ROTTEN TOMATOES: Peter Berg Confirmed to Direct New Dune Film Comments

Peter Berg Confirmed to Direct New Dune Film

by Jeff Giles | December 23, 2007

Summary

Score another one for the rumor mill: Peter Berg has been confirmed as the director of a new Dune. Back to Article

(1-78 of 78 posts) | Reply

gattaca13 writes:
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!

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muffin7 writes:
on Dec 23 2007 09:56 AM

Seems like a random choice. Can anybody say flop?

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FireflyFan4evr writes:
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.

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reavus4983 writes:
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.

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Schumacherh8ter writes:
on Dec 23 2007 10:08 AM

I dispised the first "Dune". David Lynch is overrated. Let the hate-mail commense!

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evangelistman writes:
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.

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Dave the Destroyer writes:
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".

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Crusader07 writes:
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.

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Synyster_Gates writes:
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.

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Dave the Destroyer writes:
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.

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joernoll writes:
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 I�m 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 let�s 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 wasn�t an Iraq war actioner, it took place in Saudi Arabia.
I still like David Lynchs 1984 Dune-version, despite all it�s 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.

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mouse_clicker writes:
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.

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mouse_clicker writes:
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.

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dreamworks21 writes:
on Dec 23 2007 01:55 PM

In reply to this comment (#1388173)
you dispised it? do you also dispise spelling?

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Ruckas356 writes:
on Dec 23 2007 02:41 PM

flunk

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truthiness writes:
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).

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truthiness writes:
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).

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Bloody Mathias writes:
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?

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BatsInTheBelfry writes:
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.

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Don't Tase Me Bro writes:
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...

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Behind The Wall writes:
on Dec 23 2007 04:25 PM

The amount of spelling and grammatical errors in this thread alone is enough to make me weep. Are people really this uneducated? Quick tip: If you spell all of your words correctly, you will garner more respect and your posts will be taken more seriously than posts with words such as "competant", "troden" and "dispise". Yeah, I'm a spelling snob. I just don't think it's too much to ask to expect people to know their own language.

The winner for all-time most misspelled word online? "Definitely". If I see "defanately", definately" or "definatly" one more time, I'm going to scream. If you're going to use the words, know how they're spelled first.

Sorry, I don't care about Dune.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Dec 23 2007 04:59 PM

They better make the worms really excessively phallic.

They BETTER CGI SLIM PICKENS to any of the worms about to explode. Yee Haw.

And last, but most important. They need to kill Sting. He didn't suffer enough from that first DUNE and all his yoga crap afterwards. He needs to die. He needs to die from the phallic worm that explodes in his colon.

('cause I don't like Sting none"

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ALIsuperstar writes:
on Dec 23 2007 04:59 PM

Thats a big risk to take a director like Berg for making a new Dune movie (If Berg waiting for a script for Dune so I thing not about a remake, but a new Dune movie?).

But, if you want to make a classic, you should pick directors with big names like Steven Speilberg (Sci-Fi KING!!), Ridley Scott (but today he makes drama, so sad!!), Terry Gilliam (my man!! after making Twelve Monkeys, he is my favour!!), Tim Burton (don't you forget!! he make PLANET OF THE APES a sci-fi killer)...

I thing Berg should pass this project to some one else, becouse if you think about that what sci-fi movie he done in his directing life?

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Foxwood writes:
on Dec 23 2007 05:42 PM

I'm willing to give him a chance, he clams to be a big fan of the book so thats a start. Besides I seem to remember people having little faith in a small time splater director taking on LOTR and look where that got us. He might just suprise us. But in all reality it comes down more to the writer because even a great director can't make a good Dune if the script sucks.

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Oblivioncry writes:
on Dec 23 2007 06:16 PM

if he is a fan of the books then he is a better choice then many others, even if they maybe better directors.

anyway i'd rather have the wachowski (sp) brother direct this one. they already explored sci-fi ground and really care for the film they direct, just look how much time they are giving speed racer and how much they are trying to be true o the original.

to those who say its impossible to make a good films out of the book, LotR WAS supposed to be impossible to be made a film of.

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Novastar. writes:
on Dec 23 2007 06:27 PM

I loved the visuals on Lynches movie,but his storytelling was confusing.

Berg is a good action director,but Dune is not his cup of tea,so i thing he is the wrong guy for the job.

My perfect choice would be Ridely Scott.

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iheartbrucecampbell writes:
on Dec 23 2007 06:31 PM

i bet alfonso cuaron would have been good.

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 23 2007 06:46 PM

I'm sorry, Behind the Wall, but there are these things called typos. You see, when you're writing via keyboard, you have to hit these little buttons, and sometimes you hit the wrong button. And, well, not all of us care enough to make sure we hit ALL the right little buttons, and in the right order. We're not as passionate as you are, to come into a thread we have no interest in, like you, and then criticize everyone on some entirely inconsequential point. I'll be the first person to admit I prefer proper spelling and grammar, and will be the first person to point out my own mistakes. (Kind of like I did!) But, honestly, you have to reevaluate some things if you're going to troll a movie discussion forum and flame anyone who doesn't spell everything correctly. Hell, even if we recognized our own mistakes, we couldn't do anything about it. But ah well.

Anyway, my view on this is Dune is a novel that is more than just a good story, it has a very complex set of themes that Frank Herbert weaves through the narrative rather expertly. And the way you express these themes is NOT, like it is commonly thought, to just reproduce scenes from the book. Movies are a different medium, direct transference just doesn't work. A little liberty with the story itself is necessary to effectively communicate what the narrative is even about. That not only takes balls (balls to potentially piss off loyal fans), but it takes skill. It takes not only a good understanding of the themes in the book, but a good understanding of how the film medium works and how best to tell a story visually. You need to focus more on recreating the atmosphere and tone of the book than the individual scenes themselves. I want Berg to keep us constantly updated on this movie. If they're going to win over spurned Dune fans, they're going to need to bend over backwards to show they're going to do it right for once.

And don't worry, Wall, I spell-checked this one, so you don't need to go all rabid.

-Moses

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Xphile1000 writes:
on Dec 23 2007 06:49 PM

How many billion times do we need to redue this movie? I mean honestly... this is getting retarted...

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theunrulyone writes:
on Dec 23 2007 06:51 PM

I'm interested to see what Berg will do with Dune. I am not too familiar with his directing work, but I thought the Rundown was entertaining. I realize Dune is a completely different entity than the silly action flick that was The Rundown, and I refuse to see the Kingdom on basic principle. Who knows, though, Berg could do good things here. I'm interested, that's for sure.

I always wanted Paul Verhoeven to direct the new Dune. Just think of what his Harconens would be like. They'd knock the socks off Lynch's bad-guys. And what about the Sardaukar? Man, those ultimate killing machines given the ultra-violent Verhoeven treatment would be sweet. Also, he is a political type director who has done science fiction before, so I think he could really get a handle on the subtleties of the book that Lynch missed.

Whoever, directs it, though, the fact remains that this is an extremely difficult task and will need to be at least two and a half hours for it to be successful.

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largely writes:
on Dec 23 2007 07:05 PM

I said this four months ago, and I will say it again the guy directed a fricken football movie, a bad middle east spy drama with Jamie Fox (Mr. right time right place) in it, and a movie that gave the Rock top billing, need I say more, but I will . This movie will suck beyond sucking. Just because he was Michael Mann's assistant don't make him Michael Mann. This movie will be a disaster, because Dune is the greatest Science fiction novel ever written, and it has been bungled twice (Although Children of Dune was actually pretty good), and as Mouse said earlier a string of bad film adaptations will only devalue the source material more. Here's a brilliant idea, why don't we get the director of the greatest science fiction movie ever made to adapt and direct the greatest science fiction novel ever written. Sir Ridley Scott. He is already nominated for five or more oscars this year and he is still interested in doing science fiction again. Oh yeah he would cost too much money and it is scifi and it was written for someone with an above 5th grade reading level. Oh well I guess were just stuck with Ratner Jr.

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The House writes:
on Dec 23 2007 08:03 PM

The Lynch movie would have been fantastic if De Laurentis had let him make the movie he wanted. They wanted a new Star Wars and that is not what Dune is. Frank Herbert had been on set and had voiced approval for Lynch's approach. Regardless, Lynch's movie blew away the Sci-Fi mini series'. I'm actually a little hopeful for this new try because if Berg is a true fan of the book and has actually read all of the books he might get it right.

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harrismonkey writes:
on Dec 23 2007 08:34 PM

You could do worse, but you could do better.

Lynch's Dune will always stay with as because it's such a bizare, imagenitive movie (not neccesarily good)- but it definetly got under my skin. I was not at all impressed with what little I saw of the Sci-fi versions.

If they really want to do Dune, why not try to sell Riddley Scott on it? The man hasn't done sci fi scince Blade Runner, and he WAS doing Dune when he jumped ship to do Bladerunner. He may be the only logical man for the job. I mean he was going to tackle this at the height of his skills as a sci-fi director...

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ManofStee1 writes:
on Dec 23 2007 09:20 PM

Dune deserves a good movie... but I doubt it will get one any time soon, if ever.

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Zontar writes:
on Dec 23 2007 10:37 PM

In reply to this comment (#1389079)
...If you spell all of your words correctly, you will garner more respect and your posts will be taken more seriously...

(by me)

Yeah, I'm a spelling snob. I just don't think it's too much to ask to expect people to know their own language.

(English is my third language, but more to the point:)

Sorry, I don't care about Dune.

(Then why are you posting here? Haven't you got a thesis to write?

As for my own thoughts on Peter Berg and Dune, I don't see why not. If they'll give it to Lynch, then anyone should have a shot at it. Also, as he's already shot a film in the desert, so he seems a bit more likely to shoot on location rather than green-screening the majority of it.)

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 23 2007 11:30 PM

Here's my take on the whole Dune movie scenario: just go watch Lawrence of Arabia. It's fairly obvious that Dune is based pretty heavily on the real story of T. E. Lawrence. Think about it. A foreigner comes to the desert world, becomes part of the local people and revered as a great leader, and then he teaches them how to organize and use their substantial abilities to fight off the colonial powers that have control of their homeland. Granted it doesn't cover all of the same themes, especially not the ones the later Dune books go into, but the stories are very similar and Lawrence of Arabia is unquestionably one of the best movies ever made. I'm content to have that be my Dune movie.

-Moses

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RuinerxxSINCITY writes:
on Dec 24 2007 01:17 AM

I use to have a soft spot for Peter Berg back in the day when all he could get is small supporting roles. He was far from a "great" actor but he seemed like a well meaning, nice person.However, his directing career is way to unexperienced to create a "GOOD" Epic Sci-Fi movie. Friday Night Lights was decent , nothing special but I think it had more to do with the fact that Billy Bob Thorton seemed to really get into and enjoy his role. Since most of the actors besides him were pretty lousy I doubt very much of the success of the movie had to do with Berg's directing. The Kingdom on the other hand had no redeeming qualities. So What the hell were they thinking to give him the helming chair of a story that is 100% more complex then his other movies combined? If David Lynch had some trouble impressing people and critics with this movie imagine how hard it is going to be for a guy who is nowhere near as talented as Lynch. Honestly a movie of this caliber needs a director who knows about creating big budget epic movies like Steven Spielberg( not that I want him to direct it but just as an example). It's hard to be optimistic about this announcement but maybe Peter will surprise us.

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ipisking writes:
on Dec 24 2007 02:06 AM

The only person that could do a good Dune flick would be Peter Jackson.

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blatchy writes:
on Dec 24 2007 05:25 AM

Why not give Neil Marshall a crack at it?

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Dec 24 2007 07:57 AM

Woody Allen?

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JavaJeff writes:
on Dec 24 2007 09:02 AM

I quite enjoyed the Sci-Fi Dune and Children of Dune - Complicated? Yes... But doable - Lynch's rendition was not my favorite - I would like something a little bit inbetween the Sci fi and Lynch's version - I say bring it!

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BlueMobius writes:
on Dec 24 2007 10:06 AM

I usually post long but I'll just throw a couple cents worth in and take my leave.

I love the original novel. However, I also enjoy the Lynch version of the film a great deal. If I need a frame by frame adaptation, I'll rely on the one that plays in my mind as I read the book. I'm a Lynch fan so his version stand strong as his take on a SciFi flick. Sadly, his film suffered from studio tinkering. I recommend watching the newer release of the original film with the extended front-end narration. It's still not going to satisfy people who are aggro over Lynch's film but it shows he understood the needs of the book a lot more than people give him credit for.

Dune is a hard novel to adapt, face it, and we'll NEVER get the whole saga (including the Kevin J. Anderson/Brian Herbert novels) so the more often they attempt to revitalize this franchise, the better. We'll all most likely see it, either on DVD or in the theatres, and who know, maybe some of us will enjoy it.

Good luck, Berg. You're going to need it.

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scarh791 writes:
on Dec 24 2007 10:50 AM

I think Berg's chances are pretty good. I can't see him bringing very much ego to the project, trying to tell the story "in his own vision" the way Lynch did. I can see him asking himself "how do we make this actually work on the big screen?". And for those die hard Dune fans looking for that 10 hour "complete adaption", just forget about it. No one but Dune Loonies actually want to sit through that. Berg can make this work as a mainstream big budget sci-fi action epic, and if it deviates from the source quite a bit it's still the best we're ever going to get.

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Behind The Wall writes:
on Dec 24 2007 11:35 AM

Mouse clicker and zontar, I posted here because I'm fed up with reading posts that an 11th grade english teacher would cringe at. If that's too much for you to handle, sue me. I'll just rite al of my possts lik this frum now on and you see how easy it is to read. And if you thought I was trolling, then why in the hell did you respond to me?? You ask if I have anything better to do but then you take the time to write a response. Gotta love message board people.

And I don't want to hear this crap about typos or hitting the wrong key. Did you ever hear of spell check or maybe even reading back over what you've written? Come on, join the fight! Do your part and learn to spell!

And I still don't care about Dune.

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lestatthevampire writes:
on Dec 24 2007 11:48 AM

What the **** is DUNE?

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TVNerd95 writes:
on Dec 24 2007 01:48 PM

I liked the original and also the Sci-fi mini-series. I am not sure about Berg -- I like his other movies but has he ever tackled something this grand or sci-fi. But I guess I will give Berg a chance -- I mean Bryan Singer went from Usual Suspects to X-men so who knows.

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 24 2007 04:13 PM

Jesus, Wall, you're overreacting. You have no posted twice in a thread you have no interest in on some crusade to reform the spelling of the internet. People make mistakes. I'm sure you've made a typo or two in your lifetime, and I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate it if some ******* got on your back for something so incredibly frivolous. Get over it! Just don't read the post! Or, maybe, actually focus on the content of the post, because that tends to be unrelated to the spelling quality. I dunno, I think you probably have much more important things to worry about. Err, wait, no, obviously you don't. You're going to respond to this again, aren't you? Or at least read it. That's an unhealthy level of obsession, man. I'm sorry.

TVNerd: Well, Singer is good with plot driven character drama, and he used that skill in X-Men (which was necessary, because if there's one key element to a good adaptation of X-Men, it's getting the character interaction down. Now, if Peter Berg were skillful at carefully layering political, social, economic, and ecological themes and statements in a complex and often times fantastical narrative, then I'd feel better. I don't want a mainstream adaptation of Dune that just turns it into an action movie. I don't care if they make that kind of movie-- I actually like those movies-- but don't call it Dune.

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overthehead writes:
on Dec 24 2007 05:55 PM

The only thing I really didn't like about Lynch's movie was that it seemed to be condensing too much story into too little time.

I couldn't watch the mini-series. The look of it - fire engine reds and neon greens, cameras being too close or too far from the actors - turned me off (Children of Dune seemed better).

I've never read the books, but it strikes me that in order to film it properly, one shouldn't be preparing a film. One should be preparing a series.

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vaodsi writes:
on Dec 24 2007 11:40 PM

look at peter jackson. before LOTR he was most famous for really poorly made zombie flicks with more blood than story. Who could have thought he'd make something like LOTR?
Peter Berg is a totally random choice. He must have had a good pitch. anyway... when it comes to who will direct a sci-fi extravaganza.... I guess i'm fine with anybody doing it as long as it's not the terrible GEORGE LUCAS (the original star wars was good... but his writing/directing credit on the new ones is an embarrassment to himself!)

this will bomb or smash. i'll totally go see it, so it will make money (which is all the studio cares about). i love the books.

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vaodsi writes:
on Dec 24 2007 11:41 PM

look at peter jackson. before LOTR he was most famous for really poorly made zombie flicks with more blood than story. Who could have thought he'd make something like LOTR?
Peter Berg is a totally random choice. He must have had a good pitch. anyway... when it comes to who will direct a sci-fi extravaganza.... I guess i'm fine with anybody doing it as long as it's not the terrible GEORGE LUCAS (the original star wars was good... but his writing/directing credit on the new ones is an embarrassment to himself!)

this will bomb or smash. i'll totally go see it, so it will make money (which is all the studio cares about). i love the books.

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 25 2007 12:59 AM

Vaodsi: Jackson proved he had what it took by compiling the pitch and taking it all around the industry, though. He showed that he had a passion for making the movie and making it right. And in the end, I think it's that passion that really convinced New Line in the end to take a gamble with him. Peter Berg, as far as I know, has merely been hired by the studio. I wouldn't be surprised if he's never even read the book. There's a big difference between the two projects. It's not such a clear comparison.

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truthiness writes:
on Dec 25 2007 06:53 AM

When this forum posted, I posted a quick note, then pulled the wrapping off the Sci-Fi version of Dune that I bought ages ago and never watched. I popped it into the DVD player, and pulled my hair out for the hour or more that I tried to watch it.

I now realize that it was Sci-Fi's Children of Dune that I liked, and not Dune. In Children of Dune, the women were stunningly beautiful, and all actors intensely (more than intently) stared at each other at all times, reading every tell, silently communicating with each other in their social "dances".

The original Dune movie always had that shield generator hum, a sense of enormous power and lethality in everything. Sci-fi's Dune was borderline circus in its costumes.

Again, I will state that I would much rather see Heretics of Dune and Chapterhouse Dune, than another Dune remake.

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evangelistman writes:
on Dec 25 2007 12:51 PM

In reply to this comment (#1391986)
Mouse_Clicker, actually according to Aintitcool.com, Peter Berg actively campaigned to remake Dune. He brought his idea to the studios. He is also quoted as saying to MTV news, he is a "big fan of the book." That makes me think he must have read the book. He also is familiar with the Lynch version. I think if given the right set of tools, he will make a great film.

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vaodsi writes:
on Dec 25 2007 02:42 PM

I've seen a lot of stuff with berg being really enthusiastic about the books, claiming he's read them all a dozen times and such. anyway, maybe he's lying ;)
in the end, i have mixed feelings. Berg isn't who i would have chosen... but he's what we got.
Obviously, i prefer Jackson to Berg... and Jackson did have the attention of the oscars with "heavenly creatures." that muddles the comparison. But i remember people woeing the fact that PJ was making LOTR..... and now fans are on the verge of boycotting the hobbit unless he's involved.

by the way, Mouseclicker... way to go at it with wall. You said all the things i was about to write! YOU ARE MY HERO! (for now....)

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 25 2007 05:12 PM

Evangelist: Really? Then that makes me feel a LOT better, actually. That's how Snyder convinced me he's the right guy for the Watchmen movie. At first I was worried because Snyder's only done straight, mindless action movies that, while very good for what they were, didn't demonstrate his ability to tackle something as extraordinarily complex as Watchmen. But everything he says proves to me over and over again that he's very passionate about it. If Berg is the same way, then I'd be much more forgiving of a bad adaptation, since I know he really put his heart into it and did the best he could.

Vaodsi: Glad I could be of service! Do you have any links to Berg's comments about the books?

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vaodsi writes:
on Dec 26 2007 12:01 PM

i remember a little while back, berg was rumored to be interested and talked about reading the books a dozen times. i forget which website (i surf a lot...!) but i was able to get you this quote from worstpreviews, here's the link....
http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=7025&count=0

check out aintitcool, too.

see'ya'man.
live long and prosper.

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Behind The Wall writes:
on Dec 26 2007 01:26 PM

Mouse Clicker, I think you're becoming obsessed with me. And you're being a hypocrite. You say that I probably don't have anything better to do yet you continually respond to my posts. I think you have a real problem. And you're also an a s s h o l e. Go ahead, prove you're better than me by not responding to this post but I'll bet you a million dollars that you can't resist.

By the way, you're wrong. I've never made a typo on a message board because I CHECK my s h i t. That is all.

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High School With Money writes:
on Dec 27 2007 02:50 AM

I'm pretty sure he was talking about [i]Buckaroo Banzai.[/i]

[b]like LOTR as another thought-to-be impossible book to adapt[/b]

It is. No singing. No Tom Bombadil. No travelogue history lessons (plural) that take up more time than the battles. Trust me, IT IS.

[b]We've undoubtedly got years of gossip and speculation ahead of us, so why not start now?[/b]

Cuz [i]Avatar [/i]ain't out yet and seems mildly more important a work. Talkback thread ends.

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High School With Money writes:
on Dec 27 2007 02:57 AM

As to the rest of what I was saying before being rudely and inexplicably cut off by RT....

[b]Berg has shown a remarkable ability to wow the critics... as well as annoy them[/b]

... just like every other director! Way to be monumentally average, (Spiel)Berg!

[b]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."[/b]

I'm pretty sure he was talking about [i]Buckaroo Banzai.[/i]

There, now it can end.

(Reply to this)

vaodsi writes:
on Dec 27 2007 09:43 AM

In reply to this comment (#1396396)
You are the 1 who can't resist.

lol

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 27 2007 12:15 PM

Haha, wall, you did respond to me! I'll respond to you, too, because I'm enjoying this. Y o u e v e n t o o k y o u r t i m e t o s p a c e o u t y o u r s w e a r w o r d s s o t h e f o r u m s w o u l d n ' t b l o c k t h e m! You've made, what is it, three posts in this thread now, none of them about Dune? And all of them directed at least partially at me? At least when I indulge in my (not so secret) internet flame war desires, I also keep up with the current discussion. But hey, I'm curious, too. My email adress is mouseclicker@gmail.com. Email me when you've completed your crusade and successfully made it so everyone on the internet spells every word correctly always!

High School With Money: As per your LotR comments, I'm going to have to disagree with you. I think the movies we got were superb adaptations, as good of adaptations as they could make. You can't consider a movie adaptation of a book to be the book recreated page by page on screen. That only works for the simplest of novels. But books and movies are two very different mediums, and they have to be approached differently. In order to convey the same ideas and messages of one, the story has to be altered so as to accommodate everything in the new medium. In other words, movies work differently than books. You have to accept that.

And I'm not some yokel that never read the books, either. I've read Lord of the Rings 8 times, The Hobbit 4 times, The Silmarillion 4 times, and own and have read all of the History of Middle-Earth series, as well as owning Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-Earth. I'm as hardcore a LotR fan as anyone you'll ever meet, and even I recognize that some liberties have to be taken to successfully translate the story.

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 27 2007 12:21 PM

Haha, I just realized that all that Tolkien geeking out probably DOES make me a yokel. Ah well.

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etcetera711 writes:
on Dec 28 2007 08:34 PM

Director: Edward Zwick

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Fungii writes:
on Dec 28 2007 08:52 PM

In reply to this comment (#1388159)
I'd love it if they took another shot at filming this great book. I'd love it even more if they found another director. Ugh!

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Cowboyninja writes:
on Dec 29 2007 03:19 PM

WTF.

Could they not have asked someone with more of a Sci-fi edge; i.e. Ridley Scott, Kurt Wimmer, or Alex Proyas?

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fleland2 writes:
on Dec 29 2007 03:47 PM

No no no no! This could only be worse if Joel Schumacher or James Cameron were signed to direct. "Dune" has always been Ridley Scott's epic to direct and H.R. Giger's masterpiece to visualize ever since the 70's following their work on "Alien." So far only the Sci-Fi Channel has managed to do any justice to this unique universe full of rich plots and stunning visuals. Hollywood isn't run by creative people anymore, it's run by over paid suits who find it easier to boil things down to the ultra bland and play the "who's hot" B.S. instead of who is best suited for the project. So it's obvious that I'm expecting Berg's version of "Dune" to be wanting for plot and top heavy on action.

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mouse_clicker writes:
on Dec 30 2007 12:12 PM

Eh, I don't know if I'd want Giger doing the art direction on Dune. All of his stuff is a bit too explicitly sexual and mixes in way too much horror. It worked great for Alien, which was actually more of a horror movie than a science-fiction movie, but Dune is not at all like that.

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Racer Z writes:
on Jan 02 2008 01:19 PM

I agree with what some are saying here that Berg deserves a shot. Just because he's never done anything like this before doesn't mean he can't. Let's be honest, before Jackson did LOTR, how many of us were confident he could handle material of that magnitude? Maybe this is the breakthrough project Peter Berg has been waiting for.

Bring it on. I'm anxious to see what he does with it.

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Bababooey1 writes:
on Jan 04 2008 02:00 PM

Regardless of the outcome of the movie I'm anxious to see it because I'm a huge Dune fan. Not to rag on Lynch anymore than what he's had to deal with over the past 23 years but it was an absolutely horrid movie for a billion reasons. You would think a fundamental trait a movie producer would possess would be to convey a thought or inner monologue without having the actor recite *exactly* what the inner monologue was in the book. The movie, nonetheless, was enjoyable..refer to my opening sentence.

I thought the SCIFI adaptation was amazing considering the budgetary constraints on a network like that. The CGI wasn't that overwhelming although it was noticeable. To put it short, it was tolerated and acceptable to get that grade of movie out of pseudo-cable network...and it was nice to see Dune Messiah and Children of Dune translated to a movie (hubba-hubba Ghanima).

As far as Berg goes, anything is possible I suppose. I'd be utterly suprised and ecstatic to see a perfect book to movie adaptation on a scale like this. Personally I'd like to watch two 3hr movies which represent the first book. But how would you split it?...and who wants to wait 6 months between releases. I just hope it's done right, and that he goes on to create messiah, children and god emperor. Let's just hope he isn't the self-righteous type and that he doesn't include any political commentary on the current Middle East situation. My vote for Leto II = Christian Bale....that is all.

(Reply to this)

Bababooey1 writes:
on Jan 04 2008 02:01 PM

Regardless of the outcome of the movie I'm anxious to see it because I'm a huge Dune fan. Not to rag on Lynch anymore than what he's had to deal with over the past 23 years but it was an absolutely horrid movie for a billion reasons. You would think a fundamental trait a movie producer would possess would be to convey a thought or inner monologue without having the actor recite *exactly* what the inner monologue was in the book. The movie, nonetheless, was enjoyable..refer to my opening sentence.

I thought the SCIFI adaptation was amazing considering the budgetary constraints on a network like that. The CGI wasn't that overwhelming although it was noticeable. To put it short, it was tolerated and acceptable to get that grade of movie out of pseudo-cable network...and it was nice to see Dune Messiah and Children of Dune translated to a movie (hubba-hubba Ghanima).

As far as Berg goes, anything is possible I suppose. I'd be utterly suprised and ecstatic to see a perfect book to movie adaptation on a scale like this. Personally I'd like to watch two 3hr movies which represent the first book. But how would you split it?...and who wants to wait 6 months between releases. I just hope it's done right, and that he goes on to create messiah, children and god emperor. Let's just hope he isn't the self-righteous type and that he doesn't include any political commentary on the current Middle East situation. My vote for Leto II = Christian Bale....that is all.

(Reply to this)

Bababooey1 writes:
on Jan 04 2008 02:02 PM

moderator feel free to delete my duped post

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fleland2 writes:
on Jan 05 2008 04:01 PM

In reply to this comment (#1410317)
Actually Giger's original concept work pushed his "Biomechnoid" style into something more industrial than organic and sexual. It would have been awe inspiring structures and views. Although his favorite work seems to have been the furniture produced with the H�rk�nens in mind :)

(Reply to this)

film brat writes:
on Jan 18 2008 01:46 PM

How about Ridley Scott?

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INTREPIDSR writes:
on Apr 04 2008 02:18 PM

Dune should never be a movie! Appropriately and compellingly representing the complexities of the plot and settings present formidable challenges. Furthermore, too much vital content is conveyed via unspoken thought which always comes off hokey when attempted as narrative in a movie. And who is the target audience....14-24 year old males who will buy the video games? A TV mini-series or a trilogy filmed all at once (a la LOTR) could work if the studio was intent on keeping true to the novel in which case I'd say only Christopher Nolan could pull it off and he's busy.

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Entacto G. writes:
on Jan 03 2009 07:28 AM

I�m quite worried about Berg�s comment that Dune to him is "just an adventure story". His past record is equally troubling... Dune deserves an effort at least of the scale of "Lord Of The Rings". As much as I�d love to see a good Dune adaptation I doubt that he is the right choice to find a way to convincingly present the highly evolved Characters - with all their complex internal processes - that populate the Dune Universe and make the books so exceptional...

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fawr w. writes:
on Feb 23 2009 03:59 AM

Be critical if you want, I for one would welcome any release of new (old) dune material. Geesh, let them make any number of remakes with any director they want - I'll watch them all at least once, better than being stuck with only 3....

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Lusan writes:
on Mar 16 2009 04:42 PM

So long as by "big" he means a good length as well as scale in cinematic effects, and doesn't dilute the philosophical aspect in favor of an action flick, I'd say he'll be fine.
But then again, that's a lot to get right, and I'm not sure Berg's up to it.

(Reply to this)

M S. writes:
on Oct 04 2009 11:58 AM

Look, if he is a fan and they get a good cast, all should go well. I think Edward James Olmos could play the Duke, and casting should try to remember that Paul was young, like 15yo. if I remember correctly, and cast the Duke and Paul with actors that could be believably related. SyFy did a reasonably good job there.

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