Since I'm 12 years old, there's a book
that I read which is Dune. My favorite book
I remember walking in the bookstore
I discovered a book because I was
attracted to the cover. The French cover
was fantastic of the first editions
A close-up of a black men with blue eyes,
above a desert. A very strong image
Very hypnotic
It seems that Denis Villeneuve has
always had a fascination with deserts
you get a taste of Dune in his previous
films such as Arrival's Jessica-like Character
with her red hair and
prescient vision. Or Villeneuve's short film
"Next Floor" with his great gluttonous
banquet, hearkening to Herbert's iconic
banquet scene with its interplay of
politics and intrigue
Featuring an almost Lawrence of Arabian Peter O'Toole looking character
Which we'll explore later
this character with his
huge eyebrows looking like a Lynchian Thufir Hawat is not surprising
because David Lynch's Dune was also an influence on Denis
The relationship between Denis and Dune is a long one
In his early work he explored the life of nomadic peoples in "Terres Du Homme" or "Land of People"
The short film features a track from David Lynch's Dune score. So David Lynch's Dune definitely had an affect on Denis
David Lynch did an adaptation in the 80's that has
very strong qualities. I mean David Lynch is one of the best filmmakers alive
I have massive respect for him
but when I saw his adaptation I was impressed but it was not the movie that I dreamed of
After prisoners the producer asked me "what would you like to do next?"
And I said "Dune"
spontaneously. If ever
someone can get me the rights for Dune
And I knew that it was very difficult to get
those rights. For me to is just a dream
and so I'm trying to make the adaptation
of my dream
so what is the adaptation of Denis' dreams?
The cover he remembers so vividly
appears on the French editions of Dune,
featuring the art by Polish artist Wojciech Siudmak
That is why most of the Fremen are cast from ethnic backgrounds
in particular those that match the art of Siudmak's Dune cover
and after the success of Black Panther,
the studio were pretty confident in
getting on board Denis' vision, trying to
duplicate success for a project that in
the past has never truly succeeded. Wojciech's Eyes of the Ibad where the eye color is still visible underneath the
blue are some of the most accurately
portrayed based on descriptions found in
Frank Herbert's dune
I'm going back to the book
going back to the images that
came out when I read it
Denis has also chosen to film in Jordan. The same location as Lawrence of Arabia
All of these things are part
of Villeneuve's vision for his Dune
we got to shoot in Wadi Rum which was, that was like shooting on another planet
I just fell in love with the culture
that was created by Frank Herbert and
what it was saying about religion and
the link between religion, politics
and the fact that it's a project that
you can explore those themes very freely
Jordan and Abu Dhabi, two locations used to film 
Star Wars
Denis is also a Star Wars fan
going as far as to say that his Dune
will be Star Wars for adults
The two first Star Wars
A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back
is the movie that I was waiting with the most apprehension you know. Two years!
but it died with Return of the Jedi
Not an Ewok guy...
No I was like a pure believer you know
I hate the third one so much that was
the end for me
Even though he isn't an Ewok guy, he liked Rogue One
I think Rogue One was a very interesting attempt
- very very very interesting way to get
out of the mold
it seems that he liked it so much that he wanted to work with director of photography Greig Fraser
Who is the DOP of Dune
a rumor among auditioners for Dune
was that Liet Kynes
was going to be cast as a black actor
and the name being attached was Donald Glover
Liet is now being played by Sharon
Duncan Brewster
despite the gender change of Liet Kynes Villeneuve hasn't shied away from portraying the Baron as obese
described as a rhino in human form
I had seven hours in makeup every day
because I had to be really fat
Villeneuve has chosen to make Dune into two films, saying I would not agree to make this
I would not agree to make this adaptation of the book with one single movie. The world is too complex
It's a world that takes it's power in details
Villeneuve goes on to say that no matter what you believe, earth is changing and
we will have to adapt
it was a distant portrait of the reality of the oil and the capitalism and their exploitation
the exploitation of Earth. Today things
are just worse. It's a coming-of-age
story but also a call for action for the
youth
Villeneuve's words about the
call for action for the youth reminds me
of Jodorowsky's Dune
he wanted to create a film that changed the young minds of the youth
to change the young mind of all the
world
Villeneuve is trying to capture an air of authenticity and realism
If you asked me today if I had nothing on my table what I would love to do I will say
"Dune," because I know that the images...
I'm inspired by it
what he's really good at is creating this strange atmosphere with his imagery
I have images that I'm haunted by
since 35 years or something like that
my work is to reconnect with my first
impressions and my memories of how I
felt and the images that came out when I
read the book the first time, the first
original images and connect with that
bodyguard to Duke Leto, Villeneuve describes Lady Jessica as a Warrior Priestess
Oscar Isaac describes Dune nightmarish
having a brutalist element to it
you can see that they've gone for
the brutalist architecture in Dune
this is similar to brutalist
architecture in Jodorowsky's Dune
Timothee Chalamet describes Paul as being
on an anti-hero's journey
Villeneuve's first and only choice to play Paul
as far as I know there was no casting call for the character
this is Denis' interpretation of the
Frank Herbert novel
Villeneuve's approach to book adaptations is perhaps not what you'd expect
in an AMA for his previous films a questioner asks about Villeneuve's film "Enemy"
he sheds light on his approach to adaptations of books
Villeneuve says, the movie is different
from the book, this isn't a direct adaptation
we were inspired by the book
Saramago's style is so unique and strong
it can't be translated literally to the
screen. I really think that when you make
a movie out of a play or a book you do
your best to be faithful to the author's
idea but you need to be a traitor
unfortunately because you will transform
the story into your own according to your
own Sensibility and the fact that the
cinematic images are totalitarian.
it's interesting that Denis
is following a similar method to Alexandro Jodorowsky
despite those who give him flack for his
approach to Dune
To bring literature to
image, is completely difficult. You need
to create
another world. The optical world is not
the literary auditive world
that's gonna be a massive challenge but the project of my life definitely, yeah
what do you think of Villeneuve's vision
for Dune? Let me know in the comment
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