Sotheby's is auctioning some striking props from David Lynch's cursed but cult favorite 1984 film of Dune, among other artifacts of screen science fiction and fantasy. Pictured above is an early version of the hunter-seeker drone that nearly kills Paul and the Atreides' houskeeper. A steal at $3,500!
"A Hunter Seeker! Can't get me if I don't move. It's too dark in here for it to see clearly…" – Paul Atreides (Kyle MacLachlan), DUNE 1984
Remotely operated by an assassin sent to murder Paul Atreides, the hunter seeker features a lethal poison needle with which to stab its target. Paul thwarts the assassination attempt by remaining completely still, as the assassin cannot find him in the dark so long as it does not sense movement, and grabbing the projectile to slam it against a door plate.
Frank Herbert's 1965 science fiction classic included the use of several technologies that resemble the cutting edge of weaponry today, not the least of which the drone-like hunter seeker. While this film prop prototype is not the final screen-used design, it testifies to the creative process through which David Lynch's Dune interpretation was brought to life. The final screen-used design features more silver metal, a less aerodynamic shape, and a less prominent needle, likely easier to see on film.
And here's a dart gun wielded by the compromised Wellington Yueh. $7k gets you in.
Also, hats. These technical drawings are currently only bid to $300. Ron Miller concept art is a little more fetching.
Here's video advertising the event.
This animatronic E.T. eye made by Carlo Rambaldi, is really something. The reserve's met, you'll be needing to pip $12k just to have a shot!
And Jareth's scepter from Labyrinth wouldn't go amiss. No sign of his codpiece, though.
Also up: A Rare and Intimate Look Inside David Lynch's Unmade Film 'Ronnie Rocket'
One project that Lynch returned to periodically – and as recently as a few years ago – germinated in the late 1970s around the time he started working on his debut film, Eraserhead. Due to funding difficulties, this film, titled Ronnie Rocket, never got off the ground. Even with decades of financial roadblocks, Lynch always retained hope that he could eventually launch this passion project. Lynch developed Ronnie Rocket enough to not only elicit several drafts of the script, but also concept illustrations by Ron Miller, a science-fiction author and illustrator who first worked with director on his adaptation of Dune (1984).
