That could work. It still wouldn't surpass the original but that could be a good modern take

I dont think the book characters were charismatic or very redeemable. A true to the book version would be a pretty stark contrat compared to the miniseries we love.

Which i am for. I love all westerns.

Cinco Ranch Aggie said:

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Let me guess, Lonesome Brokeback Mountain Dove?

Nope.

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Well, Larry McMurtry did write both Lonesome Dove and Brokeback Mountain.

I loved the book and recently gave the miniseries a shot. I found it lacking. No particular reason, it just wasn't that good. Let the hate flow.

jenn96 said:

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Scotts Tot said:

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jenn96 said:

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Lonesome Dove is the absolute GOAT of book to show adaptations. Every character, actor, scene and conversation was perfectly done. I've never seen a book made into a show that did a better job keeping true to the source material in every way and yet also transcending it due to the genius of the casting. There is no need, ever, for a redo.

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The miniseries was fantastic in many ways, but to say it transcends the book is a reach in my opinion (if by "transcend" you mean surpass). Lonesome Dove is quite possibly the greatest western novel ever written, with impeccable writing and character development. The miniseries did the best that could possibly be done with an adaptation, but I don't think it was better than the novel.

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That's a completely fair point and you're correct that the novel is a masterpiece. I didn't really mean transcend as in surpass, more so that it was like the ultimate distillation of the novel (if that makes any sense). The characters onscreen are just a perfect reflection of the characters we already met and imagined in the book.

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Yes I'm with you!

More importantly, who replaces Diane Lane?

Queso1 said:

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I loved the book and recently gave the miniseries a shot. I found it lacking. No particular reason, it just wasn't that good. Let the hate flow.

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I've seen people watch the miniseries directly after reading the book and say the same thing. It pales in comparison. I'm guilty. I started the miniseries right after finishing the book, and I felt like I was only being told 10% of the story because I could only see what was on my 4:3 aspect version. While reading the book, it feels like you're on the trail with the characters. Watching it on TV afterwards feels like watching Avatar on an iphone.

On its own, or with significant time after reading the book, the miniseries is great.

We all love the book and think it's better than anything they could ever put on screen, right? To take the playbook from Jerry Jones, there is no such thing as bad publicity. So with this news, it will only drive more folks to read the book again, or for the first time. Which, as a fan, is ultimately a good wish. All these young readers will hear how the book is awesome, best ever, etc, and will have no choice but to run out to see what all the hype is about. Then the world will be a better place because more have read Lonesome Dove.

I will wait to pass judgment after I watch East of Eden on Netflix. Pretty much the same team that did that is doing Lonesome Dove. Maybe with more than 4 1.5 hr episodes like before, it will allow more of the story to be told and more character development. I will also get excited once I hear some casting news.

I'm open to a new version of this being good, but I don't have much confidence in this project since it's Netflix.

Daniel Day-Lewis might have a shot at making it honest. I believe he is "retired" though?

Plug in Ben Foster as Woodrow and start from there.

Here's what the robots think:

Woodrow Call: Josh Brolin Michael Shannon Christian Bale Joel Edgerton Kyle Chandler
Augustus McCrae: Timothy Olyphant Walton Goggins Hugh Jackman Matthew McConaughey Jeffrey Dean Morgan

I'd also love it if Javier Bardem played Blue Duck. But that might be too close to Anton Chigurh.

Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Bull Meachem said:

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It won't happen but it would be fun if Harrelson and McConaughey were cast.

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I would 100% not watch if this were the case.

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You can't just post this without an explanation.

Bull Meachem said:

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Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Bull Meachem said:

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It won't happen but it would be fun if Harrelson and McConaughey were cast.

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I would 100% not watch if this were the case.

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You can't just post this without an explanation.

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I don't think either of them would be good as Call or McRae. I've already seen Harrelson in The Cowboy Way.

Big Zwey and Peach are two of the best characters ever! Don't you dare take July's story out of new lonesome dive!

Southlake said:

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But, Deets is already black…

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But he could now be gay...

Deets to be played by Octavia Spencer.

The lonesome dove movie is perfect. The sets are incredibly well done with period proper antiques. The costumes are excellent. The musical score is legendary. The script follows the book better than any other film adaptation that i can think of.

I suppose it's possible to recreate it, but it will be a challenge and if it falls short, it will always be criticized as a failure to the original. That is an incredibly risky investment.

With that's said, I do like remakes such as 310 to Yuma, magnificent seven, and true grit so I'll stay optimistic

Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Bull Meachem said:

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Marauder Blue 6 said:

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Bull Meachem said:

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It won't happen but it would be fun if Harrelson and McConaughey were cast.

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I would 100% not watch if this were the case.

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You can't just post this without an explanation.

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I don't think either of them would be good as Call or McRae. I've already seen Harrelson in The Cowboy Way.

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I feel like Harrelson would play a better Gus and McConaughey would be a better Woodrow. Woodrow is so much more serious and I feel like MM plays "serious" much better than WH.

DargelSkout said:

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agenjake said:

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More importantly, who replaces Diane Lane?

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Sydney Sweeney of course.

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Lori Darlin' needs to have a more girl-next-door look. Sweeney has torpedoed any role where she has to play a sweet, innocent type.

AJ02 said:

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DargelSkout said:

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agenjake said:

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More importantly, who replaces Diane Lane?

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Sydney Sweeney of course.

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Lori Darlin' needs to have a more girl-next-door look. Sweeney has torpedoed any role where she has to play a sweet, innocent type.

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She pulled it off well enough in The Housemaid.

Watched the first episode of the miniseries for the first time in a long time. And after that I'm not nearly as opposed to this Netflix thing as I was before.

There's lots of 80s cheese in the miniseries (which isn't a criticism, just the way it was done back then). Given that 80s cheese plus Robert Duvall being SO incredible as Gus, I'd say that the miniseries is a bit lighthearted with some gut wrenching moments. The book is pretty gut wrenching with lighthearted moments.

I think this was a very interesting comment from McMurtry. I personally wouldn't want to see them take this full on True Detective levels of darkness and intensity, but McMurtry's comment below could be an interesting inspiration for a fresh take on the story:

Quote:

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Would you say that you were trying to give a message with this story? If so, what would that be?

I've tried as hard as I could to demythologize the West. Can't do it. It's impossible. I wrote Lonesome Dove, which I thought was a long critique of western mythology. It is now the chief source of western mythology. I didn't shake it up at all. I actually think of Lonesome Dove as the Gone with the Wind of the West. It's not a towering masterpiece.

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bagger05 said:

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Watched the first episode of the miniseries for the first time in a long time. And after that I'm not nearly as opposed to this Netflix thing as I was before.

There's lots of 80s cheese in the miniseries (which isn't a criticism, just the way it was done back then). Given that 80s cheese plus Robert Duvall being SO incredible as Gus, I'd say that the miniseries is a bit lighthearted with some gut wrenching moments. The book is pretty gut wrenching with lighthearted moments.

I think this was a very interesting comment from McMurtry. I personally wouldn't want to see them take this full on True Detective levels of darkness and intensity, but it could be an interesting inspiration for a fresh take on the story:

Quote:

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Would you say that you were trying to give a message with this story? If so, what would that be?

I've tried as hard as I could to demythologize the West. Can't do it. It's impossible. I wrote Lonesome Dove, which I thought was a long critique of western mythology. It is now the chief source of western mythology. I didn't shake it up at all. I actually think of Lonesome Dove as the Gone with the Wind of the West. It's not a towering masterpiece.

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Oh no. Sorry, but True Detective is a horrible inspiration for someone trying to remake Lonesome Dove. It's been awhile since I read the book (or Dead Man's Walk and Comanche Moon), and while the books are gritty and hard-truth westerns, like you said they're not dark. I wouldn't even put them on the same level of "darkness" as Unforgiven. But we have had other western movies that are unromanticized and would be good inspirations for a more "grounded" remake....Open Range comes to mind.

I'm sorry and I agree with you. I wasn't very precise in my post (so I edited it). I meant that McMurtry's comment might be an interesting inspiration, not TD.

A grittier and darker adaptation might be an interesting take but taking it a direction like True Detective where the grittiness and darkness are kinda the star of the show would NOT be the way to go.

Unforgiven is also probably a little too dark but might be a tone that's directionally correct. I'd say that the LD book is more sad than Unforgiven. Like where each character's best quality was their undoing and you watched it kill them as opposed to Unforgiven where he had to let the demon out to win.