Frank Herbert's DUNE from Legendary Pictures (TBD) 6 6

[fantastic_four]

Listened to a few reviews that stirred up some questions.  I've never read the novels and didn't see the Lynch movie, so I have a few story/plot questions:

• Are all the humanoids we see in the film originally from Earth, or are we to assume some of them are alien?  I listened to two different reviewers who were assuming the Fremen were alien, but I assumed they were Terrans who colonized Arrakis at some point in the probably-distant past.  My own assumption stems from the unlikelihood that another species would evolve to look exactly like us on other planets, but of course there are so many examples of authors either overlooking or just ignoring that fact that I suppose one can never assume that all humans we see descended from Earth.
• What exactly is the spice used for in interstellar travel?  I assumed it was some kind of fuel, but I heard a reviewer say it was used to put people into some kind of elevated state to help ships with navigation.  If they showed that I must have missed it.

Edited November 1, 2021 by fantastic_four

[Number 6]

On 11/1/2021 at 5:08 AM, fantastic_four said:

Listened to a few reviews that stirred up some questions.  I've never read the novels and didn't see the Lynch movie, so I have a few story/plot questions:

• Are all the humanoids we see in the film originally from Earth, or are we to assume some of them are alien?  I listened to two different reviewers who were assuming the Fremen were alien, but I assumed they were Terrans who colonized Arrakis at some point in the probably-distant past.  My own assumption stems from the unlikelihood that another species would evolve to look exactly like us on other planets, but of course there are so many examples of authors either overlooking or just ignoring that fact that I suppose one can never assume that all humans we see descended from Earth.
• What exactly is the spice used for in interstellar travel?  I assumed it was some kind of fuel, but I heard a reviewer say it was used to put people into some kind of elevated state to help ships with navigation.  If they showed that I must have missed it.

I just got to work so I really don’t have time to answer these the way they deserve, but there’s a YouTube channel Quinn’s Ideas that has a couple of videos on both these subjects. They’re only about 10 minutes long and he’s pretty good on the subject, at least IMO. 

[Bosco685]

On 11/1/2021 at 8:23 AM, Number 6 said:

I just got to work so I really don’t have time to answer these the way they deserve, but there’s a YouTube channel Quinn’s Ideas that has a couple of videos on both these subjects. They’re only about 10 minutes long and he’s pretty good on the subject, at least IMO. 

Have to agree. Earlier in this thread a believe a few of his videos were posted.

 

 

[Bosco685]

 

 

[Bosco685]

By the way he has done a series of Game of Thrones videos that are just as thorough and educational.

[Gatsby77]

On 11/1/2021 at 7:17 AM, Bosco685 said:

Legendary has the 80% stake in Dune (back to that majority/minority thing again). WB Studios had to wait for its approval before making the announcement.

I think you are really confused on how these partnerships and stakeholders work.

?

The ownership split has nothing to do with whether the film is profitable enough to warrant a sequel.

Even $120M domestic / $300M international ($420M worldwide) is basically just break-even theatrically - and that now looks like a best case scenario.

If anything, the Legendary / Warner Bros. split makes it worse.

Given this weekend's drop-off, the only thing that makes sense is if Warner Bros. was using this (and the promise of Chapter 2) as a loss leader to help gain more HBO Max subscriptions. Which (as I've said before) makes sense.

Well, and the prospect of a Dune film dynasty that could prove profitable long-term.

[fantastic_four]

Meh, it was easier to Google my questions than it was to type them.  The answers are Herbert doesn't show any sapient aliens in any of his Dune novels so yes, the Fremen descended from Earth.  And the spice gives people the ability to look into the past and future, so it enables interstellar travel by allowing someone to look into the future and foresee a path between places that doesn't slam ships into other objects.

Edited November 1, 2021 by fantastic_four

[Bosco685]

On 11/1/2021 at 8:53 AM, Gatsby77 said:

?

The ownership split has nothing to do with whether the film is profitable enough to warrant a sequel.

Even $120M domestic / $300M international ($420M worldwide) is basically just break-even theatrically - and that now looks like a best case scenario.

If anything, the Legendary / Warner Bros. split makes it worse.

Given this weekend's drop-off, the only thing that makes sense is if Warner Bros. was using this (and the promise of Chapter 2) as a loss leader to help gain more HBO Max subscriptions. Which (as I've said before) makes sense.

Well, and the prospect of a Dune film dynasty that could prove profitable long-term.

The mind world you live in...

[Bosco685]

Dune Wins Its Second Box Office Crown In The Wake Of The Excellent Dune 2 News

Quote

The Spice is flowing.

 

The attitude surrounding Denis Villenueve’s Dune this weekend was vastly different than what was experienced when it debuted in theaters earlier this month. Prior to the movie’s first Friday-to-Sunday, there was a great deal of excitement – but there was also underlying concern that it could potentially be a one-off experience, with the much-needed sequel having not received a studio greenlight. Now, following the excellent news from this past Tuesday, the blockbuster is doing a kind of victory lap, and the end result is another box office crown.

Quote

Like all of the other titles on the Warner Bros. slate in 2021, Dune is available to watch now both in theaters and on HBO Max – but its percentage drop in its sophomore Friday-to-Sunday isn’t nearly as severe as other titles that have come out the same way. After having made $41 million in its first three days, the $15.5 million it has earned since October 29 means that it fell 62 percent, and while that’s definitely not something to widely promote, it’s certainly a better performance than all of the features mentioned in the paragraph above. Combined with the fact that Dune had the biggest opening of any WB title since January, that means the movie is on its way to being called the studio’s greatest success story of the year.

 

[jimjum12]

On 11/1/2021 at 8:53 AM, Gatsby77 said:

Given this weekend's drop-off, the only thing that makes sense is if Warner Bros. was using this (and the promise of Chapter 2) as a loss leader to help gain more HBO Max subscriptions. Which (as I've said before) makes sense.

This is likely the case, unfortunately, they don't seem to comprehend the greed fueled free for all that the streaming landscape has become. It's disgusting how little concern there is for the consumer. Shows begin on one service and are then sold to another, etc. .... I keep basic plus Netflix, Disney, and DC Universe... I simply can't afford anything else. If you want to watch everything, I'd imagine you're looking at several hundred bucks per month. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

[Bosco685]

On 11/1/2021 at 10:16 AM, jimjum12 said:

This is likely the case, unfortunately, they don't seem to comprehend the greed fueled free for all that the streaming landscape has become. It's disgusting how little concern there is for the consumer. Shows begin on one service and are then sold to another, etc. .... I keep basic plus Netflix, Disney, and DC Universe... I simply can't afford anything else. If you want to watch everything, I'd imagine you're looking at several hundred bucks per month. GOD BLESS....

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

I think you mistook his point. And especially when noting taking the consumer into consideration with their greed.

Since you keep Disney, do you see it as not greedy when it charges not only a Monthly Access Fee but also a Premiere Access fee yet with HBO Max all you pay is the Monthly Access Fee and any film released is no additional charge?

[jimjum12]

On 11/1/2021 at 10:22 AM, Bosco685 said:

Since you keep Disney, do you see it as not greedy when it charges not only a Monthly Access Fee but also a Premiere Access fee yet with HBO Max all you pay is the Monthly Access Fee and any film released is no additional charge?

Disney has more that I want. Luckily I grew up in a time when there were 3 network channels and sometimes a UHF channel, so it's easy for me to make due with less. I'm personally disgusted with what streaming has become. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

... why do you feel it necessary to argue with me about how I feel ?

[Bosco685]

On 11/1/2021 at 10:27 AM, jimjum12 said:

Disney has more that I want. Luckily I grew up in a time when there were 3 network channels and sometimes a UHF channel, so it's easy for me to make due with less. I'm personally disgusted with what streaming has become. GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

... why do you feel it necessary to argue with me about how I feel ?

Argue with how you feel? Who is arguing with you? Heck, I even respected your opinions on BJs because it was your opinion. 

If your intent was to convey all this streaming is greed, we are aligned. I think it is out of control now more than ever. All these services now going with PLUS services for an additional fee. It is confusing consumers, and I bet even frustrating them. And over time I won't be shocked when corporations have to implement consolidation strategies through partnerships after the mess THEY made.

[jimjum12]

I wonder if it is incompetent management or just a total lack of concern about the theatre industry in general, for the studios, etc., to be "poisoning their own water supply" with this simultaneous release of their blockbusters on two competing platforms ? GOD BLESS...

-jimbo(a friend of jesus)

Edited November 1, 2021 by jimjum12

[Gatsby77]

On 10/31/2021 at 12:33 PM, Bosco685 said:

Look on the bright side, Bosco.

Dune's 62.1% 2nd weekend drop isn't nearly as bad as BvS's 69.1% drop.

[Bosco685]

On 11/1/2021 at 1:32 PM, Gatsby77 said:

Look on the bright side, Bosco.

Dune's 62.1% 2nd weekend drop isn't nearly as bad as BvS's 69.1% drop.

Did you know The Flash was supposed to be released in 2016? Something not commonly known here, gatsbymakessuretoplugthismessageweekly

[Bosco685]

 

[fett]

On 11/1/2021 at 7:08 AM, fantastic_four said:

Listened to a few reviews that stirred up some questions.  I've never read the novels and didn't see the Lynch movie, so I have a few story/plot questions:

• Are all the humanoids we see in the film originally from Earth, or are we to assume some of them are alien?  I listened to two different reviewers who were assuming the Fremen were alien, but I assumed they were Terrans who colonized Arrakis at some point in the probably-distant past.  My own assumption stems from the unlikelihood that another species would evolve to look exactly like us on other planets, but of course there are so many examples of authors either overlooking or just ignoring that fact that I suppose one can never assume that all humans we see descended from Earth.
• What exactly is the spice used for in interstellar travel?  I assumed it was some kind of fuel, but I heard a reviewer say it was used to put people into some kind of elevated state to help ships with navigation.  If they showed that I must have missed it.

Spoiler

As the story goes, the year is 10,191. I've only read the first 6 novels (the ones Frank Herbert actually wrote), but it is referenced that humanity originated on Earth, but of course in the far far past. A Vincent Van Gogh painting is actually used in a couple of places in one of the latter books (Cottages at Cordeville), and is described as artifact that has survived down through the ages, a masterwork of a madman from Old Terra.  Alot of the religions and empires referenced throughout the novels have their origins on Earth as well.

The spice is only found on the one planet (Arrakis/Dune), and is later revealed to be a by-product of the giant sandworms. The guild navigators use the spice to fold space, a type of space warp, and are so dependent on it that humanity would be stuck on their individual planets without it. The Guild does have an empire wide monopoly on space travel at the time of the first novel, and they do charge people through the nose

. 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by fett

[fantastic_four]

On 11/2/2021 at 4:22 AM, fett said:

The guild navigators use the spice to fold space, a type of space warp, and are so dependent on it that humanity would be stuck on their individual planets without it. The Guild does have an empire wide monopoly on space travel at the time of the first novel, and they do charge people through the nose

Interesting.  That contradicts what I had heard about the navigators using it to look forward in time to determine where objects in the path of a starship would be, but it's more in line with how warp or hyperspace works in other fictional works and it's what I was assuming when I first heard it enabled interstellar travel.

Did they say in the film how it works and I missed it?  The film seems to use the books as canon, so just clarifying how the spice works in the books probably explains the film as well.

Edited November 2, 2021 by fantastic_four

[Number 6]

On 11/2/2021 at 6:01 AM, fantastic_four said:

Interesting.  That contradicts what I had heard about the navigators using it to look forward in time to determine where objects in the path of a starship would be, but it's more in line with how warp or hyperspace works in other fictional works and it's what I was assuming when I first heard it enabled interstellar travel.

Did they say in the film how it works and I missed it?  The film seems to use the books as canon, so just clarifying how the spice works in the books probably explains the film as well.

The Guild using spice-induced prescience to find the safest way to travel in hyperspace is the explanation in the book and believe that’s how it’s explained in this new movie. 
 

“Folding space” was the explanation given in the 1984 David Lynch version and I believe that’s one of it’s many deviations from the book.  (Just re-read the book last month and don’t recall any references from to “folding space”)

Edited November 2, 2021 by Number 6