After two flawed versions, the first by David Lynch in 1984, and the second by the Sci-Fi Channel in 2000, the possibility of an entirely new, big budget production of Frank Herbert's Dune novels is welcome news.
In October, Byran Merritt, grandson of the late Frank Herbert, commented in a Dune forum that "Although only a rumour, I've heard that 'someone' at the studio wants Dune really badly and has been a fan of the novel for 'years'. They're not saying who this is (and it might just be hype) but I'm holding out hope that whoever this might be is a big enough fan that he/she will do the book justice. Supposedly it's some director."
Later MTV Movies followed up with the news that the Director in question is Peter Berg (Director of The Kingdom) and the studio is Paramount.
Peter Berg has been quoted as saying that his involvement was a "done deal" and that if not for the Hollywood writer's strike "we'd be in it right now". He called himself a massive fan of the books and called the plans for his version of Dune "big, big, big".
However, responding to a post on 27 December asking whether a release date of 2009 on Peter Berg's Wikipedia page was in any way accurate, Byran Merritt wrote: "None whatsoever. The attorneys are still in negotiations..."
Still, it's clear that discussions are happening. If not Peter Berg, let's hope someone else begins a new Dune movie in the near future.
While David Lynch's 1984 movie version had great production values, a rousing soundtrack by Toto, and excellent performances, notably from Patrick Stewart, Kyle MacLachlan and Max Von Sydow, it was killed by a messy screenplay with a stupid ending (which had nothing to do with the book) along with pointlessly gory scenes of the Baron Harkonen. His boils and sores, for example, although mentioned in the book, were way over the top. And what was Sting doing dancing around in his underpants?
In particular, who can forget the cat milking scene? I certainly can't. This was easily one of the silliest scenes in science fiction movie history. If you still have fond memories of the movie, watch the cat milking scene on YouTube here and you may feel differently. What was David Lynch thinking? Could someone also explain to me what the mouse was doing there?
In contrast to David Lynch's big budget version, the Sci-Fi Channel's miniseries which began in 2000 with Dune and continued with Children of Dune, had low production values and some average acting (especially the supporting cast in Dune), but at least made an attempt to follow the books.
We need someone to make up for the first two attempts. At least give Dune the big screen treatment while attempting to capture the spirit of the books. While complex, the source material is rich, and like the Lord of the Ring's movies, there's a massive fan base ready and waiting to queue up for tickets if someone can get it right.
Hopefully the next Dune article you read on this site will be confirmation that a new Dune movie has been greenlit and production is in full swing.
Before we leave the subject of the Dune series and cats (hopefully forever), take a look at this picture I stumbled upon recently. Could this be the first publicity shot from Paramount's new Dune?
I think I would much rather see a treatment of Brian Herbert's prequel books first, someone could keep themselves busy for 2 decades doing the entire series from Brian's stuff through his fathers 6 originals. He also has the 2 books he finished based on his fathers notes for "Dune 7". The Herbert's have created an immense imaginary world that would look tremendous on the big screen.
So are his sequels. But to call them Brian Herbert's books doesn't give credit to the destroyer of Sci-Fi universes, Kevin Anderson.
Both of whom are now being called "co-producers" of the new movie. Now they can destroy FH's legacy on film just like they did in print!
It is my fervent wish that Lynch's hopeless mess of Frank Herbert's brilliant story is eventually forgotten about and ends up on the scrapheap of movie history. Surely one of the worst movies ever made. The Scifi Channel's efforts, whilst not without their flaws, were vastly more faithful to both the story and the overall feel of the books. As for the prequels? Forget them! We can only keep our fingers crossed that any new movie keeps faith with Frank's original vision.
Having just recently watched David Lynch's version of Dune, I'm not convinced that the book can be done in one film that lasts two or even three hours and still remain faithfull to the book. I feel that Lynch tried his best to put all main elements and themes of the book on screen, but failed misserably because there was just too much information to give to an audience for one film.
The mini series, although by no means perfect worked a lot better because they had less time restraints, therefore they had the freedom to put all the major themes of the book into the film as well as explore and develop the characters.
Now, everytime I hear about a sci-fi or fantasy novel being adapted for the screen i feel a certain amount of trepidation. Many fans of the genres, myself included want the books to remain faithful as possible to the books and be given the big budget treatment. The sad fact is that there is only a few examples I can think of on the top of my head of where this all happened. We tend to forget that many fail badly because of either budget restrictions, bad casting and a script so watered down or different from the original book down you wonder why they bothered.
If they are going to do a new version of Dune, it will either be a watered down version of the book, or be more than one film. Dune is a book I'm very fond of and would hate to see it ruined because a few Hollywood producers want it changed so it appeals to a larger audience or cut down to fit into a cohessive storyline that will fit into one film.
I don't see them making Dune into two or three seperate films either, I feel that it would be too big a financial commitment, and the problem of splitting one book into two or three movies. My hope is that it they make two great movies but I feel we will get treatred to a thin version of Dune with too much CGI and not enough content.
I loved Lynch's 'Dune'... With Lynch, you either love him or hate him, and I understand why his free treatment of the text and artistic license can grate on people's nerves. He is certainly an acquired taste.
But it is the imagery and acting that I found supreme. Francesca Annis as Jessica is spellbinding, and Patrick Stewart as Gurney has Shakespearean grandeur. And I don't mind the 'cat milking' scene in the least; it's one of Lynch's on-screen jokes, nothing more. The cat is a Sphynx, a hairless breed, by the way. It stands in relation to the mouse as the Baron stands in relation to the captured Thurfir.
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