Plug Pulled

Word is coming out that the Ron Howard directed, Brian Grazer produced THE DARK TOWER movie/TV project has had its plug pulled by Universal. According to Deadline, the studio is passing on the Stephen King penned project for good - a huge setback for Howard and Grazer (and maybe what it takes to get them off the project...one can hope, no?) Said to be as huge in scope as THE LORD OF THE RINGS series, THE DARK TOWER was set to be a gi-normous multimedia endeavor unlike anything seen before.

The last news we had heard was that Javier Bardem had committed to the role (obviously a talented, award-winning actor - but not right for Roland in my eyes), but based on Akiva Goldsman's script and a steadily inflating budget, Universal hesitated on the massive scope of the project, cutting costs and only committing to one TV series and a single film.

As a die-hard fan of Roland and his ka-tet, THE DARK TOWER has a special place in my heart and the Howard/Grazer combination just never felt right to me. I would much rather a small, independent take on the books done with passion than a soulless, bloated, Hollywood movie that has forgotten the face of its father.