As a filmmaker, he is known for his silences. But Villeneuve definitely didn’t give the packed audience inside the Royal Festival Hall on a Sunday morning the silent treatment!
Early on this past Sunday morning, I got up with an extra kick in my step. I was on my way to a masterclass in filmmaking, courtesy of French Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Why is he a favorite filmmaker? I’ve had a lot of time to think about this, since watching Incendies around 2010 and honestly, it’s what he doesn’t have his characters say that most captures my imagination. His work is constantly delving into the importance of communication — which as a human species we do, most of the time, without any words. People who make us feel good, or at times make us feel bad, often do that without the use of a single word.
Another reason I like Villeneuve’s work is his humor. What, you say, humor? “Have you watched his films,” you are just now asking me in your thoughts. Yes I have, and he’s not funny as in the kind of haha humor but the kind that makes you think, and which overwhelms you at the height of a tragedy, only to make you laugh through your tears. The only other filmmaker alive today who possesses that quality is my own countryman Luca Guadagnino. It’s a gift, for the audience as much as for the filmmaker.
The 75-minute long Screen Talk was moderated by Emmy-winning actor and comedian Brett Goldstein and the presence of a funny man brought out Villeneuve’s inner comedian too. Turns out that humor that I find so prevalent in his films is part of the man at their helm too.
From Villeneuve’s “very early” draw into American films, which were the prevalent kind of entertainment available in the Canadian countryside where he grew up — the filmmaker was born in Gentilly, Quebec — he confessed that at 12/13 years of age “a name attached to the films that were speaking to me was Steven Spielberg,’ hence Villeneuve’s fascination with otherworldly, sci-fi elements, throughout his work.
He admitted that, when it comes to getting involved in a film “projects are choosing me, more than me choosing a project,” and that there was never a plan all along, except for the plan to go into sci-fi which was out of an “intimate connection” with that material.
About his first film Maelstrom, Villeneuve admitted that it made him realize that, as a young filmmaker “you have to accept the idea that you are not Orson Welles and won’t direct a masterpiece the first time,” around. He called his effort ripe with “maladresse,” the French for “clumsiness.” He also continued that, at the time, he felt like “maybe I made my first film too early, like Leos Carax,” which made the odd career of another favorite filmmaker of mine more understandable after his statement.
He disclosed the secret to his brilliant handling of big name stars in group scenes, which comes from an attempt at acting for Villeneuve. “I have a scar to remind me, here on my right hand, where I cut myself during an audition,” he admitted. But when talking about Zendaya, Timothée Chalamet and the cast of greats working together on his Dune films, he confidently said, “I had 12, 15 big actors in one room, each could lead their own film, and all those extras — to sustain the atmosphere and the specific energy I was looking for, that was a nice challenge.” A challenge, not a daunting task. Perhaps a lesson we can all learn from Villeneuve is that impossible is nothing, nothing is beyond our reach. Whatever is going to prove difficult is doable.
When asked by Goldstein how he manages to work with the greats of the cinematic world, avoiding egos and conflict, he confessed “you avoid the assholes, first rule,” continuing, “at the end of the day it’s about relationships and trust and communication.” Villeneuve also admitted that he’s more of a chameleon, and doesn’t come with dogmas to a shoot, which is a great survival skill. And a sign of greatness, as adaptability is key in surviving and thriving in our modern world. “It’s part of the game, to understand the person in front of you,” he concluded, talking about actors.
Denis Villeneuve and Brett Goldstein, photo by Jeff Spicer at Getty Images, courtesy of the BFI London Film Festival
“I love babies!” Villeneuve exclaimed when a baby was heard repeatedly cooing in the audience, at key times in the conversation. And silences, the filmmaker loves silence and confessed that “one day I hope to make a film that won’t use spoken languages.”
Speaking of languages, one of my personal favorites of Villeneuve is Arrival, starring the wondrous Amy Adams as a linguist called to interpret the language of an alien force which has landed spaceships in twelve key spots on earth. The film arrived — pardon the pun — in the filmmaker’s life after Sicario, and he admitted that at the time he needed, “some light, some hope, love and warmth,” which came to him in the form of ‘Story of Your Life’, a story within a 2002 book by Ted Chiang.
What proved interesting to Villeneuve, was “how language can change your perception of reality.” The film is a must-watch and completely alters one’s perception of reality. So mission accomplished for Maestro Villeneuve I’d say.
“I was convinced that Hollywood would destroy me,” Villeneuve admitted, and that the 2013 film “Enemy was my identity.” The filmmaker talked about the creepy doppleganger story starring Jake Gyllenhaal as “five artists having the time of their lives,” and thought “no one will ever watch it,” about the finished product. I watched it, in Abu Dhabi with a producer friend and we both said “Jake! Giant spider! Naked woman!” to each other after the film. I was younger and not as film savvy then.
During the 40-day shoot for Enemy, Villeneuve attempted to “bring the actor at the center [forefront] of the creative process,” and in my humble opinion, succeeded in both making a great film and giving Gyllenhaal the edge he needed. Oddly, the film was made at the same time as Villeneuve’s Prisoners, and they were finished one week apart. Neither, take note here, destroyed Villeneuve, who has become a wonderfully inventive voice in the Hollywood landscape!
About the Dune story, the filmmaker admitted that the “idea of the One I’m not interested in,” continuing that Herbert himself, who penned the Dune books, was “disappointed about the perception of the Hero,” which then drove him to write Dune: Messiah — the film which comes next from Villeneuve, and will close the Dune tryptic for the filmmaker. The filmmaker credited his producer wife, also second unit director partner on set Tanya Lapointe with the speed of shooting the worm sequences.
According to Deadline, we can expect the next installment, which takes place a dozen years after the story ended in Dune: Part Two, to come out in early 2026. The protagonists of Dune: Messiah will be Timothée Chalamet as Atreides; Zendaya as the Fremen tribal warrior Chani, along with Florence Pugh and Anya Taylor-Joy.
Images courtesy of the BFI London Film Festival, used with permission.