Abrams and Lindelof to Follow Up LOST with THE DARK TOWER?!?
by E. Christopher Clark | Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Over the weekend, while seated next to each other at Free Comic Book Day, me and Bryan White from Cinema Suicide eventually got to talking about the news that he posted on his site last week, the news that Lost co-creators J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof will be following up their work on my favorite TV show of all time—Lost—by producing a series of films based on Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.
The Dark Tower series is one of those sci-fi/fantasy epics that, like The Lord of the Rings, has been on my to-read list for years. I read the first book of King’s series, The Gunslinger, back when I was probably too young to be reading Stephen King books (and definitely too young to understand them), but I haven’t returned to the series since. But this news has me wanting to go buy the whole series right now. It’s a rainy day, I’m still feeling sick from whatever bug I picked up yesterday, and reading seems like the thing to do. And to know that Abrams and Lindelof have picked this series for their next big thing—that just amps me up that much more.
What say you, Fivers? Have you read the series? Do you think Abrams and Lindelof can pull off the adaptation? Do you think anyone can? Chime in below.
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Comments
Bethany says:
I loved the series, until King got in the accident and changed everything. I was horrified by what he did to the story. I have long been a King fan, but have like about 1% of what he’s produced since he was injured.
That said, if they could produce a miniseries that was as good as The Stand, I’d be up for it. But if it turns out like The Langoliers or IT (my favorite King story, which was BUTCHERED on screen), then I’m out.
E. Christopher Clark says:
@JustTerry - Thanks for your comment. While I agree that there are a lot of unnecessary adaptations out there, I’m not ready to write off the whole form. I think adaptations can be very compelling when done well.
@Bethany - The Stand miniseries was really good, wasn’t it? I remember watching that all the way through a whole bunch of times back in the day.
I never did see all of It, though I do remember it coming on as a Saturday afternoon movie once in a while when I was a bit younger, and so I suppose I’ve seen some of it. I don’t recall it being very good.
At what point does whole Dark Tower series get unreadable? Is it not until the end, or does the shift happen somewhere in the middle?
Bethany says:
It gets unreadable in the 6th book, if I remember correctly. Possibly toward the end of the 5th. I can’t really say anything more without giving a huge plot point away.
I can’t even think about IT. The cast/acting was horrendous, which broke my heart, because what I loved most about the book was the characters. But obvs they just cast it with known actors to get ratings. I would pray they wouldn’t do that with the Dark Tower. Unless they cast, ya know, good actors. Ha!
I just read a really interesting article about how King wrote most of his 70s and 80s stuff completely coked up. There is definitely a difference in his work after he got straight, that’s for sure. Which makes me think about writers and their vices… I remember Perry telling us he smoked because he thought writers should; he’d just light a cigarette and let it burn out on the ashtray, then light another one.
E. Christopher Clark says:
“He smoked because he thought writers should”? Weird… I definitely still need to pick up Perry’s book(s) again. Been itching to revisit them for years to see how stupid the stupid comment I made way back when really was.
I think there’s something to be said for writing under the influence. Maybe that’s why I’ve not yet found success—I have never written under the influence of anything but my twisted imagination.
JustTerry says:
I always cringe when I hear things like this. can no one produce original idea anymore???
As with most “adaptations” (i will use that word instead of the usual crude word i would normally use that rhymes with gRAPE) I am willing to bet that they can tell a good story and have a compelling movie that will share just enough of the book to piss off the people who loved the book while at the same time salving their egos enough so they can believe they did something worthwhile.
But then again that might just be me.