Denis Villeneuve’s Dune

Sad Professor · 08-01-2019 12:39pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I'm still waiting for the shoe to drop on this project though and it disappear into the ether again.

Same, which is why I get excited every time there's a casting announcement or other sign of progress.

In other news, no Deakins. Greig Fraser (Rogue One) will be DP.

Sad Professor · 09-01-2019 9:12pm

And arch villain Baron Harkonnen will be played by...

Stellan Skarsgard.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/stellan-skarsg-play-villain-legendarys-dune-1174870

banie01 · 09-01-2019 9:26pm

Tony EH wrote: »

However, one of my issues I'll have with this new adaptation will be that I can now only see a lot of the actors in Lynch's 'Dune' as their literary counterparts. Kyle MacLachlan is Paul Artreides in my mind. I only see Sting as Feyd and Kenneth McMillan as Baron Harkonnen. Sian Philips and Jose Ferrer will forever be the Reverend Mother and Emperor Shaddam.

It'll take something to shift that.

I agree with you on this point. Patrick Stewart will always be Gurney Halleck in my minds eye.
And Francesca Annis...oh Franny

Dune is a book I re-read on a regular basis at least once a year.
It just resonates with me on many levels.

The Lynch adaptation has huge flaws, some of the casting is abysmal and the deviation from the actual novel ruins the flow of the story before we ever even discuss the visuals!

The book is broken out into 3 parts and as such the likely arc by the Studio will be a trilogy and as they have optioned the whole Herbert estate, they may go with making the whole series.

The casting announcements to date are really interesting and I'm excited to see how it all hangs together.

My main worry for the adaptation is Kevin Anderson's involvement as a consultant.
The trash churned out by Him and Herbert Jr really is awful and was a cynical attempt to cash in on the legacy of the original series.

pixelburp · 10-01-2019 1:25pm

banie01 wrote: »

I agree with you on this point. Patrick Stewart will always be Gurney Halleck in my minds eye.
And Francesca Annis...oh Franny

Dune is a book I re-read on a regular basis at least once a year.
It just resonates with me on many levels.

The Lynch adaptation has huge flaws, some of the casting is abysmal and the deviation from the actual novel ruins the flow of the story before we ever even discuss the visuals!

Not a fan of the visuals? The FX haven't aged but I always thought its esoteric, fever-dream aesthetic at least gave the film a distinct flavour.

mikhail · 10-01-2019 2:29pm

pixelburp wrote: »

Not a fan of the visuals? The FX haven't aged but I always thought its esoteric, fever-dream aesthetic at least gave the film a distinct flavour.

I think the set design and costuming is one of the high points of the movie, along with elements of the score. I remember reading about Herbert's reaction to the movie. He mentioned that they'd gone for a renaissance influences in the design to evoke the feudal nature of the society.

banie01 · 10-01-2019 2:33pm

pixelburp wrote: »

Not a fan of the visuals? The FX haven't aged but I always thought its esoteric, fever-dream aesthetic at least gave the film a distinct flavour.

Well when I say visuals I should have been more specific in the SFX.
Whilst they have aged terribly even in'84 they weren't great.
In particular the Flying Baron, the desert flight sequences.
That said the heart plugs were an interesting touch

The overall tone of the set and costume design was/is fantastic.
Really evokes the feudal nature of the Duneiverse and the stark differences between houses.

banie01 · 10-01-2019 2:34pm

mikhail wrote: »

, along with elements of the score

Brian Eno's work on the score is fantastic, what's a real testament to its quality is how often it has been used in other TV, movies and ads.

pixelburp · 10-01-2019 3:17pm

Ah right, gotcha. Yeah the FX themselves have aged really badly, wonder what happened there. Doubtless an impossible deadline. It's a shame David Lynch disowned the film, as a remaster and restoration of a longer directors cut could be an interesting prospect.

beauf · 10-01-2019 3:29pm

mikhail wrote: »

I think the set design and costuming is one of the high points of the movie, along with elements of the score. I remember reading about Herbert's reaction to the movie. He mentioned that they'd gone for a renaissance influences in the design to evoke the feudal nature of the society.

Its a bit quirky. But that would explain it.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls056100799/

I like the movie, but it was an impossible task. The books are massive sagas. I can enjoy the movie for what it is, without too much looking back at the books. The worms, Freman, and the spice is well done. Some of the other stuff less well done.

pixelburp · 10-01-2019 3:48pm

beauf wrote: »

Its a bit quirky. But that would explain it.

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls056100799/

I like the movie, but it was an impossible task. The books are massive sagas. I can enjoy the movie for what it is, without too much looking back at the books. The worms, Freman, and the spice is well done. Some of the other stuff less well done.

I had never heard of "Ice Pirates", I looked it up on YouTube. I now know why I have never heard of "Ice Pirates". Good to see stupid was in healthy supply back in '84 too...!

mikhail · 10-01-2019 4:23pm

pixelburp wrote: »

Ah right, gotcha. Yeah the FX themselves have aged really badly, wonder what happened there. Doubtless an impossible deadline. It's a shame David Lynch disowned the film, as a remaster and restoration of a longer directors cut could be an interesting prospect.

Disowned it is a bit strong. I seem to recall him being interviewed in Ireland at one point. I'll have to paraphrase, but he said something like "You love all your kids, but there is a runt of the litter, and that's Dune for me".

pixelburp · 10-01-2019 6:41pm

mikhail wrote: »

Disowned it is a bit strong. I seem to recall him being interviewed in Ireland at one point. I'll have to paraphrase, but he said something like "You love all your kids, but there is a runt of the litter, and that's Dune for me".

Suppose I'm basing it more on the 'Alan Smithee' directors cut, the pseudoym used when directors or creatives want to keep a distance from a production (or in this case, a particular cut released to DVD).

I mean it's also a niche film where even it's fans such as myself enjoy despite the many, many, mannny flaws, so it's not that hard to figure out why there hasn't been a restoration.

Though one'd imagine if the Villeneuve film takes off there'll be a bump of interest / sales for the 1984 version.

odyssey06 · 10-01-2019 9:44pm

I wonder how the new film will convey the sense of Mentats as almost like autistic human computers.

The mantra "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion" from Peter de Vries in the Lynch version of Dune got into my brain like an earworm and I still find myself repeating it to myself at times. I don't think it's in the Dune novel.

Tony EH · 11-01-2019 8:30am

odyssey06 wrote: »

I wonder how the new film will convey the sense of Mentats as almost like autistic human computers.

The mantra "It is by will alone I set my mind in motion" from Peter de Vries in the Lynch version of Dune got into my brain like an earworm and I still find myself repeating it to myself at times. I don't think it's in the Dune novel.

It's not. But there's a lot in the Lynch film that's not in Herbert's book and to be honest, I like a lot of it. His version of the Mentats are one such thing.

It's been donkey's years since I read it and I sort of associate much of Lynch's film with 'Dune' now. So, I'm kind of hoping the new film is a kind of mish-mash in a way? I'd like to see a lot of the designs from Lynch's film imported into Villeneuve's version, such as the Bene Gesserit.

No doubt that will infuriate the purists.

But, all things considered, there's no better man at the moment to have at the helm of a new 'Dune' film.

branie2 · 13-01-2019 8:20pm

Looking forward to that

Mr Crispy · 16-01-2019 7:05am

Charlotte Rampling will be playing Gaius Helen Mohiam.

JP Liz V1 · 29-01-2019 11:47pm

Oscar Isaac to play Timothee Chalamet's dad

Slydice · 30-01-2019 12:36am

Hrrmmm. I can't say I remember Isaac ever doing a role that matches up with angry Leto

Useful.Idiot · 30-01-2019 4:12pm

I think Chalamet is a great casting. He's a great actor, is the right age and has the boyish, handsome looks but still with the Atreides bony angles. And I'd say you could do a lot with his looks to indicate Paul's maturing/hardening over the arc of the story.

I've seen Isaac in a few movies and nothing in particular stands out in memory, but looks wise I think he's a good pick. Side by side with Chalamet you can easily see them as father-son.

Sad Professor · 30-01-2019 9:05pm

Zendaya Coleman cast as Chani.

pixelburp · 30-01-2019 9:16pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

Zendaya Coleman cast as Chani.

Apparently only in talks, or at least so said the blog I'd been reading.

Either way, hard to find a bum note in the casting so far, even if I find Oscar Isaac a little overbooked these days.

Dades · 30-01-2019 10:49pm

Big fan of Issacs. He was great in Ex Machina.

'Meh' on Chalamet, but he might still nail it.

Slydice · 30-01-2019 11:46pm

Will they fight well? What is Villeneuve's weirding way gonna be!?! :eek:

branie2 · 31-01-2019 12:01am

Sting, who was in the original film said he would be interested in making a cameo appearance

pixelburp · 01-02-2019 9:44pm

Javier Bardem has joined the cast as Stilgar

Beechwoodspark · 01-02-2019 10:12pm

Chalamat when asked to comment on it said that the vision is “grounded”. Interesting.

pixelburp · 01-02-2019 10:37pm

It always felt a more low tech kind of universe (what with bans on AI and other advanced machinery IIRC), with a heavy dose of galactic mysticism, so perhaps they're staying true to that notion and clear of the shinier tropes of space operas.

Slydice · 15-02-2019 12:46am

Jason Momoa on board to play Duncan Idaho :eek:
https://deadline.com/2019/02/jason-momoa-dune-aquaman-frank-herbert-denis-villenueve-1202557876/

Tony EH · 15-02-2019 2:32am

^

Mmmmmm....no, I don't see that at all.

Brief_Lives · 15-02-2019 8:48am

Uploading a pic from my phone, from Josh Brolins Instagram.
hope it loads.

pixelburp · 15-02-2019 9:29am

Not an immediately exciting piece of casting, the first that has me a little "meh" about it. Hope they signed Momoa for a multi-film contract though

Thargor · 15-02-2019 10:33am

Slydice wrote: »

Jason Momoa on board to play Duncan Idaho :eek:
https://deadline.com/2019/02/jason-momoa-dune-aquaman-frank-herbert-denis-villenueve-1202557876/

That is a terrible piece of casting, borderline disaster, critical character played by someone who looks nothing like him even if he could act, which he really can't...

Brief_Lives wrote: »

Uploading a pic from my phone, from Josh Brolins Instagram.
hope it loads.

[IMG][/img]

Is that supposed to be a Freman? Or is it some other film? Not good if so...

mikhail · 15-02-2019 11:45am

Thargor wrote: »

That is a terrible piece of casting, borderline disaster, critical character played by someone who looks nothing like him even if he could act, which he really can't...

Idaho is big in the sequels, but he's far from critical in Dune. What does he do - vouch for Stilgar, a little piloting, and then he makes a last stand against a wave of Sardukar to buy Paul and Jessica time to escape? He doesn't have much dialogue, and the role is basically 'excellent swordsman and trusted lieutanant', right? I don't rate Momoa very much - though he's more often in bad movies than the bad part of a movie - but Duncan Idaho is no stretch for even him.

If they ever make the sequels, they might regret him a bit, mind.

Dades · 15-02-2019 1:08pm

I'm delighted to see Khal Drogo in this. The more casting choices I see the more excited I am about this. I just want to see a well crafted movie, not see the book onscreen.

Thargor · 15-02-2019 1:57pm

Thargor wrote: »

That is a terrible piece of casting, borderline disaster, critical characwter played by someone who looks nothing like him even if he could act, which he really can't...

Is that supposed to be a Foreman? Or is it some other film? Not good if so...

Gah I meant Freman, stupid autocorrect...

Brief_Lives · 15-02-2019 2:45pm

Thargor wrote: »

Is that supposed to be a Freman? Or is it some other film? Not good if so...

I think that's just a picture of some dude walking on a sand dune.
relax the hate...

Tony EH · 15-02-2019 3:00pm

Thargor wrote: »

Is that supposed to be a Foreman? Or is it some other film? Not good if so...

Poor old George needs a gig.

Sad Professor · 15-02-2019 3:07pm

Momoa sure is happy to be joining the cast.

https://twitter.com/CultureCrave/status/1095790903313059841

pixelburp · 15-02-2019 3:18pm

I think - or rather, it had been reported - that that video was related to the Aquaman sequel; he did come out of what appeared to be the DC comics office.

So, I mean that's two ... unconventional actors with David Bautista & now Momoa, but both have interesting & slightly divergent career paths; tbh I have more time for Bautista, who seems to have a better range & greater desire to hone his craft. Momoa is just a scowling dude-bros, playing a series of scowling dude-bros. He seems a genuine, decent guy but not buying him as an actor.

Sad Professor · 15-02-2019 3:25pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I think - or rather, it had been reported - that that video was related to the Aquaman sequel; he did come out of what appeared to be the DC comics office.

That would probably make sense alright.

Bacchus · 15-02-2019 3:58pm

pixelburp wrote: »

I think - or rather, it had been reported - that that video was related to the Aquaman sequel; he did come out of what appeared to be the DC comics office.

... but if that's about Aquaman 2, then surely everyone "know's what's coming"

Brief_Lives · 15-02-2019 4:59pm

Bacchus wrote: »

... but if that's about Aquaman 2, then surely everyone "know's what's coming"

exactly...

maybe he's gonna appear in the Black Adam movie...

Dades · 15-02-2019 6:34pm

I'm disappointed that a professional who works in the industry is taking a portrait video.

Slydice · 15-02-2019 8:58pm

I wonder will they do the origin stories

Slydice · 16-02-2019 6:07pm

Release Date: 20 November 2020

Dune Is Coming to Spice Up Thanksgiving 2020
https://io9.gizmodo.com/dune-is-coming-to-spice-up-thanksgiving-2020-1832666112

18-02-2019 8:36pm

Slydice wrote: »

Release Date: 20 November 2020

Dune Is Coming to Spice Up Thanksgiving 2020
https://io9.gizmodo.com/dune-is-coming-to-spice-up-thanksgiving-2020-1832666112

Suddenly got this weird idea in my brain that the trailer will feature a Spice Girls remix... not the worst thought I've had.

banie01 · 18-03-2019 6:18pm

I see it's now confirmed that Hans Zimmer is on board to soundtrack this now.
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2019/03/18/hans-zimmer-will-score-legendarys-dune/

I really have high hopes for this adaptation and given how integral the Brian Eno prophecy theme and Toto's soundtrack were to the 84 adaptation I am hoping for something special.

Sad Professor · 18-03-2019 9:14pm

It also started shooting today. I'm amazed and relived. I had serious doubts about whether this was ever going to happen. Now I can start doubting whether we'll ever get to see the second part.

Oh and it better be R-rated.

banie01 · 18-03-2019 9:18pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

.

Oh and it better be R-rated.

I'm a massive fan of Herbert's books, I really hope that they can take this reboot and build the movie it deserves.
Granted that means that IMO the 1st book is a 2 movie arc or a 3hr marathon

pixelburp · 18-03-2019 9:38pm

Sad Professor wrote: »

It also started shooting today. I'm amazed and relived. I had serious doubts about whether this was ever going to happen. Now I can start doubting whether we'll ever get to see the second part.

Oh and it better be R-rated.

Same. Though I'd say any sequel is in the lap of the gods here. No more than Blade Runner 2049, this is not a franchise that lends itself to blockbuster thrills, yet SciFi - especially of the space opera variety - has pretty much gravitated towards this default. Dune might be easier to package to the layman as Game of Thrones in Space, than a popcorn laserfest.

Is there any rumblings on the budget for this? Might give some indication over just what direction the studio will demand.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune

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