The Dark Tower (TV Show Time!)

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

From Cinemablend:

The Actor Playing Roland Deschain In The Dark Tower Will Be Revealed Within A Week

Holy shit that was fast!!

Please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck, etc.

Here is the link to the original article from MTV:

The Dark Tower' Casting EXCLUSIVE: Roland Will Be Revealed This Week, Says Brian Grazer!

I feel sick with anticipation.

Please no Viggo (50% meant, but a strong 50%).

I was thinking this last night, Viggo is just too nice. He hasn't the dark scary or intimidating presence that Roland has.

you still haven't even finished reading the books, have you?

3/4s through the last one. Near the end. Don't blow it for me. But by now I do know what Roland looks like.

well, you obviously haven't gotten to the big twist then yet. roland is a female midget wrestler

I was bout to write that I HATE it when you put black bars up that I can't read and do my head in, but then when I quoted this page I saw what you wrote.

Well if that is the case then this is who I want to play that wrestler part -


- and I wanna Extra role being Roland's opponent!

not midgety enough

I just can't picture Javier Bardem as Roland, if it's between him and Viggo I'd pick Viggo.

Now it seems like it's actually going to happen though, I kinda think casting someone relatively unknown is the way to go. Roland should just be Roland and not hampered by all the baggage a recognised persona will bring to the role.

Which is why Ron Howard is such a gentleman for this. He's thinking the way that idiots on the net think - "Durlhm, I know nothing about movies so all I can think of is the first person that comes to mind who is in the arena of Roland's looks even though it's not close enough to him, but it's the best an unknowledgeable person like me can come up with so I guess 10th best choice for Roland will have to do."

I can't believe Howard is thinking so unimaginatively with no articulate, encyclopediatic film expert knowledge of what other actors out there EXIST in the world! There's THOUSANDS!! Pick from them, not just 5 or so. You fucking idiot.

[Fievel]

I just can't picture Javier Bardem as Roland, if it's between him and Viggo I'd pick Viggo.

Now it seems like it's actually going to happen though, I kinda think casting someone relatively unknown is the way to go. Roland should just be Roland and not hampered by all the baggage a recognised persona will bring to the role.

I agree with all of this.

Isn't Viggo going to be in The Hobbit with the extra content leading up to LOTR? If so, it would be unlikely he would be able to do both projects.

And Kirks.... at least Howard hasn't mention Tom Hanks as a possible Roland.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I just IMDB'd Viggo. Upcoming projects are in post production. He's available. Sigh.

[John-Locke]

My dream casting right this second would be Holt McCallany from Lights Out (never going to happen though but on the thousand to one shot he gets cast I wanted it to be recorded somewhere so I could brag), he's a bit of a journeyman actor who's finally getting his dues and he's got the stare that Roland requires.

Jason Isaacs would also deliver the goods...

As would Michael Shannon...

And Garret Dillahunt

These are the types of Actors Howard should be considering IMO

[Fievel]

And Garret Dillahunt

After watching him, and absolutely loving him, in the comedy sitcom Raising Hope, I'm convinced that Dillahunt is one of those actors that absolutely owns whatever genre he is acting in.

[Nice Marmot]

The more I think of it, I swear Peter Weller could do it. They could make him look just a TAD bit younger and there you have it. Leathered, tough as nails, piercing blue-eyed Roland, baby!

After Fringe and Dexter it's the perfect big time comeback role for a fanboy fave in an adaptation of a fanboy fave.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

THOMAS HAYDEN CHURCH FOR ROLAND!!!!!!

[Bloo]

Jeff Fahey, I watched Silverado this weekend, and had forgotten he was in that movie. He looks natural, got the great eyes and could really pull off Roland

[Nice Marmot]

Wouldn't argue w/ Fahey, Kurt Russell or Peter Weller. Daniel Craig could do it. Would kind of feel like the Viggo choice w/ him already being Bond AND playing a cowboy in Favrueau's flick.

I am convinced it is either Viggo or Javier at this point. Both underwhelm for different reasons.

[Nice Marmot]

THOMAS HAYDEN CHURCH FOR ROLAND!!!!!!

That dude from Wings??? That's like thinking Woody from Cheers could carry a movie . . .

Sorry, I have a good friend who is SO anti-Church it drives me nuts. Had to vent.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

THOMAS HAYDEN CHURCH FOR ROLAND!!!!!!

That dude from Wings??? That's like thinking Woody from Cheers could carry a movie . . .

Sorry, I have a good friend who is SO anti-Church it drives me nuts. Had to vent.

Hayden is the dude who would be Vader - if he wasn't so lightweight.

THOMAS HAYDEN CHURCH actually has played a cowboy before. He was Robert Duvall's nephew in Broken Trail. CUCKAAUUU!!!!

[TonyWilson]

Jeff Bridges, case closed.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Jeff Bridges, case closed.

Nick Nolte younger'd up. Case re-opened.

[minstrel]

Jeff Bridges, case closed.

Nick Nolte younger'd up. Case re-opened.

Shia LaBoeuf. He's the go-to guy in big projects, isn't he? And he knows Optimus Prime personally, so don't cross him.

Christian Bale. Everyone wants him for everything.

Tom Hardy. Everyone wants him for everything Christian Bale doesn't want.

Russell Crowe, because he has to re-earn some cred. Skinny him up some first.

Richard Chamberlain, because if it's a mini-series, it has to star Richard Chamberlain. And I am stuck in the 1980s.

David Hasselhoff. You know you want it. Party with the Hoff!

Michael Ironside, because he'd probably be willing, and because his name is Michael Ironside.

Ed Harris, because he used to be Ed Harris.

[caruso_stalker217]

Ed Harris is too bald. Otherwise, I think he'd be fucking great.

Cort, maybe?

[TheBaxter]

michael ironside would be great for cort. that's who i pictured him as when i read the books.

but all this casting talk is for naught as long as ron howard is involved. no casting can make up for his involvement in this.

[caruso_stalker217]

but all this casting talk is for naught as long as ron howard is involved. no casting can make up for his involvement in this.

You said it.

[Fievel]

michael ironside would be great for cort. that's who i pictured him as when i read the books.

Yes, yes, yes, YES!!!

[caruso_stalker217]

If Brian Glover wasn't busy being dead for the last fourteen years, he'd be a perfect Cort.

[Fievel]

I could also see Brendan Gleeson as Cort.

[Nice Marmot]

Ed Harris is too bald. Otherwise, I think he'd be fucking great.

Cort, maybe?

Who was the older, badass villain in in Wizard & Glass? I pictured Harris as that guy ever since 'History of Violence.'

[Fievel]

Ed Harris is too bald. Otherwise, I think he'd be fucking great.

Cort, maybe?

Who was the older, badass villain in in Wizard & Glass? I pictured Harris as that guy ever since 'History of Violence.'

Jonas, leader of the Big Coffin Hunters.

[Nice Marmot]

Yeah, that's it. I knew Coffin was in the gang's name.

Pictured Harris or a younger Robert Duvall as Jonas.

[TheBaxter]

yeah, robert duvall would have been good in that part like 20 years ago or so

[caruso_stalker217]

I always pictured David Carradine as Jonas.

[Fievel]

I always pictured David Carradine as Jonas.

Keith Carradine, ala his Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood would work.
Sam Elliot, too.

[John-Locke]

Christian Bale up for Ron Howard's "Dark Tower"

From "Dark Knight" to "Dark Tower?" Fresh off his Golden Globe win for the "The Fighter," sources say Christian Bale has pulled ahead of Javier Bardem and Viggo Mortensen as Ron Howard and Stephen King's choice for "Tower" main character, gunslinger Roland Deschain. We previously reported that Howard's adaptation of King's books has set off a casting frenzy, with agents battling to land their clients roles in what promises to be a blockbuster franchise. A source said "Dexter" star Jennifer Carpenter is rising on the short list for the role of Susannah, as is French/Moroccan Ghita Tazi.

Bale? Bah?

Jennifer Carpenter? Wah?

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

Bale is virtually faultless in anything he does or his/others choice of WHAT he does. I'm a little excited for him as Roland. His face and talent fits many people in the fictional world.

But again, it's the age, darkness and detail in Roland's face. Bale doesn't quite have the 'journeyman of a hundred adventures' look that I picture in Roland's harrowed, haggered features.

[Nice Marmot]

Oh my good Lord. Is it possible that Howard can pick directors and only produce?????

Bale??? Really??? Seriously??? I was kinda meh over Viggo, but if we're talking Bale, PLEASE sign up Viggo NOW. Bale's just too . . . everywhere in the fanboy world.

I just only finished Dexter season 2. Any chance Carpenter's acting has improved?

[John-Locke]

I just only finished Dexter season 2. Any chance Carpenter's acting has improved?

Nope, if anything her added experience in subsequent seasons has just added to how god awful her line delivery and timing can be.

[caruso_stalker217]

Uhhhh... so I guess there aren't any black actresses in Hollywood who can play Susannah?

[TonyWilson]

This really does look bad for the "no black people in Ron Howard movies" issue.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

ONLYDELROYLINDOINRANSOMISTHEONLYBLACKACTORINARONHOWARDMOVIETOGETLASHED THATFAKENICEGUYWHENHE'SACTUALLYARACISTBASTARDDIRECTOR-WITHABLACKACTORLASH?

[Nice Marmot]

Uhhhh... so I guess there aren't any black actresses in Hollywood who can play Susannah?

I didn't even catch that the article said Susannah. That has to be wrong. Could be Susan Delgado, but she was pretty damn young wasn't she?

It would almost be worth it to experience the fanboy shitstorm that would ensue.

[TheBaxter]

wow, is ron howard really so stupid as to try to cast a white actress in that part? we're not just talking about a character who happens to be black. being black is pretty integral to who that character is, her entire backstory, her involvement in the civil rights movement, how she developed her split personality of detta.... you have to be kidding me that a white actress is even considered for this part. what are they gonna do, paint her black like RDJ in tropic thunder? or are they actually going to rewrite that entire characters backstory and character arc to make her a white woman? looks like ron howard is going full retard on this one. pretty much confirms everything i feared when he got involved on this project. if they have to go with a pay-cable actress, then get that black chick off of true blood. as much as i hate tara, she seems perfect for the role of susannah.

christain bale... meh. i mean, he's good, but doesn't he have enough iconic characters to play already? bruce wayne, john connor, patrick bateman... that's enough for one man. worse, though, the fact that we've been seeing these particular names pretty much confirms that they're going for a big-name actor for this part, which i think is the wrong way to go. find a really good, but little-known actor, who doesn't already bring a bunch of baggage to the part. oh well, it's frikkin ron howard, what do you expect?

[TheBaxter]

Uhhhh... so I guess there aren't any black actresses in Hollywood who can play Susannah?

I didn't even catch that the article said Susannah. That has to be wrong. Could be Susan Delgado, but she was pretty damn young wasn't she?

It would almost be worth it to experience the fanboy shitstorm that would ensue.

would they even be casting susan yet? that's gotta be like the 2nd film, or the tv series between 2nd and 3rd movies, i'd be surprised if they're thinking that far ahead yet in the casting. i can't think of any other major female parts in the early part of the story.

[caruso_stalker217]

I think it's a bullshit rumor, personally.

[TheButcher]

DEADLINE EXCLUSIVE:
Javier Bardem Wanted For 'The Dark Tower'

After Javier Bardem's terrifying Oscar-winning turn as the assassin in No Country For Old Men, is there any doubt he'd fit as the gunslinger Roland Deschain in The Dark Tower, the mammoth adaptation of the Stephen King 7-novel series that’ll span three movies and a limited run TV series in between?

I'm told that Bardem has officially been offered the lead role by director Ron Howard and Universal Pictures. While formal negotiations haven't yet begun, there's a high level of enthusiasm internally that they've got their cowboy. Akiva Goldsman has scripted the first movie, and will write the TV component as well. Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Goldsman and the author. Universal is financing and distributing the films, and NBC Universal Television Entertainment is backing the TV component, which will either be a limited run series or a miniseries.

It has been a heady week for Bardem. He received a Best Actor nomination for his performance as a terminally ill street hustler in the Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu-directed Biutiful, and Bardem and Penelope Cruz just welcomed their first son into the world. Since Deadline first revealed that King, Goldsman, Howard and Grazer were joining forces on the ambitious project that would tell the story on multiple platforms, speculation has been rampant over who'd play the lead role. Bardem has been mentioned, as has Viggo Mortensen and Christian Bale. Deschain is the last living member of a knightly order of gunslingers, and humanity’s last hope to save a civilization that will fall unless he finds the Dark Tower. At the time, Howard and Goldsman told me they saw the trilogy as their answer to the Peter Jackson-directed adaptation of JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Ring. Instead of Middle Earth, the venue has an old West feel, which Goldsman described at the time as “an alternate Americana, one part post-apocalyptic, one part Sergio Leone.”

Bardem just wrapped the untitled next feature by Terrence Malick.

Howard plans at this point to direct the initial film as well as the TV component that will create a bridge to the second feature. The plan calls for the original actors to headline the TV version as well. The second film will pick up where the first left off. That would be followed by a TV installment that would be a prequel that introduces Deschain as a young man. The third film brings back the original cast once again return and complete the screen trilogy. So if Bardem closes a deal, he’ll likely appear in all three films and that first TV stint. Imagine's Erica Huggins will be executive producer with Kerry Foster of Weed Road. Bardem's repped by WME.

[Nachokoolaid]

Never saw Bardem as a possibility even, and I certainly didn't picture him while I read, but I don't he he'd be a bad choice. Still a tad on the young side for my tastes, though.

[Lord Voldemoo]

I could never picture anyone but Eastwood when I was reading the books...that's part of the challenge. I like Bardem as a choice. I could deal with Bale too. Either one of them can pull this off, IMHO.

I don't get the Carpenter thing at all. that's GOTTA be wrong.

[TheBaxter]

the main thing about bardem that concerns me is the accent. hard to picture roland with a spanish accent. can he deliver lines with an american accent?
otherwise, at least it isn't an actor already associated with an iconic character (viggo/aragorn or bale/connor/batman/bateman), so of the names mentioned, he probably has the best chance of working.

[caruso_stalker217]

I don't think the accent is a problem, since Roland isn't American. And Bardem's accent doesn't scream "Spanish!" to me, like an Antonio Banderas or somebody. He does seem young, like all the names mentioned. I'd prefer to see somebody in their fifties play the part.

Oh well. It'll probably be shit anyway.

I do like the idea of doing Wizard and Glass as a series, though.

[Fievel]

I do like the idea of doing Wizard and Glass as a series, though.

I just hope the episode where Rhea checks the validity of Susan's virginity is titled "Stinkfinger."
And I also hope that the ads for it say "Next, on a very special episode of The Dark Tower...."

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

WTF!?!?!?!

ROLAND AIN'T FUCKING SOUTH AMERICAN!!!!

God sack Ron Howard. He is off his head. Bardiem's suggestion was a joke I first thought. This is madness.

[Nice Marmot]

Wrong continent, there.

I think I can get behind Bardem, Bale or Viggo. Think Roland shouldn't be too young, but Bale can pull it off. Have been hoping all along it would be an unknown or a 50/60-ish vet making a comeback. Oh well.

Regardless, it doesn't feel like casting will save this project.

And they HAVE to be referring to Susan Delgado, not Susannah. Right??? That chick from Dexter is wrong for ANYTHING and there's just no way they could get away w/ changing Susannah's race.

[TheBaxter]

let's give them the benefit of the doubt and say it was susan and not susannah they were considering her for. it would still be a HORRIBLE choice. not as horrible as for susannah, but horrible nonetheless. susan delgado is supposed to be young, innocent and gorgeous. jennifer carpenter is none of those things. maybe they meant jennifer lawrence? i could see that (for susan, again, not susannah).

[Nice Marmot]

Don't want to stray off topic completely, but I find Carpenter's facy crazy sexy. However she is built like a mop handle and she can't friggin' act . . .

And I think Susan was only like 16 or so. Right?

[Retardo_Montalban]

WTF!?!?!?!

ROLAND AIN'T FUCKING SOUTH AMERICAN!!!!

Neither is Bardem. He is from Spain. That's like me calling you a Kiwi or something.

[TheBaxter]

Don't want to stray off topic completely, but I find Carpenter's facy crazy sexy. However she is built like a mop handle and she can't friggin' act . . .

And I think Susan was only like 16 or so. Right?

well, to each their own, i guess. by real world standards, she's pretty hot, but by actress/celebrity standards, not so much. and her mouth makes her look like a stroke victim.

[Cpt Kirks 2pay]

I picture an amalgamation of Tommy Lee Jones and Harrison Ford's face. A bit of a younger Nick Nolte. With darkish looking eyes as the blackness around them shows the pain the guy has gone through, but still bright eyes, as the blue comes through. The face is dry, wrinkled lines of hundred years of stories, greyish dry looking, but darkish tanned.

Period.

Now.. what we talking about now? Oh, Roland's face!

Um, Danny DeVito for Roland! It don't mater that he's not perfect. After initial viewings pass, you'll just accept him and give in! Like any actor in the part! This psychology means that Hollywood/Howard can do ANYTHING! You guys will always watch, pay, suck it up, and surrender.

You guys are shit.

Period.