A TV series: from Dune to God Emperor...

[Pris Stratton]

Sorry to burst bubbles, but this isn't even a rumor, it's just something I always think about when I'm reading or watching anything Dune related. I'd say David Lynch gave us great visuals, but unfortunately the Laurentiis family ruined what could have been one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time rather than a big flop.
Why in the world is there not an epic Dune series? Game of Thrones is rocking into its 5th season; the directing, cast, set and costumes are all out-standing. Why won't somebody do the same thing with Dune???
From Dune to God Emperor of Dune to be specific. It'd make the greatest fucking series in the world!
Unlike the miniseries. Everything about the Dune miniseries sucked ass and the minor shit that didn't suck ass, like William Hurt and Susan Sarandon's acting was squandered by the crap that surrounded them. I'd rather watch a Dune film that's visually outstanding and NOTHING like the book, than to watch a piece of shit miniseries that just tells the story with shit visuals. That's why I love Lynch's adaptation despite some its non-sense. Like Herbert himself said "It's a visual feast!"

Anyways, we Dune fans must do something! Like what, right? Dream. That's all we can do.
We, the true dreamers of Dune have to keep dreaming about something that will never happen!
And that's to hopefully someday get a beautiful adaptation of the novel in the form of an incredibly crafted series like Game of Thrones.

But personally, I think directors should stop trying to turn Dune into a film, because it obviously can't be crammed into a few hours.

If Dune isn't adapted into a (good) series, then I hope it isn't touched at all, because ultimately I think Dune was never meant for the big screen, but I can certainly understand why directors and producers wanted to film it, it's the bible of science-fiction.

P.S. Share what you think and who you think would make a great Dune series! From directors to costume designers!

[georgiedenbro]

This is the age of CGI, and the last thing a Dune series needs is a ton of irrelevant CGI. Especially a low/mid budget TV series, since CGI would be the most economical choice for that milieu. This isn't the right time for Dune, I think. Game of thrones can get away with a bit of CGI since the world is very vanilla (basically just Medieval Earth) and there isn't much in the way of super-normal events. A few dragons here and there, and they look bad anyhow. Dune needs good practical effects. Maybe films will start to look good again eventually; probably around the time when script writing is taken seriously again too.

[Freakzilla]

Not only that, KJA would probably be involved for some reason and it would suck.

[D Pope]

Not only that, KJA would probably be involved for some reason and it would suck.

Therein squats the toad.
It's not like I've got any faith that Hollywood could do justice to a movie but I suspect the (relatively)
recent demise of same had to do with HLP. Short of buying it, I doubt there anything to do.

[Serkanner]

I don't need no freaking movies. The books are enough to last a lifetime of enjoyment and study.

[JasonJD48]

I would love to see a continuation of the Scifi mini-series, I think all in all they did a great job. Messiah is a tough cookie and I think for TV merging it with Children made sense, it's really hard on TV to end a story by killing the hero and wreaking tragedy, but making it part of a greater narrative solved that. The problem with God Emperor is that what makes me love it also makes it poor for television and definitely bad for a movie, it's extremely wordy. There is action, but its very dispersed.

[Jodorowsky's Acolyte]

I would love to see a continuation of the Scifi mini-series, I think all in all they did a great job. Messiah is a tough cookie and I think for TV merging it with Children made sense, it's really hard on TV to end a story by killing the hero and wreaking tragedy, but making it part of a greater narrative solved that. The problem with God Emperor is that what makes me love it also makes it poor for television and definitely bad for a movie, it's extremely wordy. There is action, but its very dispersed.

John Harrison, the director of the Dune miniseries, tried to adapt God Emperor of Dune into a tv series, but it didn't work out. Whoever was in charge of the Sci-Fi Channel at the time wasn't interested, even though Harrison still had hopes of making it possible. I can't recall the source where I read it, but it was back in the early 2000s, and I haven't heard of anything about John Harrison or Dune since.

(I just checked the wiki page on John Harrison, and the last film he's directed was Book of Blood, based upon Clive Barker's Books of Blood. His filmography is very short).

I would long to see Dune adaptations which used practical effects over CGI. I would also prefer Dune to be a TV series instead of a miniseries, since it would cover more of the books plot and characters that way.

On the topic of Lynch's Dune and God Emperor of Dune, it reminds me of a dream I had. I beheld a double VHS of a very Lynchian God Emperor of Dune movie, with a cover that combined the artistic sensibilities of the Dune movie poster with the cover art of the God Emperor of Dune novel. On the back of the VHS, they showed two pictures of Leto II: one with Malcolm McDowell holding a chrysknife on his bed and being smug, and one where he was the worm. Maybe the two snapshots reflected I had imagined Leto II in the book: shifting from looking like an regular human (in his mind) to being a worm-like deity. That would be something to see a God Emperor of Dune which used the practical effects from big-budget 80s films.

Until then, I'll stick with the original books.

[JasonJD48]

I would love to see a continuation of the Scifi mini-series, I think all in all they did a great job. Messiah is a tough cookie and I think for TV merging it with Children made sense, it's really hard on TV to end a story by killing the hero and wreaking tragedy, but making it part of a greater narrative solved that. The problem with God Emperor is that what makes me love it also makes it poor for television and definitely bad for a movie, it's extremely wordy. There is action, but its very dispersed.

John Harrison, the director of the Dune miniseries, tried to adapt God Emperor of Dune into a tv series, but it didn't work out. Whoever was in charge of the Sci-Fi Channel at the time wasn't interested, even though Harrison still had hopes of making it possible. I can't recall the source where I read it, but it was back in the early 2000s, and I haven't heard of anything about John Harrison or Dune since.

(I just checked the wiki page on John Harrison, and the last film he's directed was Book of Blood, based upon Clive Barker's Books of Blood. His filmography is very short).

I would long to see Dune adaptations which used practical effects over CGI. I would also prefer Dune to be a TV series instead of a miniseries, since it would cover more of the books plot and characters that way.

On the topic of Lynch's Dune and God Emperor of Dune, it reminds me of a dream I had. I beheld a double VHS of a very Lynchian God Emperor of Dune movie, with a cover that combined the artistic sensibilities of the Dune movie poster with the cover art of the God Emperor of Dune novel. On the back of the VHS, they showed two pictures of Leto II: one with Malcolm McDowell holding a chrysknife on his bed and being smug, and one where he was the worm. Maybe the two snapshots reflected I had imagined Leto II in the book: shifting from looking like an regular human (in his mind) to being a worm-like deity. That would be something to see a God Emperor of Dune which used the practical effects from big-budget 80s films.

Until then, I'll stick with the original books.

I didn't know about Harrison's attempt to make God Emperor, it's very unfortunate Scifi didn't have an interest in it. It was because of the Children of Dune miniseries that I first got into Dune in the first place, watching it made me want to learn more, which brought me first to the original Dune miniseries and then to the books. I have seen the Lynch movie and I didn't really care for it too much if I'm honest, other than having Patrick Stewart. Not sure if I'd choose Malcolm McDowell for Leto II, even sub-consciously if Harrison was successful, I'd have liked McAvoy to continue in the role, of course he's a huge star now so that ship has sailed, nor do I think any of the powers that be would continue that 'continuity' of adaptation further.

I don't know if a TV show would work, if we are talking Game of Thrones type of seasons (10 episodes) at a book a season, that could work. I can't see doing a normal 26 episode season though, not enough content to stretch one book out that long and keep it interesting and maintain high production values. Just my thoughts.

[Pris Stratton]

I don't need no freaking movies. The books are enough to last a lifetime of enjoyment and study.

Ultimately, I agree with this statement.

[Pris Stratton]

I would love to see a continuation of the Scifi mini-series, I think all in all they did a great job. Messiah is a tough cookie and I think for TV merging it with Children made sense, it's really hard on TV to end a story by killing the hero and wreaking tragedy, but making it part of a greater narrative solved that. The problem with God Emperor is that what makes me love it also makes it poor for television and definitely bad for a movie, it's extremely wordy. There is action, but its very dispersed.

John Harrison, the director of the Dune miniseries, tried to adapt God Emperor of Dune into a tv series, but it didn't work out. Whoever was in charge of the Sci-Fi Channel at the time wasn't interested, even though Harrison still had hopes of making it possible. I can't recall the source where I read it, but it was back in the early 2000s, and I haven't heard of anything about John Harrison or Dune since.

(I just checked the wiki page on John Harrison, and the last film he's directed was Book of Blood, based upon Clive Barker's Books of Blood. His filmography is very short).

I would long to see Dune adaptations which used practical effects over CGI. I would also prefer Dune to be a TV series instead of a miniseries, since it would cover more of the books plot and characters that way.

On the topic of Lynch's Dune and God Emperor of Dune, it reminds me of a dream I had. I beheld a double VHS of a very Lynchian God Emperor of Dune movie, with a cover that combined the artistic sensibilities of the Dune movie poster with the cover art of the God Emperor of Dune novel. On the back of the VHS, they showed two pictures of Leto II: one with Malcolm McDowell holding a chrysknife on his bed and being smug, and one where he was the worm. Maybe the two snapshots reflected I had imagined Leto II in the book: shifting from looking like an regular human (in his mind) to being a worm-like deity. That would be something to see a God Emperor of Dune which used the practical effects from big-budget 80s films.

Until then, I'll stick with the original books.

Sounds like an awesome dream.

[Pris Stratton]

This is the age of CGI, and the last thing a Dune series needs is a ton of irrelevant CGI. Especially a low/mid budget TV series, since CGI would be the most economical choice for that milieu. This isn't the right time for Dune, I think. Game of thrones can get away with a bit of CGI since the world is very vanilla (basically just Medieval Earth) and there isn't much in the way of super-normal events. A few dragons here and there, and they look bad anyhow. Dune needs good practical effects. Maybe films will start to look good again eventually; probably around the time when script writing is taken seriously again too.

I hate over-used CGI, but I think Game of Thrones uses just the right amount. The dragons look great to me and usually CGI in a TV show is really bad. I don't think Dune would call for much CGI. But of course since this is the age of CGI, I'm sure they would find things to cover in CGI jissom, I guess it would depend on which director/producer got his/her hands on it.

[Pris Stratton]

Not only that, KJA would probably be involved for some reason and it would suck.

KJA? I'm in the dark.

[Pris Stratton]

I'll be on my death bed and still question why in the world Dino De La Dickhead thought David Lynch was right to direct that film. Lynch doesn't even like science-fiction (which is unfortunately, because I think he'd do a great adaptation of Philip K. Dick's UBIK). But seriously, I love Lynch and every film he's ever made, even Dune. But he was not the right director for that project, even if he got to do everything his way, it still wasn't his thing.

[Serkanner]

Not only that, KJA would probably be involved for some reason and it would suck.

KJA? I'm in the dark.

Stay there. You do not want KJA in your head.

[Pris Stratton]

I'll take your word for it.

[Ampoliros]

Not only that, KJA would probably be involved for some reason and it would suck.

KJA? I'm in the dark.

Stay there. You do not want KJA in your head.

Beat me to it.

I'd love to see an adaptation of God Emperor, I just don't think there is an audience or I should say market for it.

Everytime I read Dune it almost feels fairly well broken into episodic bits that could translate well onto the screen in a weekly hour long format ala the early seasons of BSG. the Children of Dune miniseries felt like a better step in the right direction but I'd love to share that dream of a Lynch God Emperor.

[Omphalos]

I would love to see GEOD as well, but that book is such a talker it would take someone with great skills to do it right. Not even sure who that would be.

[lotek]

I hear David Lynch hasn't read the book ^^

[georgiedenbro]

I hear David Lynch hasn't read the book ^^

I guess I'll cancel my notarized letter telling him he's got the job...

[lotek]

He'd never read Dune before directing it (and only read it once to get the feel of it)

[Freakzilla]

He'd never read Dune before directing it (and only read it once to get the feel of it)

I could tell.

[Omphalos]

I hear David Lynch hasn't read the book ^^

Was that Lynch or Jodorowsky?

[georgiedenbro]

I hear David Lynch hasn't read the book ^^

Was that Lynch or Jodorowsky?

I believe both of them accepted the project before having read the book! This is remarkable enough by itself. I believe Jodorovsky read it once he finally got excited about the project, and Lynch read it once as well. So basically they both dove in sight unseen, and each finally read it but didn't study it thoroughly.

[JasonJD48]

I hear David Lynch hasn't read the book ^^

Was that Lynch or Jodorowsky?

I believe both of them accepted the project before having read the book! This is remarkable enough by itself. I believe Jodorovsky read it once he finally got excited about the project, and Lynch read it once as well. So basically they both dove in sight unseen, and each finally read it but didn't study it thoroughly.

What I heard was that Jodorowski read the book after he agreed to do the movie, and that when he read it, he realized it closely followed a dream he once had, and was actually gonna do it more based on his dream than the book. I've always been really glad his version never made it, for all of the Lynch version's flaws and bizareness, Jodorowski seems even bizarre.

[lotek]

I like the guy and the momentum he created by gathering all these talentend artists, but indeed his Dune would have been too weird.