DT 4.5

So how far out of the loop have I been when it comes to horror? How about this: I totally spaced off Stephen King's latest Dark Tower novel: THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE. My wife and I went out for my birthday - we happened to be browsing through a Barnes & Noble while waiting for restaurant reservations - when she says: "Do you have this book?" Pretty incredible, seeing as I'm as big of a Dark Tower fan as you're likely to find.

However, with that said - I'm not completely sold on this DT "4.5" concept. The series ended perfectly with the seventh and last book. Did we really need these two extra tales of Roland and his ka-tet? I guess I'm sort of looking at it like J.R.R. Tolkien's approach to Middle Earth, which he visited from several different perspectives (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silmarillion, and others). While it's always nice see our old friends, Roland, Jake, Eddie, Susannah, and Oy - even though we already know their ultimate fate - the opening chapters kind of smack me as "Dark Tower Lite."

Strangely, I don't mind revisiting Roland and company once in awhile in short story format (as King did with "The Little Sisters of Eluria" in his book EVERYTHING'S EVENTUAL.) Perhaps a full review is in order once I read the complete book. For now, check out Stephen King's newly revised Dark Tower website to learn all about THE WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE!

www.stephenking.com/darktower

The Man In Black Fled Across The Desert...

Huge news - looks like Stephen King's monumental work THE DARK TOWER is finally coming to the big screen! As a huge fan of King's masterwork, I'm thrilled - however, I can't say as I'm sold on Ron Howard directing. I realize this is too big of a job for someone like, say, Christopher Nolan or Peter Jackson to commit to, but... Ron Howard? Bleh. That does nothing for me. Sure, he's an oscar-winning director, but he just does not feel right to me. Too studio - too slick - too smiley. We need someone who can get gritty, down and dirty, just like the character of Roland. I'm hoping for the best, but my excitement is definitely tempered by the Howard/Grazer revelation.

The Dark Tower is a huge and epic series of books – so perhaps it's appropriate that it's getting a huge and epic adaptation. Deadline is reporting that Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment have closed a deal to adapt the famous Stephen King book series as both a movie trilogy and a TV series, which will be developed and produced together.

As reported back in April, the team behind A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code – Ron Howard, Akiva Goldsman and Brian Grazer – are behind the adaptation, but it is only now being 100 percent confirmed that the rumored TV series is part of the deal.

Read more here:

http://movies.ign.com/articles/111/1119038p1.html