There is disturbing news in this AICN article about James Watson losing his role as Duncan Idaho in the upcoming Children of Dune miniseries. I have written an e-mail to the address provided in that letter. The body of my e-mail is posted below for those who want a template to write their own letters. (Please don’t copy it exactly as it is; that would only serve to reduce the credibility of every who sent an e-mail exactly like that one.)
I just read an article on Ain’t It Cool News
(http://aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=11704) which disturbs me. If
the information in that article is correct, then certain individuals
associated with the production of the “Children of Dune” miniseries
are planning on recasting characters from the first movie as different
actors in the second movie (Duncan Idaho in particular) because those
individuals want an American actor in the role.
Mr. James Watson did an excellent job in the “Dune” miniseries. That
was a success because of the writing, set direction, art direction,
costume design, directing, and most obviously, the acting. Please,
ask the individuals who made this decision to reconsider, kepping in
mind the following points:
a) There is nothing wrong with Mr. James Watson’s work in the
original miniseries.
b) The mainly European cast of the original helped to provide the feel
that these people, while related to the North American audience, are
distanced from them in some way. They are people, but not the people
we generally interact with. Hiring European actors is, in fact, a
benefit for what John Harrison and his collaborators are trying to
accomplish.
c) Many viewers do not follow trade news, so they will not know the
mentality behind this decision. Instead, they will merely see that
the actor they liked in the original did not return. This is
generally a sign of a loss in quality, and is likely to alienate part
of the original miniseries’ audience. Is that something they really
want to do?
I implore the individuals responsible to reconsider their decision. I
cannot see a single benefit to such a choice.
Killed by a @$%@ missile!!
I’m not sure how much this matters since Duncan Idaho was killed by a missile, in one of the worst scenes in the miniseries.
I suppose the Tleilaxu could then find some small fragmant of his body…
Re: Killed by a @$%@ missile!!
Have you read the novel??!?! Duncan Idaho is a central character in all of the original sequels (the two being filmed now, God Emporer, and the unfinished triology). You need a strong actor for this role, but I’ve seen nothing that indicates that the original actor couldn’t accomplish it.