Yes! They should re-make Dune with Kevin Bacon, Michael Gross and Fred Ward!

Now that I would watch.

Wow, I've never seen an Anthony Minghella film (although I do want to see The Talented Mr. Ripley ), but damn.

In other news, I love Tremors.

Ya know political intrigue done right can be fascinating. And, as we've discussed in the past, you often have to break the letter to be true to the spirit. Drop the whole "we can't talk" thing. Yeah, I know, in the novel a major plot point.

Also you have to make it as a series of movies - a la Harry Potter - though I'm thinking of something more along the lines of the Tudors mini-sereis. Good political intrigue, made exciting by the fact that you never know when the intrigue will lead to bloody violence or really hot sex. The latter should happen more often in the movie than in the book. I think you could a fairly serious faithful to the spirit of Dune out of it that way - with added bonus popcorn, beefcake, and cheesecake. A sci-fi soap (which is part of what Dune was) Yes?

The latter should happen more often in the movie than in the book.

Ew! Sand everywhere!!

Indoors! You don't want to take off your stillsuit outdoors on Dune anyway. All fucking happens in the underground hideaways.

All fucking happens in the underground hideaways.

If it involves the Harkonnens, I'll take a pass. Lynch went far enough in that department anyway.

Good political intrigue, made exciting by the fact that you never know when the intrigue will lead to bloody violence or really hot sex.

I think I speak for all Frank Herbert fans when I say that his idea of hot sex should never ever appear onscreen. Or on the page, for that matter.

(Signed, still haven't managed to scrub Heretics out of my brain.)

Posting this here because it's really a movie tie-in. From the Futon Critic:

MYSTERY OF THE CRYSTAL SKULLS with Lester Holt

Premieres Sunday, May 18th at 9:00PM

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is this summer's most-anticipated movie and SCI FI feeds the Indy frenzy with the real story of and search for the legendary crystal Skulls. Glimmers of ancient civilizations and lost worlds have forever intrigued and tantalized but few ancient mysteries generate quite the fervor of the Crystal Skulls: 13 quartz crystal human skulls, now scattered to the four winds, discovered amid ruins of Mayan and Aztec societies. Legend tells us that should they ever be united, they may unleash untold energy, revealing secrets vital to the survival of humankind.

In the new special Mystery of the Crystal Skulls, SCI FI and host Lester Holt (NBC News/Weekend Today) explore the history of the Crystal Skulls: the myths, the legends, the controversies and the scientific tests performed behind closed doors. It digs even deeper for the truth with new lab tests, as well an expedition into the jungles of Belize to track down the missing skulls, a quest worthy of Indiana Jones himself. The special is produced by NBC's Peacock Productions in association with SCI FI.

SCI FI will exclusively air all three previous Indiana Jones movies (Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Los Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) on May 18th leading into the premiere of Mystery of the Crystal Skulls.

RIP Minghella.

I loved Truly, Madly Deeply. I saw the movie only once and I was a fucking crying mess at the end of that movie. I kept it together (I thought) until the end, and then I was done for 2 hours afterward.

I kept it together (I thought) until the end, and then I was done for 2 hours afterward.

I saw it with a friend in London. The lights went up at the end to reveal a cinema full of red-eyed, sniffing people (mostly women), all little puddles in their seats. My friend turned to me and said, "Whose idea was this anyway?".

RIP indeed. He was always intelligent and interesting, and 54 is too young.