frank herbert – M. Szal

When I was seven years old, I went to the TM (Transcendental Meditation) Center in Dallas to receive my “walking mantra” and learned the standard TM technique at twelve (the youngest you can learn). Several famous people practice TM, including David Lynch (RIP), Katy Perry, Jerry Seinfeld, and the Beatles, just to name a few.

My favorite David Lynch movie is Mulholland Drive (2001); however, he also directed a movie adaptation of the Dune book in 1984. My current animation project, Arrackeen Nights, is also based on this book by Frank Herbert. Dune features numerous spiritual and religious elements which the newest version of the film glosses over. The 2021 film makes it seem like Lady Jessica and Paul are almost “running game” on the Freeman.

The book paints a very different picture of “Mentats” and “Bene Gesserit” individuals attaining a high level of spiritual and mental ability. These, combined with the Islamic and Native American spiritual undertones, are why Dune is such an interesting and important work of literature. Frank Herbert succeeded in elevating science fiction to new heights and paved the way for the “Sith/Jedi” in Star Wars.

After several years of working on The Flying Dutchess by myself, I have decided to wait until I can get a deal with an animation studio like Cartoon Network or Disney to release more content. Since I began making animations in college, I have been trying to develop quality content for my portfolio. Animation is a graphic design specialization, ranging from title credits to CGI.

In the interest of my demo reel and since I love Frank Herbert (I call him Frank Sherbet), I have started work on an 8-episode mini-series based on the first Dune book entitled “Arrackeen Nights.” There was so much stuff in the David Lynch movie and the most recent film from the 2021 movie that was absent; I felt it was important to make some content with some of my favorite quotes and sections. The second part of book one is entitled, “MAUD’DIB”. The main focus is the two years when Lady Jessica and Paul are left in the desert after the fall of House Atreides.

Everything is candy-themed now, and instead of spice, our characters are mining blue raspberry candy from the candyjar region of Arrakis. Instead of worms, Dune is covered with gummy worms. The Harkonnens are now the Honeycombs of the planet Gummy Bear Prime, ruled by the famous Vladimir Honeycomb and his champion, Pepermintzophen.