Roland can be black. It really doesn't matter. This isn't even set on Earth. He can still have piercing blue eyes. Are you all really tryin' to watch a whole Suzanna racist tirade against whitey Roland - you think that's the part of the book that must be strictly adapted to the film - GTFO!
ELBA as ROLAND is PERFECT.
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shareIt does matter. How is it that race is only unimportant to a character if the character is white?
Roland is basically a clint Eastwood type, the classic western look, something Elba is not close to. And it is not racism to want them to respect the source material and not pander to the social justice warriors.
Yeah Elba is perfect for the part, if you ignore the fact he doesn't look the part, both because Roland is white, and because he is supposed to be slender (hence being called 'long, tall and ugly' in the books).
So if you ignore the fact he looks completely wrong for the part and probably won't be able to play it well anyway, yeah he's perfect.
Roland's whiteness has no affect on his character. That's why it's irrelevant. More often than not when a character is specifically not white it's because they come from the ghetto or have some origin that is super-wrapped up in their ethnicity. When a character is white it's because Duh let's make him white, trying to make money here not make a statement.
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And dynamics between main characters doesn't matter either I guess.
Let's do a Civil War movie where all the Avengers and superheroes agree on the government proposal !
You arent a Hollywood writer and never will be, so no need to worry about character dynamics, let the pros do their job please.
shareSure but I'm a just a potential movie ticket buyer and I know what I want to see or not.
I don't want to see a Dark Tower reinterpretaion but an adaptation.
Exactly! I will not be purchasing a ticket to see a re-imaging of Dark Tower. I know many people who feel the same way. The source material is important! If it were not, why make it at all?
share[deleted]
I find it incredibly ironic that you cling so tightly to the dynamic between Odetta and Roland specifically pertaining to racism and its defeat.
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Of course you find it interesting, because you're stupid enough to think the only reason to disapprove Elba's casting is racism.
shareIt sounds like you do not care about Odetta at all.
shareHe is suggesting that we're racists.
That's where he sees irony. We're "racists" who want to see Susannah kept as a black activist fighting for equality.
In the mind of KeyBrains, there is only one reason to oppose changing Roland's race. You're a racist. Because, whether he wants to admit it about himself or not, KeyBrains is a modern-day, politically correct SJW that can't tolerate any viewpoint but his own. I do not say this to "put him in a box", as he accused me of (while putting ME in a box), but because his behavior has proven it true.
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
It's crazy.
I've read all of The Dark Tower books several times. I'm a HUGE Stephen King fan.
Seeing the amount of race-baiting already going on over the Idra casting, I just really couldn't be any less interested in this project. I'm usually super excited over any King adaptation news, but this is dead to me.
Not sure I follow. Are you fer it or again it?
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That's just bullsh*t right there, so by your logic any white character can be changed because apparently white characters are blank slates. But all characters that aren't white should never be changed because it's always important?
And yes it is important because he's a variation on the classic western gunslinger, repeatedly states he looks like clint Eastwood. As that is a clearly stated description of the character that should not be ignored. And Roland being black alters the events of Drawing of the three a lot.
so by your logic any white character can be changed because apparently white characters are blank slates.
How does his skin color impact on the character, YOU STUPID FUQ?
Due to the lack of moderators, trolls can ruin the IMDB message boards. Don't feed them.
You must have not read the books if you say Roland can be black.
shareI've read all of the books and some of the comics. Try again.
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Must not have been paying much attention when you did then.
shareI don't believe you for on second child. Get your politically correct pathetic ass out of here.
sharewell sir or mam ok ur prolly a vry racis peep wich is vry BAD so pls dont b so racis and say ur sorry then we cud 4giv 2 u ???????
shareI'm disappointed in stupid people who see a race issue where it's just a matter of respect of the orignal material.
shareStephen King is helping make these choices. Respect the creator. He says it works it works. Remember The Dark Tower existing as a movie is an evolving concept and extension of the book almost like a sequel as the story metaphysically continues in this new medium.
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He helped doing Under the dome series too and it was garbage.
shareStephen King endorsed Under the dome, the single worst attempt to adapt one of his books ever, which managed to change absolutely everything and was a complete joke.
King's seal of approval on adaptions doesn't mean much these days.
Hear, hear! I'd support Elba 100% if the civil rights era didn't lay into the second book as greatly as it does. You could change the race of almost any character in the entire book series except for Roland, Eddie and Odetta. I truly don't know how they're going to handle the civil rights issues with a black Roland. And making Odetta white simply cannot work; she'd be on the wrong end of 1960's racial discrimination.
None of us readers take issue with Elba; we take issue with how his potential casting now directly interferes with the PLOT.
I mean, I feel like this casting decision is going to cost the screenwriter a lot of sleep. It's the ugliest domino cascade of adaptational problems I've ever seen, all because of a very unnecessary and, frankly, baffling casting choice. Idris Elba is actually one of my favorite actors, but his casting causes more problems for creating a faithful adaptation than it provides any solutions. The only thing I can imagine is that they're gonna end up scrapping the entire civil rights angle altogether, which, to me, removes 90% of what made the second book so intriguing. I just don't get it.
Bottom line: race is very important to the story as it has existed in the books. It just is.
Whether they change the story altogether or not, I cannot say, but with Stephen King approving this idea, I can only assume that he either knows something about some major story changes to the screenplay adaptation that we don't, or he simply doesn't care. :-/
Time will tell, I suppose.
This is the best post I have read on IMDB!!!
shareI agree with everything you said, 100%, and I've argued the same rather exhaustively, but all I get back in response is that apparently the whole Odetta/Roland dynamic is a "b-plot" that they'd be okay with removing. In other words, they don't care if the movies bear any resemblance to the books as long as the SJW's are happy.
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
Man, that's sad. It was such a solid story element. It gave the characters something of their very personalities to overcome.
I remember remarking that, since they've even entertained the idea of using Elba, they can't back out of it. They'll look "racist" if they do so, apparently. So disappointing.
The double standard is this, however: if they decided to make Detta white, people would be practically rioting in the streets (and with good reason, as long as you're upset about what it means for the STORY), but make Roland black and everyone gets scared to stand up for the source material.
I guess nobody wins, in the long run. We'll see how it all turns out, I suppose. Personally, I'll never be satisfied with anything that so blatantly spits in the face of the source material.
Just cast Toby Stephens and call it a day. LOL.
I'm not sure about Stephens. On the one hand, he's a good actor. On the other, I worry that he's too classically handsome. He does look pretty rough in Black Sails, but not haggard. I don't know. I wouldn't cry if he were cast, but I have another guy I like better.
I'm not naming my first choice on this board yet. It will go on my blog when it's time. My alternates, however, are Karl Urban, Stephen Moyer and Josh Brolin. Why Josh Brolin's never been approached is beyond me; he's an A-lister.
Here's the thing about "backing out" of casting Elba: they haven't cast him. I'm not even sure if there's been a real meeting yet, or more than one. Elba might already have turned it down. This rumor has been blown way out of proportion, and I place the blame squarely on articles such as this one:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Dark-Tower-May-Have-Found-Its-Roland-He-Perfect-99217.html
Note that even that article says that this is far from official, then goes on to stump for Elba, like all the articles have. The uniformity of opinion seems very suspect to me.
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
You raise some valid points. Makeup plays a strong role with how the camera captures one's features, though. Who knows? The chances of them going with Stephens is so low anyhow. LOL.
Out of your casting ideas, I support Moyer for sure. Urban and Brolin have the misfortune of having brown eyes, though. Brown contact lenses ofer blue eyes work, because they're less transparent, but blue contacts over dark eyes make people look like freaky vampires, as the iris' do not contract in the light (quite unnerving). It's a pitty Roland's eye color was so prominent in the books (Mordred is even recognized as having his father's eyes, as I recall). There are so many actors that would have been excellent for the role. They could try using VFX to change the eye color, I suppose, but I doubt they'd do that.
That being said, I'd still be happier with ANY of them, over Elba. LOL.
And yes, I hold out hope that the rumor doesn't get past the "we're considering it" phase.
It's just truly disappointing to hear people who aren't even remotely familiar with the book series raving over the casting. They're not the demographic who's going to be the most negatively affected by it. "He's perfect!", they all say. Anyone who has read past the second book would never say that in their right mind. I mean, how COULD they judge what the perfect casting is if they've never read the books?
Very frustrating.
Oh, well. We'll see what happens.
I will never understand the mindset that when making a movie based off a book, the target audience is just "general film-goers". Sure, make it accessible to them, so that they don't have to know the book to enjoy the movie, but screw with it too much and the audience that SHOULD be your target will hate it, and negative word of mouth would spread.
Imagine if Miramax, who suggested that Arwen be a badass female Elf-warrior who accompanies the Fellowship and fights at Helm's deep, suggested that Sam become Samantha, and she and Frodo fall in love, who suggested Sauron take physical form in the final chapter and have a sword-fight with Aragorn, and insisted on a single film only, had gotten their way.
Sure, people who had never read the book might not have noticed all the changes, might even enjoy it a bit, but fans of the novel would have howled to the rafters and the movie would have tanked. Almost any time a beloved book is adapted to film, and it's clear the filmmakers have no respect for the source material, the movie bombs. There are exceptions, but not many, and even those "exceptions" might not have really been adapted from truly beloved books. There's a difference between "popular" and "classic".
Aim the movie at fans of the source material! I mean, it's just common sense! They'll take their friends to it, they'll spread positive word of mouth, but only if you do it right! Why on earth should we care what people who have never read the book think of who should play the lead?
I'm not as hung up on the actor having blue eyes. I think blue contacts do look okay, but yeah, I'd prefer they choose a blue-eyed man, and my first choice is indeed blue-eyed.
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
There was a line in the book somewhere no one cares about, OMG respect artistic integrity!
shareYou're right. Let's just make him Chinese, then, fck it. You're missing the point, OP. Black for PC's sake is even more racist. Think about it, you apologist retard.
Come quietly, or there will be...trouble.
There isnt a single thing in the entire series that a black Roland couldn't do.
shareI've had the person you're responding to on IGNORE for a while now...
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Thanks for the info Im gonna do the same, Elba is a class choice if they choose to make Roland black.
shareBecause you can't handle an opinion that differs from your own.
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
Who knows. He's probably a vocal racist or troll of some kind. That's the type I ignore.
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[deleted]
And not just that. The entire dynamic of how Susannah relates to the Ka-tet, until closer to the end of the series where their bonds transcend color.
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
Ummmm, getting called a "honky ma-fa" will sound rather silly.
Who cares, though. Sounds like this is going to be a mess.
I'm a huge Tower fan, but I'll have to pass on this like I did Under the Dome.
"No one" apparently means "anyone who doesn't agree with you."
And we're not talking about "a line" but an entire character dynamic. But then, you clearly haven't read the books, or at least don't care about them much, so why bother continuing this discussion with you?
Explicit hoc totum; pro Christo da mihi potum!
Now, I started reading this with my opinion as he should be cast as white. No, it is not a race issue, I have adopted brothers who are African and blah blah, it's merely because the book made him white. That be said, I do believe you have a strong argument that the movie is it's OWN thing from the book --in that aspect, it doesn't matter that he is black. However, you saying it is an extension or sequel has holes; I mean, if they made the most recent Star Wars film and Harrison Ford (heaven forbid) had passed away and they needed to recast him, would it be acceptable if the actor to replace him was black? In the sense that any black man could do the job as well as Ford, no. but when I say Han Solo, you immediately picture Ford, correct? So in that aspect, it does matter that he is white. Everyone who read the books soaked it up then identified and came to know this character as a white man. Does it make any real difference? Absolutely not. Nevertheless, it is who we see him as and anything else feels foreign. It is not a race issue, it's a change issue; sometimes change isn't good --sometimes it is.
In the end, I really don't mind who they cast as long as they do the part well. I believe we will love Roland for Roland no matter who he ends up being as long as it is done well. If the film is spectacular, few people will leave the theaters saying "It was good, but I still wished they used a white man for Roland."
there's an Australian show called "Danger 5" where, between the 1st and 2nd seasons, one of the white leading male actors became unavailable, so the character was recast with a black dude with a completely different accent, without a single mention in the show.
It was a comedy, btw
I'm opposed to whitewashing in movies, for the most part. This is whitewashing. I don't really see how that's necessarily a bad thing to be against, and I don't really see how it's racist.
shareI don't think you understand the definition of Whitewashing... or maybe I don't get what you're saying. care to elaborate?
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Well then do not make this movie because that tirade of Susannah is crucial to her as a character. I am Black and think this the wrong move to change Roland's race. I also cannot see Elba selling a movie of this caliber.
shareWhat book and what section???
Why not just have the tirade be targeted at Eddie?
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