Nice worm


So, there’s a new movie version of Dune coming out, and the preview just dropped.

One catch: the book is unfilmable. I will be stunned if this turns out decently, but I’ll probably watch it anyway, if movies exist then.

Hey! What’s Paul doing with Spiderman’s girlfriend? Let’s see how effective his killing word is against a web-slinging wall crawler — I’m there for that, for sure.

Comments

  1. says

    If it’s a good story, I don’t think any book is completely unfilmable. Given the state of the art in CGI (including the new StageCraft concept used for the Mandalorian), I think most books are pretty decently filmable these days – it just comes down to proper imagination from the director, image effects folks, enough funding, etc., and some excellent script-writing to get around all the internal dialog that suffuses all of those books. That said, I watched and own the first movie. And I watched and own the mini-series. Each has things I like and dislike. (I think the movie was, in its way, truer to the book, but the mini-series was a tiny bit more accessible to those who didn’t read the book.) I will watch this as well, if it’s somewhere I can access it!

  2. Reginald Selkirk says

    Three minutes is too long for a trailer.

    I think I’ll put on some Pink Floyd now.

  3. pengothylacine says

    I agree that it’s not –completely– unfilmable. They’ll have to cut a lot, and the exposition is going to be rough to handle, but Villaneueve handled it well in Bad Runner 2049, so I’m interested to see what he does here. Also, that is an excellent use of Pink Floyd’s ‘Eclipse’ in the trailer.

  4. fossboxer says

    I know there’s plenty of hate to throw around for these adaptations, but I enjoyed Lynch’s movie. Of course, I didn’t expect anything more than a cursory reproduction of Herbert’s cerebral classic. I agree with PZ the book is unfilmable. Still, I look forward to seeing this new one.

  5. says

    Yeah, I’m not so much worried about the CGI making it unfilmable, but the complexities of the plot. Unless he makes a 30 hour long movie, there’s going to be a lot of chopping going on.

  6. Rob Grigjanis says

    I thought the 2000 miniseries was alright. Lynch’s film looked good, but suffered badly from a rushed ending. If it had been done in two parts, maybe. I’ll wait until this one comes to telly.

  7. F.O. says

    I found the music utterly out of place, feels like Dune: The Musical or some Disney thing where Paul will be singing in a swirl of worms?

    And the drama seems to focus far too much on the personal, a bit too hollywood for me.

    TBH I was more enthusiastic about the move before seeing the trailer.
    I hope it’s just the trailer.

  8. says

    Pink Floyd’s “Eclipse? Huh?

    And someone teach the guy playing Paul to enunciate and stop speaking through gritted teeth. Could only understand about half of what he said.

  9. stwriley says

    This does look like they’re sticking a lot closer to Herbert’s original concepts and story, which is all to the good. The Lynch version just took too many liberties that didn’t need to be taken. We’ll see, but I have some hope that they can at least do the book justice. Of course they’ll have to cut a lot of subtlety, because you just don’t compress a plot that complex into a two-to-three hour movie without doing that, but they may have done it right this time. Let’s hope so.

  10. Duckbilled Platypus says

    @10 yes it is. Obviously, it’s not Pink Floyd playing it themselves, if that’s what you mean, but the parts you’re hearing are definitely Eclipse from DSOTM.

  11. rgmani says

    The problem with filming Dune is the complicated backstory and the fact that a lot of the action takes place in the characters’ heads. Still, I am encouraged by a couple of things. First, that it is a two part movie. Trying to shoehorn all of that material into a single movie, no matter how long, would feel rushed. Second, that Denis Villeneuve is the director. I really liked Arrival and even though I have not yet seen Blade Runner 2049, I have heard a lot of good reports about it. So, I’ll cross my fingers and hope for the best.

  12. JustaTech says

    Shall we all now walk without rhythm, so we don’t attract the worm?

    I’m just pleased that the still-suits cover their faces at least some times.

  13. says

    I haven’t seen BR2049 either, but Arrival was quite good – to the point where I was sorely disappointed in the book (short story, really) when I got it. A 2-part Dune has better potential than a rushed single movie (even 4 hours would be rushing it for this book).
    – the rainy ending of the first movie was really the one thing that totally annoyed me with it. As folks have pointed out, it’s a complex, cerebral book with a TON of internal dialog, especially from Paul and Jessica. I’m fine with internal dialog (voiceovers)… but only sparingly so that it doesn’t seem like a documentary after a while.

  14. unclefrogy says

    The problem with filming Dune is the complicated backstory and the fact that a lot of the action takes place in the characters’ heads.

  15. unclefrogy says

    I meant to hit preview first sorry
    that is what makes it near impossible to make a movie of it. That is F.H.’s style and what makes it a good novel in the first place. the big moments are internal and for the most part almost wordless how do you picture a long stretch of time? Even with a voice over it would be hard to do and maintain any sense of drama.
    It might make a good mini series or a “mega” series but still it would not be a big action one.
    there are striking similarities to Lawrence of Arabia different back story no magic visionary stuff but still.
    uncle frogy

  16. says

    It’s worse than unfilmable as written; since (as has been mentioned) the events are happening in the characters’ heads, so is the character development. Unless the director solves that, it will be a movie of cardboard cut-outs.

    If I were directing it, I’d have each character narrating their thoughts against the backdrop of the rest of the movie. It’d probably suck.

  17. tacitus says

    Yeah, I’m not so much worried about the CGI making it unfilmable, but the complexities of the plot. Unless he makes a 30 hour long movie, there’s going to be a lot of chopping going on.

    Well, we could always hold out for HBO choosing to give it the Game of Thrones treatment…

    At least it’s a bona fide blockbuster scifi movie, as opposed to another entry in the endless treadmill that is Marvel Studios.

  18. consciousness razor says

    Still, I am encouraged by a couple of things. First, that it is a two part movie. Trying to shoehorn all of that material into a single movie, no matter how long, would feel rushed. Second, that Denis Villeneuve is the director. I really liked Arrival and even though I have not yet seen Blade Runner 2049, I have heard a lot of good reports about it. So, I’ll cross my fingers and hope for the best.

    Agreed. On paper, it may seem like both it and Arrival couldn’t work, especially the latter. Try to imagine just reading the script without seeing it, and thinking “oh sure, that’ll be easy to put on film. No problem.” Yeah right. But Villeneuve did it anyway. What is there to say? He knows how to make movies.

    By the way, Blade Runner 2049 is great, much better than Blade Runner if you ask me. Sometimes it seems to be moving a little too slowly, but maybe not. I like having plenty of time to soak up all of the (dirty, ugly, dystopian) scenery and to reflect a little on what just happened. It’s not a messy, confusing, MTV-style rollercoaster, like a lot of action/fantasy/sci-fi movies. If you’re looking for something like that, then there are many other movies you could watch.

    Personally, I was pretty skeptical about the LOTR trilogy before it came out. That seems sort of roughly comparable to Dune. Those movies were certainly not the same as the books, because they’re movies, which is fine. The thing is, if you can use your imagination when reading a book, you can do the same when watching a movie. They can’t show you everything, but if they pick the right things, that leaves you to fill in the gaps for the rest. I’m sure it’s not easy, but it can work.

  19. PaulBC says

    Alt-X@23 It wasn’t absolutely terrible. I thought Lynch overdid making Baron Harkonnen as repulsive as possible. Some parts just seemed ridiculous ‘The tooth, the tooth” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JoqYp-lxIQ I believe I saw it exactly once when it came out (a little late as a campus screening back when clubs did that) and did not have a very strong opinion.

    I was never a big Dune fan to begin with and I’m still not. I’d much rather see Iain M. Banks adapted (as discussed recently) or Ursula K Le Guin. And well, Philip K Dick has already had a lot of adaptations, but I’d still probably go for that before Dune.

  20. PaulBC says

    I should probably clarify. The poison-gas tooth as an assassination device is in the novel, so that’s not what meant was ridiculous. I just do not understand why they need a close-up of his mustachioed mouth repeating “the tooth.”

  21. says

    There is an excellent documentary about Jodorowsky’s version of Dune that never got made. Lots of gorgeous illustrations. It will make you un-appreciate the Lynch version which, to be fair, was not awful.

  22. chrislawson says

    Quick Blade Runner 2049 review:

    Brilliant direction and visual flair, one great narrative moment. Completely misses the point of the original, to the extent that its two major plot developments are impossible in the Blade Runner setting (one is referred to as a “miracle” within the film, as if acknowledging the stupidity makes it palatable; the other is not even acknowledged). And even if you can accept the “miracle”, the consequences of that miracle are just as foolish as the event itself.

    It does, however, enhance my regard for Villeneuve’s skills.

  23. KG says

    I enjoyed Lynch’s version, although that may have somethnig to do with the, er, state of mind I was in when I watched it. But the film, the book and the series are all definitely fascist in their mental atmosphere: the militarism (with its elaborate and ridiculous justification for cod-medieval sword-fighting in an interstellar context), and the obsession with bloodlines and the breeding of Ubermenschen. I second PaulBC’s preference for filming Iain M. Banks or Ursula Le Guin (there is a film version of The Lathe of Heaven free online, but the technical quality is poor) or, I’d add, John Scalzi (Lock In is very topical!) or Kim Stanley Robinson.

  24. blf says

    I’m one of 5 people that really liked the old Dune movie

    I have no opinion on the books, movies, comics, and whatever elses, as I’ve never ever seen, read, heard, or whatevered any of the Dune stuff, with the exception of a few short synopsises. Which failed to gather my interest at all, hence my unfamiliarity with the cult. I did watch the trailer in the OP, and am still completely baffled: It made no sense, and seems to be just another shoot-em-up space opera by a bunch of hack writers. Boring, insipid, confusing, unnecessarily LOUD noises but with muffled / incomprehensible dialogue, and laughable special effects (what worm for fecks sake?). I speculate that to someone in the cult, or who at least knows the story — if there is any story somewhere — that trailer could have made some sense, and might even be interesting or at least generate interest / sales (it’s purpo$e). To someone like me who has no fecking idea what the Dune cult is about, it was a mess, and failed totally in its purpo$e.

  25. evodevo says

    We happened upon the old Dune on some channel or another the other day and watched some of it…no way I could sit through it again…although I DID enjoy Kenneth McMillan as the Baron…why did he remind me of the Orange Mad King…hmmmm…..

  26. Vreejack says

    The Syfy miniseries from years back was very true to the books and very good as well.

    Also, the past participle of “to flow” is “flowed”, not “flown”. That was nagging at me; I feel better, now.

  27. Chakat Firepaw says

    @blf #31:

    what worm for fecks sake?

    That thing that rises up from the sand at the end is called a sandworm, they are both the reason that planet is so valuable¹ and the reason harvesting the wealth of Arrakis is so dangerous².

    1: They produce the substance that makes FTL travel reasonably viable in the setting.

    2: They attack things producing vibrations, such as the harvesting equipment sifting Spice from the sand.

  28. PaulBC says

    I liked the reference to sandworms in Beetlejuice (1988) though it made absolutely no sense. I assumed it was inspired by Lynch’s Dune several years earlier.

  29. Mario Romero says

    And now is a crusade, instead of a “jihad” Not buying it. If they fail at something this laughable…

  30. Sonja says

    I saw the Lynch Dune at the old Skyway theater in downtown Minneapolis. When it ended, the entire audience booed loudly.