Peter Berg Confirmed to Direct New Dune Film
May direct Edwin A. Salt while waiting out the strike.
Score another one for the rumor mill: Peter Berg has been confirmed as the director of a new Dune.
Ain't It Cool News floated Berg's name back in October, but the first official word on the subject came from MTV Movies, where Berg was quoted as saying his involvement is "a done deal" and that "if it weren't for the writer's strike, we'd be in it right now."
Fan reaction to the Berg rumor was far from unanimously positive, but skeptics should be happy to hear that he calls himself a "huge fan of the book," and plans on making his Dune "big big big."
While waiting for the Dune script, Berg may wind up helming the oft-discussed Edwin A. Salt, the Tom Cruise spy thriller that's been waiting for a director for months.
With an average Tomatometer rating of 54%, Berg has shown a remarkable ability to wow the critics (Friday Night Lights, 82 percent) as well as annoy them (The Kingdom, 52 percent). David Lynch's take on the Frank Herbert books -- which Berg says "left the door wide open for a remake" -- divided critics, garnering a 63 percent Tomatometer rating. (Roger Ebert called it "a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.")
What say you, RT faithful? Do you like Berg's chances, or are you convinced he'll fail? And most importantly, who do you like to star in this thing? We've undoubtedly got years of gossip and speculation ahead of us, so why not start now?
Source: MTV Movies
Ain't It Cool News floated Berg's name back in October, but the first official word on the subject came from MTV Movies, where Berg was quoted as saying his involvement is "a done deal" and that "if it weren't for the writer's strike, we'd be in it right now."
Fan reaction to the Berg rumor was far from unanimously positive, but skeptics should be happy to hear that he calls himself a "huge fan of the book," and plans on making his Dune "big big big."
While waiting for the Dune script, Berg may wind up helming the oft-discussed Edwin A. Salt, the Tom Cruise spy thriller that's been waiting for a director for months.
With an average Tomatometer rating of 54%, Berg has shown a remarkable ability to wow the critics (Friday Night Lights, 82 percent) as well as annoy them (The Kingdom, 52 percent). David Lynch's take on the Frank Herbert books -- which Berg says "left the door wide open for a remake" -- divided critics, garnering a 63 percent Tomatometer rating. (Roger Ebert called it "a real mess, an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.")
What say you, RT faithful? Do you like Berg's chances, or are you convinced he'll fail? And most importantly, who do you like to star in this thing? We've undoubtedly got years of gossip and speculation ahead of us, so why not start now?
Source: MTV Movies
Related Items
| Movie: | Friday Night Lights |
| The Kingdom | |
| Celeb: | Peter Berg |
| Tom Cruise | |
| David Lynch | |
| Roger Ebert |
(1-20 of 74 posts) | Reply
 on Dec 23 2007 09:36 AM Ugh. How 'bout no, Mr. Berg. Please don't. You'll ruin it. I absolutely hated Friday Night Lights. I bought it after everyone said it was great and threw it away after I first watched it. I couldn't stand his film style and how he composes the frame. Really really bothered me and felt very sloppy. Please oh please get another director. One that actually knows how to film! (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 09:56 AM Seems like a random choice. Can anybody say flop? (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 09:59 AM It could be good, but I'm not holding out much hope. Good big budget sci-fi films are few and far between anymore, much less ones that do good at the box office. I've been meaning to read Dune, so I guess I should take it off my bookshelf soon and read it. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 10:07 AM It would be hard to find anybody who COULD make this into a good adaption. But least somebody's doing it. What science fiction fan doesn't want to see more efforts at a Dune movie? Although, whoever does do it, like LOTR as another thought-to-be impossible book to adapt, the director should be a huge fan. Otherwise it'll bomb. And hopefully they don't make it into a campy costume fest like the relatively good Sci Fi Dune miniseries (which, other than that flaw, was pretty good, especially Children of Dune). On Peter Berg, he hasn't done much and what he has done has been nothing spectacular; so with Dune being such a complex thing to film, if he can't even get an Iraq War actioner right, I'm worried about him being able to get Dune right. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 10:08 AM I dispised the first "Dune". David Lynch is overrated. Let the hate-mail commense! (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 10:14 AM I actually really like Peter Berg. I have really enjoyed all the movies he has directed. Friday Night Lights and The Kingdom are a couple of my favortie movies. When asked who should direct movies like this, there are always three names that come up...James Cameron, Ridley Scott, and Peter Jackson. I am sick of hearing them as the best director for everything. Give Berg a chance to make a great film, a good budget and a great script always help. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 10:25 AM I'd like to see Paul Greengrass take a crack at it - the vast desert expanses would force him to not rely so much on the Shalky-Cam stuff, plus he'd be really good at the scenes of intrigue, sabotage and cultural outrage that are so crucial to the political aspect of the story. But maybe the scale of something like that was what scared him away from "Watchmen".... I'm afraid Berg will make too many comparisons to the current situation in Iraq, where the original book was always about the centuries-long emergence of an entire repressed culture, revolting against the outside exploitation of that culture's greatest industrial resource and heritage. The parallels are to the history of the entire Mideast situation, not just the last seven years of one particular country. Just because Berg filmed a Major Motion Picture in that region doesn't make him the most qualified director to tackle "Dune". (Reply to this) |
 on Dec 23 2007 10:39 AM Give Berg a break! He does have some talent and doesn't always use the choppy filming (The Rundown). Besides, he can't possibly screw it up anymore than the original. (Reply to this) |
 on Dec 23 2007 11:13 AM I really like Friday Nigh Lights, and I have yet to watch The Kingdom, but who knows, this could be really good. I enjoyed Children of Dune when Sci Fi first aired it. I'll be looking forward to more on this film. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 11:50 AM Sorry, but to me, Berg comes across as Ron Howard mk II, a director with a few original ideas, but who routinely decides to back up and Not Rock Any Boats - not the guy to be in charge of a morally complex sci-fi extravaganza. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 12:49 PM Well, it seems to me that Peter Berg is the director of the moment, considering the various projects his name is associated with. While Iīm not a fan of all his movies, none of them has bored me. He is a versatile director and he changes the genres with every movie (sports drama - Friday Nights Lights, Dark Comedy - Very Bad Things, Action comedy - Rundown, Political thriller - The Kingdom, Superhero comedy - Hancock), so letīs see what he makes of this. For me his best film so far ist The Kingdom, which I really liked. By the way, reavus4983, it wasnīt an Iraq war actioner, it took place in Saudi Arabia. I still like David Lynchs 1984 Dune-version, despite all itīs massive flaws, bad editing and cheesy effects. The two mini series were ok, but left me fairly cold, so I think it can get any worse with this new attempt. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 12:57 PM Reavus: No, I'm not happy about another Dune adaptation, because every crappy one that comes out dimishes the property's value in the mind of the public and we get farther and farther away from a GOOD adaptation. Personally, I want to see this done the way Lord of the Rings was. And by that I mean the studios should wait until a director who is passionate about making a great adaptation comes along and makes that amazing pitch that convinces everyone it's possible. That way you know you have the right man. Instead of some studio exec deciding it's a good time to try again and then basically holding auditions for directora who are more interested in furthering their career with the hype a movie like Dune could bring than really trying to capture the essence of the novel. I could be wrong, though. I was really hesitant about Zack Snyder doing Watchmen at first, but he's definitely convinced me. Who knows, maybe Peter Berg really loves Dune. We'll see. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 12:58 PM Bah, I really wish RottenTomatoes either had an edit function or I hadn't been stupid and run my post through a spell checker. Ah well. (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 01:55 PM In reply to this comment (#1388173) you dispised it? do you also dispise spelling? (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 02:41 PM flunk (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 02:44 PM I liked the original Dune movie just fine, no need to waste time going over well troden ground. I would much rather see the Wachowski brothers do both Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune (both of which should be NC-17 with a NR or X DVD). I would even rather see Children of Dune and God Emporer of Dune, than another remake of Dune and Dune Messiah (Sci-Fi channel). (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 02:45 PM I liked the original Dune movie just fine, no need to waste time going over well troden ground. I would much rather see the Wachowski brothers do both Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune (both of which should be NC-17 with a NR or X DVD). I would even rather see Children of Dune and God Emporer of Dune, than another remake of Dune and Dune Messiah (Sci-Fi channel). (Reply to this) |
 on Dec 23 2007 02:51 PM So Michael Mann's "protege" Peter Berg remaking Dune? I don't have a problem with that. He's one competant director. Leanring first hand from Mann, how could he not? (Reply to this) |
|
on Dec 23 2007 02:55 PM Personally, I don't think anyone could turn Dune into a great movie. It's just too long and complicated. (Reply to this) |
 on Dec 23 2007 04:22 PM Lynch's problem with his "Dune" is that he chose style over content in a film that required a hell of a lot of content...this is the "door" that I think Berg is referring to... Knowing what we know now about Lynch's directorial style, sci-fi adaptations are really not his forte to begin with... The Spice should flow a little better with Berg (commercially & critically) than it did with Lynch... (Reply to this) |
Related Articles
- Zetumer in Talks to Pen New Dune
1 - Paramount Confirms Peter Berg as New Dune Director 20
- The Weekly Ketchup: Marvel Madness, Dune Gets its Director, Bruckheimer Makes Promises to Persia 8
- Peter Berg Confirmed to Direct New Dune Film 74
- And the Possible Dune Remake's Director Might Be... 40
- The Weekly Ketchup: Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen's Next Roles, Big Projects in Montreal 2
- Dune Headed Back to the Big Screen? 43
- Two Sci-Fi Cult Classics to Get the Special Edition Treatment 7
Most Discussed
- Five Favorite Films with Paris Hilton 128
- The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage 49
- Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens? 45
- Critics Consensus: Chihuahua a Dog; Nick and Norah a Hot Item 43
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Chihuahua is Top Dog 40
- Total Recall: The 15 Greatest Paul Newman Movies 23
- RT on DVD: The Future of Watchmen, Plus Sleeping Beauty, Touch of Evil Remastered 23
- Box Office Guru Preview: Chihuahua to Overtake Multiplexes 18
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1 12
- Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary 3
Latest News
- RT on DVD: The Future of Watchmen, Plus Sleeping Beauty, Touch of Evil Remastered 23
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2 3
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Chihuahua is Top Dog 40
- Weekly Ketchup: Branagh directs Thor, Seagal vs. aliens? 45
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1 12
- Further Reading: Marion Cotillard and Forest Whittaker in Abel Ferrara's Mary 3
- Critics Consensus: Chihuahua a Dog; Nick and Norah a Hot Item 43
- Box Office Guru Preview: Chihuahua to Overtake Multiplexes 18
- The Net Reacts to 25 Minutes of Watchmen Footage 49
- Five Favorite Films with Paris Hilton 128
Latest Interviews
- RT Interview: Jason Statham Chats Death Race, Crank 2 and The Sweeney 9
- Video Exclusive: Gerard Butler talks RocknRolla and 300 sequel with RT 13
- Video Exclusive: Maria Bello, Brendan Fraser and the Mummy 3 Cast Talk to RT 14
- RT goes behind the scenes on Stargate: Continuum 4
- Starship Troopers' Casper Van Dien Shares His Five Favorite Films 48
- RT Interview: Philippe Petit on Crossing the Twin Towers on a Wire 2
- RT Interview: David Duchovny on The X-Files, Californication and Directing 11
- RT Interview: Ben Barnes on Taking on the Journey of Prince Caspian 1
- RT Interview: William Moseley on His Last Narnia Adventure in Prince Caspian 2
- RT Interview: Jack Black on Kung Fu Panda 6
Latest Features
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 2 3
- Exclusive: The Fall - Tarsem's Visual Companion - Part 1 12
- Five Favorite Films with Paris Hilton 128
- Exclusive: Brand New The Children Photos and Director Introduction 5
- Five Favorite Films with Chuck Palahniuk 38
- Five Favorite Films with Dane Cook 103
- Five Favorite Films with Eva Mendes 51
- What The Hell Happened To ... Cuba Gooding Jr.? 86
- RT's Summer in Review: The Best, The Worst, and Our Favorite Films! 77
- What The Hell Happened To Shannon Elizabeth? 101
IGN RSS Feeds