Pierre Morel Talks ‘Dune’ Remake

While most people seem to have a love/hate relationship with David Lynch’s original 1984 film version of Frank Herbert’s Dune, I have nothing but love for it. I love that it wallows and gloomily meanders through intense and ambiguous visuals. I love that Sting is in it. I love that even upon a twentieth viewing, I still have many questions as to what it’s about.

It’s a film that takes its time, which apparently is a strategy director Pierre Morel is foregoing with his remake. Instead, he’s going for something “faster and more modern,” which he believes is more in line with Herbert’s books: “I’ve been reading [Dune] over and over again – well, I’m 45 now, so for 30 years,” Morel says. His film “is all about the first book. I’m trying to be very respectful to the original novel.”

I hate to be a doubting Thomas (and I’m all about resurrecting Herbert’s vision of Dune on the screen, as long as it brings something new to the table — there are books worth of material that no version has touched upon) but in no way shape or form is Dune a fast-paced book. While the specifics of Arrakis may have fluctuated in Lynch’s version, the pacing was pretty spot-on.

Says Morel: “We’ll try to figure out what things may look like 10,000 years from now; it’s all about reconfiguring the entire universe,” Morel says. He mentions wanting to modernize the clothes, and talks about plans that include “working with design concepts, futurists and scientists who will give us a vision of how technology may evolve with certain conditions.”

Of course, all of that starts with a script. Morel is assembling a team and writing a script from scratch for the Dune remake.

Source: /Film

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