December 3, 2001 SCI FI BEGINS PRODUCTION IN APRIL 2002 ON CHILDREN OF DUNE MINISERIES Sequel to Emmy Award-Winning Dune Miniseries Breaks New Ground In Author Frank Herbert's Universe NEW YORK — SCI FI has greenlit production on a six-hour sequel to its Emmy Award-winning miniseries, Frank Herbert's Dune, entitled Children of Dune. Produced by New Amsterdam Entertainment, the SCI FI project marks the first film or television adaptation of the sequel novels to the original best-selling Dune book. Children of Dune has been adapted for the screen by John Harrison (Frank Herbert's Dune), with Richard P. Rubinstein (Frank Herbert's Dune, The Stand) back on board as executive producer. The project begins production in Prague in April of 2002, and is slated to air in 2003 on SCI FI. SCI FI's premiere of the epic miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune virtually doubled all previous viewership records for the channel, with a remarkable 4.4 rating (2,917,000 HHs) in December 2000. In addition to being the most-watched program in the history of the channel, the six-hour epic earned a place among the top 10 of all original basic-cable miniseries in the past five years. Frank Herbert's Dune also earned two Emmys in the fall of 2001 for its cinematography and special effects. SCI FI's Children of Dune will be based on the second and third novels in Frank Herbert's award-winning, six-volume Dune series, Dune Messiah and Children of Dune. This miniseries will continue the story of the Atreides family saga and recount the fall of Paul's empire. Under Paul's rule, the planet enjoys a renaissance, growing green and lush, with the life-giving Spice flowing freely. However, the revolution he inspired has transformed into a brutal jihad, and the imperial government is plagued by internal corruption. The future of freedom rests in the hands of Paul's heirs, his twin children Leto II and Ghanima. His son Leto II is soon forced to demystify the legacy of his father and tear down the old regime in order to restore peace to the empire. Children of Dune is a New Amsterdam Entertainment, Inc. production, in association with Victor Television Productions, Inc. New Amsterdam Entertainment, Inc., is a New York City-based developer and producer of theatrical feature films and TV programming. In addition to the production of Children of Dune, New Amsterdam is developing a feature-film remake of the horror classic George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead with Beacon Pictures and Keller, a feature film based on Lawrence Block's best-selling novel Hit Man, with a screenplay by Lawrence Block, Patrick McGrath and Maria Aitken. Jeff Bridges is attached to star and will executive-produce with Neil Koenigsberg.

Photos by Zdenek Vavra
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