sirandrew

BOOM!!!  HOW BOUT THEM COWBOYS!!!!!

Spotted them 14 and still left with the win! 

HOW
BOUT
THEM
COWBOYS

Now, Newman better get healthy and get back to the defense. 

Oh, and I live in Georgia now.  Isn't that weird?

I POSTED TO LIVE JOURNAL AGAIN!

The Tannehill 2008 Dismounted Drill Competition Champion 6th Alabama Cavalry




Woo!  We finally won, beating the 4th Alabama Cavalry by a mere two points.

(The other part of the story is that only six of the guys in the picture, myself included, were actually in the competition.  Still , the trophy belongs to all.)

Awesomeness.  The crew that made the real Fallout (Feargus Urquhart and Obsidian Entertainment) is doing RPG based on the Alien franchise.  No Predators to be seen here thank goodness. 

That news is full of win. 

There's also going to finally be a Tactical shooter based on Aliens with the Colonial Marines.  It'll be out by the end of the year. 

I have Das Boot! 

I have Talvostia too. 

Pwned. 

(had them for a long time.  Just thought everyone should know.  Seriously, I don't have the 6 hour version of Das Boot yhet")

Ok, so, if you read one of my previous posts, you learned that Dune is being made into a movie for the third time, this time with a gigantic budget and apparently the director, Peter Berg, being given a free hand.  Now, I personally think that I should be given complete control over the project because I am the only person I trust to be as fanatical about keeping the filmed version of the story true to the book, but I know that that of course is not going to happen.  I also realize that there's no humanly possible way that this version is going to be literally true to the books any more than Jackson's Lord of the Rings was literally true to its source material.  However, there are a few very severe things that they must get right this time in order for me to be happy with what they produce. 

First, lets muse on the director, Peter Berg.  I don't know much about this guy and have only seen one movie he's made, Remember the Titans.  That was a tremendously forgettable film that didn't seem to have any style per say, but wasn't a bad movie.  I've heard Berg is competent in his other works, and actually did a good job in The Kingdom.  I've also seen him act before, but that has nothing to do with anything.  I guess it comes down to the fact that there could have been much worse people than Peter Berg to pick.  Imagine the tears of horror if they'd chosen someone like Michael Bay or Tony Scott.  I'd have even probably been driven to murder if they'd decided on someone artsy like Terrence Mallick.  Sure, people can say, "Oh, why not Ridley Scott, he wanted to do Dune" or "Why not someone great like David Fincher or Steven Spielberg" or worse "Hey, bring back Alexandro Jodoworsky!".  Well, I can tell you what Berg doesn't bring to the table that those guys all do, an ego.  Berg is at least a new enough director that he doesn't think he's the hottest shit on earth.  He's already said he's not making Peter Berg's Dune, he's making Frank Herbert's.  As long as he just makes the movie and doesn't try to make it his vision of the book, then I'll be happy. 

Ok, now that I've said that, lets go over a few things that they must get right:

1. There MUST be ONLY hand to hand combat, with the only exceptions being the Harkonnen/Sardakuar use of ancient artillery to close up the caves of Arakeen and the use of primitive rocket launchers in the deep desert.  No other version of Dune seemed to understand how vital this was to the plot.  The use of shields was the great equalizer of armed forces in the Dune universe, it made warfare not about technology but about the skill, training and ferocity of the individual soldier.  This is why the Atredies go to Dune in the first place, to cultivate the Fremen as an army.  Leto could've given two shits about Spice, he wanted soldiers.  This is how the Emperor kept his power, the fear of the Sardakuar, which were invincible in war because of their skill in hand to hand combat.  This is why Paul ended up ruling the universe after the Battle of the Arakeen Plain.  Both other versions of Dune failed to get this right.  Lynch's version tried to chalk everything up to a techno-sound weapon.  Harrison's Dune simply ignored this altogether. 

2. The movie needs to be in two parts, preferably three.  This is a story deep with plot and it's hard to find stuff to leave out.  There's no way possible to do the book justice in two hours, almost no way to do it in four. 

3. You can't throw out how Paul is built into a religious figure by manipulating myth and superstition.  You must not make him truly magical or spiritual.  That's part of the damned point.  Lynch's version got this wrong, Harrison's at least didn't.  Paul is NOT a god, he just plays one on TV.  

4. You must this time actually show Feyd's character development.  It's very important and it makes Paul's and Feyd's duel at the end all the more weighty. Feyd isn't a generic supervillian, he's actually a pretty deep character who isn't nice, but isn't as cruel as his family.  Heck, he's the alternate path to the Kwitzaz Hederach, just one genetic step from what Paul is.  Don't gloss him over this time. 

5. Herbert took great pains to describe costuming and dress.  This time it'd be nice if the filmmakers just listened to his descriptions.  Please, no more wacky hats, no more haz-mat or chef Sardaukar, no more rubber suits in the desert.  Just do what Herbert described, I promise, he put some thought into it. 

6. Don't leave out Hasmir and Margot Fenring this time.  Please.  I know Harrison had Hasmir in his version, but he was barely there and might as well have been left out.  He's such a rich character and he actually was capable of killing Paul at the end of the book, and chose not to.  Hasmir was the other "almost K.H." even closer to the prize than Feyd was.  I just want to see him and his wife done right. 

7. Watch the ages on these people.  The Emperor is in his late 60's but he doesn't look a day over 30.  It's Spice people, it makes people look young.  With rare exceptions (Thufir) they shouldn't cast anyone much over 40 for this film.

8. Fremen are thin and hard and dark, like carved out of frikking stone.  Please no water fat blondes. Actors of middle-eastern descent would be best.   Oh, and no more open faces in the desert.   Completely enclosed Stillsuits are a must.  The Fremen didn't lose one drop of water. 

Ok, I think if they honestly stuck to those simple eight things while keeping everything from the previous films right, I won't have to declare Berg's version a heresy as well.  I'll probably think of five or six more things I'd want done in just the next hour, but those eight will make me the most happy.  I seriously don't want to have to wipe my ass with a DVD. 

I did not think this would happen.  I had thought that the Sci-Fi Channel heresy had doomed any possible remakes for at least 20 years, maybe more.  I was wrong.  I was sweetly, gloriously wrong.

Paramount has greenlit a big (apparently VERY big)  budget remake of Dune apparently to be directed by Peter Berg.  I'm not tremendously familiar with Berg, but he says that he's been given almost complete control financially and will be producing a faithful adaptation of the book, more faithful than the Lynch heresy or the Sci-Fi Channel heresy that he agrees were inadequate.  He says he's a fan of the book.  He says he's going to do it right.  I want to believe him.  It's failed twice so there's PLENTY out there to tell Berg how not to make the film.

This news pleases me.......

IT PLEASES ME

I should immediately write Berg a letter dictating how the film should be done.  It should be split into three parts and done LITERALLY and word for word.  The budget should be $600 million.  I should design costumes.

Ok, the time and date of the Birthday celebrations will be Friday, Feb 29 at Outback at 6:00.  RSVP to let me know who's going to be coming so we can do the whole call ahead thing. 

Please make sure your presents are at least $100 in value and are wrapped appropriately. 

If I don't get EVERY color of Megaman I'm calling the whole thing off.

EDIT: Due to lack of replies party is NOW CLOTHING OPTIONAL

Happy Birthday to the most awesome fiancee I've ever had, fireriven! 

Ia! Ia Yog Soggoth!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1118070/