I finally finished watching the first season of “The Game of Thrones” on Blu-ray. After the first four episodes I wasn’t entirely convinced it was a fair representation of the books. While it was doing a good job getting the story and characters in place, I felt a lot of the intricacies of the story were being left behind. However, it didn’t take long for me to change my mind.
The final six episodes of the first season, while not as entirely satisfying as the books, do a phenomenal job bringing George R.R. Martin‘s story to life. Taking the book and television series into consideration, I’m not sure there is much else they could have done without adding several episodes and spending more money on set design and visual effects. In that respect, enough money was spent and enough story was told to make it all highly entertaining.
Additionally, the casting is flawless and the direction, at times, really shines. I especially loved the performance of one particular actor in episode nine and the absence of sound during a pivotal scene. Very, very nice work.
This brings me to my headline as Deadline reports Warner Bros. is considering picking up where Universal left off and the adaptation of Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower may soon find a home.
The original idea was to have three feature films and two seasons of television between the three films to fill in the story and bridge the gaps. Universal balked due to the escalating budget, but Warner appears to be considering the possibility of allowing director Ron Howard to direct at least one film and see where it goes from there.
Warner has purchased Akiva Goldsman‘s original script and have now hired him to do a polish. Javier Bardem, who was previously attached as the lead character, Roland Deschain, the last gunslinger of Gilead, is said to be still attached though his involvement will obviously depend on his schedule.
Previously, producer Brian Grazer told MTV, “We’re going to do that movie… We’ll do the TV with HBO and the movie… to be determined.” Considering the tie between Warner and HBO this all makes sense and at the time he said that (which was back in October 2011) his pause led me to believe there was a leading contender for the movie side of things.
Looking at this set up, I really don’t think this project could find a better solution. If it comes to pass I think we’re looking at a project that could dwarf The Lord of the Rings. HBO has proven a dedication to story and a willingness to show anything and everything in terms of content and the money Warner and its subsidiaries have previously committed to giant sci-fi an fantasy epics shows they too are willing to take a big risk.
If this deal works out, fans of King’s novels, which are truly great if you ask me, will have found the perfect solution to bringing “The Dark Tower” to life after all these years.
