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First Pix From New Dune Miniseries
Killjoy_b writes, "Dune fans never had it so good. First Frank Herbert's son's new Dune: House Atreides book came out in February and now there is a new Dune miniseries in the making. You can check out the pics at this Science Fiction Film Site. The page itself is German. Enjoy.
" You know where the fish is.Tim sent this additional page of info. In English.
I've always liked the Dune series of books, I haven't gotten the new one yet, but I'm working on it.
After the fish translated the page, I was left with one question: On which network would this mini series air on? Sci-Fi?
GIHM -The light at the end of the tunnel is only the oncoming train.
Those of you that have actually seen the original "Dune" movie can likely guess how the rest of that day went.
So I'm not going to do that again. Until I hear that this has won an emmy or something, I am not even going to think about watching.
The cake is a pie
Not that I was totally unimpressed by the film, but I think it was a mistake to try to film an accurate version of a brick sized tome in less than 6 hours.
I also hope they make "The Voice" a little bit more convincing.
While it's always great when a new sci-fi series/film comes out I wish it could have been something other than Dune. There are far more worthwhile SF series that would make excellent series, but Dune is just not one of them.
Dune is horribly dull and long-winded, spending 100 pages going into mind-numbing detail about the smallest of details, lending itself to that incredible "eye-glazing factor" that is also shared by much of Tolkien's work. I tried to read it several times and each time I gave up in favour of a better written book by someone who had obviously employed the services of a decent editor.
And let's face it the setting for Dune was hardly convincing. There was a lack of background in some places, leaving the reader to guess what was going on a lot of the time, and some truly dire characterisations. I like my books to be full of detailed, convincing characters who engage in wity, sharp conversations that make them sound like real people. I'm sure you can see why I didn't like Dune - two-dimensional characters a masterpiece do not make.
There are plenty of worthwhile SF series out there which would make for far more intersting, exciting and challenging TV series and/or films. Let's hope that next time they pick one.
"On 22 November 1999 begin towards in Prague the turning work for a 6-stuendige TV filming of the novel " the desert planet " (" Dune ") of franc Herbert. The TV project budgetierte with 20 million US Dollar can offer thereby a hochkaraetigen occupation and crew.
Thus William Hurt (out " draws in space ", " Dark admits town center " among other things or also " to to the end of the world ") took over the role of the duke Leto Atreides, which will have to be seen Italian actors Giancarlo Giannini as Imperator Shaddam IV and to Ian McNeice as a bad baron Harkonnen.
Barbara Kodetova plays charismatischen Paul Atreides, the main figure of the film as Chani at the page of Alec Newman, that represents. With Uwe ox farmhand, who embodies the Fremenfuehrer very convincingly, is represented also a German actor in this internationally filled production.
The film script to " desert planet " wrote John Harrison, which leads also direction; executing producers are Richard P. Rubinstein and Mitchell Galin. The line of the camera work took over the three-way Oskar winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now). The marvelous kostuementwuerfe come from Theodor Pistek (won a Oskar for the costumes in Amadeus). Additionally the special effect conductor Ernest Farino and the production designer Miljen Kreka Kljakovic is involved in the project. The digital trick effects will come from three of studios, among them AREA 51 and nice one digital (Babylon 5).
" Dune " produced of new Amsterdam Entertainment Inc., the Scifi Channel and KirchMedia in co-operation with tandem Communications. The US Austrahlung is planned for the last quarter 2000, in Germany the television filming in the spring 2001 to see will be (thus only little later).
World-exclusively SF Film.de can show the first photos of the set and the turning work here now. Thank you for it at Torsten Dewi!
Cthulhu for President!
(darren)
Most people fail to realize, but Dune is very important in geek culture for the self-referential metaphors. All geeks realize the importance of self-reference. Take, for example, this post on Slashdot discussing metaphors in Dune. It CLEARLY references itself, and thus gives a good example of self-reference. It also uses the expression "self-reference" more times than any valid post should. But I digress.
I'm sure you understand the relationship to the freemen and free software. Though it's been quite a while since I've read the book, I seem to recall "freemen" being spelled with only two "e"s. I could be wrong though, so I choose to continue spelling it logically. If I'm going to look stupid, which I often do (I point your attention to my recent post on slashdot regarding Geek Metaphors in Dune), then at least I'm going to admit it, and look stupid in my own special way. But I digress.
The freemen live in caves in the desert in the Dune books. They are unwashed and seen as lunatics by the more civilized Houses. This is clearly a metaphor for free software programmers. The desert, however, is to be taken literally. Most free software programmers live in caves in the desert. I mean, it only stands to reason. Believe it or not, those caves are mighty chilly, and saves trouble of cooling the server rooms. Though nothing is quite like the pleasure of an ice cold server room. Set aside getting out of summer heat, it lets you wear your all too geeky Mr.Rodgers-esque sweater all year round. I don't know about you, but I certainly like sweaters. But I digress.
And then there are the sandworms. Giant beasts that burrows through the soil. If ever there has been an obvious metaphor for worm-type viruses, this is it. And worm viruses would not exist without people to program them. Sure, that sort of thing might be a good way to understand how protocols and programming works, but any good hacker grows out of that stuff after high school. Angst-fueled education seems to be very prevailent. But the important thing is to not regret it. Sure, I'm not PROUD of alot of the things I've done in the past, and I'd never do it again, but I DID do it. There's nothing that can be accomplished by feeling sorry about everything I've ever done. Take for example the time that I found the dying man behind the 7-11. Yeah, I could have, and likely should have called an ambulance. But I hadn't eaten in a few days, and truth be told I was dead broke. If I had spent more time programming useful software, instead of releasing everything "free", then maybe I could have bought a taco or two. But no one was around, and I made sure not to leave any fingerprints. And it gave me a chance to use that new meatloaf pan my mother bought me for my birthday. Oh, mother, what you don't know . . .
But I digress. Cheese is pretty.
Bad things often happen to good people,
It is up to them to see that they remain good.
While I slightly agree with you, it seems like you just like to whine. Start your own news service and post whatever you da*n well please. People aren't going to spoonfeed you.
thank you.
I come to Slashdot for the refreshing Open Source, Science Fiction, and Heavy Metal articles. In return for these articles I read the banner ads faithfully, even though I'm using Lynx. You seem to assume that because of this I am interested in your post. Let me assure you that I am not. Please stop posting. Thank you.
-- My comment is above.
The book was one of the greatest books ever written.
The movie was one of the worst movies ever made.
I can only hope that a miniseries, which will benefit from a smaller budget than the film, will fall somewhere in between....
ICQ: 49636524
snowphoton@mindspring.com
Got Rhinos?
Yes, I am one of the few who actually enjoyed Lynch's DUNE. I even liked it enough to have bought the DVD, trading cards, and yes, even built a DUNE website once.
The stills from the miniseries are missing something though. I read DUNE, and Children of DUNE, and God Emperor of DUNE. Herbert set a stage in DUNE, long winded and detailed, but it was there. And Lynch managed to get that feel right. Undoubtedly due to the on-set presence of Frank Herbert. Stillsuits were almost exactly as they were described, the opulence and Russian Imperial styling worked. The Fremen (lousy special effects aside) carried their character. - I see no attempt to conserve water in those screencaps.
What I do see is something palatable for television, no doubt dumbed down so that the masses aren't confused by every line of dialag. (Uhhh... hunny, whats that there SAY-A-DINA fer?)
DUNE the movie was not for everyone, as the book was not for everyone. Fair enough. - But isn't this miniseries just beating a dead horse?
DUNE fans will not likely support this totally, though there are also the fans of the Novel that didn't like the movie... We'll just have to wait until filming is complete, and the show airs to see if this is another "Leprechauns" or "10th Kingdom"
// Hunter, Angler, Photographer, Dad. (In no particular order.)
I always thought "Turing Option" by Harry Harrison and Marvin Minskey (not published anymore) would have been a great book to convert into a movie. Great story and characters. Anyone else read this book? Any thoughts?
A man thanks his personal saviour for the merciful deliverence from another tedious end-of-week borefest from Katz the UberTroll and you mark him down a -1 Troll ???? ARE YOU INSANE ? Time to put down the crack pipe dude.
Actually if you notice dude that the week technically ends on Saturday and Begins on Sunday. John Katz has at least one more day to screw you with another piece. Sorry
thank you.
No thank you.
Through www.dictionary.com/translate (Babelfish was hosed)... tried to English-ify it as much as possible:
1. March 2000 - Author: Florian Breitsameter
DUNE Miniseries: The first pictures of the set!
On 22 November 1999 work in Prague began towards filming for a 6-hour TV filming of the novel " The Desert Planet " ("Dune"), by Frank Herbert. The TV project has a $20 million budget(US), which can offer thereby a hochkaraetigen occupation and crew.
William Hurt ("Lost In Space", "Dark City" and also "Until The End Of The World") plays the role of the Duke Leto Atreides, which will have to be seen. The film will also feature Italian actors Giancarlo Giannini as Imperator Shaddam IV and to Ian McNeice as a bad baron Harkonnen.
Alec Newman plays Paul Atreides, the main figure of the film. Barbara Kodetova plays Chani, at the page of Alec Newman. With Uwe Ochsenknecht, who embodies the Fremen Leader very convincingly, is represented also a German actor in this internationally filled production.
The film script to "desert planet" was written by John Harrison, who also directs; executive producers are Richard P. Rubinstein and Mitchell Galin. The camera work is done by the three-time Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now).
The marvelous costumes come from Theodor Pistek (obtained a Oscar for the costumes at Amadeus). Additionally the special effect conductor Ernest Farino and the production designer Miljen Kreka Kljakovic are involved in the project. The digital special effects will come from three of studios, among them AREA 51 and One Digital (Babylon 5).
" Dune " is produced by Amsterdam Entertainment Inc., the Scifi Channel and KirchMedia tandem Communications. The US airing is planned for the Fall 2000, in Germany the television airing will air in Spring 2001 (thus only little later).
World-exclusively SF Film.de can show the first photos of the set and the fiming work here now. Thank you for it at Torsten Dewi!
Captions
Reverend Mother Ramallo (?), (Uwe Ochsenknecht) and Jessica (Saskia Reeves)
Gurney Halleck (P.H. Moriaty), an assassin (?), Paul Atreides (Alec Newman) and (Uwe Ochsenknecht)
Chani (Barbara Kodetova) and Paul Atreides (Alec Newman)
(Uwe Ochsenknecht) with blue eyes!
Richard Rubinstein(producer) and John Harrison (director) in the set for the Siege
Vittorio Storaro (camera) and Uwe Ochsenknecht in the background
Source: SFW, audio 51, Torsten Dewi, Victor television Productions, Inc..
Why does everyone in those pictures look like a futuristic potato farmer? Its almost as if sometime in the 22nd century everyone decided that drab, brown and baggy was how the future was supposed to look. Hell, even the lady with the scepter looks like she just got finished digging up some roots.
Give these poor people some style! Where's the royalty? Where's the sleek, efficiency of a Fremen stillsuit? The ones in there look like leftovers from the local Salvation Army.
-MM
(Yes I work for NSI. No I don't pretend to speak for them since they don't pretend to speak for me.)
Sorry, but technically the work week ends on friday. When the person said 'week', they most likely implied work week. Please think before you post next time. No thank you. No, Thank you.
There is the following page:
Dune Mini-Series
It will air sometime towards the end of 1999 on the Sci-Fi Channel.
"Politics is for the moment, an equation lasts eternity" -A. Einstein
The Dune movie failed purely on bad directing. I believe it was directed by the same guy who did "Twin Peaks" and "Lost Highway", although his name escapes me. While those two are cult classics, they're _not_ intended for mainsteam consumption, not even mainstream Sci-Fi lovers.
Consider the dubious solution to the perspective in the book. If you remember, Dune had many sections where you'd read the character's thoughts, and this helped understand the character's movitations. But this doesn't work in a movie setting, so the director did the thoughts as "voice overs". It ended up as a bad directing choice.
So hopefully the producers will learn from their mistakes.
-Ted
What do you do when a TV show doesn't live up to your expectations?
Oh yeah, you don't watch it.
If you'll excuse me, I have to leave now. I'm going to visit my girlfriend this weekend, and get laid.
Thanks, AC
Sorry, but technically the work week ends on friday. When the person said 'week', they most likely implied work week. Please think before you post next time.
I and many others have to work on Saturdays and possibly Sundays but I guess me and my rather large company don't count right?
Damn straight! Let's keep this a site for hardcore Linux @55holes! Let's try and keep away as many people as we can. That way Linux can stay "ours" and we can complain about how the man is keeping Linux down, even though our fucking stupid attitudes are really the problem.
Personally, I'm a pretty big Dune fan but this just looks messed up.
The spice is supposed to give the Fremen "blue within blue" eyes...perhaps it just a budget thing but it just looked like they just hired the "Aryan Nation Acting Troupe".
The attire: This is a planet where the Terran Sahara desert would be considered a water-rich oasis. The images portray people running around in Xena-esque garb, which is wrong. Could someone point out one of the images where someone is wearing a stilsuit? To make it worse, one of the images has Paul bare-chested! Talk about that sacrilege of water wasting! (Ok, they could be inside one of the water-tight fremen shelters but still! The suit is an important symbol in the Fremen culture.) No stilsuits and some of them are wearing heavy, cumbersome clothing.
Blades: Traditional Fremen daggers are made from the teeth of sandworms, if I remember correctly. So perhaps Gurney was wielding an off-world weapon?
Fremen: I know looks can be deceiving but these people need to look somewhat like desert hardened survivalists. Supposedly they can take out the Padishah Emperor's Sardukar terror troops. I don't see that here.
All I see is series that may do a few cross-overs with the Hercules-Xena series and all the good guys do flips and acrobatics to take out the bad guys in a non-lethal (and comedic) manner. The fremen are killers, pure and simple. Nothing too personal, its just a basic fact of survival. Even children are taught how to kill at an early age. The survivor of a dagger duel dessicates the loser and keeps the water. The survivor also gains all possessions and marital ties of the loser. I wonder if that will come into play in this series as well?
I hate to be pessimistic but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and try to watch it if it shows in my area. If they butcher either genre (movie or book) I'll be one who won't watch it again.
-Vel
If you'll excuse me, I have to leave now. I'm going to visit my girlfriend this weekend, and get laid.
Umm, I think you made a typing mistake there. What you meant to say was:
If you'll excuse me, I have to leave now. I'm going to be alone this weekend, and masturbate furiously over pr0n I'll be downloading.
Thanks.
On 22 November 1999 in Prague starting work began for a 6-hour TV filming of the novel " the desert planet " (" Dune ") by Franc Herbert. The TV project, with a budget 20 million US Dollars, is a full time occupation for the crew.
Thus William Hurt (also in "Lost in Space ", "Dark City") admits to us , "among other things" also "Until the End of the World") took over the role of the duke Leto Atreides, also including Italian actors Giancarlo Giannini as Imperator Shaddam IV and Ian McNeice as a bad baron Harkonnen.
Barbara Kodetova plays as Chani opposite the charismatic Paul Atreides, played by Alec Newman. With Uwe ox farmhand, who embodies the Fremen Leaders very convincingly, is represented also a German actor in this internationally filled production. The film script to "Desert Planet" is wrtten by John Harrison, who is also Lead Director; executing producers are Richard P. Rubinstein and Mitchell Galin. The camera work is done by the three-way Oscar winner Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now). The marvelous costume work comes from Theodor Pistek (won a Oscar for the costumes in Amadeus). Additionally the special effects conductor Ernest Farino and the production designer Miljen Kreka Kljakovic are involved in the project. The digital trick effects will come from three studios, among them AREA 51 and nice one digital (Babylon 5).
" Dune " a production of New Amsterdam Entertainment Inc., the Scifi Channel and Kirch Media in co-operation with Tandem Communications. The US Release is planned for the last quarter 2000, in Germany the television filming in the spring 2001 to see will be (only little later).
World-exclusive SF-Film.de can show the first photos of the set and the ongoing work here- now. Thanks to Torsten Dewi!
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
The whole trouble with converting the Dune series into books is this: None of the books stand up particurlarly well to being filmed. They're a great series of books alright, but there's far too much detail in there to come across in a miniseries.
This was what was missing from the new book- the intricate details that you never noticed in Dune because you were so wrapped up in the storyline are missing. Without those the story loses so much of its character. It was the downfall of David Lynch, it'll be the downfall of Brian Herbert, and it'll be the downfall of this miniseries too. So what if they've stuck to the original story more than the movie did? It was Frank Herbert's amazing storytelling that made the Dune books, and those stories retold by others somehow don't seem to have the impact.
--
Said it couldn't last, said it wouldn't last... This is the last stand against tomorrow's world.
The fact that you are able to announce your flagrant and unrepentant breach of one of the key Commandments of the Lord in a public forum without fear, is a sad testament to just how far America has slid down the evil slope of Liberalism.
In case you didn't know, Sunday was prescribed as a day of rest for you by your creator. I suppose in your Stock-option hunting frenzy, you consider the word of your boss ranks above that of the Lord ?
You will discover the error of your ways on Judgement day.
Dino De Laurentiis.
Think about it. DDL brought us such wonderful movies as Barbarella, King Kong, King Kong Lives (where they give King Kong an artificial heart!), and last, but not least, Danger: Diabolik, which was the last episode of MST3K.
DDL must be stopped! One can not trust a man who lets a line like "Is that stud coming?" get into a film!
The only person who could possibly be worse is Irwin Allen.
---Start Parody---
While it's always great when a new fantasy series/film comes out I wish it could have been something other than The Tempest. There are far more worthwhile fantasy series that would make excellent series, but The Tempest is just not one of them.
The Tempest is horribly dull and long-winded, spending 100 pages going into ind-numbing detail about the smallest of details, lending itself to that incredible "eye-glazing factor" that is also shared by much of Tolkien's work. I tried to read it several times and each time I gave up in favour of a better written book by someone who had obviously employed the services of a decent editor.
And let's face it the setting for The Tempest was hardly convincing. There was a lack of background in some places, leaving the reader to guess what was going on a lot of the time, and some truly dire characterisations. I like my books to be full of detailed,convincing characters who engage in wity, sharp conversations that make them sound like real people. I'm sure you can see why I didn't like The Tempest - two-dimensional characters a masterpiece do not make.
There are plenty of worthwhile fantasy series out there which would make for far more intersting, exciting and challenging TV series and/or films. Let's hope that next time they pick one.
---End Parody---
Myddrin
I watched the movie before reading the book and was completely confused. But from what I now gather the film was badly cut. The new release which I think Sci-fi shows is the 'directors cut' and apparently makes for a better moive.
Upon taking a second look I noticed a few more things. (I can't edit my own post unfortunately.)
1) The scene with the knife looks hand-made. It also doesn't have that metallic shininess that would give it an obvious metal look so the dagger could adhere to the authenticity of the story.
2) I saw the token person with Tlelaxu eye replacements. At least they had that.
3) The close-up of Stilgar was displaying a stilsuit breathing tube, which he wasn't wearing while he wasn't outside. I sill don't see the rest of the stilsuit either.
-Vel
Yes, but some of us are :-). OK, so I've got friends and I've been laid, but middle age spread is starting to set in (and I'm not even middle aged yet!). I love scifi, and I'm a heavy metal fan. And proud of it, too! It may well be a stereotype, but it fits a sizeable percentage of the Slashdot readership.
Sidenote: I just wish the UK was more heavy metal friendly. There's nothing better than a good slab of metal to code to :-) It looks like I'm going to have to go to Germany to see the forthcoming Stratovarius/Rhapsody/Sonata Arctica tour, and I'd rate the chances of Hammerfall coming over here any time soon as pretty much zero. Sigh.
"The invisible and the non-existent look very much alike." -- Delos B. McKown
If you haven't tried reading Dune, or tried and failed several years ago, definitely try again. Sure, it's not an easy read, but the impressions that Frank has written into it are deep.
Stating that, avoid any of the other Dune books. Like most sci-fi novels, one book is planned, but the author is pressured to write more, and this definitely shows in the latter books. The style is less harse, and is actually an easier read-- which IMO is a failing (compare Neuromancer to Mona Lisa Overdrive, as another example).
And, as everyone else here as put, the Movie sucked, at least the 2 hrs that were put to the theater. Even the directors cut is lakcing something that the book itself had.
"Pinky, you've left the lens cap of your mind on again." - P&TB
"I can see my house from here!" - ST:
One of the beauties of a website as a business (from the operator's perspective) is that no single customer matters. The downside of this, is that they have to cater to a mass audience in a way that may make it hard to make money and that may ultimately have a negative impact on the quality of the content (catering to the LCD).
The various Dune movies should be looked at in the same vein as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead" - there is the original story, but there is some use of dramatic license going on, as there needs to be to translate concepts that you would ordinarily have 100 pages to come to grips with.
This isn't unique to Herbert, by any means. I fully expect numerous howls of outrage when the LOTR movies come out from purists. So what? Keep an open mind.
Interesting, I always thought the worms represented Microsoft, not viruses.
As a matter of fact, the original movie was intended to be 2 hours longer than it ended up. When Lynch ran out of money and the studio got their hands on the project, they chopped it to ribbons and the result was an abridged and less cohesive theatrical release. The Fox network acually broadcast a "Directors Cut" version of Dune that contained an additional hour of footage. This version was way better than the theatrical version and I was disappointed that it was not the version released on DVD.
Vote Al Gore!
...but I doubt that it can be as good as I ever imagined it to be. But then Sci-Fi (and fantasy) never is. Unless something is written specifically for TV or the big screen, it almost never turns out to be as good as you imagine it. After all, when you read a book, especially when you like it and it is describing events that fall outside our normal experience (which is typical of the sci-fi/fantasy genre), you always imagine it in the best possible light, and that depends on the individual. Then, when the book gets turned into a movie or min-series, you will always be disappointed with the result because it was not how you imagined it to be. And that doesn't even account for the 'poetic-licence' that film-makers take with the actual storyline of any book.
Where does it say that this is a purely Linux-oriented site?
Well it doesn't say it anywhere, but let's face it, it is. Anyone who thinks otherwise should read some of the posts and see the flames go up whenever someone mentions BSD, Windows or anything not Linux or open source. Have a look at this comment here - while a little over the top that's the sort of person whom /. is aimed at. We are part of a cause here to get Linux onto every desktop in the world and so crushing MS's evil empire.
P.S. What have liquid crystal displays got to do with this?
Read the foreward that Herbert wrote for one of the later volumes. He talked about how he planned out many of the novels before sitting down to write the first one, and how certain scenes had to be shifted between the books.
Doesn't sound to me like he was pressured into more...
You cannot apply a technological solution to a sociological problem. (Edwards' Law)
Devour your own young if you must. If you even try to come anywhere near mine with your swishy Williams-Sonoma carving knife and your pansy spice rack, I will respond appropriately: With hollowpoints.
In any case, Gore cannot win. Now that McCain is out of the way, Bush is free to run as a dedicated Fundamentalist Christian, an anti-Federalist, a Seccessionist, and a Nullificationist. This is what the American people desire, and there will be few, if any, dissenting votes.
We are destined to Rule. You will see!
Uwe Ochsenknecht - you may also have seen him in "The Greatest Submarine Movie Ever" 'Das Boot' - another production which should feature in geek movie collections.
By cunningly cutting and pasting my original post and then replacing the word Dune with the word Tempest you have shown me how wrong my opinion was! For that service I am eternally in your debt.
Look, I'm sorry if you don't agree with me but at least try and accept that in a mature way and not post some snotty reply like a little kid. If you think that Dune was the best thing since sliced bread then fine, but I personally think that it was an overblown, overlong piece of rubbish which contributed little to the genre of science fiction. Oooh, a story about magic worms that provide immortality. How fucking amazing. The basic premise was a joke and the rest of the books little better.
The Guild navigators are essential for commerce in the Dune imperium, but they've mutated into repellent, distasteful monsters, shunned by all good folk, kind of like marketing people.
George
Anybody read the new book? Is it any good?
especially when the kernel probes for my NE-2000 clone!
Whoa.
George
me too!
</AOL>
Dune was actually the second DVD I bought when I got my player.
I borrowed it from our library.
It's okay, required reading if you're a Dune fanatic, you know, the sort of person who wraps themselves in cellophane before heading to the beach, and who vicously defends their 10 square feet of sand with a white plastic crysknife, like me.
It adds a lot of background to the story.
I don't think it's interesting enough to stand on it's own, and I don't intend to buy it unless I see it at a garage sale for $0.25.
It does raise some interesting questions and plot developments, and I'll probably read the next two when they come up to see how they get resolved.
George
I gave up reading Dune on the fourth page describing how fat the Barron was. I mean, jsut say:
"He was so huge that small children were sucked into orbit around him"
and get on with it!
I enjoyed the movie better than the book.
I enjoyed National Lampoons' "DOON" better. They did in 150 pages what took Herbet 1,000.
Boobies never hurt anyone. - Sherry Glaser.
Its Apple's fault.
Maybe the suits are hidden beneath clothing in this movie -- I could live with that. Taking them out completely, though, is just a bit much.
This guy looks like a spaghetti western character. Could be a real star in the making. He's got the Clint Eastwook stare down pat.
"God fights on the side with the best artillery." - Napoleon, Marshal of France - speaking truth to power
There are TWO versions of the movie. The one in the theaters that ran around 2 hours, and a "longer" version (NOT a directors' cut, you'll notice Lynch's name was removed from this print at his request) that has a different intro, a formal "narrator", and while it explains things a little bit more, it's just more "kludgy".
The "Six Hour Dune Movie" is an urban legend.
D
This promises to be the second time they've gotten the age of the main character wrong in casting. Paul was a teenager, and small for his size. Although I imagine that the actor in the pictures could just be the older Paul that's been in the desert for years, I somehow doubt it.
Also, I'm curious to see if they weaken Jessica's character like they did in the film. She is a very strong female character as written, but the movie tended to downplay that considerably and make her primarily a victim of fate and her own emotions rather than the self-controlled Bene Gesserit witch she was.
So you're implying that you're better than a 16-year old script kiddie, an unintelligent Windows user, and an AOL user? Wow, pretty impressive. Maybe if you pulled your head out of your ass, you'ld realize that this site is titled "News for Nerds, Stuff that Matters", not "News for Linux Elitist Pricks." You claim that you want everyone to use Linux, but when (if) everyone ever is using Linux, you'll be jumping on the next OS bandwagon, so you can feel comfortable oppressed again. Some of us use Linux because it's an excellent OS. We don't use it because we expect it to wax our cars or suck our dicks, like delusional morons like you do.
and thats exactly the attitude that will keep Linux in the basement, right where it belongs, until it is crushed by something better.
These are made from the tooth of, um... what, exactly? Perhaps a large PVC pipe?
I won't even touch the cellophane. Literally.
:-)
Other tidbits: H.R. Giger was to work on the design for one of the planets, Orson Welles was cast as Baron Harkonnen, and Salvadore Dali was to play the mad emperor. In the documentary, they showed lots of pre-production materials, like storyboards, comic strips, and design books - I'm sure these are still floating around somewhere. Hmmm..../me goes to ebay...
If you say so
..........sig...........
I won't even touch the cellophane. Literally.
Geez, you can be a Trek fanatic, wear a Star Fleet uniform all the time and even get selected for Jury Duty, no one thinks you're a nut.
You can talk Star Wars all day, even carry around a light saber and people think you're eccentric.
But if you get infatuated with Dune, well, that's something else.
You should see the looks I get when I go out in my cellophane still suit.
For some strange reason, people are reluctant to drink my recycled water, come on, the solar still works fine.
As far as the white plastic crysknife, well metal doesn't work, and ivory is banned, so plastic it has to be.
And cinnamon as spice works for smell, but it's hard to impress people with the scarcity of it when you can but 2 oz bottles at KMart for $1.79.
George
Dune will be the first movie when i get my DVD player this spring :)
..........sig...........
I once made the mistake of reading a book by Brian Herbert. It sucked so badly I have resolved never to make that mistake again.
If he is any good as an authour, then why
1) Is he trading on the family name of being "Frank Herbert's son"?
2) is he trading on the "Dune" name?
3) Does he need a co-writer?
Why doesn't he just give it up and let real authours write Dune books instead? I'm not going to watch as he tears down his father's legacy.
My Karma: ran over your Dogma
StrawberryFrog
No he's had a lucky escape from a worthless piece of crap which would have taken up God knows how much of his valuable time. Books this bad should be recalled by the publishers and the burnt so that future generations don't think that we are all half-witted libertarian morons.
I just read part 1 of the two-part series which the magazine "Video Watchdog" did about 'Dune' and its various cuts. At the time that principal photography was ending, Raffaela (sp?) de Laurentiis (sp?) said that the original _work print_, which included footage of every scene from multiple angles (i.e. all of the footage that the final shots would be chosen from), was four hours long. This is probably the original of the 'six hour' urban legend. OTOH, now I suppose people will want to see a DVD of "Dune" with all of the scenes shown from multiple angles ...
i think they should take a fresh approach to the series... something like dune meets twin peaks. the hero would be kyle maclachlan playing some sort of other-world fbi type.
and, like, the spice makes people mentally transport into this other-worldly place where midgets dance around and talk backwards but it comes out sounding forwards.
then you could have laura palmer being reborn (of a virgin) as some sort of spiritual saviour. except, during the rebirth, she accidentally got her genetic material crossed with one of the midgets, so she comes out with the right side of her body normal and the left side a midget.
and the midget's sordid sexual impulses are passed along to her too. So she goes around compulsively lubricating people and this causes the spice to become ineffective.
this starts an interplanetary war and Laura ends up being crucified by the spice freaks.
when she's on the cross, she looks up into the sky, and says, "forgive them, the arm, for they know not what they do."
and while she's saying this, the midget half is shaking its leg like a dog when you scratch its back.
of course, the midget half's actions would offend the royalty present at this important event, so the guards whack the midget half with an electrified stick to calm it down. But the midget half just farts when they do this.
once the laura midget dies, interplanetary peace is achieved because everyone is convinced they have defeated pure evil.
just some random suggestions.
thank you.
Yes but the imposrtant question that must be asked is after its release will there be a director's cut thats like 3.5x as long?
I loved the book and the movie, i dont see why you guys didnt, because there is no way in hell that they could fit the books content into a 120 minute movie... I have the DVD of it and it still looks pretty damn good. I hope they put it on the SCI-FI channel, that would be good.
There's also this:
http://www.scifi.com/dune/
With news, gallery, and other comments about the upcoming series.
As I said before, I think the non-Linux stuff gives vitality to the site that is lacking at, for instance, Freshmeat, LinuxToday or any of the more purely technical Linux sites. Additionally, the mix of the more general non-Linux content with the Linux content can help bring others who may be only vaguely aware of Linux into the movement. This is the way it happened for me -- I found out about Slashdot via a link at a mainstream site (cnn? abcnews?) regarding the Halloween documents back in Nov. 98 or so and then stayed to read enough about Linux to take the plunge and now have become a big Linux enthusiast.
I am older than Cmdr Taco and Hemos (almost 36 -- yeow!), and thus have lost some of the younger guy enthusiasms they have, like much SciFi -- though at their age I was very close to them in interests (and I note that CmdrTaco's rock interests could be those of someone my age -- who the hell listens to The Who these days?). Thus, I agree that, by being too narrowly focused on their own demographic, they run the risk of alienating some Slashdot contributors -- and in many cases these may be the older/more sophisticated contributors that have the most to offer (note -- I do not put myself in this category).
The bottom line is, the Slashdot boys have to tread a fine line between being too Linux-focused and not Linux-focused enough. Personally, I think they are doing just fine, but I guess complaints from contributors are necessary to help keep them on track.
Alright. So replying to AC's is about as useful as yelling at the wall when the cat makes me mad but...
Yes, the movie was entertaining. If you've never read the book that is or if decent acting isn't too high up on your list of things to expect from a good movie. Let's start with the most glaring example.
The weirding devices. Cheesy. Really cheesy. The Fremen didn't need some little box with a handle to be badasses... they already where! Remember the book "We lost two of our men for three platoons of theirs. Seems a fair trade." (refering to fighting Sadakkar [I know I mispelled that]) The Fremen as a rule were ruthless and tough. You're telling me some offworld kid shows up, teaches them to shout oddly whilst holding a box and suddenly they can't be beat? Paul was needed to be their leader not show them how to fight. They could already do that. Never mind that the whole point of the weirding way was that humans could do it only their bodies (remember the jihad they talk about that removed computing machines?). It's a pretty cheap cop out to assume your audience won't figure it out without some techno gimmick to explain it.
And what was up with Paul's sister in the movie? She looked like a evil muppet or something and the voice sounded like they gave that little girl some helium and asked her to talk even higher.
Let's not even get too deep into the stillsuits. Never mind that leaving your whole freaking head exposed is a quick way to get sunstroke on a Earth desert much less a planet that is entirely desert. Also the fact that you do loose a large amount of sweat through your mouth. Or how about wearing all black out in the blazing sun(s)? If they were that worried about not being able to tell who was who how about some marks on the suits? It wouldn't have been that hard.
Let's be honest. The first twenty minutes or so were decent and then it came to a screeching grinding halt. If you show that much contempt for the material that it comes from where you don't even really try to show the novel correctly then you probably shouldn't be making a movie about it (like Star Ship Troopers but that's a whole other post). The movie wasn't a visual feast by any stretch of the word. It showed nothing really new from sci-fi and nothing sticks with me from the movie (aside the giant worms and they weren't even that hot).
I hope that the mini-series is better. Judging by the shots it will at least look better but I'm hoping for it to stick to the story. Maybe I wish too much.
and it looks like this is the original press release
this is an interesting one too
Strange, I thought I used to _own_ the 6 hour version...
To relate to recent geek culture, consider The Matrix. The focus of the movie was the setting and the setting was used to convey that reality is a collective halucination. However, a movie about a place doesn't generally have enough dialog to keep people (including me) interested. So, the writers introduced Morpheus and Agent Smith as a on-screen narrators whose job was simply to tell us about the setting when they're not kicking Neo's ass. The movie is not about Neo, it's about the world he discovers and what that means for our perception of reality.
In a book, the narrator is taken for granted, thus there's no need for a Morpheus character in Dune. Instead, the characters serve to fill the universe rather than the universe being a backdrop for the characters. It's a daring perspective that few writers outside SF use (and few SF writers pull off successfully.) It's the main reason why Dune still sells thousands of copies a year.
That might make sense, because its easy to have that happen (for example, film a six minute battle scene from five cameras... there's a half-hour of work-print footage) I could accept that as where the rumors and stuff started. Somewhere at home I have the "Making of Dune" book that came out when they made the movie (which says nothing about a "really really long version", which you would think it would do if there was such a beast). I'll have to see if they mention the work-print thing in there....
it follows by definition that I will be interested in lame Science Fiction. This is just one example of Slashdot's ongoing pandering to negative nerd stereotypes. Another example is the assumption that we are all fans of open source, and share the same sense ofcommunity spirit. I suppose Slashdot's owners assume we are fat, friendless heavy metal fans who have never been laid in our lives.
The assumption that all Slashdot readers are fans of open source is halfway reasonable --- this is a site that grew up around Linux, an open source operating system, after all. The community spirit bit is also important as a prequisite to the function of the site: threaded discussions do not work well without community spirirt, as many USENET group denizens discovered to their horror in the mid-90s.
As for science fiction: you have a point that often slashdot has more fluff content than hard technical news, and bits about science fiction are heavily involved in that; but it is also true that, for the majority of people in this industry, science fiction forms an important part of the culture --- and Dune, in particular, is part of the limited canon of books (along with The Lord of the Rings, Stranger in a Strange Land, and Ender's Game, among others) that it can be reasonably assumed that anyone who has read any science fiction at all has read.
*shrug* You can't expect a news service for "nerds" to not talk about such things.
I for one was excited when the movie came out, and after watching it for a bit nearly gagged on my popcorn! I've read the entire set: Dune - Chapterhouse Dune at least three times over the years, and I still think it's only beaten by LOTR. I sure hope the mini-series gets something of the vastness, the seriousnes, without the fake bs in the movie, of the tale. Things that really pushed me over the edge about the movie:
The utter ridiculousness of the Sadukar! Jesus-H-Christonacrutch! These fellas were THE bad ass elite killer-soldiers of the Emperor of the Known fscking Universe. All the other Houses were scared shitless of them. Anybody gets fancy ideas - just whisper Sadukar. 'Nuff said. And the movie had them dressed up like chemical disposal workers!
The module-thingies. Nope, no way. Fighting had devolved into hand-to-hand + personal shields. That was pretty much glossed and forgotten.
Scenery: the movie gave me a sense of a bunch of folks on a soundstage - not outside, and not on a desert planet.
Anyway, maybe this series will do a better job. I hope so.
"shop smart:shop s-mart" ash
'A Man for all Seasons'. Dune was a very
wise & clever book. I figuired anyone astute
enough to asses its merit wouldn't do bad.
I failed to take inexperience into the
equation. In order to convert Dune into
a visual medium it got mangled
You have never truly been in love until
your gonadotrophins have been
stimulated by MICROWAVE LASER
When I play Dune 2(000), I can choose all 3 houses and endings, and that's from a product developed 10 years ago! Best of all, it lasts more than 6 hours (more with mission editors)! Do they think we are stupid enough to go back to non-interactive epics when we already can choose whichever ending we want???
I can only ask, will Toto do the music?!?
(or at least, do they have rights to the original Dune soundtrack and its score?)
Dum.... Dum.. Da Dum.....
:)
re: "real people don't talk that way"
Well said. =:)
"(no knowledge of subject matter) + (crack cocaine) = (journalism!)"
It is by caffeine alone that sets my mind in motion. By the beans of Java, thought acquire speed, the hands begin to tremble, the trembling becomes a warning. It is by caffeine alone that sets my mind in motion.
I'll leave out the obvious 'grits-down-my-stillsuit' comment.
Error 503:
The Di Laurentiis movie started out with voiceover narration - and went downhill from there. What they did with Baron Harkonnen is unforgivable. When I walked out of it, my comment to the people I went with (who agreed with the above assessment...) that it would've made a terrific mini-series. Almost certainly this new version will be better. (so would six hours of blank screen...) However, Di Laurentiis did bring us Barbarella, so he's not entirely a waste of oxygen...
Here's a good page to get all the info:
http://pages.infinit.net/bonesnet/Smithee.htm
Here's a quick rundown:
-DUNE was originally released to theatres at Christmas of 1984 in Todd-AO/70MM with a running time of 137 minutes.
-It is obvious that David Lynch shot a lot more footage than what we saw in the theatrical print. Lynch himself envisioned a four-hour epic film. Unfortunately, Universal wanted a running time that would be more accessible to its audience since three-hour- and four-hour-plus films were not currently popular in the 1980s. So the studio had Lynch re-edit the film to its 137-minute theatrical version.
-At one point in 1984, Lynch had announced he was going to release a legitimate "special edition director's cut" on home video, but decided to move on to other projects such as "Blue Velvet". Soon, word and rumor about the extra footage had spread everywhere, and by the time DUNE had finished its original cable run on HBO, Universal felt that the time had come to produce a "special edition" of their own, and the result was released to television in May of 1988.
-David Lynch was unhappy with what MCA TV had done and did not approve of this edition. So thus it was he successfully petitioned to take his name off the credits and replaced it with "Allen Smithee", the standard Directors Guild of America pseudonym for directors who do not want credit for their own work.
-This first TV version of DUNE, pieced together under the (mis)guiding hand of Harry Tapelman, Vice President of MCA TV Special Projects, was originally created for the Turner networks, but instead released to syndication in 1988 on the Universal Pictures Debut Network (which also was responsible for the slightly expanded version of "Legend", and the severely edited version of "Brazil"). Although Universal touted this as having "more than 50 minutes of never-before-seen footage", this actually contained 35 minutes of unseen footage. The remaining 15 contained the repeated main and end credits, a newly shot prologue, and so-called "new" scenes fabricated from outtake and test footage.
A complete list of the changes made is available at the web page I mentioned above.
---
- Give a man a fire and he's warm for a day, but set him on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
People who've read the book complain too much
context is missing; while people who haven't
read the book complain the movie is too convoluted
and referential to the book! I thought the movie
was a reasonable compromise (I read the book first). The movie also had very rich sets.
It ranks in my top ten SF films and I try to
see it every year or two.
I'd welcome a new Dune movie every 20 years or so.
The good novels are timeless and can be re-interpreted by film makers every generation.
This happens with Shakespeare, the horror classics, etc. and why not Dune?
If you don't read a book, you have no "right" to comment on it. As soon as you open your mouth and do so, you've proved yourself a fool. Ugh, why am I even bothering to reply to such clueless trolls....
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"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
However, I've seen the six hour version. It was the long version + extended intro and some extra footage. It was not actually six hours long, it just took six hours with the commercials. There are, however, 3 version in existence, it was clearly longer, and contained extra scenes not in the long version. To my best estimate, it was about 3 hours, possibly 3 hours 20 of movie time, an hour worth of discussion with someone from the movie crew, and the rest in commercials.
"Who is the Journal of Quantum Physics going to believe?" --Stephen Hawking
Okay you probably won't ever read this but, YHBT, YHL, HAND etc. etc. I'm not the original troll but I thought I'd contribute :) In many ways however I agree with you. I'm not a Linux user and I found /. through another site (although I'm fucked if I can remember where). I'll probably get round to having Linux on my machine when I get something worth using (my P133 is currently scattered around my new flat and I can't be bothered to find a place for it).
I like the balance of stories here on /., although the only criticism I really have is the preponderance of Linux zealotry. I'm still well into my sci-fi, although I don't much like Dune, as you can see from my troll here. I've got a user account with a decent amount of karma (enough to get the +1 bonus) but I get very bored at work, hence by recent start at the fine art of trolling. Anyway, I'm going to bed now, I've just got back from the pub and I'm a little worse for wear - this is taking a lot longer to type than usual :)
Still, I could wish that the Fremen looked more like the Arabs they were supposed to resemble, except for their blue eyes. But you can't have everything, and it seems to me that this miniseries will give quite a lot. I can actually identify which scene in the book the stills came from. Try doing that with the movie!
And the brethren went away edified.
I'm sorry, I retract my "no time for cowards" statement. I always have time for good debate no matter who posts it, but this thread has deteriorated very quickly. Misunderstandings maybe? I'm moving on...
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"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief."
The following comes from Frank Herbert's forward to Heretics of Dune (book 5). I am including the entire forward to give his complete perspective.
...there was no room in my mind for concerns about the book's success or failure.I was only concerned with the writing. Six years of research had preceded the day I sat down to put the story together, and the interweaving of the many plot layers I had planned required a degree of concentration I have never before experienced.
When I was writing Dune
It was to be a story exploring the myth of a Messiah.
It was to produce another view of a human-occupied planet as an energy machine.
It was to penetrate the interlocking workings of politics and economics.
It was to be an examination of absolute prediction and its pitfalls.
It was to have an awareness drug in it and tell what could happen through dependence on such a substance.
Potable water was to be an analog for oil and for water itself, a substance whose supply diminishes every day.
It was to be an ecological novel, then, with many overtones, as well as a story about people and their human concerns with human values, and I had to monitor each of these level at every stage in the book.
There wasn't room in my head to think about much else.
Following the first publication, reports from the publishers were slow and, as it turned out, innacurate. The critics had panned it. More than twelve publishers had turned it down before publication. There was no advertising. Something was happening out there, though.
For two years, I was swamped with bookstore and reader complaints that they could not get the book. The Whole Earth Catalog praised it. I kept getting these telephone calls from people asking if I was starting a cult.
The answer: "God no!"
What I'm describing is the slow realization of success. By the time the first three Dune books were completed, there was little doubt this was a popular work--one of the most popular in history, I am told, with some ten million copies sold worldwide. Now, the most common question people ask is: "What does this success mean to you?"
It surprises me. I didn't expect failure, either. It was a work and I did it. Parts of Dune Messiah and Children of Dune were written before Dune was completed. They fleshed out more in the writing, but the essential story remained intact. I was a writer, and I was writing. The success meant I could spend more time writing.
Looking back on it, I realize I did the right thing instinctively. You don't write for success. That takes part of your attention away from the writing. If you're really doing it, that's all you're doing: writing.
There's an unwritten compact between you and the reader. If someone enters a bookstore and sets down hard earned money (energy) for your book, you owe that person some entertainment and as much more as you can give.
That was really my intention all along.
Frank Herbert
Who am I?
Why am here?
Where is the chocolate?
What is your Slash Rating?
As one example, go read the dinner scene in book 1. You get to see all sorts of humorous exchanges, including Paul really roasting one of the dinner guests.
Who am I?
Why am here?
Where is the chocolate?
What is your Slash Rating?
This is just my little rant to release some aggression that those pictures that can be found on the linked site imposed.
First of all i was REALLY looking forward to this. I loved everyone of the books in the series, and unlike a lot of people i enjoyed the movie, dispite it's short commmings.
So when i heard that Sci-fi was making a mini series and actually going to the desert to make this thing i got very excited.
Now when you think of DUNE you probably think of dark skined fremen in stilsuits with BLUE IN BLUE eyes carrying knives made from sandworm teeth. instead those pictures show a bunch of geh looking white boys running around with their chests showing and people out in the desert without any stilsuits!
At least Kyle Maclaughlin (sp?) reminded me of Paul. The guy they are using looks completly out of place in this part.
I for one will not waste my time by trying to watch this anymore. At least now the movie will not be regarded as the worst portrayal of the dune series, because this will certainly take its place.
forgive any spelling errors. its late and i am angry.
Paul! What are you doing?
um..
I told you, Never keep your back to the door! If you're going to be downloading porn, everyone can see it, unless you face the door!
Thufir. yes, I'm sorry.
As I'm sure you've figured out.. we have been training you to become a Hacker. And most hackers do end up doing such things... Have some courtesy though!
When are the cable companies gona get there butts in gear and put the chans on world wide, over hear in .Au they wont even put the SciFi chan on as an extra.. so im wondering how long it will take for us to actuly get it, as they have to use up valuble time from one of the other 4 or so chans they can put it on. Ive also herd that there are even places in america where they dont offer the scifi chan.. anyone of you guys over there can conferm or deiny that? i meen isnt that the dammed point of cable.. pay for what you want?
You have 5 Moderator Points!
Which Helpless Linux zealot/MS basher do you want to mod down today?
The official Dune site is up and running at:
http://www.scifi.com/dune
We've got pictures, a cast & crew list, press releases and notes about the production, with lots more on the way. Also, on our Dune bboard I've been posting some notes about my recent 5-day visit to the set of Dune, which is being filmed in Prague. Although I work for SCI FI so am not exactly an unobjective source, after having read the script, seen the sets, talked to the actors, etc., I'm thoroughly impressed all the way around. The miniseries will be much more theatrical than the Lynch movie and much more faithful to the book, and so far it looks great. And we're planning to create a v2.0 Web site around mid-year that hopefully will do justice to the miniseries, which I'm also pretty excited about.
Best,
Craig E. Engler
Executive Producer
SCIFI.COM