• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Denis Villeneuve eyed by Legendary to helm the Dune movie

Status
Not open for further replies.
The question is: Can Dune actually reach a wide audience nowadays?

A big production like this would smell of a bomb, even if it's of high quality.

The legendary status of the franchise will do some of the heavy lifting. A great movie and competent marketing should take care of the rest.

Also it would help if the production doesn't cost 200 million.
 

Noks415

Member
This is an archaic and flawed trope. There's nothing unfilmable about Dune nowadays. Grtandeur? No problem. Effects? forget about it. The "smell of bomb" based on scale of undertaking doesn't mean the same thing it did in 1981.

The story is simple - a charismatic and handsome outsider fulfills a prophecy and defeats evil, and becomes native, and the king of the natives. (Lawrence of Arabia, Avatar, Tarzan, et al)

That's kinda my fear. You could very easily film a simple story for Dune, but at least for me that's not why I like Dune. Dune has been about big ideas and frankly it can get a little fucking weird but thats why I love it. Here's hoping it doesn't turn out to be another Avatar.


“Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic.”
 

Tugatrix

Member
7qFBQTh.jpg

orig-21214171.jpg
 

Lenardo

Banned
if they make that one book into more than one movie...looking at the book itself:


you either break the movie into 3 parts each movie following a "book" of the novel

book 1 "dune"
book 2 "muad'dib"
book 3 "the prophet"


OR you split the movie into 2 parts with movie 1 ending @ chapter 7 of "book 2" - where paul and mother are captured by the fremen. be a decent "cliffhanger" spot to end the book.

now granted that would mean that movie one would be a bit...boring since it is almost all "Setup" for the latter half of the book.
 
if they make that one book into more than one movie...looking at the book itself:


you either break the movie into 3 parts each movie following a "book" of the novel

book 1 "dune"
book 2 "muad'dib"
book 3 "the prophet"


OR you split the movie into 2 parts with movie 1 ending @ chapter 7 of "book 2" - where paul and mother are captured by the fremen. be a decent "cliffhanger" spot to end the book.

now granted that would mean that movie one would be a bit...boring since it is almost all "Setup" for the latter half of the book.

The movie is going to have at least ~3 hours of runtime if they are going to follow the book closely.

And holy crap, Lynch's version is 2h 17m long. It sure felt longer than that.
 

Acinixys

Member
I expect a lot of hate but Dune should be an anime/animation re the animated scenes from kill bill, not a live action movie

There is so much internal dialog in the books, that when you translate it into a movie/series it comes across as some over budget soap opera with garbage acting. Animation allows for that kind of introspection without it coming across as weird and gross

Maybe it will be good, but I have serious doubts
 

Mindlog

Member
Dune has always felt like a Netflix/HBO TV series to me, but if they are planning to do a big film then I wouldn't be too shocked to see the first arrive in the anticipation of a trilogy. Studios love trilogies.
If true, I'm in. Just imagine the skils of Dennis on a new Dune, with the cinematography of Roger Deslinde1 and the music of Johan Johansson2.


This one ain't offensive as the Nolan version is, considering Villeneuve can actually direct a picture.
1. Yes
2. Please
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Will they actually get a 15 year old to play Paul?

Book is weird there. 15 year old Paul is physically manly and VERY mature intellectually - with these weird blips for the first few chapters, where he thinks deep thoughts, but blurts out the occasional "teen" answer for the first couple of chapters. Then he's Lawrence of Arabia after the Bene Geserit "human" test. The value you'd get out of a 15 year old would be gone by the seocnd act. I thought McLachlan was actually fine, age wise. Smooth skinned and youthful, but regal looking.
 

Melon Husk

Member
Neat :) Arrival, BR2049 and now this, hopefully each more epic than the previous. Casting is everything to me for a Dune movie, eager to see what happens... I feel like Adam Baldwin would be the perfect Duncan Idaho or Gurney Halleck.
 

Flipyap

Member
This is an archaic and flawed trope. There's nothing unfilmable about Dune nowadays. Grtandeur? No problem. Effects? forget about it. The "smell of bomb" based on scale of undertaking doesn't mean the same thing it did in 1981.

The story is simple - a charismatic and handsome outsider fulfills a prophecy and defeats evil, and becomes native, and the king of the natives. (Lawrence of Arabia, Avatar, Tarzan, et al)

Now, where it can be incredible is by leaning into the worldbuilding and deep story, but by jumping on the analogs and eerie similarities to Osama Bin Laden ( wealthy young scion of "spice" industry family becomes leader of religious fanatics and leads a jihad against the outsider enemies after embracing their ways) /Iraq war etc.

Lynch created some amazing things - the sets, the costumes, the music and the casting. Some of it, he NAILED. Anyone who critciizes the casting of Gurney Halleck or the Baron or even Chani, can fight me. With a crysknife of course.
A bad adaptation is easily "filmable." You can easily make a Dune movie about non-ironic hero worship, or one where Space Arabs are once again played by water-rich white folks (Sci-Fi Channel's Chani could sustain a tribe for weeks!).
Lots of issues begin to pop up when you try to fit what Dune was actually about into the Hollywood blockbuster mold, especially if the studio wants to develop the series into a "cinematic universe" (with increasingly challenging protagonists and a new cast for every other sequel... and god help us if they try adapting Herbert Jr.'s fanfics).

We already have one beautiful, but hollow adaptation. I'm not sure if we need another.
I mostly agree with what you've said about the Lynch film, I just wish could have listed, I dunno, Yueh instead of Chani. That bit of casting was "acceptable" in the '80s, but it doesn't look quite so perfect today. So I guess I'm willing to high five you with a crysknife behind my back.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
A bad adaptation is easily "filmable." You can easily make a Dune movie about non-ironic hero worship, or one where Space Arabs are once again played by water-rich white folks (Sci-Fi Channel's Chani could sustain a tribe for weeks!).
Lots of issues begin to pop up when you try to fit what Dune was actually about into the Hollywood blockbuster mold, especially if the studio wants to develop the series into a "cinematic universe" (with increasingly challenging protagonists and a new cast for every other sequel... and god help us if they try adapting Herbert Jr.'s fanfics).

We already have one beautiful, but hollow adaptation. I'm not sure if we need another.
I mostly agree with what you've said about the Lynch film, I just wish could have listed, I dunno, Yueh instead of Chani. That bit of casting was "acceptable" in the '80s, but it doesn't look quite so perfect today. So I guess I'm willing to high five you with a crysknife behind my back.


My sietch is your sietch.
 
if they make that one book into more than one movie...looking at the book itself:


you either break the movie into 3 parts each movie following a "book" of the novel

book 1 "dune"
book 2 "muad'dib"
book 3 "the prophet"


OR you split the movie into 2 parts with movie 1 ending @ chapter 7 of "book 2" - where paul and mother are captured by the fremen. be a decent "cliffhanger" spot to end the book.

now granted that would mean that movie one would be a bit...boring since it is almost all "Setup" for the latter half of the book.

I bet a decent amount of book 1 can be shortened. Sort of introduce the bene Gesserit, have the family quickly go onto fine, briefly talk about the atreides feud with (shit it's been so long), and then give the latter half to the battle and Paul being found...

Oh wait you said that already...
 
Could you imagine if they ever get to the god emperor? And managers to do him well? Im not sure if it's possible

That reminds me, I don't think I finished book 4, but I would have to strat from the beginning at this point.

Kyle MacLachlan should be Duke Leto. Just for a joke.

It's gonna be sean bean, I can already see it
 

HK-47

Oh, bitch bitch bitch.
And now Dennis Villeneuve is officially 'that one director they get to do cult classic sci-fi remakes'. See you for the next Mad Max film after George Miller dies!

I'm waiting for Blade Runner before crowning him that way.
 
Watch Jodorowski's Dune. This movie shouldn't be made, imo.

Having never read the novel myself:

one shot suggestion that I really like in that one is the pan over the galaxy, going from one space battle to another around nameless rocks, and in the center of it all: Arrakis.
Instead of telling the viewer about spice and "spice must flow", that shot is a good way to immediately show what spice is, what it means, and that the dry sand ball is the eye of the storm. (storm being appropriate with the Lynch movie at least).

I have to confess that I've been meaning to use it too.
 

Stinkles

Clothed, sober, cooperative
Give me the funny hats of the miniseries. I'd take that over Lynch.

And on a more serious note, I hope they get actual middle-eastern actors to play the Fremen this time around.

Um, not sure the Fremen are ever described as Middle Eastern. Certainly in my head, they were arabs with piercing blue eyes, basically more raba versions of the "Afghanistan GirL" from Nat Geo, but were they actually ever described as Middle Eastern?
 

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Having never read the novel myself:

one shot suggestion that I really like in that one is the pan over the galaxy, going from one space battle to another around nameless rocks, and in the center of it all: Arrakis.
Instead of telling the viewer about spice and "spice must flow", that shot is a good way to immediately show what spice is, what it means, and that the dry sand ball is the eye of the storm. (storm being appropriate with the Lynch movie at least).

I have to confess that I've been meaning to use it too.

The most "accurate" version of Dune we have gotten is arguable the SciFi channel version but it was the most low budget and unambitious and by the numbers. Lynch got a lot of things wrong but the general tone and aesthetic of his film was pretty spot on. The casting was great as well

He is a very skilled filmmaker but I'm not convinced his style is a good fit for an epic space opera like Dune

Dune isn't a space opera. Barely any of it actually takes place in space and is often in passing.
 

JB1981

Member
The most "accurate" version of Dune we have gotten is arguable the SciFi channel version but it was the most low budget and unambitious and by the numbers. Lynch got a lot of things wrong but the general tone and aesthetic of his film was pretty spot on. The casting was great as well



Dune isn't a space opera. Barely any of it actually takes place in space and is often in passing.

You can't be serious. Space Operas are not defined by how much of the story take place in space itself.
 
You can't be serious. Space Operas are defined by how much of the story take place in space itself.
I always classified space operas as "galaxy scale". Space battles, sweeping scope and scale, and whatnot. Dune sounds much more intimate and less of a grand scope than say Star Wars

Basically Dune is a sci-fi epic, but it isn't a space opera IMO
 

Lyng

Member
I havent seen his films. How good is he at directing dialogue?
To be fair to the book I feel you would need Quentin to nail the dialogues and characters.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom