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The new year starts off with a bang tomorrow for Resident Evil and George Romero fans, thanks to Uncork’d Entertainment and Key 13 Films. Announced back in 2022, Director Brandon Salisbury‘s George A. Romero’s Resident Evil documentary finally gets a release on digital and on-demand on January 7. And for those people who were in the dark about the whole thing, there’s a brand-new trailer to get you psyched up for what’s to come.

In 1998, Constantin Film set out to bring Resident Evil, the legendary horror video game developed by Capcom, to the big screen. They enlisted the man who redefined the zombie genre, George A. Romero, to adapt the project. But despite the perfect pairing of horror’s greatest minds, Romero’s vision for Resident Evil was never realized. Now, for the first time, Salisbury’s documentary uncovers the hidden story behind the project that captivated fans and the horror industry alike.

Frank Herbert's "Dune" is an unkillable intellectual property. The novel was rejected by a multitude of publishing houses before a company best known for putting out auto-repair manuals took a chance on the sandswept sci-fi saga. Despite poor reviews and soft sales, the book caught on via word-of-mouth, spawning a series of bestselling novels that, unsurprisingly, caught the eye of Hollywood producers eager to find the next "Star Wars." They failed. Repeatedly.

Peyote Western pioneer Alejandro Jodorowsky sought to craft a mind-bending epic out of Herbert's novel, and, as recounted in the un-making-of documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune," dreamed too big. David Lynch was the next man up, and I think, as a fan of the first few books, succeeded in delivering a wildly truncated, yet generally coherent rendition of the novel on his own delectably perverse terms. Alas, critics, audiences, and most Herbert fans didn't dig it, so the property...

David Lynch has expressed his latest regret for not negotiating a “final say” over 1984’s Dune. During an appearance on NPR’s Wild Card with Rachel Martin, the filmmaker said he “died a death” over how the movie turned out.

Lynch’s comment was in response to a question about which failure he’s learned the most from. “I knew already one should have final cut before signing on to do a film [like Dune],” he said. “But for some reason, I thought everything would be Ok, and I didn’t put final cut in my contract. And as it turned out, Dune wasn’t the film I wanted to make, because I didn’t have a final say.”

He continued, “So that’s a lesson I knew even before, but now there’s no way. Why would anyone work for three years on something that wasn’t yours? Why? Why do that?...

Max offers a diverse collection of documentaries from top studios. With themes ranging from music to true crime, there's something for everyone. Award-winning offerings set Max apart from other streaming services.

The best documentaries on Max come from many different origins. The streaming service has movies and series from HBO, Warner Bros, and Discovery Channel. It also brings in movies and shows from licensing deals. This results in one of the largest libraries of documentary movies and series on any streaming service. These also run the gamut of themes. Max has a series of music documentaries. Max also has plenty to choose from in true crime, one of the most popular forms of documentary.

That isn't where it stops though. Max also has plenty of documentaries based on movies and TV shows. There are also classic documentaries, with many from the Criterion Collection. The best documentaries on Max offer something...

This article contains Star Wars and Dune spoilers.

When Frank Herbert published “Dune World,” the first part of what would become the novel Dune in Analog Science Fiction and Fact in 1963, it was a moment that would reverberate through science fiction for decades to come, especially on the big screen, where the story’s influence can still be felt to this day. In fact, you can easily track how Herbert’s creation led to some of the biggest blockbuster franchises of all time.

If you’ve watched the excellent documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, you know how the story goes. Alejandro Jodorowsky, the avant-garde filmmaker behind El Topo and The Holy Mountain, tried to adapt Herbert’s book in the ’70s, and while that movie never got made, many of its ideas and designs would later make their way into other sci-fi films through the legendary storyboard the filmmaker sent to Hollywood studios while pitching his movie.

In 1971, just six years after Frank Herbert published his groundbreaking science-fiction novel "Dune," Arthur P. Jacobs' Apjac International obtained the rights to the story for a film adaptation. The producer behind "Planet of the Apes" was ready to craft another world set in a distant future, but with the sequel film "Beneath the Planet of the Apes" on its way, "Dune" was delayed.

Jacobs went through a handful of different directors and screenwriters in early development, but he tragically passed away in 1973. David Lynch would eventually bring "Dune" to the big screen in 1984, but there were multiple failed attempts that paved the way for his film and a remake in his wake that led to Denis Villeneuve's recent adaptations. The messy histories of failed "Dune" adaptations could justify their own feature-length documentaries but allow this to be a crash course on the bizarre "Dune" movies that never came to be.

(Welcome to Tales from the Box Office, our column that examines box office miracles, disasters, and everything in between, as well as what we can learn from them.)

"When I finished the novel. I was just knocked out." Those are the words of filmmaker David Lynch, of "Twin Peaks" and "Eraserhead" fame. The director said this in 2021 reflecting on reading Frank Herbert's "Dune" for the first time. That is, in no small part, why he decided to sign on to direct an adaptation of the novel that had been kicking around Hollywood for years. Unfortunately, for various reasons, Lynch's version was doomed to fail.

"I'd seen 'Star Wars,' of course; but to be honest, I wasn't all that crazy about it," Lynch, who had been eyed to potentially direct "Return of the Jedi," said in that same interview. "Dune was different; it had believable characterizations and depth.

Dune: Part Two releases to theaters March 1st.

It’s finally here, and believe me… it’s worth the wait. With an original release date of November 3, 2023, the science-fiction sequel was pushed to March of 2024 amid the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strikes. It was a disappointing blow at the time; however, the delay was understandable, and even necessary, given the tumultuous circumstances of the time.

Dune: Part Two Plot

Following the events of Dune, house Atreides has fallen from power. The Atreides lineage is all but exterminated at the hands of the menacing Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård). Unbeknownst to the Baron, young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) has survived and now lives among the Fremen on the dessert planet of Arrakis. Some of the Fremen view Paul as their prophesized savior and leader, but Paul is driven by the need to avenge his father’s murder no matter the cost.

Also...

One of HBO’s former hot properties returns in a big way this January, as True Detective season four finally arrives on the service. Will this be a return to form for the gritty show? Well, that remains unclear, but this time around the anthology series will follow detectives Liz Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Kali Reis) as the long winter darkness in Alaska. When eight people at the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace, these detectives need to get on the case quickly.

Also hitting Max this month is the final season of Sort Of. Season three finds Sabi (Bilal Baig) dealing with the unexpected death of their father, and making some big life choices as a result.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) HBO and Max this month…

HBO and Max New Releases – January 2024

January 1

90 Day Fiancé: Holiday Special 2023 #3 (TLC) 90 Day Fiancé Pillow Talk...

Max’s January 2024 lineup includes season four of True Detective, led by Oscar-winner Jodie Foster, as well as the third and final season of Sort Of with Bilal Baig. Max is also kicking off the new year with the debut of On The Roam, an eight-part documentary series featuring Aquaman star Jason Momoa.

The streaming service’s January 2024 roster includes the return of Real Time with Bill Maher for season 22, along with the seventh season of Rick and Morty. The critically acclaimed documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project arrives on January 8.

Series & Films Arriving On Max In January 2024:

January 1

90 Day Fiancé: Holiday Special 2023 #3 (TLC)

90 Day Fiancé Pillow Talk: Single All The Way (TLC)

The A-Team (2010)

After Earth (2013)

Alvin and The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (2009)

Aniara (2019)

Austenland (2013)

Bachelorette (2012)

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2013)

Body at Brighton Rock (2019)

Booty Call (1997)

The Breakfast Club (1985)

The Brothers (2001)

Cabin Fever (2003)

Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever...

Stephen Scarlata, producer of the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, has now set out to tell viewers all about the shark thriller sub-genre with a documentary called Sharksploitation – and we’re just days away from having the chance to see the finished film! The Shudder streaming service will be releasing Sharksploitation as a Shudder Original on July 21st. The movie will be streaming in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. And just three days before it starts streaming, we’ve gotten our hands on a trailer that you can watch in the embed above.

Scarlata directed Sharksploitation and produced it with Kerry Deignan Roy and Josh Miller. The feature-length documentary will delve into the sub-genre of sharksploitation films, from Corman’s 1958 She Gods of Shark Reef to the release of Jaws and the subsequent knock-offs.

An alternative synopsis goes like this: In the wake of blockbuster classic Jaws,...

It’s officially Barbenheimer week, so expect the online discourse to be dominated by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, two of this year’s most hotly anticipated movies. They’re both releasing in theaters this week, and the packed theatrical slate for the week also includes one of this summer’s brand new big screen horror movies.

Here’s all the new horror releasing July 18– July 23, 2023!

For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.

First up, a pair of notorious YouTubers make a killer comeback in Screambox Exclusive Shoky & Morthy: Last Big Thing, which is Now Streaming on Screambox.

The Czech film balances laughs and thrills like Tucker and Dale vs Evil while channeling the absurdity of Dumb and Dumber with a modern twist.

In the film, Shoky and Morthy are best friends and successful YouTubers, but their fame is slowly beginning to fade.

Almost two years have gone by since we heard that Stephen Scarlata, producer of the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, was working on a documentary called Sharksploitation, which will tell viewers all about the shark thriller sub-genre. Now we know when we’re finally get a chance to see that documentary. The Shudder streaming service has announced that they will be releasing Sharksploitation as a Shudder Original on July 21st! The movie will be streaming in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Scarlata directed Sharksploitation and produced it with Kerry Deignan Roy and Josh Miller. The feature-length documentary will delve into the sub-genre of sharksploitation films, from Corman’s 1958 She Gods of Shark Reef to the release of Jaws and the subsequent knock-offs.

An alternative synopsis goes like this: In the wake of blockbuster classic Jaws, a new subgenre was born. This new documentary explores the weird, wild...

In addition to the survival thriller Quicksand, premiering on July 14, Shudder has just announced another new Shudder Original offering for July 2023: Sharksploitation!

Sharksploitation is a brand new Shudder Original Documentary, and it’ll begin streaming on Shudder on July 21 in the United States, Canada, UK, and Australia/New Zealand.

In the wake of blockbuster classic Jaws, a new subgenre was born. This new documentary explores the weird, wild cinematic legacy of sharks on film and the world’s undying fascination.

Steven Spielberg’s horror classic Jaws celebrates its 48th anniversary this summer, the film credited for not only launching a wave of shark attack imitators that still continues to this day but also creating the modern day summer blockbuster as we know it. Hardly a year has gone by since 1975 where there wasn’t a new shark attack horror movie to consume, and this year is no exception. The Black Demon...

A collective of cryptocurrency investors recently attracted some online ridicule after spending €2.66M on one of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s story bibles detailing the director’s ambitious vision for his unmade “Dune” movie. The organization known as Spice Dao (Dao is short for “decentralized autonomous organization”) recently detailed their plans for the purchase. Now that they own a copy of the book, which Jodorowsky used to pitch his vision to studios, the group announced plans to “make the book public (to the extent permitted by law)” and “produce an original animated limited series inspired by the book and sell it to a streaming service.” It was the latter idea that attracted attention, with critics accusing the investors of falsely believing that they own the rights to “Dune” because they purchased the Hollywood artifact.

The actual story is more complicated. Spice Dao has acknowledged that it does not own any of the “Dune” characters,...

Denis Villeneuve has taken on the difficult task of adapting Frank Herbert’s sci-fi novel “Dune,” a chore that was attempted by David Lynch and also Alejandro Jodorowsky. In a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast, Villeneuve admitted “I don’t know if I succeeded” with regards to bringing the galactic epic to the screen, and also said he probably wouldn’t want to talk to Lynch about his attempts to mount the book.

“If I was meeting with Lynch, I’d be more interested to talk about painting than ‘Dune.’ I’m not expecting to have that chance to share the experience,” Villeneuve said of ever speaking to Lynch, who is also a renowned visual artist, about the movie. “I don’t know if I succeeded, Ok. I have a very close relationship with the movie I made… I’m kind of proud of the movie, but...

When people think of “Dune” adaptations, three projects most likely come to mind: David Lynch’s maligned “Dune” from 1984, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s failed attempt in the 1970s (immortalized in the documentary “Jodorowsky’s Dune”), and Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming 2021 version. But there’s a fourth adaptation that often goes overlooked: John Harrison’s 2000 miniseries for Syfy (known then as Sci Fi Channel) titled “Frank Herbert’s Dune.” The series was a ratings bonanza for Syfy and won two Emmys, leading to the 2003 sequel miniseries titled “Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune.” That’s where James McAvoy enters the picture.

Long before “The Chronicles of Narnia” and “Atonement,” McAvoy was cast in a main role for “Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune” miniseries, which adapted the events of Herbert’s novels “Dune Messiah” and “Children of Dune.” McAvoy played Leto II Atreides, the son of original “Dune” hero Paul Atreides and Chani (played by Timothee...

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Whether you’re recalling your favorite movie theater experiences or venturing back to cinemas, you might remember the familiar ritual. You look around expectantly at the display of posters for upcoming movies, and you invariably come away disappointed. Not at the quality of films, mind you, but at the poster art itself. Because let’s face it, designing eye-catching movie posters is something of a lost art these days. In fact, rather than creating iconic new images that instantly capture the essence of a film, studios today tend to recycle the same old cookie-cutter designs that consist of little more than a collage of photoshopped faces randomly assembled over an uninspired background shot.

Director Denis Villeneuve has succeeded in wrestling Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi classic “Dune” to the big screen, and that’s an impressive feat all by itself. So when his film premiered on Friday at the Venice Film Festival, it’s no surprise that it showed what a movie version of “Dune” can be, but also why it’s been so difficult to get one onto the screen.

Villeneuve’s “Dune” is both dazzling and frustrating, often spectacular and often slow. It’s huge and loud and impressive but it can also be humorless and bleak – though on the whole, it tries valiantly to address the problems of taking on Herbert’s complex epic, which requires a director to spend lots of time setting things up and explaining the world before they can even get the damn thing off the ground.

The adventurous Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky could never quite pull...

Acclaimed writer/director David Lowery joins Josh and Joe to discuss the films that inspired The Green Knight.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

The Green Knight (2021)

Peter Pan & Wendy (2022)

Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)

The Old Man And The Gun (2018)

A Ghost Story (2017)

Pete’s Dragon (1977)

Pete’s Dragon (2016) – Glenn Erickson’s review

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints (2013)

Ghost Story (1974)

Sword of the Valiant (1984)

Gawain and the Green Knight (1973)

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

Masters of the Universe (1987) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary

Andrei Rublev (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review, Dennis Cozzalio’s Muriel Awards blurb

War And Peace (1966) – Glenn Erickson’s Blu-ray review

Heaven’s Gate (1980)

The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928) – Charlie Largent’s Criterion Blu-ray review

The Devils (1971)

Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

The Conjuring (2013)

Jubilee (1978)

Benedetta (2021)

Dune (1984)

Dune (2021)

Hard To Be A God (2013)

Jodorowsky’s Dune (2013)

Moby Dick (1956) – Ernest Dickerson’s trailer commentary,...

The Forum Projects part of the program is made up of seven projects in advanced stages of financing from around the World. In and among this group of filmmakers and producers there came films like Jodorowsky’s Dune, Luz: The Flower of Evil, Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on the Exorcist and Dave Made a Maze. There is a documentary that just has to get made, a Lovecraftian Spaghetti Western, a band trip to the end of the Earth and possibly the end of the World, an elevated werewolf movie, body fantasy, child dystopia and a horror satire about making it in the film industry. First up was Else, a French fantasy horror from director Thibault Emin. In the film a couple, Anx...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Ever since Steven Spielberg’s career-launching blockbuster “Jaws” broke out in 1975, the world’s obsession with sharks has not slackened. Evidence of this is the glut of films – and TV series – about the much-maligned and misunderstood predator.

“The movie ‘Jaws’ had a massive impact on me becoming a filmmaker, and it began my lifelong fascination with sharks,” said director-producer Stephen Scarlata whose documentary “Sharksploitation” participates in the Frontières co-production market, organized by the Fantasia International Film Festival in tandem with Cannes’ Marché du Film.

Scarlata (“Jodorowsky’s Dune”) and his team recently secured an all-important interview with marine and environmental conservation advocate Wendy Benchley, who was married to late “Jaws” author Peter Benchley.

Benchley is known to have expressed his deep regret about the characterization of the shark in his bestselling novel that Spielberg adapted. “There is no such thing as a rogue shark which develops a taste for human flesh.

Jakob’s Wife is the second film directed by Travis Stevens, who initially became known in the genre film world as a producer. Snowfort Pictures, his company, has among its credits: Adam Wingard’s A Horrible Way to Die; the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune; Ted Geoghegan’s We Are Still Here and Mohawk; and Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s The Endless. Some of these directors went on to work in Hollywood: Wingard directed Godzilla vs. Kong, the highest-grossing blockbuster during the pandemic; and Benson and Moorhead are currently working on Moon Knight, a series that will premiere in 2022 as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Stevens made his directorial debut with Girl on the Third Floor, wherein a man (C.M. Punk) struggles to renovate an old house in...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, and Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, have acquired the North American rights to the horror film, Jakob’S Wife, ahead of its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Rlje Films plans to release the film in theaters and on Demand on April 16, 2021 and Shudder will premiere the film on its platform in later in the year. Shudder has also acquired UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand rights.

Directed by Travis Stevens (Girl on the Third Floor), he co-wrote the film with Mark Steensland (The Special) and Kathy Charles (Castle Freak). Jakob’S Wife stars Barbara Crampton, Larry Fessenden, Nyisha Bell (Coming 2 America), Mark Kelly (The Hot Zone), Sarah Lind (Wolfcop), Robert Rusler, Bonnie Aarons, and Phil Brooks.

“We’re thrilled to acquire Jakob’S Wife ahead of its world premiere at SXSW,” said Mark Ward,...

Warner Bros. caused a stir among moviegoers last week with the official trailer debut for Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune,” the latest film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s legendary science-fiction novel. Alejandro Jodorowsky famously tried and failed to mount a “Dune” movie in the 1970s (his pursuit was chronicled in the 2013 documentary “Jodorowsky’s Dune”), and he tells France’s Premiere magazine this week that he wishes for Villeneuve’s “Dune” to be nothing but a “great success.” What did Jodorowsky think of the trailer? His reactions are a bit mixed.

“I saw the trailer. It’s very well done,” Jodorowsky said. “We can see that it is industrial cinema, that there is a lot of money, and that it was very expensive. But if it was very expensive, it must pay in proportion. And that is the problem: There [are] no surprises. The form is identical to what is done everywhere. The lighting,...

In the first look at “Dune,” Timothée Chalamet takes a big step up to the blockbuster stage as the lead in Denis Villeneuve’s ambitious adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel.

This first full look shows Chalamet navigating a massive, sprawling and dense galactic desert — and an even denser sci-fi plot — for what fans of “Dune” are hoping will be the first proper film adaptation of the novel.

“Fear is the mind killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration,” Chalamet says solemnly in a teaser. “I will face my fear, and I will permit it to pass over me. When the fear is gone, there will be nothing. Only I will remain.”

In Villeneuve’s version, the “Call Me By Your Name” and “Lady Bird” star Chalamet takes up the role of Paul Atreides, a member of a wealthy family sent away from his...

Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel “Dune” has been credited for inspiring half a century of the biggest works of science fiction and fantasy storytelling, from “Star Wars” and “Star Trek” to “Alien” and “Game of Thrones.”

What the novel hasn’t inspired, however, is a filmed version that quite lives up to its monumental sense of scope. At least, not yet.

Warner Bros., Legendary, and director Denis Villeneuve are both hoping that will change with the filmmaker’s adaptation of Herbert’s seminal story, about young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), scion of the noble House of Atreides which has been tasked with overseeing the barren desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune.

The new trailer for “Dune,” released on Wednesday, makes plain Villeneuve’s ambition for the film, with explosive battle scenes, stunning landscapes, and a good long look at the massive sandworms that populate Arrakis and guard the most precious resource in the universe,...

Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune hits this December. And today, Alejandro Jodorowsky, whose failed attempt to take on the book was detailed in the documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, says he plans to go see Villeneuve’s version “with pleasure because it will be different. It’s not the same. It’s impossible to do.” The filmmaker tells […] More...

Any director trying to adapt Frank Herbert’s “Dune” has a holy mountain to climb. Alejandro Jodrowsky and David Lynch were revered auteurs when they took it on, and both came up short. Now, it’s Denis Villeneuve’s turn, with the Warner Bros. sci-fi epic opening December 18. As the world awaits first footage, much about Villeneuve’s version remains shrouded in secrecy.

Nobody felt the pain of adapting “Dune” more than Jodorowsky, whose infamous production attempt In the 1970s is detailed in the 2013 documentary “Jodorowsky’s Dune.” In a recent interview with IndieWire, the 90-year-old filmmaker said that despite the pain of that lost project, he still plans to see Villeneuve’s version — but remains unconvinced that anyone can pull it off well.

“‘Dune’ is a book that’s like Proust. It’s science fiction but it’s very, very literary,” Jodorowsky said. “It’s very difficult to find images...

A bit of an exception to his filmography, David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune is generally regarded as something of a missed opportunity. Aside from some impressive visuals and scenes, it mostly struggles to pack Herbert’s dense book into a single feature. The new Dune movie from Denis Villeneuve though, which is planned to take place across two parts, is already generating buzz thanks to recently released production photos. However, Lynch has no interest in the project.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he had this to say on the Dune remake:

“I have zero interest in Dune… Because it was a heartache for me. It was a failure and I didn’t have final cut. I’ve told this story a billion times. It’s not the film I wanted to make. I like certain parts of it very much — but it was a total failure for me.

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune is set to be the most ambitious science fiction film of 2020. Many directors have tried to adapt Frank Herbert’s classic novels. Alejandro Jodorowsky’s attempt was chronicled in the excellent documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune. David Lynch managed to get his Dune to the screen, only for it to be a huge flop and one of the worst films of his career. And Syfy even had a stab with their own miniseries, but failed to capture the grandeur of the novels. But where they failed, Villeneuve may succeed.

Yesterday, we got our first look at the film courtesy of Vanity Fair, who revealed Timothée Chalamet as central figure Paul Atreides. That lone picture didn’t give much away, but today we have a much more comprehensive set of shots. These showcase Oscar Isaac as Duke Leto Atreides, Jason Momoa as Duncan Idaho, Rebecca Ferguson as Lady Jessica Atreides,...

After Alejandro Jodorowsky’s abortive 15-hour version and David Lynch’s tailspin of an attempt, it is Denis Villeneuve’s turn to ride the sandworm

It’s easy to imagine why Hollywood felt it might take a maverick genius to film Dune, Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi/fantasy opus. The novel, and its five sequels, are phantasmagorical and psychedelic in the extreme, like Star Wars on acid. In fact, George Lucas borrowed much from Herbert’s story: the witchy women of the Bene Gesserit are not so far from the wise, all-seeing Jedi. The planet of Arrakis, where the novel’s hero Paul Atreides finds himself caught up in a devious aristocratic plot to bring down his family’s noble house, resembles the desert planet of Tatooine where we first meet Luke Skywalker.

The first maverick to take on the task was the controversial Chilean-French film-maker Alejandro Jodorowsky in the early 1970s.

Hype levels are already exceedingly high for the upcoming adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune, which boasts an all-star cast and an esteemed, Oscar-nominated director in Denis Villeneuve. If you ask sci-fi novelist Brian Clement, however, the Blade Runner 2049 helmsman may well be delivering a movie that lives up to expectations.

A few days ago, Clement was among the industry insiders who were privy to some preview footage from the Warner Bros. film. In a series of tweets, the writer was all praise for what he saw, describing the footage as “epic” and hailing the cinematography as “beautiful.”

In the past few decades, Herbert’s novel has built up a reputation as a notoriously difficult work to adapt to shoot. Among the renowned directors who’ve taken a swing at the material are Alejandro Jodorowsky – whose unsuccessful attempt was chronicled in the acclaimed 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune – and Ridley Scott,...

Don Kaye David Crow Kayti Burt Natalie Zutter Nick Harley Tony Sokol Mike Cecchini Alec Bojalad John Saavedra Dec 30, 2019

Our editorial staff cast their votes for the best 100 movies of the decade. Join us at looking back at some classics and obscure gems.

Ten years. Can you believe it? As is often the case, it feels as if the decade has flashed by in the blink of an eye. Yet it would be too precious to pretend things haven’t changed in the interim between now and December 2009. Just 10 years ago, Marvel Studios’ shared cinematic universe seemed still a gamble on the part of Kevin Feige and his new bosses at Disney, and Netflix was still largely relying on the U.S. Postal service to keep customers happy. Now shared cinematic universes and streaming services have upended the entire entertainment industry and the very notion of what is “cinema.”

These...

Filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe is no stranger to creating compelling documentaries that not only celebrate cultural moments and films that have helped shape the landscape of genre cinema, but also shed some new light on just why these things continue to resonate today. With his previous efforts on Doc of the Dead and 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene, Philippe thoughtfully delivered up his examination of everything from the influence of zombies on modern horror movies to what a watershed moment Marion Crane’s brutal shower slashing became upon its release in 1960.

And for his latest, Memory – The Origins of Alien, Philippe goes back to where it all started for Ridley Scott’s landmark horror/sci-fi film, which began years prior to the film’s 1979 debut, when Dan O’Bannon found himself struggling with a script entitled They Bite, and from there, history was made once co-writer Ronald Shusett, acclaimed visionary H.R. Giger,...

Ryan Lambie May 31, 2017

A major exhibition at the Barbican explores the history of the sci-fi genre. We catch up with curator Patrick Gyger to tell us more...

Science fiction is now part of the mainstream. No longer confined to the pages of niche pulp magazines or cheap mass-market novels, no longer the preserve of low-budget B-movies, the genre is just about ubiquitous in modern pop culture. From hit films like Interstellar and Guardians Of The Galaxy to such TV shows as Black Mirror and best-selling novels like The Hunger Games, sci-fi has become a vital means of exploring and making sense of the world around us.

See related  John Wick 3 already on the cards John Wick 3: Keanu Reeves confirms his interest

For proof, look no further than Into The Unknown: A Journey Through Science Fiction, a major new exhibition which starts at the Barbican Centre on the 3rd June.

Simon Brew Jan 31, 2017

The influence of Star Wars will loom over the Highlander reboot - and a trilogy of movies is planned...

The Highlander sequels, it would not be incorrect to say, didn’t turn out awfully well. In fact, if you’re looking for a top tip from us, if it’s got Highlander in the title and a number afterwards, it’s a film you don’t need to put yourself out to watch.

See related A closer look at Jodorowsky's Dune The fall and rise of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune Looking back at David Lynch’s Blue Velvet

Director Chad Stahelski has been promoting the John Wick sequel, and his next job is helming the long-planned Highlander reboot. Turns out, though, he’s looking to break the curse of the Highlander sequels as well.

In a new interview with Collider, he said that “I think the [original Highlander] TV...

Simon Brew Jan 31, 2017

The upcoming Splinter Cell movie is heading for a PG-13 rating – and may even shoot this year…

Since the Assassin’s Creed movie landed in cinemas and failed to ignite the box office quite as 20th Century Fox and UbiSoft had planned, questions have been asked about the other videogame adaptations that UbiSoft had in various stages of development.

See related A closer look at Jodorowsky's Dune The fall and rise of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune Looking back at David Lynch’s Blue Velvet

Notwithstanding Assassin’s Creed 2, which is looking like a long shot at the moment, there’s also The Division, that last week landed Stephen Gaghan (Syriana) to direct. And then there’s the Ghost Recon film, that had been announced as having Tom Hardy on board.

Nothing has been heard of the project for a while, but now, thanks to Collider, we have a bit of news.

Ryan Lambie Jan 31, 2017

Shot well over 18 years ago, Danny Boyle's sci-fi short film Alien Love Triangle has never been released - despite a starry cast...

In the late 90s, two very different filmmakers were still in the (relatively) early stages of their careers. Mexican director Guillermo del Toro had released his first feature, Cronos (1993) to widespread acclaim. The UK's Danny Boyle had captured the zeitgeist with his second movie, Trainspotting, and was about to embark on his next film, A Life Less Ordinary (1997).

See related A closer look at Jodorowsky's Dune The fall and rise of Alejandro Jodorowsky's Dune Looking back at David Lynch’s Blue Velvet

Had everything gone to plan, del Toro and Boyle could have wound up directing their own chapters of a three-part anthology movie - the sci-fi equivalent of, say, Amicus Productions' portmanteau horror films of the 60s and 70s, such as The House That Dripped Blood...

Frank Pavich' documentary Jodorowsky's Dune has a lot of fans in these parts, with our Ryland Aldrich being one of them. Its subject is Jodorowsky's failed quest to create a film based on Frank Herbert's Dune saga, an attempt often considered to be "the greatest film never made". And while you can put some question marks there, pondering the epic that would have been is a fun exercise, one which the documentary fully supports. It's been out on DVD and Blu-ray in several regions already, and this week France added a special edition of their own to the list. What attracted me to it was the inclusion of an art-book, which is always a good thing and Especially with this title. What I didn't expect...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Mike Cecchini Nov 22, 2016

Frank Herbert's Dune may be coming back to our screens, as the film and television rights have been picked up by Legendary...

After far too long, someone is taking another crack at Dune, Frank Herbert's classic series of science fiction novels. In this case, that someone is Legendary Entertainment, who are no stranger to genre franchises. There are no real details to report at the moment other than the fact that Legendary has "the film and television motion picture rights" to the Dune saga, but that's big enough news in itself. Paramount previously had the rights and had been attempting to make a new Dune movie since 2008, at one point announcing Deepwater Horizon's Peter Berg as director.

I'd like to focus on one word from the press release that's been sent out: television.

While David Lynch's ambitious and troubled 1984 big screen adaptation has achieved cult status over the years,...

Denis Villeneuve is either trolling sci-fi fans or just really, really ambitious. The Canadian director, who's currently promoting Arrival and in production on the Blade Runner sequel, has just said he'd like to adapt Frank Herbert's Dune. I find myself feeling bad for Villeneuve sometimes (and then I remember he's a well-off director with high-profile gigs). Especially recently when he talked about being rushed off his film Arrival so he could start on Blade Runner. And every time I talk about the movie people get angry. Considering his current work schedule I'm sure none of that negativity is getting to him. Yet. But Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is an untouchable classic to a lot of people and many don't see the point in a sequel at all. Regardless, it's happening and while doing some recent press tours, Villeneuve told Variety he has a great love for sci-fi and revealed...

One thing film fans like to talk about almost as much as movies they love are movies that had fantastic talent attached, but for some reason or another, never ended up making it to the big screen. Documentaries like Jodorowsky's Dune and The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? have contributed to this conversation recently, and now ScreenRant is trying to keep it going with a video of their 10 Best Movies Never Made.

I'd heard about a handful of these before (Darren Aronofsky's Batman: Year One is common knowledge among Batfans, and the troubles around George Miller's Justice League Mortal were well-documented a few years ago), but there are also some cool details that I'd never heard before. For example, I knew The Beatles wanted to make The Lord of the Rings, but I didn't know about the casting in mind for each of the Fab Four. Check out the video below,...

★★★★☆ It's been more than two decades since audiences last got to see a new film from visionary Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky, with Frank Pavich's documentary on an abandoned sci-fi epic - Jodorowsky's Dune (2013) - looking like being the closet they might get. Now comes The Dance of Reality (2013), an absurdist dreamscape of a biopic that begins with the director himself addressing the camera extolling the the life-giving power of money; presumably by way of an explanation for his twenty-five year absence and its abrupt end. While still a carnival of politics and sex, in keeping with his most famous work, it's significantly more sincere story of myth and memory.

The edges of his provocation have been rounded and wilful obfuscation is less of a hurdle than viewers may have had to leap in the past; though this may not be surprising for a film that purports to tell of his family history.

Read More: Meet the 2013 SXSW Filmmakers #3: 'Cheap Thrills' Rejects the American Dream and a 'Big Ass Spider!' Destroys La Snowfort Pictures, an La-based production company founded in 2010 by Travis Stevens, has expanded its team. The company produced SXSW Audience Award winner "Cheap Thrills," along with the acclaimed documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune" and the horror film "Starry Eyes." In order to expand its production capabilities in the future, Snowfort has added Stephanie Trepanier as Director of Development, David Lawson Jr. as Head of Production and Alessando Pulisci as Conventions Coordinator. Trepanier has founded both the Frontières International Co-Production Market of the Fantasia International Film Festival and the consultation company Evokative Films. Lawson has produced award-winning films such as "Spring" and "Resolution." On the expansion and the hopes to grow production...

Everything I know about Tim Burton's failed 1998 superhero film Superman Lives I've learned from Kevin Smith's great recollection in An Evening with Kevin Smith. Starring Nicolas Cage as the titular protagonist, kooky producer Jon Peters guiding it as long as he could and possibly hosting a giant spider in the third act, this would have been not only a wildly different take on the iconic Man of Steel but vastly eccentric from anything produced in the superhero genre then-or-now. Smith can only give one man's account, though, and like any movie there are more than a handful of people who need to come together to make it happen. To writer/director Jon Schnepp's credit, the filmmaker rounded up as many of those people as he could and successfully made a movie about one that failed to do so entirely. The film in question, The Death of "Superman...

It would seem there's just as much interest in comic book movies that didn't happen, as the ones that have. Last year the excellent "Jodorowsky's Dune" dropped, this year we've already received “The Death of ‘Superman Lives’: What Happened?” about Tim Burton's failed attempt to bring the Man Of Steel to the big screen, and now, perhaps the granddaddy of aborted superhero flicks is getting the documentary treatment. Director Ryan Unicomb is putting together "Miller's Justice League Mortal," which as the title suggest, will profile George Miller's scrapped "Justice League Mortal." On paper it was certainly promising, with the script bringing together the comic book storylines from “Jla: Tower of Babel,” “Superman: Sacrifice” and “Crisis on Infinite Earth” #8 with a cast that would've seen Armie Hammer as Batman, D.J. Cotrona as Superman, Adam Brody as The Flash and Megan Gale as Wonder Woman. But the budget...

A documentary focusing on George Miller's ill-fated Justice League movie is in the works.

The film - titled Justice League Mortal - was aborted in 2008, and now Australian director Ryan Unicomb is to take a closer look at the scrapped project.

Unicomb said that he has drawn inspiration for Miller's Justice League Mortal from Jon Schnepp's The Death of Superman Lives, which focused on Tim Burton's aborted Superman film, and 2013 documentary Jodorowsky's Dune.

Speaking to Inside Film, Unicomb said: "We wanted to get the story out there to help us gauge interest.

"I have always been fascinated with the project, which would be in the same vein as Jodorowsky's Dune and this year's The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?."

Miller's Justice League film had been due to star Armie Hammer as Batman, DJ Cotrona as Superman and Megan Gale as Wonder Woman.

Warner Bros confirmed that...

George Miller's Justice League was one of the comic book movies that never was. A new documentary aims to chart what happened/

Whilst director Zack Snyder will be turning his attention to a pair of Justice League films for DC once he's done and dusted with Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, another new movie project will be looking back at the Justice League film that never happened.

This was relatively recently too. Mad Max director George Miller had begun casting a Justice League film, and the plan was to shoot the movie in Australia. However, Warner Bros eventually pulled the plug on that particular project back in 2008, in the light of the success of Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films. A new documentary, from director Ryan Unicomb and producers Aaron Cater and Steven Caldwell, wants to chart the story of what happened with the abandoned Justice League project.

This film follows and was inspired by such docs as Jodorowsky's Dune and the upcoming The Death of "Superman Lives: What Happened?.

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