Ron Howard and 'The Dark Tower'

"I really can’t stop thinking about it,” Ron Howard said while shaking his head. “ We've been meeting and talking and I’ve been reading and researching and just kind of living with it. I’ve been constantly going through stuff and I’ve just been re-listening to it [on audio books] on my iPod and we've been sending e-mails back and forth, ‘What about this approach? What do you think of this idea?’ We’re finding the shape of it. We’re moving quickly now, as quickly as we can, and I feel challenged in the most exciting ways."


He's talking about bringing the Stephen King 7-novel epic "Dark Tower" series to the screen.  In an interview with HeroComplex, the Oscar winning filmmaker admits he's become a bit obsessed with the project.  Teaming up once again with producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to present King’s magnum opus as a film trilogy as well as a tie-in television series, it was while working on 'A Beautiful Mind' the Goldsman brought about the idea of bringing the story of Roland Deschain to life.



The project has yet to be greenlit, but Universal Pictures and NBC Universal Television Entertainment announced in September the bold plan to chronicle the story of gunslingers, magic, monsters and mutants as a multimedia event. If all goes as planned, Howard will direct the first film and then the first season of a tie-in television series, both of which Goldsman plans write. Two more films would then follow. In a statement, King gushed about the endeavor: “I’ve been waiting for the right team to bring the characters and stories in these books to film and TV viewers around the world. Ron, Akiva, Brian along with Universal and NBC have a deep interest and passion for the ‘The Dark Tower’ series and I  know that will translate into an intriguing series of films and TV shows that respect the origins and the characters in ‘The Dark Tower’ that fans have come to love.”

The King fantasy epic began in 1982 and has spanned 7 novels, with a planned 8th, and encompassing, a so far 36 issue prequel published by Marvel comics.  "It’s the ongoing evolution of the characters and the discovery,” Howard said of the comics that are plotted by Robin Furth and scripted by Peter David with King overseeing everything as creative director. “There are new interpretations of the rules of the world and the story. It’s a really useful and compelling part of this already fascinating creative journey that we’re on."


“It’s different than anything I’ve ever done and in really interesting ways,” the 56-year-old said. “With ‘Da Vinci’ the mandate was different. That was about getting the story and the action and focusing on acting. With this, there’s this entire world and all of these references and there are the books and the graphic novels and just talking to Stephen and it’s all this ongoing conversation with the material and it’s really exciting. In all of it, he leaves a lot open to interpretation and so it gives a great deal of latitude.  We say, ‘At their root they’re simple stories, don’t be afraid to keep it simple.'"


But even a "simple" story like "The Dark Tower" can scare off the likes of J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof, who know plenty about intricate mythology as the co-creators of 'Lost'.  “I’m terrified of screwing it up,” Lindelof said in an interview with USA Today, “I’d do anything to see those movies written by someone else.  My guess is they will get made because they’re so incredible.  But not by me.”  He admits he was put off by the complexity of the project and his own idol worship when it comes to King.

Viggo Mortenseon, Daniel Craig and Kurt Russell

Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman and Jon Hamm.  “Sure, those are some names and on ‘The Dark Tower’ fansites they’re all about Viggo,” Howard said, referring to Viggo Mortensen, who has plenty of appropriate experience — he’s roamed a desolate, otherworldly landscape in 'The Road', wore iron on his hip in 'Appaloosa' and forever won over fantasy fans as Aragorn in 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.


The target release for the first movie is 2013.  The television series would then follow and bridge to the second film.  After the second movie the television series would pick up again and carry forward to the final film in the trilogy.  It’s an epic plan, but in a September statement Goldsman said grand-scale storytelling is needed for the grand-scale source material.  “The worlds of Stephen King’s ‘The Dark Tower’ series are richly detailed, inter-locking and deeply connected,” Goldsman said. “By telling this story across media platforms and over multiple hours—and with a view to telling it completely—we have our best chance of translating Roland’s quest to reach the Dark Tower onto screen. We are proceeding with tremendous excitement, fidelity to the source material and, quite frankly, no small amount of awe at this opportunity.”





Ron Howard admits it is the challenge of a lifetime and at this point, he's quite uncertain if the audience can follow a medium jumping story.  But I say, if readers have been able to keep up with it at this point, film will only add to the epic story.


Thanks to HeroComplex.LATimes.com & Geoff Boucher