The first news that JJ Abrams would be working with Stephen King on an adaptation of The Dark Tower series set off a series of ‘he wont direct Star Trek XI’ rumors. Now that all that unpleasantness is behind us there still is news related to Abrams and The Dark Tower. At a panel discussion last weekend Stephen King himself confirmed he had optioned the book to JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof for $19! Apparently King really likes Abrams and Lindelof’s work on Lost and according to a report at AICN, King says that he ‘trusted’ the pair to make his film work on the big screen. Things are still very preliminary and it is clear that there isn’t even a script yet so this looks to be a project for the Trek XI producers to tackle after they bring Trek back to the big screen. AICN’s Quint also has a new interview with King where he talks about the project.
QUINT: I talked a little bit earlier about being both terrified and excited when I hear one of your stories is optioned, but Dark Tower has always been so close to me that when the rumor hit that JJ Abrams might be doing it, then you confirmed it on the panel this afternoon…
STEPHEN KING: Well, the only thing that I can confirm is that we’re talking about it because there’s nothing firm yet.
QUINT: Well, he doesn’t have it set up somewhere yet, but he has the option right?
STEPHEN KING: Well, he doesn’t have anything yet, but he will have eventually… if he wants it. I think he does.
QUINT: I’ve never met JJ, but Harry talks with him quite a bit and the impression I get from him is he’s very much in line with geeks like me and the readers of the site.
STEPHEN KING: He’s a good guy. He’s one of us.
QUINT: Do you think he’ll attack the series as a television series like LOST or…
STEPHEN KING: No. It oughta be movies. It’s gotta be big. I’d like to see it done (that way). I’m not going to close any doors because that’s not my way…
QUINT: What about a cable series, like an HBO or Showtime series?
STEPHEN KING: We’ve talked about it, but (Abrams and Damon Lindelof’s) impulse, too, is to go with the big screen. JJ has a deal with Paramount Pictures. I know that he’s talked with somebody at Paramount and said, “Yeah, it probably oughta be pictures.” But why close any doors?
Well, I’m a fan of King and JJ but Anthony, I’m a little confused. This doesn’t have anything to do with Trek. If the Trek connection to JJ Abrams is good enough to start posting about the Dark Tower, then you might as well start posting updates about “Lost” as well.
this site covers news related to JJ Abrams including Lost. JJ Abrams is in charge of the franchise and we like to keep up with what he and his merry men are doing. We also periodically cover Transformers news due to it being written by Orci and Kurtzman…and will do more of that as the film approaches.
This is also to finalize the issues related to what impact Dark Tower will have on STXI…which is none.
other sites cover every move of every person who appeared for a nano second during the last 40 years of Trek, and although we do a little of that stuff, we are focused on Trek\’s present and future and those who are running it
if you arent interested in stories about the the creative team behind Trek XI, then skip them.
I’m not complaining, mind you, so please don’t take my first post as some kind of attack. (And actually, I wouldn’t mind seeing some “Lost” coverage here.) Just trying to figure out the rhyme and reason for what gets posted here and doesn’t, since I know you don’t even include some Trek stuff…
I like ancillary info. Keep up the good work, Anthony.
I just think its nice that there hasn’t been a new Shanter videolog in two weeks. That just seems to bring out the whole Generations debate every time. Its been so nice here, lately. :)
I to say it’s nice to get some info that isn’t solely Trek related, and yeah if your not interested don’t bother reading them. Simple.
LLAP
While, I love the Dark Tower, I think it’s some of King’s best work, I’m highly dubious that anything will come about… and yet, with the Harry Potter series, it has been proven some-what viable. We’ll see. I had to add a comment, since I can’t believe only 6 peeps here like KING, come on!!!
:-D
#6 For the last time, I wasn’t arguing against posting Dark Tower stuff here–I said I was a fan of King, didn’t I? I was just curious what decision making process was used to post or not to post.
The fact that there are only 8 posts here, and half of them are about why this news tidbit was posted, proves my point this subject wasn’t necessarily a slam-dunk for inclusion on this site.
Since this is the only entertainment site I read/need, I was pleased to hear about Dark Tower movies, however random its posting may have seen. It’s like a site custom-built around me.
:-)