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January 4, 2010
Variety.com
By Mike Fleming
Published: Mon, January
04, 2010, 3:01 PM
Paramount Pictures sets
Pierre Morel to direct adaptation of Frank Herbert’s
1965 sci-fi classic novel “Dune”.
Morel, who last directed
the action hit “Taken,” has signed a deal with the
studio and will work toward getting the script right.
Pic is one of the biggest priorities on the slate of Par
Motion Picture Group prexy Adam Goodman.
Kevin Misher’s Misher
Films will produce with New Amsterdam’s Richard
Rubinstein, who also produced the highly rated six hour
Frank Herbert’s “Dune” miniseries“and its sequel
“Children of Dune” which was based on the next two
novels in Herbert’s original 6 novel series.
Screenplay had been
developed for Peter Berg, who exited when he committed
to direct Universal’s “Battleship,” based on the Hasbro
naval combat board game. Berg had developed a “Dune”
draft with Josh Zetumer, the screenwriter who separately
has been scripting the fourth installment of “The Bourne
Identity” for Universal. Paramount will work off the
Zetumers draft, but the studio and the producers expect
to announce another writer shortly.
“Dune” was first turned
into a film by David Lynch, whose 1984 effort was not a
financial success nor well regarded by fans of the
novel. Herbert’s novel—about an intergalactic struggle
to control the supply of the “Spice” found only on the
remote desert planet Arrakis, aka ‘Dune’—remains the
biggest selling science fiction novel ever and new
generations of readers keep book sales still going
strong. In fact Morel is a long time fan who brought his
well-worn copy of the novel with him to meetings at
Paramount, studio sources said.
The studio will begin
doing R&D work immediately on a picture that promises to
be pricey.
Rubinstein’s feature
credits as producer include Stephen King’s “Pet Sematary”
and both the original George A. Romero directed 1979
“Dawn of the Dead as well as the Universal distributed
2004 remake directed by Zack Snyder. Pet and the Dawn
remake each grossed more than 100 million worldwide.
Misher, a former production chief at Universal most
recently produced the Michael Mann directed “Public
Enemy” starring Johnny Depp.
The deal makes “Dune” a
candidate to be the next directing assignment for Morel,
who
is also in early stage
development on a sequel to “Taken.” Morel most recently
wrapped the John Travolta/John Rys-Davies starrer “From
Paris with Love.” which hits theatres in the US next
month. He is repped by WME and Artist Talent Management.
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