Based on the best-selling novel by Frank Herbert, Dune has been
widely regarded by many as the one book that would be impossible to
effectively adapt into film. Published in 1965, Dune became an instant
best-seller and a staple of the science fiction genre; which meant that
efforts to adapt it into cinema began almost instantly.
The first serious attempt to adapt
Dune
began in 1973, when a consortium of French filmmakers and producers
hired on Alejandro Jodorowsky. Despite a great deal of enthusiasm and a
star-studded cast, the story quickly ballooned into a 10-14 hour epic
and the funding quickly dried up.
The next attempt occured
in 1976, when Dino De Laurentiis bought the film rights from the
consortium. He began looking for directors, with considerations given to
Ridley Scott (who thought to hire on H.R. Giger and split the book into
two films) before finally settling on David Lynch, whose vision was
eventually manipulated to such a degree that he would later deny the
film entirely.
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