao.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I heard a story about one of the test screenings where the cards distributed to the audience included a note asking them not to suggest recasting one of the leads because it was too late for that action to be taken.

I've also heard this is going to be an amazing piece of shit.
Click to expand...

holy shit

I wonder which one it is? The kid (Tom Taylor) ?
 
Kill3r7 said:
The Stand and The Dark Tower series are impossible to be made into movies. TV series or mini-series is the best way to go.
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The Dark Tower wouldn't even work as a miniseries. Not because the material is so deep and complex that it's impossible to adapt, it's just incredibly clunky and clumsy in its execution past the first two or three books that to be able to try to approach it would be an exercise in futility

I know a lot of Stephen King fans, myself included, that don't really reflect fondly on the saga as a whole after it reached its conclusion sometime ago.

O_Atoll said:
Sony legit has to clean house. They needs to fire everybody that made decisions any decisions and hire new people.
Click to expand...

Nuke the site from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.

I'm pretty sure they tried that a few years ago though, they just don't seem to have any workable ideas at all, and are pretty desperately flailing around in the dark to grab anything they can to make a franchise out of. It's kind of sad honestly.
 
This movie gonna bomb and they'll get it right with an epic TV series later. Elba, as much as I love him, is miscast. Roland was always supposed to be a cranky older white dude.
 
Very nice GAF.

I'm enjoying the posts written by those boasting of how much they hated the books and when they jumped off, Great. You are all now a higher class of human like all full GAF members and only profess to appreciate universally acclaimed media.

I lurk a lot and don't post often due to how fucking negative this place is.
 
Bobby Roberts said:
I've also heard that while there are hooks for a sequel should this thing actually become successful, those sequels would likely be original adventures, and not anything based on any of King's books.

Not that this will be successful because Rothman trying to edit the thing (it's been cut to play like The Dark Tower was a modern YA novel, from what I understand) means everyone at the studio knows this isn't going to work, which is probably why they've been "selling" it the way they have.
Click to expand...

Ve9Y3.gif


That's the most discouraging shit I've heard so far.
 
God, this film is going to be a fucking shitshow.

Jkmetal said:
Very nice GAF.

I'm enjoying the posts written by those boasting of how much they hated the books and when they jumped off, Great. You are all now a higher class of human like all full GAF members and only profess to appreciate universally acclaimed media.

I lurk a lot and don't post often due to how fucking negative this place is.
Click to expand...

Dark Tower books are a thousand times better than Ready Player One....so at least there is that!
 
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