Brutal Test Screenings And Extensive Reshoots - It Sounds Like THE DARK TOWER May Be A Total Disaster
The long overdue big screen adaptation of The Dark Tower finally hits theaters on Friday after numerous delays but a new report now sheds some light on what sound like major behind the scenes issues...
Adapting The Dark Tower was never going to be an easy task. Everyone from J.J. Abrams to Ron Howard have attempted to adapt the beloved Stephen King series of novels over the years but it's easier said than done when they're so heavily steeped in mythology and are often very convoluted and confusing.
Despite that, they're excellent and have the potential to make a great new franchise on the big screen. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound like the upcoming movie starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey will be that. According to Variety, the post-production process has been plagued with problems and while that's been denied by studio bosses, the trade has a good track record with this sort of thing.
Apparently, director Nikolaj Arcel delivered an early cut of the film which alarmed Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman to such an extent that he considered bringing in a more experienced filmmaker to cut it and spent hours in the editing bay offering his input. Arcel denies that but test screenings last October saw moviegoers rate it poorly after they mostly failed to understand the story's complex mythology.
It probably doesn't help that The Dark Tower is going to serve as a sequel to the novels and it's said that Ron Howard offered the director his advice and co-writer and producer Akiva Goldsman came in to help get the film in shape. Issues between Sony and MRC and the fact Stephen King had a lot of creative input also caused problems and $6 million was spent on reshoots to help clear things up with five minutes of exposition cut and replaced by a new scene which made it less confusing for them.
Rothman says that he believes the narrative complexity will ultimately sit well with audiences who enjoy shows like Game of Thrones and Westworld but with no sign of reviews, it seems that faith in The Dark Tower from Sony is low. With any luck, it will exceed expectations just like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - also said to be a mess - did last December. For now, we'll just going to have to wait and see.