FRANK HERBERT’S CHILDREN OF DUNE

THE CHALLENGE OF ADAPTATION

Adapting a novel for television always presents challenges. When attempting to translate a beloved classic like Dune, a novel revered by millions of readers from many generations, the task is all the greater. The first miniseries was universally hailed by fans as an astonishingly faithful rendering of Frank Herbert's classic work.

"The adaptation of Herbert's material has always been regarded as difficult," admitted Rubinstein. "I said to Frank Herbert's son, Brian, who came with his wife Jan to visit us on the set in Prague, 'I feel like an adopted member of your family' because we shared a commitment to seeing his father's work adapted in a way that was faithful to the books.

"Brian told me that his Dad would have been pleased with John's scripts and their realization on screen. I considered this important not only for fans of the books but also because I respect Brian and his writing partner Kevin Anderson for their best-selling Dune prequel books, each of which has been a hardcover as well as softcover national best seller.

"I've had positive reinforcement, particularly based on the success of The Stand as a miniseries, in appreciating the value to an audience of giving them on screen the spirit of a book that they love," says Rubinstein. "That doesn't mean a literal translation." Associate Producer Michael Messina adds, "Dune Messiah and Children of Dune are not as linear from a plot/character standpoint as the first Dune novel. John had to do some interpreting as well as some filling in of the spaces that Herbert hadn't addressed, which was no easy task. He did it extraordinarily well."

"From my experiences writing and directing Frank Herbert's Dune, I learned how to condense the epic nature of the story and draw out of Herbert's books the big issues and themes," said Harrison. "Once I saw it come to life in the first miniseries and saw that it was coherent, I was a lot more confident that I could take these next two books, and do with them what I had done before."

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