Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has been a critical smash and a box office hit. A sequel adapting the second half of the science fiction classic has already been greenlit and anticipation is sure to be sky-high for what comes next. But the future didn’t always look so bright for the sci-fi’s cinematic presence.
Dune has proved an incredibly tricky story to bring to the screen, with the most notorious failed production helmed by midnight movie legend Alejandro Jodorowsky. The El Topo and The Holy Mountain director had big plans in the 1970s, with Mick Jagger, Salvador Dalí, Orson Wells, Alain Delon, and David Carradine all set to appear in the movie.
Famed comic artist Jean “Moebius” Giraud was on art duties, H.R. Giger was commissioned for production design, and Pink Floyd would do the score. With an all-star lineup like that, how could it fail? Quite spectacularly as it turned out. The crazy story of what happened is chronicled in the excellent 2013 documentary Jodorowsky’s Dune, which I highly advise checking out.
But now one very lucky person will be able to buy Jodorowsky’s huge manuscript storybook. Check it out:
This piece of cinema history features Jodorowly’s mammoth script, extensive storyboards, and lots of concept art. There are only ten of these books in existence, with Christie’s expecting it to sell for between $29,000 and $40,000 when it goes on sale in Paris on November 22.
If you don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to throw about, most of the content is available online here and makes for fascinating reading.
In the meantime, Villeneuve’s Dune is still in theaters and deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible.