Has Stephen King's Gunslinger been cast in The Dark Tower?

Stephen King. He's written some very good stories and a few of them have been turned into very good films - The Shining, The Shawshank Redemtion, The Mist.

He has written many books and his largest tale to date is that of The Dark Tower. It has had it's own series of books following Roland the Gunslinger hunting down the Man in Black (A poster of Roland appears briefly at the start of The Mist).

It has also had it's own spin off comic book series showing the origin of Roland and the Dark Tower and the man in black have cropped up in most of King's other books.

Recent news has it that J J Abrams (Lost, Alias, MI3, Star Trek) has got a film adaption in development and it now looks as if things are moving forward with the Gunslinger possibly being cast.

Filmstalker have the news that Michael Sheen (Frost / Nixon, The Damned United, Underworld) has mentioned on Twitter that multi-franchise man, Christian Bale, could be strapping on the gun belt.

At the moment take this as a very much unconfirmed rumour as Abrams is busy with Lost and the inevitable Star Trek sequel and Bale is down for at least one more Batman film and probably a few Terminator films.

However, I do feel he would be quite a good Roland in the film, which would lead into a multi picture deal no doubt.

Would Bale make a good Gunslinger? Who else could fit the part? What actor would you like to see as the man in black?

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POLL: Which is your favourite Stanley Kubrick film?

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Happy Birthday Jack

Would you believe it but all work and no play means Jack Nicholson has reached the ripe old age of 72.

Inspiration for the existence of Christian Slater, Nicholson has starred in a whole heap of excellent films. IMDB lists 72 - Chinatown, Five Easy Pieces, The Shining, As Good As it Gets, Easy Rider, Terms of Endearment, Batman, The Last Detail, Hoffa, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Departed and many, many more. IMDB also have a whole host of news on the great man and here are just a few.

His mother, June Nicholson, was of Irish and Dutch descent. He never knew his father and was raised by his grandparents. He was led to believe that June was his older sister and his grandparents were his parents. It was not until 1974 when a Time magazine reporter researched his life that he learned the truth. An Italian immigrant named Donald Furcillo who was married briefly to June claimed to be his father. But Nicholson chose not to investigate further.

The character Shipwreck from the animated GI Joe series of the 1980s was partly based on him (and partly based on Popeye the Sailor Man).

In 2004, he attended his 50th high school reunion at Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey. Needless to say, his classmates were surprised and delighted that he attended.

Is one of only a few actors to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar after winning a Best Actor Oscar.

Owns a large art collection including works by Pablo Picasso and Tamara de Lempicka

Batman creator Bob Kane personally recommended him for the role of the Joker in Batman (1989).

What is your favourite Jack Nicholson scene?

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Jack Nicholson with Stanley Kubrick on The Shining set

Source: Independent

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The Shining - Great poster by Tom Whalen

Here's another great piece of movie art work from Tom Whalen. This time from Stanley Kubrick's The Shining. It is a fantastic design and I'd love to have a full size copy of it to hang on my wall.

Check out some of the other art work I've posted of Tom's in the past - The Warriors, Alien and the Avengers. There's even more stuff on his DeviantART site.

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Stanley Kubrick Remix - Amazing

LFF regular Daan sent me this remix tribute to the films of Stanley Kubrick. The remix was done by Paul Proulx and it really is a thing of beauty. Thanks to Daan for pointing it out.

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UPDATED: Deathtroopers - Star Wars meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Looks like this is to be the first Star Wars horror novel and it looks pretty cool judging by the cover...oh book, cover, judge, never...damn! It's by Joe Schreiber if that helps. According to StarWars.com the text for the back cover is still to come, but this front cover art by Indika.

Anyone know anything more about the story? Or anyone want to take a guess about the story?

UPDATE: Here is a bit more on it from the authorJoe Schreiber's blog.

I had the time of my life on this one, I have to say. I’m doing the final edits
now, and I’ve tried to make it into exactly the kind of book you’d want to read
if you were a child of the 70s who grew up with the original Star Wars trilogy
and really digs horror in the vein of The Shining and Alien, with a little dose
of William Gibson mixed in.

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See The Shining at the hotel where it was filmed

This sounds absolutely amazing and I would so love to go. That's not going to happen though. Thanks to /film for this one. Read on.

Fantastic Fest is holding a party at the Timberline Lodge in Oregon, the original filming location of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

In 1980, Stanley Kubrick came to the Timberline Lodge to film one of the all-time great horror classics, THE SHINING. In the film, Jack Nicholson slowly loses his grasp on reality and loses himself in a hallucination of a 1920s era ball. Twenty-Eight years later, Nike Sportswear and Fantastic Fest have joined forces to recreate the very same ball at the very same lodge.

Two ticket options are available for this special night:

VIP Overnight Package:

Dinner at the Lodge
3 Cocktails per person
Live music and shows throughout the evening
Limited Edition Silkscreened Event Poster (available on Mondotees.com)
A one-night stay at the historic Timberline Lodge
In-room screening of the film
VIP gift package
Continental breakfast the morning after the party

This VIP Overnight Package is designed for couples who want to stay the night. Ticket price is $100 per person ($200 per room). Note: the regular Timberline room rate is $220/night for just the room. As there are only 50 rooms available for overnight stay, we are offering a “the Gold Room ticket,” a discounted admission to the party for guests not staying the night.

The Gold Room Ticket:

Dinner at the Lodge
3 Cocktails per person
Live music and shows throughout the evening
Limited Edition Silkscreened Event Poster
Round trip bus service to and from the party

Only 200 Gold Room tickets are available for $25 per person.

Attire: Formal attire is mandatory, 20’s era formal attire is preferred. We will have special gifts for the best period attire of the night.

Schedule:
5:00 PM Boarding begins for Gold Room Ticket-holders in Portland (location TBA)
5:30 PM Gold Room Ticket-holder buses depart
7:00 PM Dinner begins at Timberline Lodge
9:00 PM Music, cocktails and entertainment begin
11:50 PM Return bus boarding begins for Gold Room Ticket holders

At the stroke of midnight, all VIP Overnight guests are required to return to their rooms and turn on their TVs for a very special screening of THE SHINING. All VIP guests will be watching THE SHINING simultaneously, but in the privacy of their own rooms.

Note: VIP guests will need to provide their own transportation to the lodge. VIP Overnight guest check-in begins at 6:00 PM on October 31 and check-out is at 11:00 AM on November 1.

Tickets for this event go on sale on Friday, October 10 at 2:00 PM PST at The Shining Party, where you can find additional details and updates about the event.

How cool would that be? Anyone want to get me an early Christmas present along with the return flights?

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Poll Results - Favourite Stanley Kubrick Film

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. The Shining
3. Full Metal Jacket
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. Dr Strangelove...
6. Eyes Wide Shut
7. Spartacus
8. Barry Lyndon
9. Lolita
10. Paths of Glory

416 people voted. 2001 had 20% of the votes and The Shining beat Full Metal Jacket by 1 vote.

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Stanley Kubrick Season on More 4

Here is what will be on during the Kubrick season on More4 here in the UK.

Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008)15 July, 10pm.Documentary. A biography of a remarkably talented man as seen though the rich collection of material he left behind. Presented by Jon Ronson.

Day of the Fight (1951)15 July, 11.05pm.Documentary short. A day in the life of a middleweight Irish boxer named Walter Cartier, particularly the day of his bout with black middleweight Bobby James.

Barry Lyndon (1975)16 July, time tbc.Kubrick's oeuvre was never more lavish, ravishing or brilliantly eccentric than in his 18th Century story of pugnacious Irish chancer Barry Lyndon, a man with a talent for money and appearances, but with a crippling lack of love in his heart.

Paths of Glory (1957)17 July, 11:55am.A story designed to make the blood boil: blameless French soldiers carry the can for their superiors' mistakes after a botched WWI assault. A work of genius from Kubrick, with a brilliant performance from Kirk Douglas.

Flying Padre (1951)18 July, 12.55pm (Friday afternoon).Documentary short. Two days in the life of priest Father Fred Stadtmuller whose New Mexico parish is so large he can only spread goodness and light among his flock with the aid of a mono-plane.

Lolita (1962) 18 July, 9pm.Kubrick's controversial and deeply ironic black comedy stars James Mason as a middle aged professor obsessed with a precociously sexual minor. Adapted by Nabokov from his own novel.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)19 July, 1.30pm.Spectacular, trailblazing and philosophical, it's an undisputed masterpiece.

Killer's Kiss (1955)21 July, 11.30pm.Stanley Kubrick's stylish second feature, shot on a shoestring but a clear indication of the great things to come. Intricately plotted, it tells the story of a has-been boxer who falls for a beautiful broad with a violent boyfriend.

The Killing (1956)23 July, 12.05am.Tightly plotted heist-goes-wrong thriller.

The Shining (1980)25 July, 9pm.Stanley Kubrick's atmospheric adaptation of a Stephen King tale. Jack Nicholson stars, in maniacal, terrifying form.

Stanley Kubrick's archive is now housed at the University of the Arts London.

Kubrick Season on More 4

More 4 in the UK are showing 10 Stanley Kubrick movies from July 15th. To help promote it they recreated the set of The Shining, got some look a like actors and did a 65 second tracking shot from Kubricks POV.

I've just watched it and it is very impressive. Take a look at it here. Apparantly lots of the equipment used in the shot were actually used to make the original movie.

The documentary Citizen Kubrick by John Ronson will kick of the season.

Some cracking movies then for us all to watch. I think 2001: A Space Odyssey is my favourite Kubrik movie. I just love the whole feel of it. It just seems so real. Oh and my Mum once met the bloke who played the ape who smashes all the bones up which is pretty cool!

What's your favourite Kubrick movie?