The DUNE Movie Thread (no... a new one...)

[colonel_lugz]

Paul Atreides:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt?

Too old?

[Pacino86845]

That's a good choice I think... I honestly don't know what to make of the age. Gordon-Levitt could probably pull off the late-teens look and then be made to age through the course of the film. A mid-twenties dude might be a good compromise for the character.

[judderman]

I can't see the point.

The Lynch film is unique but definitely flawed...in some undefinable way.

I can define it along the lines of Rabban drinking crushed frogs, the Baron having pustlues injected into his face and then spitting on Jessica, the random people with tubes coming out of their heads, the nonsensical "sound weapon", the muddled ending, and the mere presence of Virginia Madsen.

On the plus side, the casting was top notch (apart from Virginia Madsen). Lynch may have been trotting out his own stable but he created the definitive Paul when he cast Kyle Mclaughlin. Francesca Annis played Jessica perfectly. Sting didn't do much in the movie but he sure looked like Feyd. It's interesting how many of those actors, like Patrick Stewart and Dean Stockwell, went on to notable careers in scifi.

Dune has a problem in that, on the one hand, it is a Star Wars-style space opera with ships blowing up and people shooting each other with laser guns, while on the other hand it is a 60s-style drugged out, mind expander hippy trip. The Lynch movie focused on the hippy trip (indeed it went further than the book did), while the Scifi series focused on the blowing up things really loudly space opera part. Finding the balance between the two has proven elusive.

[so sorry]

In all this "dream casting" talk I'm surprised no ones mentioned Nathon Fillion.

You browncoats are slipping...

[Pacino86845]

In all this "dream casting" talk I'm surprised no ones mentioned Nathon Fillion.

You browncoats are slipping...

Maybe they're just slowly coming to grips with reality... PWNT!

[Lord Voldemoo]

In all this "dream casting" talk I'm surprised no ones mentioned Nathon Fillion.

You browncoats are slipping...

Maybe they're just slowly coming to grips with reality... PWNT!

NOT BLOODY LIKELY!! He'll be too busy playing a lovable rogue in the Star Wars live action series...

[minstrel]

he created the definitive Paul when he cast Kyle Mclaughlin.

This isn't true. Lynch might as well have cast Hulk Hogan - he'd be about as close.

[The Vicar]

Or The Rock.

oi

[judderman]

OK, so who would you guys have cast then?

[minstrel]

OK, so who would you guys have cast then?

From page 1 of the novel:

"Is he not small for his age, Jessica?" the old woman asked. Her voice twanged like an untuned baliset.

Paul's mother answered in her soft contralto: "The Atreides are known to start late getting their growth, Your Reverence."

"So I've heard, so I've heard," wheezed the old woman. "Yet he's already fifteen."


This says to me that Paul should be played by a smallish mid-teen actor. Kyle MacLachlan was a six-foot, square-jawed, adult hero type in Lynch's film. It didn't work for me at all.

I'd get some unknown kid. The character shouldn't be played by someone bringing baggage from previous films - he should be original, and look original.

[The Vicar]

Please, not Freddie Highmore.
Thank god that MacCaulikin kid is too frakking old.....

[Pacino86845]

Wow I love Bruno Ganz as Harkonen. Let's just eb agreed and move on to Paul.

Emile Hirsch anyone?

I just realized that people are talking about this kid's performance in Into The Wild... is that what makes you suggest him for Paul? I've only seen him in The Girl Next Door, and Speed Racer isn't exactly getting me all excited.

[TonyWilson]

Based on his work in In To The Wild, Hirsch should be playing James Tiberius Kirk.

[wonkabar]

Wow I love Bruno Ganz as Harkonen. Let's just eb agreed and move on to Paul.

Emile Hirsch anyone?

I just realized that people are talking about this kid's performance in Into The Wild... is that what makes you suggest him for Paul? I've only seen him in The Girl Next Door, and Speed Racer isn't exactly getting me all excited.

Don't forget Lords of Dogtown

[judderman]

Jodorowsky and Giger should get back together and try again. The only fragment left over from the alternate reality in which thier DUNE was made is Giger's Harkonnen chair, which is so cool I almost want to see the rest of the movie made around it.

[Lord Voldemoo]

Wow I love Bruno Ganz as Harkonen. Let's just eb agreed and move on to Paul.

Emile Hirsch anyone?

I just realized that people are talking about this kid's performance in Into The Wild... is that what makes you suggest him for Paul? I've only seen him in The Girl Next Door, and Speed Racer isn't exactly getting me all excited.

Don't forget Lords of Dogtown

I haven't seen Into the Wild, but I thought he was quite good in LoD.

[The Vicar]

Jodorowsky and Giger should get back together and try again. The only fragment left over from the alternate reality in which thier DUNE was made is Giger's Harkonnen chair, which is so cool I almost want to see the rest of the movie made around it.

Looks amazing, yet somehow uncomfortable.
I know the Baron's ass was well padded, but damn...

[Fawst]

Wow, that really is from the Jodorowsky Dune? Impressive!

Part of me would love to see Peter Jackson tackle Dune...

Megan Fox for Sean Young's part!

[havocSchultz]

I have a part for Megan Fox too...

[so sorry]

I have a part for Megan Fox too...

a bit part

[Al Shut]

Jodorowsky and Giger should get back together and try again. The only fragment left over from the alternate reality in which thier DUNE was made is Giger's Harkonnen chair, which is so cool I almost want to see the rest of the movie made around it.

Recently I saw a documentary on Jean Giraud a.k.a Moebius and I wept for this movie not beeing made. Itsounded incredible cool.

[wonkabar]

Jodorowsky and Giger should get back together and try again.

TAGLINE:

And you thought Lynch's was weird.....

[Crimson King]

I was gonna post in the other thread, but it got locked.

Regrding Peter Berg....well, frankly, I don't know. I mean, I've only seen one movie he's directed, The Rundown, which I really enjoyed. I thought it was a pretty fun movie, and the action sequences were really well done.

People are concerned about whether or not he has the vision....well, I can see why that is. While he's obviously a competent director, it doesn't necessarily mean he's got the kind of vision a work like Dune would require. However, he is sort of at the beginning stages of his directing career and perhaps he just hasn't had a chance to show off his true directing skills. See, he's never been a MAJOR actor like, say, Mel Gibson or George Clooney, so I'm thinking he doesn't have the kind of pull they had when they made their directorial debuts. Also, look at this Craig Gillespie guy...he directed Mr. Woodcock and then Lars and the Real Girl. Obviously one was done for a paycheck, or as part of a deal to get funding for Lars. Peter Berg might really be into the Dune story and could perhaps do it the justice it deserves. It could really be good.

Then again...it could end up sucking real bad. I'm thinking it's a 50-50 shot on this one. I don' t know.

All I know is this....Walk without rhythm and you won't attract the worm.

[Pacino86845]

I have sat on one such chair!!! They have 'em in Giger's bar over in Gruyère, Switzerland!

Right, so Herc just posted about Berg directing this new film.

Um, I guess this is old news (Herc's fault!!)... either Variety is totally late in reporting this bit of info, or it wasn't 100% "official" until now?

The only clue as to the direction this is heading in comes from:

The project is out to writers, with the producers looking for a faithful adaptation of the Hugo- and Nebula Award-winning book. The filmmakers consider its theme of finite ecological resources particularly timely.

Also, Peter Berg sucks BALLZ!

Should somehow convince Malick to do this film...

[judderman]

Huh. I keep thinking that the guy is a really good choice, that he knows epic, that he knows special effects, and that he can do emotion and gets good performances out of actors.

Then I realise I'm thinking of Peter Weir.

I haven't seen anything this guy's done, but his resume seems to suggest he's about as well suited to direct this film as, well, the guy who made "About A Boy" was to make "The Golden Compass".

Because I have nothing else constructive to add, here's some more Giger Dune concept art:











And yes, that last one was meant to be part of Dune.

[Fawst]

WTF is the last one? Looks like scarab warriors about to throw down all William Wallace style.

Giger, man... he's good, but he's fucked in the head. Why would the sand collectors have a giant buddha/sperm hybrid with ARMS on top of it?

The worm is pretty sick, though I have to say, in my limited scope of vision for Dune (still reading it currently), the Lynch version had great designs for them.

[Pacino86845]

I think the giant studly man structure was supposed to be a likeness of Harkonnen.

[so sorry]

I think the giant studly man structure was supposed to be a likeness of Harkonnen.

not enough pus filled boils.

[judderman]

I just subbed a larger version of the last image so you can see it for what it is

[DinoDeLaurentiis]

Meh...

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

I'm curious to see how the script turns out when they don't have to get approval from Herbert.

[John-Locke]

I like Peter Berg, he's a competent director and no one has done the book justice yet.

[Pacino86845]

If by competent you mean "incompetent," then you're absolutely correct... The Kingdom was pretty sucky, and nothing about his direction really stood out there for me. True, it'd probably be better than Zack Snyder's Dune, but not by much IMO.

[TheButcher]

From Sci Fi Wire: Director Berg envisions an epic adventure Dune film

[papalazeru]

Fuxake...

I really thought they were re-envisioning Dune again.

It so deserves a good make over.

shit, Let's facelift Kyle and do it all again.

[TheButcher]

From MTV:
EXCLUSIVE: 'Dune' Remake Will Have 'Hard PG-13' Rating With Franchise Potential, Reveals Peter Berg

[judderman]

An interesting sidenote for any UK Zoners; an art exhibit from the Jodorowsky Dune is currently running in London.

[judderman]

So Berg dropped out. Good. I had never seen any of his movies and as far as I could tell he was a middling talent with no real aptitude for scifi.

Now I love Dog Soldiers and The Descent, but Marshall is not ready for this kind of project. He's shown that he needs a tight budget to keep his artistic ego in check. Blomkamp? He can do good scifi on a budget, can go epic while not going insane, but has only one major film to his name. And that had a pretty basic, single-thread storyline. Could he handle something like Dune?

This whole thing is weird. I have to say, I have never been more obsessed with a movie I didn't really want to see made, or had less inclination to watch. I think it's because the source material's sheer unfilmability has made the efforts to do so so interesting. When Dune projects fail, as they invariably do, they do so in grand, flamboyant style, leaving monuments behind that hint of what might have been. What other film project has managed to lasso Alejandro Jodorowsky, Salvador Dali, David Lynch, Sting, Mick Jagger, Max von Sydow, Jürgen Prochnow, Patrick Stewart and ... Dean Stockwell? It's just weird.

[havocSchultz]

I hear Ratner's interested - but he wants it to be set in modern day Vegas...cause they've got the coolest dunes and the craziest strippers...

My fingers are now crossed...

[DerLanghaarige]

What about Peter Weir?

[TheButcher]

From /film:
Is Neil Marshall Going to Replace Peter Berg on Dune?

If this rumour is true, however, there’s a little more to it. As well as informing us that Berg and his Film 44 company have made a break for the door, the story goes that some frontrunning candidates for the canvas chair have already come in to focus: Neill Blomkamp and Neil Marshall. Bafflingly, it’s Marshall who is said to be the frontrunner

From First Showing:
Peter Berg is Off of Dune; Paramount Wants Neill Blomkamp

I hear Ratner's interested - but he wants it to be set in modern day Vegas...cause they've got the coolest dunes and the craziest strippers...

My fingers are now crossed...

I hope Ratner get's the job. His version of Dune would probably look like Star Wars meets The Hangover.

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

Maybe if Jodorowsky can pull off the two flicks he's working on now they'll give it back to him.

[The Vicar]

Now I love Dog Soldiers and The Descent, but Marshall is not ready for this kind of project. He's shown that he needs a tight budget to keep his artistic ego in check. Blomkamp? He can do good scifi on a budget, can go epic while not going insane, but has only one major film to his name. And that had a pretty basic, single-thread storyline. Could he handle something like Dune?

People were saying the same thing about Peter Jackson when he got LoftRs, and that turned out a bit alright. I'd be willing to give either of these gents a shot at it, Marshall more so than Blomkamp ( I liked Dp\og Soldiers more than District 9, although it's close). Bigger name directors drag too much baggage into the effort.

[TheButcher]

From Variety:
Morel Climbs Aboard "Dune"

Paramount Pictures has set Pierre Morel to direct “Dune,” the adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic novel.

Morel, who last directed the action hit “Taken,” has signed a deal with the studio and will work toward getting the script right. Pic is one of the biggest priorities on the slate of Par Motion Picture Group prexy Adam Goodman.

Kevin Misher’s Misher Films will produce with New Amsterdam’s Richard Rubenstein, who produced the telepic “Dune” and the sequel “Children of Dune.”

Pic had been developed by Peter Berg, who exited when he committed to Universal’s “Battleship,” based on the Hasbro naval combat board game. Universal set a July 1, 2011 release for that film and committed to follow with Berg’s passion project, the Afghan was drama “Lone Survivor.” Those back-to-back directing gigs will keep Berg busy for at least two years.

Berg developed a “Dune” draft with Josh Zetumer, the script who separately has been scripting the fourth installment of “The Bourne Identity” for Universal. Paramount will work off Zetumer’s draft, but the studio will secure another writer shortly.

“Dune” was first turned into a film by David Lynch, whose 1984 effort was not a financial success. Herbert’s novel—about an intergalactic struggle to control the supply of a valuable spice found only on the remote desert planet Arrakis—remains the biggest selling sci fi novel and it’s still enormously popular. Morel, for instance, is a long time fan who brought his well-worn copy of the novel with him to meetings at Paramount, sources said.

The studio will begin doing R&D work on a picture that promises to be pricey.

Deal makes “Dune” a candidate to be the next directing assignment for Morel, who is also in early stage development on a sequel to “Taken.” He is also developing “Pursuit,” an action thriller at Universal based on the exploits of conflict photographer Jason Howe. Howe fell in love with a woman while on assignment in Colombia, only to discover she was an assassin. Morel most recently wrapped the John Travolta-starrer “From Paris with Love.” He is repped by WME and Artist Talent Management.

[TheButcher]

From MTV:
EXCLUSIVE: 'Dune' Adaptation Will Be 'Very Respectful To The Original Novel,' Pierre Morel Says

[DerLanghaarige]

Of course he is "a fan of the source" and his movie will be "faithful". I wanna hear a director say just one time stuff like: "Nah, I don't like source material. My movie will be something completely different."

[TheBaxter]

Of course he is "a fan of the source" and his movie will be "faithful". I wanna hear a director say just one time stuff like: "Nah, I don't like source material. My movie will be something completely different."

didn't jj abrams say that about star trek?

[DerLanghaarige]

Of course he is "a fan of the source" and his movie will be "faithful". I wanna hear a director say just one time stuff like: "Nah, I don't like source material. My movie will be something completely different."

didn't jj abrams say that about star trek?

He never said that he didn't like Star Trek, only that he wasn't a Trekko. And he even said that he wanted to keep the optimism and fun of Trek alive in his version.

[TheBaxter]

well, that's about as close as you'll get to someone saying they don't like it. why would anyone want to direct a film for a property they don't like?

[DerLanghaarige]

well, that's about as close as you'll get to someone saying they don't like it. why would anyone want to direct a film for a property they don't like?

For the money?