Yesterday, the discovery of 32 planets outside of Earth's solar system was announced by an international team of scientists. The existence of these planets — dubbed "exoplanets," short for "planets outside of our solar system" — should only further the line of thinking that we are not alone in this universe, even if our other neighbors are uninhabited planets in galaxies far, far away.
But what if they're not uninhabited? Indeed, what if these planets aren't even unfamiliar? The Movies Blog team happens to have a well-connected source close to the discovery of the exoplanets, and we can exclusively confirm that at least five of these brave new worlds have been featured in past, present and future works of fiction!
Okay, that's a lie. But let's put our "make believe" hats on for a moment and imagine that these five fictional planets were counted amongst the newly discovered exoplanets... Read more...
Is Peter Berg's adaptation of the sci-fi classic "Dune" going to happen? Almost two years have passed since the director confirmed his involvement with the project, a potential third take on Frank Herbert's 1965 novel after David Lynch's '84 movie and a Sci Fi Channel miniseries in 2000. While a first draft of the script has been completed, we were starting to wonder if Berg's "Dune" was one of those tantalizing cinematic possibilities that just never became a big screen reality.
Not so, Berg told MTV News. "Dune" is very much on—and to prove it, the director shared some details about what he has planned. Read more...
The spice might soon be flowing, right onto Robert Pattinson's resume. When it comes to the vampire heartthrob, absolutely nothing is yesterday's news. That said, Perez Hilton reported that the actor was spotted leaving the Los Angeles home of director Peter Berg yesterday while on a break from the ongoing "New Moon" shoot. Berg and Pattinson may very well just be friends, but this fanboy is hoping that the two met to discuss the actor's possible involvement in Berg's upcoming "Dune" remake.
Frank Herbert's classic sci-fi novel "Dune" was adapted for the silver screen by director David Lynch in 1984. Although Lynch managed to hit the novel's key points, his tendency towards the avant-garde ultimately led to the mixed bag of fan reception that followed in the wake of the adaptation's release. Liberal changes made to the story didn't help either, with the worst offender being a ridiculous shout-activated sonic handgun. Read more...
Ladies and gentlemen, the next huge sci-fi franchise has a director. During an interview with "The Kingdom" director Peter Berg, he confirmed the rumor that "Dune" is coming and that he's the one that will helm it. Calling the plans for him to direct "a done deal," Berg told me that "if it weren't for the writer's strike, we'd be in it right now."
Berg says that while there's no script yet, they have a list of writers they plan to go out to once the strike settles. The helmer called himself "a huge fan of the book" and when asked about the scale of the film, he simply replied, "big big big."
As any fan of the Frank Herbert classic knows, "Dune" received the big screen treatment once before in a divisive David Lynch film. Berg said that while he's "a big fan of Lynch," he believes "that interpretation has left the door wide open for a remake." Read more...
It's a busy Thursday for Hollywood news, with links today on "The Dark Knight," "Magneto," "Avatar," "Saw IV," and more.
- David Goyer talks "Magneto," "Super-Max," and more. (Wizard)
- Joel David Moore dishes on James Cameron's "Avatar." (ComingSoon)
- Frank Herbert's "Dune" coming again to the big screen? (CHUD)
- Kevin Smith says "Red State" has half the dialogue of his other films. (News Askew)
- "The Dark Knight" blows up the town. (Hollywood Chicago)
- Final poster for "Saw IV" revealed. (IGN)
- Billy Bob Thornton, Kim Basinger and Brandon Routh tapped to star in Bret Easton Ellis adaptation, "The Informers." (Hollywood Reporter)
