As I mentioned a couple months ago, plans to bring Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novel ‘Dune’ back to the big screen with a new remake (or re-adaptation) have been in the works for some time now. Peter Berg was originally slated to direct, but (thankfully) dropped out. Next, Pierre Morel stepped in to take the reigns. But after his ‘From Paris with Love‘ bombed, I knew those plans wouldn’t last.

Sure enough, it’s now been reported that Morel is out and the ‘Dune’ remake project is about to go back into turnaround. It seems that if Paramount can’t find a new director and get production rolling by this spring, the studio will lose its option on the film rights. Mark my words, that isn’t likely to happen. Frankly, I’m fine with that. David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation of ‘Dune‘ is still my favorite movie, and I’m very protective of it.

Meanwhile, a friend of mine has directed me to a journal of behind-the-scenes stories about the original film that I’d never read before. As much as I’ve researched and studied the movie over the years, every so often I find myself surprised to learn something new that’s worth sharing.

In early 1983, freelance writer Kenneth George Godwin found himself, with no qualifications whatsoever, contracted by Universal Studios to be part of a team making a video documentary about the production of ‘Dune’. As he tells it, Godwin was hired solely based on an article about Lynch’s ‘Eraserhead’ that he had written for ‘Cinefantastique’ magazine, which Lynch happened to like. For the next six months, he tagged along to witness the behind-the-scene turmoil that plagued the production, shooting over 75 hours of videotape for a documentary that was eventually scrapped and never saw the light of day.

While that video footage may (or may not) be lost forever, Godwin has collected his journal entries from the period on a site called “Dune – On Set in Mexico.” In his words, the journal is “not so much a record of the production itself as my account of being adrift and alone on location in a big foreign city… Still, it may be of some interest as the perceptions of a naïve observer involved in a monumental, troubled production.”

The journals tell some pretty interesting stories. The site also has a collection of some neat behind-the-scenes photographs, such as this one of Lynch directing a 6-year-old Alicia Witt.

Godwin’s writings about ‘Eraserhead’ can also be found as part of the same site.

(Thanks to Faisal and Mark for the tips.)