Dune Read-Along discussion

We're living in wild times. It's trickling throughout my life (luckily in small ways so far) so I can't help but make note of it. But if, like me, you're looking for a little distraction, let's look at the on screen adaptations of Dune.

So far we have the 1984 Dune directed by David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan as Paul, a Sci-Fi miniseries from 2000 starring Alec Newman as Paul with John Harrison at the helm. We have a new adaptation directed by Denis Villeneuve coming (as of right now) in December 2020. This time Timothée Chalamet is portraying Paul. And finally, there's the Dune movie that never was--one from Alejandro Jodorowsky. He attempted to adapt the film in the mid-70s but production stalled due to lack of funds. However, you can see a documentary about the attempt; Jodorowsky's Dune debuted in 2013.

Which of these adaptations have you seen? Does any casting in particular stand out to you? What do you hope the 2020 film will get right?

It's been a while since I've seen the 1984 film, but I still recall how much I like Patrick Stewart as Gurney Halleck. And William Hurt as Leto in the Sci-Fi miniseries is perfection. Actually, I quite like most of the casting in the 2000 miniseries. The latter also lands in the lead for me because they had more time to tell what is a very dense story.

And unrelated to Dune, I'm interested to hear about what kind of stories you're in the mood for these days. Are you turning to fantasy? True crime? Tell everyone what you're reading.

Besides Dune, I'm about to start The Witcher series. And I just finished The Night Circus, which I'm positively obsessed with.

Stay safe. <3
PS: The Litany Against Fear is good to recite while washing your hands. It meets the recommended 20 seconds and I find it soothing.

I'm really looking forward to the Denis Villaneuve movie. All the confirmed cast I've seen is perfect! I'll admit, I have such a soft spot for Patrick Stewart as warrior poet Gurney Halleck, so that's always a tough performer to live up to.

The biggest flaw to me of all the adaptations so far (including Jodorowsky version which could have been amazing but just seemed unfilmable) is the ability to translate the scope of the story and all the characters into a couple short hours of cinema. I'm hoping since the movie coming out this year is supposedly only the first half of the story, he'll have plenty of time and space to let the story breathe.

As for other books, I'm currently in the middle of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, which is a fantastic retelling of the Greek myth. I also recently finished her book Circe, which has become one of my favorites.

And thanks for the Litany Against Fear while hand washing recommendation! That has become a mantra for me lately. :)

Peter wrote: "I'm really looking forward to the Denis Villaneuve movie. All the confirmed cast I've seen is perfect! I'll admit, I have such a soft spot for Patrick Stewart as warrior poet Gurney Halleck, so tha..."

I agree that this is such a far-reaching, epic story that it needs time to breathe--more time than a single two hour movie affords. I hope that a two parter can do it justice.

Oh! I'll also admit I have a weakness for Patrick Stewart in just about any role.