Six Years After Dark Tower Flapped, Akiva Goldsman is Writing Movies Again

Six years after Dark Tower failed, Akiva Goldsman appears to be back at it again with movie script writing. He's adapted three of Stephen King's novels and has two more planned for future projects.

The Dark Tower, based on King's Gunslinger series book two, is directed by Nikolaj Arcel and stars Idris Elba as Roland Deschain.

The Dark Tower

Six years after The Dark Tower's mixed reviews and lackluster box office performance, Akiva Goldsman is back writing movies. He's a major force in Hollywood with numerous successful films and television series to his credit (A Beautiful Mind, I Am Legend), including his directorial debut Stephanie which will star Trek alum James Cromwell.

He's also a writer for many TV shows, most recently Star Trek: Discovery for Paramount+. Additionally, his credits include screenwriting on shows like Fringe and I, Robot as well as executive producing Apple TV+'s The Crowded Room.

Goldsman's most acclaimed works, including Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind and The Da Vinci Code, were collaborations with Ron Howard. However, his career at the box office wasn't always smooth; 1997's Batman & Robin only earned 15% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Winter's Tale, his weak tea YA adaptation, proved a major disappointment at the box office.

Goldsman is renowned for his work in science-fiction and fantasy, but he also excels at drama and romantic drama. His first produced screenplay, Silent Fall, depicted an autistic boy witnessing the murder of his parents; this earned him a Best Screenplay Academy Award. Additionally, he wrote A Beautiful Mind which earned him another Oscar nomination - this time for Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.

The Dark Tower, on the other hand, suffered through a lengthy development slog. Production started in 2007 with Damon Lindelof and J.J. Abrams before concluding with Ron Howard's direction in 2017.

Anyone who's read The Dark Tower series knows it is an expansive and intricate tale, which is why it cannot be condensed into a single film. King's original eight novels follow Roland Deschain, a Gunslinger who holds the Dark Tower and pursues The Man in Black. Additionally, there are multiple time periods involved with various characters moving between them.

The Dark Tower isn't the only book series to have been adapted into film, but it is one of the most ambitious and complex. That makes it all the more heartbreaking that The Dark Tower, which costed a considerable amount to make with stars such as Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, was such a disappointment. While it remains possible someone will get the rights and do an excellent job with The Dark Tower in the future, it seems unlikely it will happen anytime soon.

I Am Legend

Six years after Dark Tower failed, Akiva Goldsman is back at work creating movies. She collaborated with director Francis Lawrence on a sequel to 2007 post-apocalyptic horror movie I Am Legend, starring Will Smith and Michael B. Jordan.

The film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name follows an outbreak of a virus that transforms humans into zombie-like creatures. It became an international success and earned more than half a billion dollars worldwide at the box office.

Though based on real science, the film was fiction and not true. The virus that turned people into horrific monsters during their daytime sleep wasn't caused by a vaccine but was instead an experimental genetically modified measles infection created to fight cancer; unfortunately, research has since demonstrated that it cannot be protected against and usually proves fatal for most victims.

Goldsman has had an illustrious career in the entertainment industry. He began as a short fiction writer before branching out into feature filmwriting. Throughout his tenure in Hollywood, he has collaborated on numerous successful projects and been nominated for multiple awards.

He has written the screenplays for numerous popular movies such as I Am Legend, Constantine and Mr. & Mrs. Smith; in addition to working on television shows like Fringe and Underground. Additionally, he produced some successful films like Deep Blue Sea and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword.

Goldsman has achieved great success in Hollywood, yet his work on numerous projects has been criticised. Nevertheless, he has earned numerous awards and been nominated for the Academy Award, Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Awards.

He has written several successful movies such as A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man, plus the screenplay for The Client which was based on John Grisham's novel.

He has also collaborated with renowned director Ron Howard on several films, such as A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. Their collaboration resulted in two Academy Award-winning movies and marked an exciting new chapter for him as a writer.

Constantine

Six years after Dark Tower failed, Akiva Goldsman is back writing films. His breakthrough project was Oscar winner A Beautiful Mind, and since then he's written several more films and television shows such as Fringe, I Am Legend and The Da Vinci Code.

Constantine, starring Keanu Reeves as a detective with supernatural powers, was released in 2005 and quickly gained notoriety as an iconic cult classic. Based off DC Comics' Hellblazer series, the movie includes many beloved comic book characters including John Constantine.

Reeves stars as John Constantine, a detective with supernatural powers who specializes in fighting demons and angels. He is assisted by Chas Kramer (Shia LaBeouf), his driver and apprentice, and is indebted to Papa Midnite - a witch-doctor who swears an oath of neutrality with either Heaven or Hell.

The cast also includes Tilda Swinton as Gabriel, a demon with half the humanity's bloodlust who wants to unleash Hell on Earth. Peter Stormare stars as Satan, an Archangel fallen from grace who resents Constantine's presence and engages in an epic proxy battle with God for humanity's souls.

Constantine, despite its unsatisfying execution and some troubling storytelling, remains an intriguing mystery story that explores themes of faith and fear. It promises to remain a film fans will seek out in the future, potentially reaching a new generation of superhero moviegoers with its themes.

In many ways, Constantine's film is spiritually minded with an emphasis on religion and supernaturalism that sets it apart from most modern comic book adaptations. Instead of trying to clean up the source material in order to appeal to a wider audience, Constantine puts a lot of trust in viewers that they will be able to get through it all on their own terms.

This confidence in its worldbuilding is evident throughout the film, which does an admirable job of showing us various kinds of creatures. Lawrence's zombie-like creations from Hell demonstrate his skill at creating creatures with instinctive behavior.

Firestarter

Six years after Dark Tower failed, Akiva Goldsman is back at it again, this time targeting the comic book superhero genre.

He's joined forces with Fox television executive Emma Watts to rework the 1995 Jeff Vintar script Hardwired. This story follows a couple who've been living apart from their homes, hiding their identities and powers. It is loosely based on Isaac Asimov's science fiction short stories.

At the start of the film, we meet Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), a young girl with pyrokinesis--the ability to turn people and objects into flames when threatened or emotionally charged. She was an experiment survivor for government authorities and now the Department of Scientific Intelligence--or "The Shop"--has decided she is suitable for harnessing this powerful ability as a lethal weapon.

Cliched as it may seem, the story unfolds exactly as expected: the girl, raised as a telekinetic by two parents, finds herself running from an unrelenting group of Shop agents who want her abilities used for infiltration and control over the nation. Ultimately she must fight for her life while learning how to master her powers.

Unfortunately, the movie fails to deliver the shocking surprises King's novel demands. In fact, it manages to be genuinely boring as Charlie and her dad Andy try to navigate their way home through flashbacks and current events.

Firestarter has its share of issues, but overall it doesn't turn out as badly as one might think. It does have its moments - like when Charlie's father Andy and their new friend Rainbird (Michael Greyeyes) take refuge in the forest during a fierce thunderstorm - but ultimately lacks surprises and opts for an overly serious, stuffy approach to drama.

Goldsman has previously adapted Stephen King novels into films, such as A Beautiful Mind which won him four Oscars. Additionally, he adapted John Grisham's novels The Client and A Time to Kill, in addition to Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code.