Top 1 Habits of Amazing Writers

1. They write.

Cinematical is reporting on a rumor that Peter Berg has left the Paramount production of Frank Herbert's Dune. There have been no official reports of this, and (as Cinematical says) if Berg has dropped out, it is probably due to a scheduling conflict.

The search for a new director will be difficult. According to a source:

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.

Neill Blomkamp's (District 9) name has been brought up as a potential replacement for Berg, as well as Neil Marshall, but this seems like a wrong move. The problem with previous versions of Dune is that they viewed the novel as sci-fi, and the productions reflected that. Dune is not, in any way, a work of science fiction. The science behind everything is tied to the spice; nothing would work without the mystical melange. As such, Dune is a work of fantasy, much in the same way Star Wars is fantasy. To approach it as sci-fi is to build on the wrong foundation.

This doesn't mean either of these guys couldn't make a good Dune film, look at what Peter Jackson had done before Lord of the Rings, but it does point to the fact that the production company may be looking at the entire project from the wrong angle. (This article at Film School Rejects shows the same problem.)

For my money, in order to make a great Dune film, you would need three things. First, someone who has a passion for the source material. There are a lot of people who dislike Dune, or who just plain "don't get it" and that's fine, but the director needs to be someone who loves Dune. Second, it has to be someone who has a history of films with great characters. Dune is, at the base, a character story. This is what Berg brought to the table and what someone like Joss Whedon could as well. Finally, it would be nice for the director to have some experience in epic films. Dune would be an epic of epics.

Following that list, I would love to see Guillermo del Toro, Ridley Scott, Alfonso Cuaron, Anthony Minghella, or Terrence Malick (I just blew my own mind) direct the film. Neill Blomkamp would be good, especially if Peter Jackson produces, but District 9 didn't blow me away in terms of the secondary characters. My fear is that he would screw up Thufir Hawat or Duke Leto or Liet-Kynes and then the story would be lost.

Of course, any way I look at this, I'm going to be disappointed in a Dune film because it will never match what's going on in my head when I read the books.

If only I could convince my wife we need this.

MarketSaw is reporting, from a super secret source, that George Lucas is considering another Star Wars trilogy, this time in 3D. The source says it all depends on how James Cameron's 'Avatar' does at the box office. According to the rumor (and I can't say that enough), George Lucas would produce, and not direct; Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola are said to in consideration to direct.

It's no big news that Lucas has repeatedly said he would not make another Star Wars trilogy, but you can imagine him being very excited about the direction of 3D cinema. As long as Lucas is not the only writer (please get someone like Joss Whedon to write the dialogue), and as long as the films are not simply a vehicle for new effects technology, I see this as nothing but good news. (Two big ifs, by the way.)

The most important aspect of this new trilogy is going to be setting. When will the movies take place? After ROTJ? The Old Republic? I have a feeling that if this really does happen (and that seems rather doubtful), it won't be at all connected to the Skywalker saga. Lucas has always said that Star Wars is about the rise and fall and redemption of Darth Vader, adding a new trilogy without Anakin seems out of place in the mythos.

Also, expect EU fanboys to lose their minds because the whole timeline is about to destroyed (again).

Yes. With our new LendMe™ technology, you can now share from nook to nook. But it doesn’t stop there. Starting Nov. 30th, you can lend to and from any device with the Barnes & Noble eReader app, including PC, Mac OS®, BlackBerry®, iPhone™ and iPod® touch. All you need to know is your friend’s email address. You can lend many of your eBooks one time for a maximum of 14 days. When you use our LendMe™ technology, you will not be able to read your eBook while it is on loan, but you always get it back.

This makes the ebook experience much like regular books, although I wish they would allow you more than 14 days. Such a good idea.

Update: it appears I was wrong; this is a good idea that will die because of horrible implementation. If you read the quote carefully, you will see you can only lend a book once, for a maximum of 14 days. Once you lend a book, you can never lend it again. Let's hope this is just their way of getting their feet in the water before taking a full plunge. Otherwise, this feature is DOA.

This is democracy’s real cancer – the arrogance of power. Let us be clear. This mental illness that allows those in power to hustle humble juice women off the street, or have nurses shot on rooftops, or any of the other offenses that come with it is not monopolized by any ideology or any nationality. There are people who suffer from it spread across the across left and right, and the north and south. And they are drawn to power, as the saying goes, “like flies to shit.