Will shooting of Dark Tower start in 2011?
By: Michael | #Damon Lindelof #Filming #Interview #J.J. Abrams
Back in early 2007, Stephen King announced that the creators of the TV series LOST had bought the movie option to King’s The Dark Tower. We’ve had little news since then but now the signs are starting to look more positive
In a recent interview with AMC, LOST co-creator Damon Lindelof spoke about their progress on the Dark Tower adaptation.
The Dark Tower is to me every bit as daunting an adaptation as the Lord of the Rings trilogy must have been for Peter Jackson, except we’ve got seven books we’re looking at. And the idea of doing that at the same time Carlton and I are bringing Lost to a close is simply not viable. There are always Dark Tower conversations, but the figuring out of what this will look like as a movie has not begun. If The Dark Tower were in the right hands, I would love to see seven movies executed just right. But you have to get people to see the first one to get them to come and see the second one.
This is very positive for several reasons…
Okay, so Lindelof and Abrams will not even consider starting on the Dark Tower until they have wrapped up LOST. But recent media reports have indicated that the final episode of LOST will be shown in 2010. Does this mean filming could start in 2011?
Lindelof also comments that “there are always Dark Tower conversations” going on between them. Indications are that the Abrams/Lidelhof option on the film is a serious one.
He also states that he “would love to see seven movies”. Seven movies! Wow!
I have to say that our feelings here at DarkTowerMovies.com is that seven movies will not be made. If we use The Lord of The Rings as a guide, then we could expect to see three, perhaps four movies. This makes sense on many levels.
As Damon mentions in his interview, “you have to get people to see the first one to get them to come and see the second”. Could they sustain a strong viewing audience for seven movies – what happens if the studios pull out before all seven have been made! You also have to consider that you need to keep your actors for all the movies. Even if they take the approach of LotR and film it all in one go, you are talking a good five years. Many things could happen in that time and changing actors half way through would seriously ruin the film. And finally, would any film studio fund a seven movie project from the outset, before they’ve received any box office takings.
But I guess these are discussions for the future. For the present, the great news is that DT is still on the cards.
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