Not only are Ron Howard and Brian Grazer closer to getting Stephen King's THE DARK TOWER made, but they may be able to produce their massive television and theatrical project as originally envisioned. It was recently announced that Media Rights Capital, the studio behind RIDDICK, TED, and ELYSIUM, had agreed to produce a single movie based on the first novel in THE DARK TOWER. THE GUNSLINGER would likely star Russell Crowe as Roland Deschain and any future films would be considered based on the success of that movie. But, that may not be their only choice.

According to Deadline, a "mysterious Silicon Valley investor" has offerred to finance the full project that was passed on by Warner Bros. and Universal. That project envisioned three theatrical films with television mini-series airing between features. This would allow the massive scope of THE DARK TOWER to be fully realized and not ignore major subplots and elements from the books that fans have come to love.

THE DARK TOWER is my all-time favorite book series and even I know the first one is the hardest sell. Each novel focuses on a different genre as a backbone and the first is the truest Western of any of the books. I do like Russell Crowe as Roland a bit more than Javier Bardem, but while Crowe is a close friend with Howard after collaborating on A BEAUTIFUL MIND and CINDERELLA MAN, would he really be willing to commit long term to such a massive undertaking? No one involved with THE DARK TOWER will be working on any other projects, which is why J.J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof passed on adapting the project.

If this turns out to be true, Howard has a tough choice to make. If they go with the single film route and it bombs, we will never see another of the books made into a film. But, if they go with this mysterious financier, all other projects the cast and crew are committed to will be gone for the next five years or more.

Whatever happens, we are the closest to The Tower we have ever been.