Dune being made into a movie

[AmpedSilence]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence
I think both had merits. The Sci-fi one was better because it stayed closer to the book. The movie one was better because they had the voiceovers. I think both are needed. The book is just so complex that some of the meaning is lost in the Sci-fi because there are no voiceovers. I would like to see a movie similar to the Sci-fi one, but it can convey the meaning and the thoughts without voiceovers.

Great book, though. Just stunning, I read it for my Religions of Star Trek class.

religions of star trek class? seriously?

Yeah, I needed an honors religion class. And that fit the bill. It was pretty great. We would watch an episode on Tuesday afternoon, then discuss it on Thursday. Here is the text from it...Religions of Star Trek The third author was my professor.

Here is another book we used in the class, http://www.amazon.com/Religion...&qid=1206115183&sr=8-1

I still have that one. It's a really great read, even if it's not for class.

 

[AmpedSilence]

Originally posted by: sirjonk

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence
I think both had merits. The Sci-fi one was better because it stayed closer to the book. The movie one was better because they had the voiceovers. I think both are needed. The book is just so complex that some of the meaning is lost in the Sci-fi because there are no voiceovers. I would like to see a movie similar to the Sci-fi one, but it can convey the meaning and the thoughts without voiceovers.

Great book, though. Just stunning, I read it for my Religions of Star Trek class.

religions of star trek class? seriously?

Lots of schools have LOTR classes. Now anyway.

oh, and schools also have classes devoted to study the philosophy of 'The Matrix'.

 

[Gothgar]

I for one, welcome our new Dune overlords...

when in Rome...

/still don't get it

 

[necine]

sci-fi version was good.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence

Originally posted by: sirjonk

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: AmpedSilence
I think both had merits. The Sci-fi one was better because it stayed closer to the book. The movie one was better because they had the voiceovers. I think both are needed. The book is just so complex that some of the meaning is lost in the Sci-fi because there are no voiceovers. I would like to see a movie similar to the Sci-fi one, but it can convey the meaning and the thoughts without voiceovers.

Great book, though. Just stunning, I read it for my Religions of Star Trek class.

religions of star trek class? seriously?

Lots of schools have LOTR classes. Now anyway.

oh, and schools also have classes devoted to study the philosophy of 'The Matrix'.

Sounds like a Mr/Ms Garrison class.

 

[dennilfloss]

Anyone knows this Berg guy?

According to IMDB, his directing résumé is rather thin, to say the least.

Dune (2010)
Bran Mak Morn (2010)
Hancock (2008)
The Kingdom (2007)
"Friday Night Lights" Pilot (2006) TV episode
Friday Night Lights (2004)
The Rundown (2003)
"Wonderland" - Pilot (2000) TV episode
Very Bad Things (1998)
"Chicago Hope" (1994) TV series (unknown episodes)

I don't know much about the young new directors in Hollywood but I'd be surprised if he'll do as well as David Lynch.

I loved the David Lynch movie but, even when I saw it during its theatrical release, the fanatic jihadist aspect of the story was very troubling. The sight of young Alia holding a dagger while covered in blood was and remains terrifying. So was the use of forbidden weapons by the supposedly good side and the genocidal undertone. Not sure that they can top the awesome ensemble cast in the original movie.

 

[LegendKiller]

Rundown was kind of hokey, but The Kingdom was excellent. I just hope they don't Hollywood-ize things like the "Wyrding modules" and crap like that.

 

[Dacalo]

House Atreides and House Harkonnen duking it out owwww mother fvckas!!!

House Ordos too!! Oh wait...

 

[jonks]

I don't recall any prominent black roles in the orig. Wonder if Berg will call Kingdom star Jaimie Fox to play Duncan Idaho or something.

 

[IGBT]

..more spice.

 

[beyoku]

It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the juice of Safu that thoughts acquire speed,
the lips acquire stains the stains become a warning.
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion."

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: dennilfloss
Anyone knows this Berg guy?

According to IMDB, his directing résumé is rather thin, to say the least.

Dune (2010)
Bran Mak Morn (2010)
Hancock (2008)
The Kingdom (2007)
"Friday Night Lights" Pilot (2006) TV episode
Friday Night Lights (2004)
The Rundown (2003)
"Wonderland" - Pilot (2000) TV episode
Very Bad Things (1998)
"Chicago Hope" (1994) TV series (unknown episodes)

I don't know much about the young new directors in Hollywood but I'd be surprised if he'll do as well as David Lynch.

I loved the David Lynch movie but, even when I saw it during its theatrical release, the fanatic jihadist aspect of the story was very troubling. The sight of young Alia holding a dagger while covered in blood was and remains terrifying. So was the use of forbidden weapons by the supposedly good side and the genocidal undertone. Not sure that they can top the awesome ensemble cast in the original movie.

Ooh, this guy is doing Bran Mak Morn? Interesting...
I liked The Kingdom so hopefully thats a good sign. Although, most of his stuff seems to be modern day-ish type movies. BMM would probably fall under fantasy and Dune is sci-fi.

 

[imported_Section8]

Originally posted by: pontifex
"will produce via his Par-based shingle. " wtf does this mean?

I really liked the Sci-Fi channel version. Hopefully they do the book justice.

also, why don't they do movies based on the other books? I guess most people are just familiar with the original book though?

Like this one: Dark Tower

Edit Misread your post. Still the Dark Tower would be a cool movie.

 

[jjones]

Maybe they'll get it right this time. I'd also favor a longer movie done in two parts. I hope they take a lesson from Peter Jackson.

Oh, and "will produce via his Par-based shingle" means he'll be producing out of Paramount Studios.

 

[Kadarin]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: pontifex
also, why don't they do movies based on the other books? I guess most people are just familiar with the original book though?

Pretty much. There was another SciFi channel mini-series for Children of Dune but it wasn't very good.

The SciFi Channel version of Children of Dune wasn't that bad, and I found it better than their version of Dune. What I didn't like about Dune was the campy way in which they portrayed the Harkonnens, by always showing them in reddish light with the camera tilted, a-la the 1960s Batman tv series. Very cheesy.

 

[jjones]

Originally posted by: dennilfloss
I loved the David Lynch movie but, even when I saw it during its theatrical release, the fanatic jihadist aspect of the story was very troubling. The sight of young Alia holding a dagger while covered in blood was and remains terrifying. So was the use of forbidden weapons by the supposedly good side and the genocidal undertone. Not sure that they can top the awesome ensemble cast in the original movie.

There was a lot I liked about the Lynch movie, but at the same time, there was a lot I didn't like. Too much campy charactarization and too much deviation from the book in certain areas. The production values were great and the cast and acting was for the most part very good though.

I thought the mini-series was better but suffered from poor production and weak acting.

 

[Slick5150]

Originally posted by: sirjonk

Originally posted by: Slick5150
I liked the idea of the SciFi version, but as others said, it needed a bigger budget. There were times you could see the seams in the background where they stitched 2 large desert painted backdrops together. And I thought the guy who played Paul was very good.

I actually liked Children of Dune better. It had much better production value, though the story isn't as good as the first book.

Of course it was Leto II who went on to bigger and better things now didn't he...

Oh yeah, that was James McAvoy. I never connected those dots before. Go figure.

 

[aceO07]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Rundown was kind of hokey, but The Kingdom was excellent. I just hope they don't Hollywood-ize things like the "Wyrding modules" and crap like that.

The heart plug thing was just weird... I don't remember the book making the Baron Harkonnen that nasty.

 

[legoman666]

I liked the SciFi miniseries the best. I thought the 1984 movie was just bad. The book was excellent.

 

[spikespiegal]

I thought the mini-series was better but suffered from poor production and weak acting.

Pretty much. Lynch nailed the casting and visuals, but everything in between was muddy. The Sci-Fi series nailed the story, but the casting was weak, and I won't mention those Martha Stewart costumes. However, Baron Harkonen was spot on in the Sci-Fi series. Terrible actor choice for Paul/Chani though.

"Usul, we have worm-sign the likes of which GOD has never seen"

That line alone is worth the entire Lynch version.

 

[yowolabi]

Originally posted by: sirjonk

Originally posted by: ricochet
I like the David Lynch movie although most of my friends thought it cheesy. I been meaning to read the books one of these days. It's on my "things to do before I die" list.

Read Dune, you can safely skip the rest if you choose, but under no circumstances are you to read the series put out by his son and KJ Anderson.

I read that. I don't consider it be an extension of Dune. I do consider it to be an enjoyable series in it's own right.


I also watched both previous versions of the movie. There's definitely still room for someone to get it right, but I don't think this project will do it. I find it hard to believe that someone can put out a "faithful" adaptation to the book in a standard 2 hour movie. I also think that there's probably too much politics and too much subtlety to the story for any movie to get it right. There's going to be a tradeoff between it being long and boring, or shorter while skipping over crucial elements of the story.

 

[Swag1138]

Originally posted by: yowolabi

I read that. I don't consider it be an extension of Dune. I do consider it to be an enjoyable series in it's own right.

Same here. When you don't look at it as a "Dune" series, it is really quite a fun read. I particularly enjoyed Erasmus. I pulled the same trick with the Star Wars prequels, particularly Episode I.


As for this movie, I'm always happy to see good books made into movies - even bad ones - but I don't see why this is necessary. The Lynch version was great, the Sci-Fi version was better, I just don't see what a new version will bring to the party. Even if it elevates everything, I think it will still just be superfluous.

 

[bobsmith1492]

The first book was amazing.

The next couple - Dune Messiah and Children of Dune - were ok, just not as amazing as the original. After that, they became weird and philosophical and... just weird. His son's work is good, too - I read the Butlerian Jihad at least. I can't speak for the others.

 

[LegendKiller]

Originally posted by: aceO07

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Rundown was kind of hokey, but The Kingdom was excellent. I just hope they don't Hollywood-ize things like the "Wyrding modules" and crap like that.

The heart plug thing was just weird... I don't remember the book making the Baron Harkonnen that nasty.

He was very nasty.

 

[bobsmith1492]

Originally posted by: LegendKiller

Originally posted by: aceO07

Originally posted by: LegendKiller
Rundown was kind of hokey, but The Kingdom was excellent. I just hope they don't Hollywood-ize things like the "Wyrding modules" and crap like that.

The heart plug thing was just weird... I don't remember the book making the Baron Harkonnen that nasty.

He was very nasty.

Super-extremely nasty, even to look at - too fat to walk so he has mini-suspensors that follow him around and carry his blubber for him.