Another Dune Movie

Yeah, they're going for it again.

LINK HERE

Peter Berg is attached to direct a bigscreen adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel "Dune" for Paramount Pictures.

Kevin Misher, who spent the past year obtaining the book rights from the Herbert estate, will produce via his Par-based shingle.

Herbert's 1965 novel is a sweeping, futuristic tale set on the remote desert planet Arrakis, which produces the interstellar empire's sole source of the spice Melange -- used for distant space travel. An empirewide power struggle ensues over the control of the spice. Berg would be the latest helmer to take a crack at the property, which spawned a 1984 David Lynch film as well as a 2000 Sci Fi Channel miniseries starring William Hurt.

New Amsterdam's Richard Rubenstein, who produced Sci Fi's "Dune" and sequel "Children of Dune," is also producing alongside Sarah Aubrey of Film 44, Berg's production banner. John Harrison and Mike Messina exec produce.

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.

Paramount envisions the project as a tentpole film.

Berg and Misher enjoy strong ties dating back to Misher's executive days at Universal Pictures. Misher also produced Berg's second directorial outing, "The Rundown."

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Umm, first thoughts are, wtf? Dune in movie format? Don't know how that's possible to do it well. I mean, we got the Lynch (cough: Alan Smithee) version that was a disaster of the highest calibur in my opinion. I mean, I watched it, sure, but ick. I enjoyed the miniseries (and all its glorious set-making) the best. It just felt better to me.

I can't imagine what they'll do to this book with the big Hollywood Suckheimers that want to make bucks on toys and keep people in the theater no less than 1 hour and 59 minutes.

Yes, I'll see it. I gotta see who gets the parts, but I'm really dubious about this.

Thoughts?

Hmm, the mid 90's video games were the only thing except the books worth caring about. Dune II ftw !!!

Seriously, it might be good. No-one has done a perfect version yet. I'm not sure it is that filmable really...

I a two hour movie in cannot be done, David Lynch made a valiant attempt in his 1984 version of Dune but it didn't work. The only possible way it could work is as a Miniseries.

Actually, I think Lynch (my cinematic hero, btw) made it like 8 hrs or something insane. Then they had to keep cutting it and adding that awful thought-narration.

I do love the look of that movie, and the cast- Kyle McLachlan, Patrick Stewart, etc. Hey, at least it was... unique.

Didn't sci-fi channel do a miniseries a few years ago, too?

Yes they did two mini series actually, the 2nd covered books two and three combined, they were not bad. They still omitted important story elements but did do justice to Herbert's vision. There was talk at one point about doing a full blown television series but I guess that's all it remained, Talk. I would like to have seen them do it like they did with the Dead Zone.

GKarsEye said:

Actually, I think Lynch (my cinematic hero, btw) made it like 8 hrs or something insane. Then they had to keep cutting it and adding that awful thought-narration.

I do love the look of that movie, and the cast- Kyle McLachlan, Patrick Stewart, etc. Hey, at least it was... unique.

Didn't sci-fi channel do a miniseries a few years ago, too?

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i agree, and to be honest i think it is at the very least okay i guess. i would have totally loved an un-cut version.

for a 2 hour movie however, it is an absolute impossibility, maybe as a trilogy though.

Even with the added footage the Lynch version was still sadly lacking i do hope they decide not to go ahead with this movie version because quiet frankly its going to be lousy. You cannot possibly do Dune as a two hour movie and do it any kind of justice. I do agree that a Trilogy ala lord of the rings filmed back to back might be workable. but that is all I will give it. Dune is vast and wonderfully complex in scope, in just the first Book thee is much to story.

Ranger1, there is an uncut Lynch version. They aired it over 8 hours on Sci-fi one day. It's probably out there to buy somewhere. I actually enjoyed the 8 hour version (as well as I could.) Lynch did good, but God, Sean Young is a freak and every time she came on the screen, I wanted to poke my eyes out with hot pokers. She's the anti-Chani, imho.

The chick in the miniseries was way hotter and did a better job, imho. She even showed her boobies in the uncensored version.

But Sting as that Harkonnen dude was pretty awesome.

Sean Young weird yes , but she was hot in Blade Runner

Hell yes she was hot in Bladerunner. That's true.

I just don't have a good feeling about this latest attempt at a Dune feature film,thats all.

Alluveal said:

Ranger1, there is an uncut Lynch version. They aired it over 8 hours on Sci-fi one day. It's probably out there to buy somewhere. I actually enjoyed the 8 hour version (as well as I could.) Lynch did good, but God, Sean Young is a freak and every time she came on the screen, I wanted to poke my eyes out with hot pokers. She's the anti-Chani, imho.

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I don't know how an 8 hour version would be possible. Lynch only shot 5 hours of film, intending to cut it to about 3.5 hours. But, he didn't get final cut, and the film was released at 137m. That is the only version with his name on it, the only one he approved, and the only one worth watching.

The first "Alan Smithee" version, made for TV, was 190 minutes, but there are various cuts of that, down to 176 minutes. These included things Lynch never shot, like still paintings, with voice over. It also had a lot of good scenes edited out. It is TERRIBLE. Never watch this! With commercials, it usually runs 4 hours.

In 1992, KTVU, a Fox affiliate in San Francisco, made a hybrid version of those two edits, running 177 minutes.

The only other version was Lynch's workprint, which was an assembly of ALL footage shot, that's what a workprint is. It was shown to the crew in Mexico, and Frank Herbert, shortly after shooting. It no longer exists, and was never shown theatrically. Fans have tried to duplicate it, and there is a fan version about 4 hours long.

For all its flaws, I like the Lynch 137 minute edition. It had a lot of great stuff too. I do wish he would make a real director's cut, if that is still possible. The SciFi miniseries wasn't bad. But, it didn't have the brilliance of Lynch's best moments. If it gets remade, I wish them luck, but it is very difficult to get that on film!

Then what was that I saw on SciFi one night from like 8pm until 2 or 3 in the morning? I watched like 2 hours of it and they were still on Arakis with Duke Leto and I was thinking, "wtf?" I just kept watching. It was the longest thing I've ever seen. Maybe with the commercials it just seemed longer? I've never seen it any other time. I just said to myself, "this has to be the whole damn thing."

And seeing ALL of it, a LOT would have made sense to people who weren't Dune fanatics or who read the books. Lots of details.

What do you think? I'm confused, haha.

I think with Dune it helps to first read the Book in a mirror hanging upside down and then watch the Movie and the miniseries together on two separate televisions together at the same time and everything will become clear i guarantee it, more or less.

If you have to do that with Dune, I can't imagine what you'd have to do with the 4th book from the series: God Emperor Dune.

Alluveal said:

Then what was that I saw on SciFi one night from like 8pm until 2 or 3 in the morning? I watched like 2 hours of it and they were still on Arakis with Duke Leto and I was thinking, "wtf?" I just kept watching. It was the longest thing I've ever seen. Maybe with the commercials it just seemed longer? I've never seen it any other time. I just said to myself, "this has to be the whole damn thing."

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Assuming it was the Dune with Kyle MacLachlan, could it have been shown back to back, two four hour showings, taking 8 hours? Could you possibly have seen the Sci Fi Channel miniseries, not the Lynch version? I think that would be at least 8 hours. I checked both the IMDb, and the Wikipedia, to confirm my memory. The IMDb specifically states that there is no 6 hour version, even though there are such rumors.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087182/alternateversions

I would not mind a full television series based on the Dune novels

Naw, I own the miniseries and have seen the Lynch (theatrical version) many times before this. Let me look around online. I swear, it was hours and hours. I got to the part where they finally found the Fremen and had to go to bed, and like 3 hours had gone by. Let me do some digging. I swear I am not crazy or on drugs!

Ok, it was the friggin' DISNEY CHANNEL that showed it, oddly enough. I knew it was some basic cable channel and the sci-fi channel was the first to come to mind. Here is proof it existed!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1WEGKFS8S6A68?ie=UTF8&sort_by=MostRecentReview

The other threads I can find say this is the director's cut. I swear it was long, like long-ass long. Maybe they did just play it back to back or something. I don't know. But, I remember thinking "the eyes aren't all blue, this editing really sucks."

I have seen a longer version of the Lynch film. The scene with Patrick Stewart playing the guitar (or guitar-like instrument actually) was in the film. I remember that much.