For several months now, we’ve brought you news that director Peter Berg has committed to making a new big-screen version of Frank Herbert’s “Dune.”
For those of you keeping track at home, this would be the third adaptation of the popular novel for the screen–one movie and one mini-series.
Now, it appears that Berg may have left the project.
Paramount Pictures won’t confirm that Berg has left the project, but according to the Cinematical website, Berg may have left and the studio is searching for a new director.
However, the search may not be easy, according to the site. Cinematical quotes an anonymous source of Pajiba as saying, “The search, however, has run into two issues: 1) they’re looking for a director who can put the movie together for under $175 million, which sounds manageable, but they don’t want anything resembling the crap effects of the ’84 film, and 2) they want a director who already has a preexisting passion for the novel and is enthusiastic about the project.”
The site goes on to say that two up and coming director could be in the running for the job.
They are Neil Marshall and and Neill Blomkamp, who directed this summer’s “District 9.”
Again, right now this is all just hearsay and speculation. As soon as we know something specific either way, we’ll let you know.
Please, just leave Dune alone!
That story can not be done well as a two hour feature film. The only platform that worked was the mini-series, it at least attempted to give the full story some justice.
Neill Blomkamp might be able to pull it off. I just hope they don’t trim away too much of the plots within plots that made the original novel such a rereadable wonder.
I believe it could be done well in a longer film format. Even if it must be somewhat truncated for the theater and expanded on the DVD such as was done with Lord of the Rings. If not Peter Berg than someone who has experience for doing an elegant epic such as Kenneth Branagh.