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

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.

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