Below is an email I received from the creators of the Dune Fan Film - please sign the petition!

"As you may know, the HLP has definitively denied us the right to show EVEN the TRAILER of our trilogy for FREE in the WEB. Maybe We believe we've seen quite a lot of trailers and shortfilms based on DUNE or STAR WARS or many other Sci-Fi classics, made by fans and amateurs (like us!) and no one has lost a single penny from their multi-millionaire contracts.

"What's the matter with us?

"We thought we had gone through the hardest part of our project -the making- and we were illusionated with what was supposed to be the sweetest moment: its release and its ?better or worse- reception by the Fans. However, the release has turned out to be the bitterest part. We expected some support from the people above us (the Herberts) but all we have found was a distant treat and suspicion. Somewhere I read that George Lucas allowed all the FAN FILMS and he had even posted one of them (STAR WARS: REVELATIONS) in the official website of STAR WARS. He had nothing to be scared of. Hey! There's nothing to be scared here!

"The films have been entirely shot and most of the scenes have been already edited. All they need is some posproduction (like the blue eyes, painted as we told you frame by frame) This news has come in the worst moment, when it is practically finished.

"You -the real DUNE Fans- are encouraging us to keep struggling for our FAN FILM and we deeply appreciate it. Had not been for your support, we had given up when we knew the answer from the HLP. Irulan Corrino, from the Arrakeen Forum, has been incredibly kind and has opened a SIGN PETITION page to SAVE the DUNE FAN FILM. The link is below:

www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/911912955

"Many things have been learned from this experience, but the most important one has been with no doubt that you, the Fans, are amazing and incredible. This film was made for you, it is such a freak project that no one else culd understand it.

"This SIGN PETITION might be just a reivindicative thing, but we hope it can show the HLP that the Fans are with us. Perhaps -and hopefully- it can make reconsider their position at this point.

"We appreciate you support. Thank you very very very much."

I received a dissapointing email this morning from the creators of the Dune Fan Film, which I've pasted below. Read and give water to the dead...

"We are the authors of the Dune Fan Video Film.

"Sorry, we have not answered before, but we wanted to talk previously with the Herbert Family and the HLP for respect and education.

"After a few emails, the final answer they have given is that we are not allowed to show you all the Fan Film for free as soon as we had finished it, because of the contracts and the copyright. We communicate you our decission: with great sorrow and impotence we have abandoned the project. There is no way.

"Dune Fan Video Film was a 100% Fan Film made by a group of young Spanish students. A (very) low budget 8 hours length Fan Trilogy based on the Frank Herbert's first DUNE novel, with a 7 years production made for fans by fans, with non commercial purposes and born from our great admiration for the DUNE Universe. We are amazed for your high consideration and your hesitation whether it is a fan film or not. It has been shot with VHS and Mini-DV cameras and has been edited in our PCs at home. We have been extremely accurate to the novel (our adaptation has been with no doubt the most one) Our illusion was to share our work with you by posting it for free in the web and to contribute with our effort and illusion to the DUNE Universe. An universe in which we have lived the last 10 year of our lives. A huge and serious work which may seem crazy.

"We tried to respect at all time the spirit of Frank Herbert's creation, his person and his family. And with our project we wanted to pay a tribute to him. Based on this respect, we transmited inmediately the Herbert Family the existence of our trailer. From the beginning, we tried to make everything clear about our Fan Film and its non commercial purposes, and we offered to make any necesary modification, publicity or its inmediate retreat in a friendly way, in case they considered it. Unfortunately, the feelings it caused on them and the answer we received, was not at all what we expected.

"Our project had not commercial purposes and it had not financing or support from any company or institution. Everything was made with our hands and paid with our pocket money. The actors were our friends and relatives, who have put up with our passion for the Frank Herbert novels for years. The locations were our houses and public buildings: Malaga,our town, is 3.000 years old and we have been lucky to shoot on every kind of location, from morish palaces to middle-age castles and real dunes.

"The special effects and the editing were made in a personal computer at home without great economical costs. For example, the eyes of the Fremen were painted frame by frame (30 frames per second, several persons on each frame) The postproduction work has been hard, difficult and huge.

"Unfortunately, we will not never be able to show it because we are not allowed to it. Therefore we abandon the trilogy unanimously and totally. We will not finish the movies because it does not make any sense. It is a pity, after so much enthusiasm: we are now deeply disappointed and our fan spirit is dead. Given that there is not and there will not be permission for any DUNE adaptation made by fans, we have abandoned the Fan Film. The project is dead and only the memories and the dust are left. There is no more illusion.

"We still have the hope on showing the trailer in our web and we are waiting for the Herbert's Family permission. We consider that a 4 minutes length trailer would not create a copyright problem and would be the only way to feel that our 7 years work has been valued and it has not been worthless. We would like to feel that we have been respected as fans and people, something basic in any fan community.

"We also thank the interest shown by the real DUNE Fans through emails, youtube posts, webs and forums.

"Long live the fighters!!!!! 150 spanish Dune fans."

Update: There is an online petition to save the fan film. Sign the petition here

You can add your recollections of Dune here