eddysnake's Thread of Stephen King

[eddy]

haha, even so, it would still ruin it by her being in it.

[PFiDC]

HA!

So let's play the casting game.

For Roland I really like Bill Fitchner. He's got the overall look down already. Long, tall, and ugly with those bombardier blue eyes.

Cort:

Susannah:

Stephen Deschain:

[eddy]

Oh NO, not her for Susannah. She is terrible. (is that the girl from sleepy hollow?)

Get Ben Mendelsohn and Matthew McConaughey in there for Roland/Man in black roles (doesn't matter which one for which) and I'd be happy

[Willie Kool]

Roland:

Iain Glen

Susannah:

Zoe Saldana

[PFiDC]

Oh NO, not her for Susannah. She is terrible. (is that the girl from sleepy hollow?)

Get Ben Mendelsohn and Matthew McConaughey in there for Roland/Man in black roles (doesn't matter which one for which) and I'd be happy

No, she is from The Wire.

I like WKs suggestion though.

[PFiDC]

Honestly I prefer McConaughey for Roland because he can do the whole series and not just the first one.

[eddy]

that's true, but I have a feeling they'll find a way to incorporate him in more if he chooses the villian role. I have a few books that I want to get to first, but I'm thinking about rereading these again, maybe I'll check out Salems Lot first then jump in.

[Dickie Dunn]

I prefer any suggestion that involves Zoe Saldana.

[PFiDC]

that's true, but I have a feeling they'll find a way to incorporate him in more if he chooses the villian role. I have a few books that I want to get to first, but I'm thinking about rereading these again, maybe I'll check out Salems Lot first then jump in.

Reading Drawing of the Three and there is a lot of internal Man In Black moments for Roland. They could easily have the character appear on the beach to say these things to Roland. Dude just **** with the man...

[eddy]

Whoa, Idris Elba frontrunner for Roland

[AuthorTony]

Whoa, Idris Elba frontrunner for Roland

I could definitely get behind that.

[shafnutz05]

Not saying I'd be totally against Idris Elba, but he better be damned convincing. And I'm a fan of his.

[shafnutz05]

After sleeping on the Idris Elba thing, I would absolutely hate this decision. Odetta/Detta is already a black character, and a great one at that, and a lot of the limited humor in the series is based on her interactions with Roland and Eddie. I really hope they don't take the PC route and give the role to a black actor--sorry, Roland is a white character through and through.

I love Idris Elba as an actor, but not in this role.

[eddy]

It's definitely an interesting choice. He's an awesome actor, but I didn't see coming. I think he can nail it, but it just feels different. Let's be honest, the story was going to probably get changed up regardless of who is in it.

[Dickie Dunn]

[PFiDC]

My feeling is that Elba could absolutely CRUSH the role of Roland from an acting stand point. I think he would nail it. However, as Shaf mentioned, the Detta/Odetta/Susannah character is not just a black character but a black character who's story is heavily dependent upon her being black (the cab not picking her family up which leads to the brick, Oxford, etc.). Making Roland also black would diminish the story IMO. Yeah...that kinda sounds racist, but it's the truth. Roland is an awkward white dude from Mid-World.

[Willie Kool]

as Shaf mentioned, the Detta/Odetta/Susannah character is not just a black character but a black character who's story is heavily dependent upon her being black (the cab not picking her family up which leads to the brick, Oxford, etc.). Making Roland also black would diminish the story IMO. Yeah...that kinda sounds racist, but it's the truth. Roland is an awkward white dude from Mid-World.

Exactly.

[eddy]

My feeling is that Elba could absolutely CRUSH the role of Roland from an acting stand point. I think he would nail it. However, as Shaf mentioned, the Detta/Odetta/Susannah character is not just a black character but a black character who's story is heavily dependent upon her being black (the cab not picking her family up which leads to the brick, Oxford, etc.). Making Roland also black would diminish the story IMO. Yeah...that kinda sounds racist, but it's the truth. Roland is an awkward white dude from Mid-World.

I think because he is from a different world, what you said above won't matter too much.

[AuthorTony]

I think Elba could be a great Roland. I know it's against what all of us envisioned, but I really don't think there's any perfect choice out there. Roland was Clint Eastwood at 40ish. Anyone else is going to seem like an odd fit. While I can think of several actors who look the part, I think it's more important to cast a great actor in the role (after all, he's going to be carrying several films) than to go with someone who fits the part visually.

I also agree with eddy that Roland's world was different. Mid World was likely lacking in racism so he still wouldn't be able to identify with Detta's struggles in America.

[PFiDC]

My feeling is that Elba could absolutely CRUSH the role of Roland from an acting stand point. I think he would nail it. However, as Shaf mentioned, the Detta/Odetta/Susannah character is not just a black character but a black character who's story is heavily dependent upon her being black (the cab not picking her family up which leads to the brick, Oxford, etc.). Making Roland also black would diminish the story IMO. Yeah...that kinda sounds racist, but it's the truth. Roland is an awkward white dude from Mid-World.

I think because he is from a different world, what you said above won't matter too much.

Disagree. There are plenty of instances where Roland has to struggle to really understand the racism of our world over his, especially in Do3. Sure, you could change the story, but that's a pretty big change.

As far as being from a different world; his world is not too much different from ours in a lot of aspects. I'm on Waste Lands now so I'll be getting into Roland's back story pretty soon (never read Wind Through The Keyhole but will after WaG) and I'll keep an eye on any mention of racism or bigotry from his childhood.

I just think the Detta/Odetta/Susannah story makes making Roland black a bad idea.

[AuthorTony]

I think a bigger issue casting-wise is going to be Jake. Most child actors suck and that character has some serious drama to contend with. Finding a boy that can pull it all off is going to be next to impossible.

Additionally, with there being so many films, the actors are all going to age 3-6 years over the course of filming. That's not a big deal for adults, but for Jake you're going to end up with a Carl from TWD issue where the little boy becomes and awkward teen over the course of the production. But it's important to the Dark Tower that Jake remain virtually the same age throughout.

Also, FWIW, I don't believe these movies are going to get made at all.

[PFiDC]

Totally agree re: Jake. The only way to pull it off would be to use the TV series option.

Movies:
Gunslinger
Waste Lands
Wolves
Dark Tower

TV Series:
Drawing of the Three
Wizard and Glass
Song of Susannah

Preferably HBO would take the series. Hell, I'd prefer the entire thing to be an HBO series. Film it all concurrently and you can complete filming in 3 years.

[eddy]

To me, the color of the gunslinger doesn't matter. What I care about is how fast he can draw...and that he takes care of the ka-tet.

https://twitter.com/StephenKing/status/ ... 6455227393

[PFiDC]

Here's the thing. Detta hates Roland and Eddie because they resemble (and therefore her crazy mind runs wild) the Honk Mahfahs she hates so much. If Roland is black you need to change the story.

Acting wise, Elba would kill it. Maybe that is most important, but I don't know if its worth it at the expense of the story.

Maybe they change Susannah to Hispanic...

[PFiDC]

Or Arab...