New Dune Film... Again.

[wraith1701]

It looks like Hollywood is taking another swing at Frank Herbert's Sci-Fi Masterpiece.  A guy named Josh Zetumer  is working on a treatment for a new version of Dune.

link- http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080606q.php

What do y'all think-- Good news or Bad news?

[Rico]

Seems odd to keep redoing this.  I'd much prefer something new, even though I love the early "Dune" books.

[Bryancd]

I think visually the Lynch film got it right but he ruined the story whereas the Sci-Fi channel miniseries got the story right but lacked the visual impact. I would be willing to watch a new version. I am a big fan of the books.

[X]

I think the Lynch film was a travesty. He didn't get much of anything right. I read the books and saw Lynch's version both as a child and it was one of the worst book to movie conversions ever. The rain was wrong, the wierding weapons was SOOOO wrong. I don't dislike the Lynch version, but it wasn't Dune. I also think that the way the description in the books are, the stillsuits from the mini seem more realistic to me. Lynch had the nose tubes, but not the mouth filters.

I also find it kind of sad that the best version of the Movie is the long version that Lynch didn't cut and refuses to have his name on.

I think that the mini had the budget, it would have been fantastic, but I too noticed the closed scenes and the screen work.

BUT!

What if we can eat our cake and have it too? What if we could get the same attention to the story with actual effects that are worthy of the book?

LOTR is done. Someone has Narnia going. The Dark Materials and Eragon have had their chance at big budget. Now it's time for Dune. Now it's time to see a true sci-fi epic from one of the masters of the genre. Put each book into a three hour LOTR styled movie and we can have magic.

A decade and a half ago, the studio cringed at the thought of a movie running longer than two hours and some change. After Titanic, that changed. The studios learned that the audience has grown up and would invest 3+ hours into a movie that actually told a story.

Let's see Dune again and let's see it done right.

Were it me, I would rather Dune be done as a weekly hour show with high production values and each season covering a whole book. It's also how I would have done Harry Potter, but that's just me.

[wraith1701]

Were it me, I would rather Dune be done as a weekly hour show with high production values and each season covering a whole book.

You must be reading my mind, man.  The Dune universe is so complex, you just can't do it justice in a 2 hour film.  The Sci Fi channel miniseries came close to getting it right by taking the time to cover more of the background of the characters and their world.

[Geoff G.o.B]

I liked the orignal film but was more than happy with the mini series, much better in terms of story accuracy. TV series now thats a great idea, a real chance to hit the whole story arc  :taz

[Feathers]

I never really watched any version of this having been roundly disappointed by every clip (or whatever) I saw.

The success of LOTR gives me hope for a good version one day...but not too much. (Having said that, I suspect I'd need to re-read the books to work out what good really means in this context since it's probably been decades since I read the early books).

[Geoff G.o.B]

I think there are two important factors that film makers can legislate for when they plan book to movie conversions

Fans imagination

Cult status

for example I'm a huge Terry Pratchett fan, luv the books and audio books by Tony Robinson. I like both the Cosgrove Hall animated adaptations and couldn't wait for the Hogfather even though its not my favourite book. When it came out I was disappointed, felt it moved too far away from the books and didn't like some of the characters. The main reason is I've got my own image of who these characters are and how the sound and look. I was nervous about Colour of Magic and although I liked it more than the Hogfather I'm worried that my geeky purist side will never totally enjoy any screen adaptation that doesn't exactly match my image of the Discworld.

Now LOTR was epic on every scale and despite the fact I've read the book several times, I had no problems with the film version and the bits it left out, luved the characters and the graphics were stunning. Could it be the fact I haven't read the book for so long, I'm more open to watching the screen version on its own merits?

Now switch to Dune, watched the orignal film and luved it. Eventually read the first couple of books and got hooked (although I've not read all of them). Watched the mini series and enjoyed them more than the orignal film because I could identify it with the books I'd read.

So I guess I'm saying, does how much you like a book determine how happy you will be with a film conversion? And if the book has been re-read prior to film release and is fresh does that affect your enjoyment?

[Feathers]

So I guess I'm saying, does how much you like a book determine how happy you will be with a film conversion? And if the book has been re-read prior to film release and is fresh does that affect your enjoyment?

I think there's a measure of that but it's lessening as the abilities of film makers are enhanced by the available technology.

Book wise I've probably read LotR more times than anything else and know it very well, but loved the films.

Equally, I didn't have too much trouble with the Hogfather despite the fact that I know what the Disc World looks like from reading (I'm also into Pratchett BTW). It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful (am I making allowances for the lack of a Hollywood budget here? Perhaps)

When I saw 'The Hunt for Red October' however, I was horribly disappointed as it simply did not live up to what I had read. Others who read the book after seeing the film didn't have a problem but I found it terribly boring against what I had envisioned. Re-made today, of course, they would probably be able to do so much more with it.

[Bryancd]

I agree the Lynch film took a lot of libertites with the material which totally bombed and the edited down story with the Freemen was bad, the Weirding Modules and all that nonesense. I just think it was a visually interesting movie. I saw the film prior to reading the books, so I was biased towards the film visuals. When I read the books that was what I saw due to that influence. Since then I have read all the books as well as the new Brian Herbert stories and I really liked the two SciFi mini series. What I did miss was the grotequeness of the Baron. Lynch gave us a great character there. Now Sting on the other hand....  :smilie_bleh:

[X]

LOL Bryan. I think I liked Sting better as Feyd than anyone. Then again I think that I had a different experience. I read like four of the books before I saw the movie.

I love Lynch, but I have trouble following his movies some times. I saw Lost Highway the opening night and I still haven't been able to figure that one out.

[Geekyfanboy]

Another attempted at making a Dune Movie..

Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel Dune—which spawned five sequels in Herbert's lifetime and prequels after his death—has been problematic for filmmakers, but that's not stopping director Peter Berg from developing a new movie he plans to direct.

Director David Lynch famously had problems adapting the sprawling book in 1984. Syfy's 2000 miniseries adaptation did a bit better in terms of audience and critical reception, but Berg feels there's still room for a new feature film.

"I think I had a much more different experience, I think, with the book than David Lynch did," Berg said in an exclusive interview on last week at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Pasadena, Calif., where he was promoting his Wayne Gretzky documentary for ESPN. "To me, I think my interpretation will feel significantly different from that and the [Syfy] Channel miniseries that aired. I have a different experience than both of those filmmakers did."

Lynch's film focused in part on the politics of the feuding houses of Herbert's novel, who contend while trying to control the flow of melange, the spice that facilitates space travel, which is found only on the desert planet of Arrakis.

Berg sees the story more as an epic adventure. "[The book] was much more muscular and adventurous, more violent and possibly even a little bit more fun," Berg said. "I think those are all elements of my experience of the book that can be brought in without offending the die-hard fans of the Bene Gesserit and Kwisatz Haderach. There's a more dynamic film to be made."

Before Berg can direct, a filmable Dune script just has to be finished within Berg's scheduling parameters. "I'm finishing this [documentary] now, we're editing it now," he said. "I think it's going to be in the Toronto Film Festival. [I'm] working now on getting Friday Night Lights up for the new season and getting Dune up and running. I'm working all the time."

[Bryancd]

Well, I'm all for more DUNE. I thought Sci-Fi's DUNE miniseries was very good and made a real effort to stick closer to the novel. Lynch readily admits his version diverged a great deal but it was visually stunning. The Children of Dune Sci-Fi effort was less successful as they tried to combine the next two books into one story and it was too much for them to adapt.
I just picked up the new DUNE book Winds of Dune.

[SPOCKFAN]

I love the book and don't feel it has translated to the screen the way I imagined when I read the book.  Hopefully Peter Berg can deliver

[Bromptonboy]

Dune reboot would be ok with me.  I loved the story, and would love to see how another producer-director treats Muad'dib.

What I would really love to see is Larry Niven's Ring World on the big screen.