The creators of the hit television show “Lost” have agreed to adapt Stephen King’s “The Dark Tower” series of books into a big screen production. King confirmed his plans to sell a three-year option to J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof at last month’s New York City Comic Con according to SciFi Wire. “I said no to everybody until recently because I didn’t think much of the chances of it being a good movie,” King said at the convention. “This is my life’s work, since the time I was 22 years old. It’s very important to me.” King, an enthusiastic fan of “Lost,” said he trusts Abrams and Lindelof to adapt “The Dark Tower,” the seven-book story he considers his magnum opus. “I know J.J. Abrams’ work and Damon Lindelof,” King said. “I trust those guys.” King said he sold the option for $19, a number of significance in the “Dark Tower” books. Bev Vincent, a King insider and author of “The Road to the Dark Tower,” a book exploring King’s lifelong journey writing his epic series, said Abrams and Lindelof will face many challenges in attempting to adapt such a large work. “There are several different ways they could approach turning this rather large story into maybe a series of movies, something along the same lines of what was done with ‘The Lord of the Rings,'” Vincent said. But, “Dark Tower” will not be as easy to adapt as the linear plot of “Rings,” according to Vincent. “It might be a little bit more complicated than that; there’s an awful lot of material, and a lot of it they’re going to have to decide how much to play to general audiences and how much they will play to the die-hard King fans,” he said. “I certainly think there’s going to have to be some sacrifices.” Vincent said the movie’s creators will have to work hard to create an audience for “Dark Tower” because, although it is considered King’s magnum opus, it has never been one of his betterknown works. “Everybody knows ‘Carrie,’ the girl at the prom, everybody knows [‘Cujo’], the mad St. Bernard; ‘The Dark Tower’ isn’t on the tips of most people’s tongues,” he said. “Even King’s own fans have tried to start this long journey down the road to the dark tower and given up along the way, so it’s going to be a challenge.” Josh Greenwald, administrator of the fan Web site www.thedarktower.net, said many King fans have reservations about a “Dark Tower” movie. “I can speak for thousands of Stephen King fans by saying that we are very nervous about this; hopeful, but very nervous,” Greenwald said. “Stephen King needs to make sure this is done right; this is his magnum opus.” Greenwald, another “Lost” fan, said he is pleased with the involvement of the show’s creators. “J.J. Abrams is a big fan of the books, and Stephen King would not trust him if this weren’t the case,” Greenwald said. “He is a man who everybody loves working with, so if this is going to be a long project, his actors and crew will stick with him to the end.” Despite the enthusiasm of many “Lost” fans, not everybody is excited with King’s choice of Abrams and Lindelof. “I’m really not impressed,” said Mallorie Brown, anthropology junior and “Dark Tower” fan. “I tried [watching ‘Lost’], I couldn’t really get into it.” Brown said she does not think King’s epic series can be successfully adapted to a movie. “It’s just not going to be coming off as profound as it did in the book,” Brown said. “The way it was written was one of the reasons it was so great; that’s something you can’t portray.” Mary Bamburg, English sophomore and fan of the series, also said she had reservations about the movie “It’s just too long to make into a movie,” Bamburg said. “A seven-book series would have to be as popular as ‘Harry Potter’ to make that kind of movie series worth it.” But Bamburg said she was not going to make judgments yet. “As long as it looks good and doesn’t murder the story … I’ll appreciate it,” she said.
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