News & Announcements
Dune Movie News
In an interview with iFMagazine.com, John Harrison (writer and director of the Dune miniseries) explains his role in the new film.
Quote
iF: You're producing a theatrical version of DUNE. How is it being involved with another adaptation of the same material since we wrote and directed the SCI FI Channel mini-series many years ago?
HARRISON: I'm only tangentially involved. Misher Films at Paramount is producing the picture with my friend and frequent producer, Richard Rubinstein. Richard produced my DUNE miniseries. He and I have continued to develop material from the DUNE universe since then, and he’s been gracious enough to include me in the new production. It will be an adaptation of Frank Herbert's first book, dune.
iF: David Lynch had a heck of a time condensing it into a feature film, and you had to do it as a mini-series for SCI FI Channel to get the whole story across, how will you approach the film and what will make it different from any of the previous incarnations?
HARRISON: A terrific young writer, Josh Zetumer will adapt and I wish him all the best. It won't be easy, I can tell you, but he has great ideas about how to approach this epic material and I'll bet it comes off as a completely unique version of the DUNE saga.
HARRISON: I'm only tangentially involved. Misher Films at Paramount is producing the picture with my friend and frequent producer, Richard Rubinstein. Richard produced my DUNE miniseries. He and I have continued to develop material from the DUNE universe since then, and he’s been gracious enough to include me in the new production. It will be an adaptation of Frank Herbert's first book, dune.
iF: David Lynch had a heck of a time condensing it into a feature film, and you had to do it as a mini-series for SCI FI Channel to get the whole story across, how will you approach the film and what will make it different from any of the previous incarnations?
HARRISON: A terrific young writer, Josh Zetumer will adapt and I wish him all the best. It won't be easy, I can tell you, but he has great ideas about how to approach this epic material and I'll bet it comes off as a completely unique version of the DUNE saga.
--posted by Dunenewt on Sep 17, 2008
Joshua Zetemur's Adaptation of a Peter Berg Script of a Frank Herbert Novel
From the Mahdi would post this but he can't from work category comes the following news on the Dune movie:
More can be found in the news post at Ain't it Cool News. I really have no idea who Zetumer is but according to Variety he is one of 10 screenwriters to watch.
Quote
Josh Zetumer is in negotiations to pen the latest incarnation of "Dune," Frank Herbert's sprawling sci-fi epic, for Paramount Pictures.
More can be found in the news post at Ain't it Cool News. I really have no idea who Zetumer is but according to Variety he is one of 10 screenwriters to watch.
--posted by Gobalopper on Jun 6, 2008
James McAvoy to Play Bilbo Baggins?
As if Dune and The Lord of The Rings didn't have enough in common already, Metro is reporting that James McAvoy, who starred as Leto II in the Children of Dune miniseries, is in talks to take a "lead role" in Guillermo del Toro's planned adaptation of The Hobbit and The Hobbit Part Two (not based on any Tolkien book).
I guess this rules him out of participating in the new big screen version of Dune.
For more information click any of the links listed here.
Note: Being in talks for the role does not mean he has been cast in it yet.
I guess this rules him out of participating in the new big screen version of Dune.
For more information click any of the links listed here.
Note: Being in talks for the role does not mean he has been cast in it yet.
--posted by Mahdi the Magister Equitum on May 31, 2008
UK and Commonwealth rights signed for 3 more Dune books
It has just been announced today, that Simon & Schuster have secured the UK and Commonwealth rights for Jessica, Irulan, and Leto of Dune. They are mentioned as a trilogy, which is probably a mistake, as Paul of Dune is due out in September. Inicidentally, the cover art of Paul of Dune has changed, to a green and black colour scheme, which were the colours of House Atreides.
Kate Lyall-Grant from Simon & Schuster said:
"We are absolutely delighted to be continuing to publish Kevin J. Anderson, a master storyteller who is considered one of the best in his field... we are also thrilled to be welcoming Brian Herbert to S&S in this exciting new joint venture."
Tor Books will be publishing the novels in the US. For more information, see this article on theBookseller.com.
Kate Lyall-Grant from Simon & Schuster said:
"We are absolutely delighted to be continuing to publish Kevin J. Anderson, a master storyteller who is considered one of the best in his field... we are also thrilled to be welcoming Brian Herbert to S&S in this exciting new joint venture."
Tor Books will be publishing the novels in the US. For more information, see this article on theBookseller.com.
--posted by Dunenewt on May 20, 2008
Peter Berg's Dune to be filmed in Israel?
According to this article at JewishJournal.com, Peter Berg has been in talks to film Dune in Israel next year. Bryon Merritt (Frank Herbert's Grandson, and administrator of the official Dune message boards) posted the link to the article, so I'm guessing there is some truth behind it. This could mean we will get the Arabic/Middle Eastern Fremen that people have been asking for, and perhaps a Greek House Atreides, as it is not far away.
--posted by Dunenewt on May 20, 2008
Modding News
The Battle for Dune team have released some more pictures. Their first infantry skin has been revealed, the Ordos Saboteur, as well as models of civilian buildings, shell cases, and infantry cover for the maps. According to cnc95fan, they will be releasing versions in French, German, and Russian, as well as English, and they have begun to develop the Single Player Campaign. If you can help with the translating of this game into any language, then please post in the discussion thread for this game can be found here on our forums.
We also have some news from the Dune: Arrakian Wars (total conversion for Command and Conquer: Tiberium Wars) team, who are redesigning their Ordos units with the help of a new concept artist, and have made a lot of improvements on the originals. So far they have concept art and a redesigned working model for the Laser Tank, and concept art for the APC. To discuss this mod on our forums, please go here.
--posted by Dunenewt on May 17, 2008
Breaking, but not so exciting, audiobook news
What? The third news post of today? Well while I was posting the last one, over on the official site, a new blog entry was posted. Many of the Dune audiobooks have now been available for direct download as MP3 files. According to a recent press release, 'Journey to a 'world beyond words' with Audible Sci-Fi & Fantasy. Check out Audible for exclusive access to your authors and exclusive commentary. In addition, the new imprint, Audible Frontiers which features new and sometimes previously unavailable audiobooks made available for the first time in audio.' To buy these files, go to audible.com and have a look. The unabridged version of Dune, read by Scott Brick, Orlagh Cassidy, Euan Morton, and Simon Vance, is available for US$41.97, but much cheaper if you pay to become a member. To get an idea of the quality, on the page of each book is a sample, some of which last a few minutes. The unabridged version of Dune is currently 7th on the Sci-Fi/Fantasy Top 10 downloads.
--posted by Dunenewt on May 8, 2008
Dune news round-up
Firstly, Dune II is again mentioned as a pioneering game, in a comparison between Westwood Studios/EALA and Blizzard on 1up.com, and asks an interesting question, 'without Westwood's pioneering work in Dune II, what would WarCraft and StarCraft have been like?'
Moving on, does anyone live in Ottawa, Canada? If so, an article on the Ottawa Citizen website has described the Superdome in Ben Franklin Park, as having 'the shape and texture of a boil - and not just any boil, but one of the really nasty ones on the body of the villainous Baron Harkonnen in David Lynch's movie version of Dune.' I was unable to find many clear pictures of the building on the internet, as it appears to be quite a new construction, but there are a couple of it being built on the Superdome website. Tell us what you think on whether this is a fair comparison, especially if, like Mahdi and Vanguard on the forums, you're from Ottawa.
The composer of the Children of Dune miniseries soundtrack, Brian Tyler, will be at the Varese Sarabande 30th Anniversary Event at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, California on Saturday, May 10th at 2 PM, according to the FilmMusicMag. The event represents the largest gathering in memory of film composers assembled for a signature event. Tyler has also scored music for Rambo, Star Trek: Enterprise, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, so if you're in the area, and want to get your copy of the CoD DVD signed, head over there. Pictures are permitted, so try to get a shot for this website, and ask him if he wants to score the soundtrack for the new Dune film!
When the words 'Dune' and 'fashion' are mentioned together, it is usually in reference to the Dune footwear brand, but according to io9.com, the kind of clothes seen in the Dune miniseries will be 'a style you'll wear in the future'. The article says 'Dune, at least in the Sci-Fi imagining of it, is basically a future where strange headgear have taken over.'. Including in the article is the following picture, if you want to see what they're getting at:
Using a phrase which could create a killing frenzy on the forums, Inc.com compares EA to the Fremen, in an article about the early years of EA in the 80s. To read more, click here.
Finally, for those of you who have been following the news about the new Dune film will know that Peter Berg will be directing the movie. His latest film, Hancock, stars Will Smith and is due to released on July 2nd. The plot goes as follows: 'Will Smith portrays an alcoholic and lazy vagrant with no respect for authority or property. Ironically, he also possesses superpowers and the destruction he leaves in his wake makes him despised by everyone. A publicist (Jason Bateman) emerges to help rehabilitate him, and the new superhero eventually begins an affair with the publicist's wife (Charlize Theron).' The trailer is available on the official Hancock site, and based on the trailer (somehow, I don't know how they could have done this myself) the Calgary Herald have given the film a 3 1/2 out of 5. I noticed on the article, that people are already including Dune in his directing credits after his name, even though the film isn't even in pre-production yet (or is it, news still isn't forthcoming on the new film).
Moving on, does anyone live in Ottawa, Canada? If so, an article on the Ottawa Citizen website has described the Superdome in Ben Franklin Park, as having 'the shape and texture of a boil - and not just any boil, but one of the really nasty ones on the body of the villainous Baron Harkonnen in David Lynch's movie version of Dune.' I was unable to find many clear pictures of the building on the internet, as it appears to be quite a new construction, but there are a couple of it being built on the Superdome website. Tell us what you think on whether this is a fair comparison, especially if, like Mahdi and Vanguard on the forums, you're from Ottawa.
The composer of the Children of Dune miniseries soundtrack, Brian Tyler, will be at the Varese Sarabande 30th Anniversary Event at Dark Delicacies in Burbank, California on Saturday, May 10th at 2 PM, according to the FilmMusicMag. The event represents the largest gathering in memory of film composers assembled for a signature event. Tyler has also scored music for Rambo, Star Trek: Enterprise, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, so if you're in the area, and want to get your copy of the CoD DVD signed, head over there. Pictures are permitted, so try to get a shot for this website, and ask him if he wants to score the soundtrack for the new Dune film!
When the words 'Dune' and 'fashion' are mentioned together, it is usually in reference to the Dune footwear brand, but according to io9.com, the kind of clothes seen in the Dune miniseries will be 'a style you'll wear in the future'. The article says 'Dune, at least in the Sci-Fi imagining of it, is basically a future where strange headgear have taken over.'. Including in the article is the following picture, if you want to see what they're getting at:
Using a phrase which could create a killing frenzy on the forums, Inc.com compares EA to the Fremen, in an article about the early years of EA in the 80s. To read more, click here.
Finally, for those of you who have been following the news about the new Dune film will know that Peter Berg will be directing the movie. His latest film, Hancock, stars Will Smith and is due to released on July 2nd. The plot goes as follows: 'Will Smith portrays an alcoholic and lazy vagrant with no respect for authority or property. Ironically, he also possesses superpowers and the destruction he leaves in his wake makes him despised by everyone. A publicist (Jason Bateman) emerges to help rehabilitate him, and the new superhero eventually begins an affair with the publicist's wife (Charlize Theron).' The trailer is available on the official Hancock site, and based on the trailer (somehow, I don't know how they could have done this myself) the Calgary Herald have given the film a 3 1/2 out of 5. I noticed on the article, that people are already including Dune in his directing credits after his name, even though the film isn't even in pre-production yet (or is it, news still isn't forthcoming on the new film).
--posted by Dunenewt on May 8, 2008
Slightly odd, slightly Dune related news
Do you know who Sian Phillips is? Neither do I, but she was the Welsh actress who played Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, in David Lynch's Dune, who had the famous 'Get out of my mind!' line. Well someone has created a petition to the UK Government for her to be made a Dame of the British Empire (DBE), which is one better than her current position of Commander of the British Empire (CBE). Anyway, if for some reason you want to sign this petition, then click here.
--posted by Dunenewt on May 8, 2008
Battle for Dune update, audiobook news, and new Fan Fiction
The latest update features holographic logos of both Harkonnen and Atreides logos, as well as images of a map in development, and even furniture! Remember, if you want to discuss this mod, then head on over to this thread on our forums and show your support.
Also, a God Emperor of Dune audiobook will be released by Macmillan Audio later this month, 27th May 2008, and can be pre-ordered from Amazon. The Heretics of Dune audiobook will be released in October of this year, with Chapterhouse: Dune to follow.
Finally, in our Fan Fiction board on the forum, a new thread has started up, Salusa Secundus Survivor. In this thread, you can play the role of someone stranded on Salusa Secundus; smuggler, Sardaukar, or convict. Here is the background post if you are a convict:
Quote from: Salusa Secundus Survivor: Convict Story
The harsh wind pounds against your face, waking you up...still drowsy, you try to remember where you are...there is nothing but desolation in every direction you look, except for a few other men, who look in no better condition than yourself.
Ah yes, it is coming back to you now. You are on Salusa Secundus, the Emperor's prison planet, for you have attracted his displeasure. The sedatives start to wear off, but you still don't remember why exactly you are here, but for now, your goal is survival.
Ah yes, it is coming back to you now. You are on Salusa Secundus, the Emperor's prison planet, for you have attracted his displeasure. The sedatives start to wear off, but you still don't remember why exactly you are here, but for now, your goal is survival.
--posted by Dunenewt on May 6, 2008