Nov. 10, 1999 KJA, BH, Transcript from Time Chat Event

Moderators: SandRider, D Pope

Post Reply
D Pope
Archivist
Posts: 476
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:16 pm

Nov. 10, 1999 KJA, BH, Transcript from Time Chat Event

Post by D Pope »

http://www.time.com/time/community/tran ... 9dune.html

Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert, Authors of "Dune: House Atreides"
Transcript from Nov. 10, 1999


Timehost: Our TIME chat guests tonight are Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson, authors of Dune: House Atreides,
the latest in the legendary science-fiction series Dune. Seventeen million copies of the Dune series are in print and it has
been translated into twenty languages. It is now 8 p.m. EST. . . I don't know what time it is on the planet Arrakis, but it's
time to welcome Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson to the chatroom. Thanks for joining us. Plenty of Dune fans are here.


Brian Herbert: Thank you! We're glad to be here.


davidlynchfan asks: What did you think of the 1984 movie Dune?

Brian Herbert: Well, my opinion reflects what my father said to me in large degree, and I've come to form more
thoughts on it over the years. My dad thought it was a "visual feast." He pointed out that David Lynch had been a painter
in his earlier years, and there are many artistic touches in the film. The scenes are beautiful; so are the costumes. The
casting is excellent. Unfortunately, the movie does not always follow the plot of the book. For example, Paul does not make
rain in the book, which is how the movie ends. Also, in the movie, the baron is sort of a cartoon character, not the frightening
antagonist he should be.


Kevin Anderson: The best part of the movie is that the movie tie-in edition of Frank Herbert's novel sold and additional
million copies thanks to the promotion. Twenty years after Dune's initial publication, the book reached number one on the New
York Times bestseller list. Whether you like the movie or not, this is a good thing.


Brian Herbert: Over the years, the fans have come to appreciate the movie much more. I think they are overlooking the
minor discrepancies in the movie, and Kevin concurs with me on that one. There will a six-hour miniseries of the novel Dune
produced by New Amsterdam Productions in association with ABC. Filming begins in about twelve days in Prague, Czechoslovakia
and Tunisia. We only know one cast member at this point, and he is the Oscar-winning actor William Hurt, who will play the part of
Duke Leto Atreides. We are very excited about the project.




wc201 asks: What was Frank's inspiration for the idea of Spice and folding space to travel?

Brian Herbert: Spice represents the treasure of mythology that is guarded by the dragon. In Dune, the dragon is the great
sandworm, Shai-Hulud. Spice also represents the finite resource oil. We're not sure where he came up with that concept, but it is
one of the most imaginative concepts in the Dune universe.




a83904mfkghq34 asks: How did you come to collaborate on a Dune book?

Kevin Anderson: Dune has always been my favorite science-fiction novel of all time. I loved all six of Frank Herbert's
original chronicles. And after Frank passed away in '86, I longed for the story to continue, especially since the last novel,
Chapterhouse Dune, ended on such a cliffhanger. Brian and I got together through a mutual friend, Ed Kramer, and we started
talking about continuing the Dune story. As soon as we began our conversation, my wife says we started talking a different
language, finishing each other's sentences, and trying to outdo each other's enthusiasm for Dune. We immediately sensed that
we both had the same passion for this great universe.


Brian Herbert: Shortly after we began working on the project, we were astounded to learn about the existence of Frank
Herbert's safety-deposit boxes, which had been lost to the family. Inside those boxes were the notes for an unpublished Dune novel,
which Dad was just beginning to work on at the time of his death. We also located more than 1,300 pages of Frank Herbert's Dune
notes in a storage loft of my home. We had plenty of material to work with.




Timehost: This next question dovetails nicely with TIME's Visions of the 21st Century . . .
diieeselllll asks: How close do you think your book comes to what will be the reality of life in the 21st century?
Timehost: and what do you see for reality in the 21st century?

Brian Herbert: Our novel is set thousands of years in earth's future, in a different part of the universe. Elements of the
21st century might be carried forward into the events that occur in the time of our novel.


Kevin Anderson: While the specific events in our Dune novel are at such a great distance from the 21st century, the
subject matter has a lot of relevance to how we must watch over the earth in the next century. One of the main themes of
Atreides, and of all the Dune novels, is the critical reliance on a single limited resource-- spice. Obviously, on earth, in the next
century, we will be forced to look at our diminishing resources and how to cope with that. Frank Herbert also devoted much of his
work to increasing awareness of conservation and ecological matters. We'll all have to pay attention to that in the next century
.



Louisk39 asks: Did you study Islam and the Arab world to get a feel for the cultural references in the Dune series?

Kevin Anderson: I spent some time in Morocco studying Arabic cultures, Islamic architecture, and philosophy. I stayed in
Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez, and many other historical sites. I also have spent many years studying the desert ecology,
from Death Valley in California to the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado. All together, these details were added as "spice" in our novel.


Brian Herbert: The languages in Dune, while primarily of a desert origin, are also related to many other languages around
the world, including Navajo. Frank Herbert studied not only the languages, but also everything else that came to his attention. He
was a sponge for information. I spent five years writing a biography of him, entitled Dreamer of Dune, in which I researched the
origins of Dune, and connected that book to all his other writings, both published and unpublished. I also spent a year putting
together a Dune concordance, which is a very detailed reference work which Kevin and I refer to quite often. That work contains
all the references that Frank Herbert used.




Timehost: This next question is for Kevin . . .

Almost_Heaven_West_Virginia asks: What has it been like to work with so many "franchised" brands such as the X-Files,
Star Wars, and now Dune, Kevin?

Kevin Anderson: First off, I wouldn't consider Dune a "franchised" brand. I'm working with Frank Herbert's son, and we
make all our own decisions rather than changing a plot line for an episode being shot next week. But to answer your question, I
have always been a science fiction fan first and foremost. I loved Star Wars, and I loved the X-Files. Being chosen to write stories
based on those universes has been an enormous amount of fun for me. Dune, though, is something even more special. It's like walking
across sacred ground because the original books mean so much to me. Knowing that Frank Herbert wanted to continue his series,
and that he had talked with Brian with doing that, makes this an even more important project for me. I have, however, written over
a dozen original novels, and I will continue to do so. I love doing both.




birdowen asks: Brian, were you very close to your father's stories as you grew up?

Brian Herbert: When I grew up, my father insisted that the house be completely quiet so he could write. I heard him
reading stories to my mother, including many of the same in Dune. I did not become close to my father or to his writings until
I was in my twenties. For the last ten years of my father's life, he and I were very close, and he helped me a great deal with my
own writing. The very last novel that Frank Herbert wrote, Man of Two Worlds, was written with me. I am still on a journey to
understand this very complicated man, whom I love and whom I admire greatly.




kara829 asks: I really enjoyed Duncan Idaho. How hard was it to take your established characters and keep the continuity?

Brian Herbert: Dad always taught me to know everything about a character and build what he called "character files"
on every one of them. He would know, for example, who lived next door to a character, who his grandparents were, and what
they enjoyed eating. Each detail didn't make it into the novels, but Dad made sure he had them to his fingertips to allude to.
He had a technique of over-writing and then cutting back. Kevin and I have been able to use the clues that Dad left over for such
characters as Duncan Idaho, and we also have Frank Herbert's notes for the original series, so we are able to fill in details about
characters' early years. It is very important to make the early events that we are describing consistent with the characters' later
lives, as written by Frank Herbert.


Kevin Anderson: Since we know what kind of person Duncan Idaho will be (for the next 5,000 years), we take the challenge
of creating a scrappy young character who will be the later hero of Frank Herbert's novels-- and tell a good story at the same time.
Playboy Magazine liked that piece of the story so much that they published an excerpt, "The Flight of Duncan Idaho," in their November
issue. So, for all of you who wanted an excuse to buy Playboy, now you have one!


Brian Herbert: After Frank Herbert killed Duncan Idaho in Dune, he received so many letters of protest from fans that he
decided to resurrect this character in subsequent novels as a ghola. The Dune series has a number of advantages compared with
Star Wars. For example, we should be very interested to learn how George Lucas is going to bring Chewbacca back.




Timehost: This is a question I imagine many fans have . . .

surfn4ajob asks: Is there any way to get an autographed copy of Dune: House Atreides if you aren't coming into our area?

Kevin Anderson: You can look on our website, http://www.dunenovels.com to see all the places where we have done book
signings and where we will be doing signings in the future. Many of these stores are happy to mail copies. I know in particular that
Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego and University Books in Seattle do a brisk mail-order business.




Stamm444 asks: Do you think that the Internet will have an effect on the form of the sci-fi novel? or content? You should take
its existence into account for the future, even the far future, right?

Brian Herbert: In the universe of Dune there are no computers; with respect to the Internet in the next few years on earth,
we will see many more books published in electronic form. Readers will be provided with the electronic devices to read these books,
and there will be multiple books available for these devices. Microsoft expects to see a huge jump in this realm in the next fifteen
years


Kevin Anderson: As an author, the Internet and the web have proven to be a tremendous boon for doing research for
novels, distributing information on our new books, and maintaining direct contact with our friends and readers. Everything has
changed so much in the past five years, I get a headache thinking of what might happen in the next two decades.




gitarman_99 asks: Have you all encountered any negative reactions from the so called "sci-fi" elitists about writing a book
of this magnitude?

Brian Herbert: Before we even published House Atreides, there was a very small amount of negative commentary. Some
of these people, after reading our novel, have apologized to us, and we are grateful for their change of heart. When Kevin and I
were guests at Dragoncon, in Atlanta, the largest science-fiction/fantasy convention in the United States, we expected some
negative comments from Dune fans. We did not receive a single one. On the contrary, fans thanked us effusively for continuing
the Dune series. This is true today as well: while a few fans still do not like the idea of continuing the series, the vast majority
of fans want to see it continue. It's important to add here that Frank Herbert wanted to continue the series himself, but he passed
away while working on a Dune novel.




Timehost: Do either of you read any science fiction authors, or what do you read, science fiction or otherwise?

Kevin Anderson: We read voraciously in all different subjects, much of which is research for our own novels. I have always
been a science-fiction addict, and I continue to enjoy SF novels, but I also enjoy thrillers, westerns, and historical novels. These
days, though, I spend more time writing and editing my own writing rather than reading someone else's.


Brian Herbert: I tend to like the earlier science-fiction novels, such as Brave New World, 1984, and Fahrenheit 451. I
read a tremendous amount of mainstream literature, including the classics. I also research voraciously on many subjects including
religion, philosophy, and politics. Of the current authors, I enjoy Greg Bear, Kevin Anderson and Terry Brooks. I also read Dean
Koontz voraciously, and admire his plotting and the way he can build suspense.




daltoncb asks: What's the story behind the Dune computer games?

Brian Herbert: The Dune computer game is a spin-off of the 1984 Universal Pictures movie Dune. I am a managing
general partner of the Herbert Limited Partnership, which holds the copyrights to Frank Herbert's works. We had nothing to do
with the Dune computer games. We understand that it is very popular, but we do not think that it is close enough to Dune itself.
We would like to have the production company contact us to add more accurate details, and hopefully something can be worked
out in the future.



Timehost: The religious undertones of Dune are particularly striking. Where does that come from?

Brian Herbert: The BeneGessurit Sisterhood is based upon Frank Herbert's 13 maternal aunts, who were Irish Catholics.
In his youth, they tried to convert him to Catholicism, but didn't succeed. Dad referred to them as female Jesuits, which suggests
the correct pronunciation of Gessurit. As a result of this experience in his youth and others, Frank Herbert did not believe that any
one religion could lay claim to holding one path to God. This is an important aspect of Dune, which he wrote about in the appendix.




Timehost: Several chatters have asked if you plan any more Dune books,
and plan to add to the end as well as the beginning?


Kevin Anderson: Brian and I have completed the manuscript for Book Two, House Harkonnen, which will be published
next October during our book-signing tour. We finished the plotting for Book Three, House Corrino which we'll start writing this
January. This prequel trilogy will end with the birth of Paul Atreides, the hero of Dune. We also have many of Frank Herbert's
notes, including the complete outline of Dune 7, the sequel of Chapterhouse Dune, and we also are considering the story of the
Butlerian jihad. There should be plenty of new Dune stories to come.




Timehost: Thank you very much for spending this time with us. It's been a pleasure.

Brian Herbert: Thank you.

Kevin Anderson: Thank you.
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
User avatar
Sev
Posts: 60
Joined: Sat May 15, 2010 1:22 pm
Location: Peterborough, U.K.

Re: Nov. 10, 1999 KJA, BH, Transcript from Time Chat Event

Post by Sev »

So, a North African holiday morphs into:
I spent some time in Morocco studying Arabic cultures, Islamic architecture, and philosophy. I stayed in Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez, and many other historical sites.
"It was early 1974 before I made any attempt to read Dune. After forty pages I gave up. I couldn't get into the book. It seemed convoluted, opaque and full of strange language." - Brian "Bobo" Herbert
D Pope
Archivist
Posts: 476
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:16 pm

Re: Nov. 10, 1999 KJA, BH, Transcript from Time Chat Event

Post by D Pope »

Kevin Anderson wrote: The best part of the movie is that the movie tie-in edition of Frank Herbert's novel sold and additional million copies thanks to the promotion. Twenty years after Dune's initial publication, the book reached number one on the New York Times bestseller list. Whether you like the movie or not, this is a good thing.
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
User avatar
SandRider
Judge of the Change
Posts: 781
Joined: Sun Oct 05, 2008 9:00 pm
Location: on the worm

Re: Nov. 10, 1999 KJA, BH, Transcript from Time Chat Event

Post by SandRider »

Sev wrote:So, a North African holiday morphs into:
I spent some time in Morocco studying Arabic cultures, Islamic architecture, and philosophy. I stayed in Tangier, Casablanca, Marrakech, Fez, and many other historical sites.
as the answer to:
Did you study Islam and the Arab world to get a feel for the cultural references in the Dune series?

Brian wrote: I also spent a year putting together a Dune concordance, which is a very detailed reference work which Kevin and I refer to quite often. That work contains all the references that Frank Herbert used.
wow, I'd like to read that ...
but then, it probably call into question things like:
It is very important to make the early events that we are describing consistent with the characters' later lives, as written by Frank Herbert.


good addition, thanks Pope ...
D Pope
Archivist
Posts: 476
Joined: Tue Aug 17, 2010 12:16 pm

Re: Nov. 10, 1999 KJA, BH, Transcript from Time Chat Event

Post by D Pope »

wc201 asks: What was Frank's inspiration for the idea of Spice and folding space to travel?

Brian Herbert: Spice represents the treasure of mythology that is guarded by the dragon. In Dune, the dragon is the great

sandworm, Shai-Hulud. Spice also represents the finite resource oil. We're not sure where he came up with that concept, but

it is one of the most imaginative concepts in the Dune universe
.
I just mentioned this the other day, leap into the programmed text then admit you don't know
One of these days i'm going to find out just how many times he repeats this answer.
When a brand knew urinal puck showed up in the bathroom of my studio, I knew what I had to do.
-AToE
Post Reply

Return to “Kevin J. Anderson”