My new book Adaptations of Dune: Frank Herbert’s Story on Screen has been released! Find it in paperback and ebook versions on Amazon. This book is all about the three screen adaptations of Dune — David Lynch’s 1984 film Dune, John Harrison’s 2000 television miniseries Frank Herbert’s Dune, and Denis Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune: Part One — and how faithful they are to Herbert’s source material. It is the first study of the miniseries and the first extended study of Dune: Part One, and provides the groundwork for understanding these adaptations and how closely they align to the book so beloved by people
Read moreNew Book Out Soon
There’s just a month to go until the publication of my next book, Adaptations of Dune: Frank Herbert’s Story on Screen! Pre-order the Kindle ebook version on Amazon now, or wait until the paperback release on February 5. An audiobook version will hopefully follow soon after. While the world has awaited the Dune: Part Two film (now scheduled for a March release), I decided to study the three existing adaptations and how faithful they are to Frank Herbert’s book. All of the directors said publicly that they wanted to stay faithful to the source material, so I took a closer look at the evidence
Read moreDavid Lynch’s Infant Son and Other Personal Stressors in the Making of Dune the Film
Director David Lynch’s infant son wasn’t mentioned in any of the dozens of sources for the chapter I wrote on his fateful Dune (1984) film. I only stumbled across this info in one of the last sources I looked at for a quick cross-check of a different fact. This source was Lynch’s autobiography, Room to Dream (2018), coauthored with Kristine McKenna and full of interviews with people in Lynch’s life (read more about it in Vice‘s article Women Are the Most Surprising Part of David Lynch’s New Memoir). It was here that I read about his then-spouse Mary Fisk giving birth
Read moreReview of Tom Huddleston’s The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert
Tom Huddleston’s The Worlds of Dune: The Places and Cultures that Inspired Frank Herbert (2023) is a beautifully designed book that explores the range of ideas and concepts that inspired Frank Herbert in the writing of his 1965 science fiction masterpiece, Dune. Through an introductory biography chapter followed by twelve chapters named after planets, characters, and other elements in Dune, Huddleston looks at various political, environmental, and social influences that help show the many layers of meaning in Herbert’s complex novel. Each chapter is accompanied by images from art history, film, books, comics, and photographs that bring the story to
Read moreReview of Ryan Britt’s The Spice Must Flow: The Story of Dune, from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies
In The Spice Must Flow: The Story of Dune, from Cult Novels to Visionary Sci-Fi Movies (2023), Ryan Britt has written an engaging and entertaining history of Frank Herbert’s Dune and the winding road it has taken to become a pop culture fixture. Its clever chapter titles and charming tone make for an enjoyable read. Weaving interviews with analysis and humorous commentary, Britt brings together a wide range of materials to explore the history of Dune, and he manages to make the feat look effortless! Thirteen chapters cover the different stages in the life of this famous science fiction story,
Read moreReview of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History by Max Evry
It’s got scandals, hot takes, regrets, and reflections. It’s got serious musings alongside funny anecdotes. It’s all about the infamous Dune film adaptation by David Lynch, and whatever you think of the original film (or extended version, or fan edits…) you won’t want to miss this engaging story about this fateful production. In Max Evry’s new book, A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History, he provides a behind-the-scenes look at the 1984 film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s science fiction book, Dune (1965), with the benefit of nearly four decades of time for reflection. As an experienced film
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