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Latest Minor Project Updates on Peter Berg's Dune Reboot

by Alex Billington
April 21, 2009
Source: io9

Earlier today we previewed the 14 remaining sci-fi movies of 2009, and although I'm insanely excited for James Cameron's Avatar, the next sci-fi movie on my list that I'm probably most excited for isn't really on there - Dune. Yep, way back in 2007 it was announced that Frank Herbert's masterpiece was going to be adapted once again, this time by The Rundown and Hancock director Peter Berg. I specifically mention The Rundown, because Berg worked with producer Kevin Misher on that film, and Berg and Misher are teaming up again on Dune. Our friends at io9 talked with Misher recently and got an update on the project.

Before asking about its status, they had to ask Misher why he even wanted to remake Dune. "It's one of my favorite books of all time, and I made a movie with Pete called The Rundown, which people seemed to like a little bit, so we decided to get back together. Pete had loved the book as well. It's a great opportunity for us." At least we know he has good intentions. The project is in development at Paramount, but when it was announced, a script hadn't even been written. So where is it now? "We're working on the script right now. We're going to turn it in shortly. The script is coming in, we're hoping to get a green light shortly. "

According to IMDb, the writer working the script is Joshua Zetumer, a newcomer with a few other big scripts floating around, but nothing in production yet. With at least 14 remaining sci-fi movies this year, and a lot more in development, it looks like a sci-fi trend might be brewing in Hollywood. And if that's the case, I'm sure Dune will get a greenlight soon enough. And as for one final important question - are they still going to have the blue spice-eyes? "Yes, of course. Spice is part of the book." Bring on the sandworms!

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sojourner

to be honest I'm not sure how excited I am for this. The one on the Sci-Fi channel made me geek happy. I will say hopeful. Not excited yet.
ek

the books are awesome in their own right (the whole saga's pretty epic), but the movies/mini series that have been made to date are only OK, but dont really do the stories justice - but that may be because the whole saga is so epic - kind of a catch 22.. will be interesting to see what happens and will still see whatever is made.
Fuelbot

Peter Berg's a better director than people give him credit for, even if his stories often suck.
Xerxex

Go Berg! It's you're birthday! Sorry Had to say it Hopefully this will be great!
WingcommanderIV

I really liked the Sci-fi miniseries from 2000. Both Dune and Children of Dune. Great acting, great drama, and it just suceeded and playing up the important aspects from the books. I found the stuff they cut were things they didn't need anyway. That's what sucked about David Lynch's version. He kept in the weirdest things from the books, like heart plugs and those voice things, and then got rid of important plot developments that made the movie SO confusing. If you haven't seen Sci-fi's 2 mini-series's, than you should. They're really good. This movie doesn't need to be made again. They should continue the series on sci-fi with God Emperor of Dune. Funny little detail, Leto 2 was played by James Mcavoy, now a big time star but then he was a nobody. Totally first time I saw him, and I knew he'd go far.
sojourner

@5 good trivia for those that didn't know and I agree when I first watched it I was wowed by him then. I still love to watch him act now.
http://rtgmediaphiles.blogspot.com Dan W

It's funny I just watched Dune for the first time all the way through today. And my reaction to it was that it seemed too dated. I'm sure when it came out it was pretty good, my dad loves it. But some of it just felt very B movieish and I lost interest. I am excited to see this being done again with more modern technology. I feel that it would be better to get the story across with the advancements we have in movie making. I just hope they do it right.
Smiffy1

I've tried, lord knows I've tried, but I've never managed to get through the Lynch movie of Dune without falling asleep. Let's hope the new movie is a tad more involving.
Otacon

this needs to be an epic of Star Wars-like proportions! ...nyuck! =]
bozoconnors

methinks this will be just too easy to screw up. Good luck kidz. High hopes.
9mm

The mini series seemed cheap and campy to me. It felt like goofy two-bit scifi. But i also feel the same way about babylon 5, serenity, BSG, Stargate tv shows, etc etc... The original movie is far superior imo. The extended "Judas Booth" version of the film is slightly easier to follow. It was about 45 mins longer i believe.
drake

the rundown was plain good fun, hope this turn out good
http://crabby.com crabby

I hope that this is good. Dune is my favorate Sci-Fi book
somwerbtwnblungrn

I do hope they make this one good, the mini-series solidify my "geekeness" so I hope the reboot would only mean that they can do a better movie than the original one. The Blue Eyes - if they remove that then what made Dune what it was gone.
Derek

That pic just reminds me how good the production design was on Lynch's film. They look like fremen should look.
JimD

To do it right, it needs to be on the epic scale in the same way Peter Jackson handled The Lord of The Rings Trilogy. I don't see Peter Berg doing that.
http://www.dreamlinks.com/ Dating in Toronto

I'm with 16 on this one I liked the Rundown. But, it was a corny movie. One that wasn't afraid to admit it too. It took its corn and ran with it. But do that to Dune and its going to suck.
Hugh

Very excited at the prospect of this, as I've recently been watching the Lynch version, which I like but recognise is very flawed. Dune needs to be split over several films in order to be done justice. Two films would probably work well as it would mirror the novel's structure. Also think that visuals will be enormously important. Tragic if it just looked like a standard version of the future given how baroque Frank Herbert's vision is. Would love to see the H.R. Giger designs but maybe best to go with something that has a fresher impact.
http://www.cubatours.us Sypes

This is a story that needs to be put to the masses. It should be required reading for high schoolers. I just hope that Berg can: 1. Give it some umph! Similar to the Matrix. That blew us all away. Dune, the series, blew us all away. 2. Somehow show that evolution of humanity 10, 000 years from now. Humans will be quite different and this needs to somehow translate to the screen. 3. Show the power of women over men as seems to be the trend anyway. Who's the boss in a hetero relationship now, huh? It ain't "who's your daddy" anymore, it's "who's your mama." 4. The settings must be realistic. Jesus Christ Superstar is the ONLY movie that was shot on the real thang. The scope of this story needs a setting to justify the scope of this story. 5. Casting should include many of the best actors available, notable actors, accomplished actors, with a sprinkling of newcomers. Please, Herr Berg, do something spectacular! Overwhelming! Be wayyyyyy ahead of your time and make use of the latest and greatest technoligies available in film.
RyGuy

I am excited to see this made again. I like the original version, but as said in an earlier post...it is very dated. The 2 sci-fi series are great but they just kept me satisfied and I eneded up wanting more. I would love to see this made into 2 seperate 3 hour films since there is no way to push all of the material of this book into one movie....If they do this right then maybe they will get the green light to make the other Dune books into movies as well. I just hope the director has his heart in this project. I would love to see this carry out in a long epic collection as the Star Wars franchise has done over the years...since the plotlines are so thick it will be very intresting to see how well they can portray all of this through film. They have to get some good actors to pull this movie off, and I hope they plan on putting in some amazing special effects. None of this "Mummy-looking" stuff either. I mean some good believable LOTR's type of CGs. All I can say is: Lord of the Rings is to Fantasy as Dune is to Science Fiction.