Dune (Movie)

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      How Hans Zimmer Conjured the Otherworldly Sounds of ‘Dune’

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      The composer worked with a far-flung “band” of collaborators who sung, scraped metal, invented instruments and more for the score.When the composer Hans Zimmer was approached to score “Dune,” the new movie adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novel, he knew one thing absolutely: It would not sound like “Star Wars.” Musically, those films drew on influences that ranged from Holst and Stravinsky to classic movie scores of the ’30s and ’40s. Even the rollicking tune performed by the bug-eyed creatures in the Cantina was inspired by Benny Goodman.For “Dune,” by contrast, Zimmer wanted to conjure sounds that nobody had ever heard before.“I felt like there was a freedom to get away from a Western orchestra,” he said recently, speaking in the Warner Bros. offices overlooking Hudson Yards in New York. “I can spend days making up sounds.”The resulting soundtrack might be one of Zimmer’s most unorthodox and most provocative. Along with synthesizers, you can hear scraping metal, Indian bamboo flutes, Irish whistles, a juddering drum phrase that Zimmer calls an “anti-groove,” seismic rumbles of distorted guitar, a war horn that is actually a cello and singing that defies Western musical notation — just to name a few of its disparate elements.The score combines the gigantic, chest-thumping sound of Zimmer’s best known work of the last decade with the spirit of radical sonic experimentation. The weirdness is entirely befitting the saga of a futuristic, intergalactic civilization whose denizens are stalked by giant sandworms and revere a hallucinogenic substance called spice.Timothée Chalamet stars in the latest film version of ‘Dune,’ directed by Denis Villeneuve.Warner Bros.No hallucinogens were imbibed as part of the composing process though: “Weirdly, I’m the only rock ’n’ roller who never did any drugs,” said Zimmer, who has a wide, boyish grin that belies his 64 years, particularly when discussing his more outrageous musical endeavors.Some time after his stint with the band the Buggles, the German-born, California-based composer made his name with scores for “Rain Man,” “The Lion King” and “The Thin Red Line.” More recently he scored the latest Bond outing, “No Time to Die.” But to many he is perhaps best known for his work on Christopher Nolan movies, including “Interstellar,” “Inception” and his Batman series.In fact, Zimmer turned down an offer to work on Nolan’s last film, “Tenet,” to focus his energies on “Dune.” In a way, the composer said, he has been working on this soundtrack ever since he first read the novel as a teenager. “I’ve been thinking about ‘Dune’ for nearly 50 years. So I took it very seriously.” He avoided seeing the 1984 movie adaptation, directed by David Lynch — featuring music by Toto — to preserve the vision of the movie in his head.As part of his creative process, Zimmer spent a week in Utah tuning in to the sound of the desert. “I wanted to hear the wind howling,” he said.Zimmer’s score is so prominent in “Dune” that at times the movie feels like an otherworldly equivalent of a “Planet Earth”-style nature spectacular. “‘Dune’ is by far my most musical film,” said the director Denis Villeneuve, who also hired Zimmer for “Blade Runner 2049.” “The score is almost ubiquitous, participating directly in the narrative of the film. It’s spiritual.”In fact, Zimmer wrote more music than could fit in the film. In addition to the original soundtrack, there’s “The Dune Sketchbook (Music From the Soundtrack),” comprising extended sonic explorations, and “The Art and Soul of Dune,” a companion soundtrack to the book of the same title that goes behind the scenes of the film. (There’s still more written for the hoped-for sequel.)It’s Zimmer’s name in the credits and on the soundtrack releases, but he prefers to think of himself as a member of an unusual band that includes a select group of composer-collaborators: “If someone has a great idea, I’m the first one to say, yes. Let’s go on that adventure.”The composer David Fleming, who gets an “additional music” credit for his contributions to the score, explained, “We create and collaborate on ideas, experimenting as long as the filmmakers will allow us to before we finally start applying those ideas to picture.” He described “band meetings” as an open forum, adding, “More than anyone else, you can count on Hans to push a bold idea one step further than you think it could possibly go, and then push some more.”Guthrie Govan, a slide guitarist whom Zimmer discovered on YouTube, described the process: “He’ll outline the desired end result rather than prescribing a specific means of getting there. For one cue, he just said, ‘This needs to sound like sand.’”To create the unorthodox score, Zimmer gave his collaborators cues like “This needs to sound like sand.”Warner Bros.Entirely new instruments ended up being created from scratch. (With pandemic-era travel restrictions in place, many of these elements were recorded separately in different parts of the world.) Winds player Pedro Eustache built a 21-foot horn and a “contrabass duduk,” a supersized version of the ancient Armenian woodwind instrument. Chas Smith, working in isolation in his barn in rural California, struck, scraped and scratched various metallic instruments of his own invention, including one made from springs and saw blades, and another made of Inconel 718, a superalloy used in cryogenic storage tanks and SpaceX engines. In the film, Smith’s complex, resonant tonal textures accompany visuals of desert sands and windblown spice.One of the major and more surprising musical moments in “Dune” occurs during a ceremonious arrival on the desert planet Arrakis. The scene is announced with the portentous drone of bagpipes, an aural assault generated by a battalion of 30 highland pipers playing in a converted church in Scotland. Ear protection had to be worn: the volume reached 130 decibels, the equivalent of an air-raid siren..css-1xzcza9{list-style-type:disc;padding-inline-start:1em;}.css-3btd0c{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-3btd0c{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-3btd0c strong{font-weight:600;}.css-3btd0c em{font-style:italic;}.css-1kpebx{margin:0 auto;font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.3125rem;color:#121212;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-1kpebx{font-family:nyt-cheltenham,georgia,’times new roman’,times,serif;font-weight:700;font-size:1.375rem;line-height:1.625rem;}@media (min-width:740px){#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-1kpebx{font-size:1.6875rem;line-height:1.875rem;}}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1kpebx{font-size:1.25rem;line-height:1.4375rem;}}.css-1gtxqqv{margin-bottom:0;}.css-16ed7iq{width:100%;display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-box-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;justify-content:center;padding:10px 0;background-color:white;}.css-pmm6ed{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;}.css-pmm6ed > :not(:first-child){margin-left:5px;}.css-5gimkt{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:0.8125rem;font-weight:700;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.03em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.03em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.03em;letter-spacing:0.03em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#333;}.css-5gimkt:after{content:’Collapse’;}.css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;-webkit-transform:rotate(180deg);-ms-transform:rotate(180deg);transform:rotate(180deg);}.css-eb027h{max-height:5000px;-webkit-transition:max-height 0.5s ease;transition:max-height 0.5s ease;}.css-6mllg9{-webkit-transition:all 0.5s ease;transition:all 0.5s ease;position:relative;opacity:0;}.css-6mllg9:before{content:”;background-image:linear-gradient(180deg,transparent,#ffffff);background-image:-webkit-linear-gradient(270deg,rgba(255,255,255,0),#ffffff);height:80px;width:100%;position:absolute;bottom:0px;pointer-events:none;}.css-1g3vlj0{font-family:nyt-franklin,helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:1rem;line-height:1.375rem;color:#333;margin-bottom:0.78125rem;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-1g3vlj0{font-size:1.0625rem;line-height:1.5rem;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}}.css-1g3vlj0 strong{font-weight:600;}.css-1g3vlj0 em{font-style:italic;}.css-1g3vlj0{margin-bottom:0;margin-top:0.25rem;}.css-19zsuqr{display:block;margin-bottom:0.9375rem;}.css-12vbvwq{background-color:white;border:1px solid #e2e2e2;width:calc(100% – 40px);max-width:600px;margin:1.5rem auto 1.9rem;padding:15px;box-sizing:border-box;}@media (min-width:740px){.css-12vbvwq{padding:20px;width:100%;}}.css-12vbvwq:focus{outline:1px solid #e2e2e2;}#NYT_BELOW_MAIN_CONTENT_REGION .css-12vbvwq{border:none;padding:10px 0 0;border-top:2px solid #121212;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-rdoyk0{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg);-ms-transform:rotate(0deg);transform:rotate(0deg);}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-eb027h{max-height:300px;overflow:hidden;-webkit-transition:none;transition:none;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-5gimkt:after{content:’See more’;}.css-12vbvwq[data-truncated] .css-6mllg9{opacity:1;}.css-qjk116{margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;}.css-qjk116 strong{font-weight:700;}.css-qjk116 em{font-style:italic;}.css-qjk116 a{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-underline-offset:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-decoration-thickness:1px;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:visited{color:#326891;-webkit-text-decoration-color:#326891;text-decoration-color:#326891;}.css-qjk116 a:hover{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;}That unholy din in particular permeated Zimmer’s home during his late-night work sessions. “My daughter told me the other day she has bagpipe PTSD.”But perhaps the most mystical presence in the score is a choir of female voices, singing, whispering and chanting in an invented language. “The true driving force of this novel is always the female characters,” Zimmer said. “It’s really the women that craft the destiny of everybody.”One arresting voice comes through like a war cry, all ancient, melismatic syllables in unsettled rhythms. These vocals were recorded in a closet in Brooklyn, the makeshift studio of the music therapist and singer Loire Cotler. In that space, sitting on the floor, with clothes dangling above her head and her laptop perched on a cardboard box, Cotler sang for hours a day, emerging when it was dark. “It became a sacred musical laboratory,” Cotler told me.Stylistically, Cotler drew on everything from Jewish niggun (wordless song) to South Indian vocal percussion, Celtic lament to Tuvan overtone singing. Even the sound of John Coltrane’s saxophone was an influence, she said. “When you start to hybridize these far-flung influences and techniques, interesting sounds start to happen,” she said. “It’s a vocal technique called ‘Hans Zimmer.’”Villeneuve has made headlines for insisting that “Dune” is the kind of multisensory experience that demands to be seen on a big screen in a cinema. In the same way, Zimmer’s score is one that demands to be experienced via a good cinema sound system.“I write in surround sound — but it’s not just about the big sound and big screen,” Zimmer said. “It’s about sharing something together. Shared dreaming.” More

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      ‘Dune’ | Anatomy of a Scene

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      Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera.Film directors walk viewers through one scene of their movies, showing the magic, motives and the mistakes from behind the camera. More

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      What’s on TV This Week: ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ and ‘Queens’

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      Season 11 of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” begins on HBO. And a new musical drama series debuts on ABC.Between network, cable and streaming, the modern television landscape is a vast one. Here are some of the shows, specials and movies coming to TV this week, Oct. 18-24. Details and times are subject to change.MondayPOV: LA CASA DE MAMA ICHA 10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Decades after emigrating to the United States, a 93-year-old woman returns to Colombia in this new documentary. It’s a bittersweet journey chronicled with intimacy by the Colombian filmmaker ​​Óscar Molina, in his feature debut.TuesdayAMERICAN MASTERS: BECOMING HELEN KELLER 9 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). This new documentary, which revisits Keller’s life and legacy, has a secret weapon in the actress Cherry Jones, who reads written work by Helen Keller. Jones’s readings are paired with archival film and photographs, plus contemporary interviews with historians, scholars and disability rights advocates.Eve in “Queens,” a new musical drama.Kim Simms/ABCQUEENS 10 p.m. on ABC. Zahir McGhee, a producer of “Scandal,” is behind this new musical drama. The plot kicks off with the reunion of four women who were part of a hip-hop group in the 1990s, and who hope to stage a present-day comeback. (It has no relation to the Peacock series “Girls5Eva,” also about a musical reunion.) Naturi Naughton, Nadine Velazquez and the performers Eve and Brandy star. Tuesday’s debut episode was directed by the filmmaker Tim Story (“Barbershop”), who is an executive producer of the series.WednesdayFOUR HOURS AT THE CAPITOL (2021) 9 p.m. on HBO. This feature-length documentary, a presentation of HBO and the BBC, looks at the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. It uses footage from the actual event to chart out how the violence escalated, and includes interviews with lawmakers, members of law enforcement and others who were at the Capitol that day.ThursdayZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP (2019) 5:30 p.m. on FX. There are plenty of straightforward horror movies to choose from on TV this month. But if you prefer that your monsters be sacrificed in service of comedy, consider turning to this goofy “Zombieland” sequel. The movie reunites the quartet from the original “Zombieland” — Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Abigail Breslin and Emma Stone — for another riff on post-apocalyptic horror. If you actually want to be scared, you can stick around for HALLOWEEN (2018), which FX is showing afterward, at 7:30 p.m.FridayFrancesca Annis and Kyle MacLachlan in “Dune.”Universal PicturesDUNE (1984) 9:30 p.m. on HBO 2. Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” hits theaters this weekend. Any new sci-fi movie from Villeneuve, the director of “Arrival” and “Blade Runner 2049,” would be eagerly anticipated, but “Dune” brings an added layer of suspense in the form of a question: Could Villeneuve finally — finally — have made a successful movie out of Frank Herbert’s novel? That question is in part a product of this 1984 attempt. Directed by David Lynch (who has since called the experience “a nightmare”), the 1984 movie gilds Herbert’s novel, originally published in 1965, with Hollywood money, an enormous ensemble (Kyle MacLachlan; Patrick Stewart and Sting are among the supporting players), and a soundtrack composed primarily by Toto. The “ornate affair,” Janet Maslin wrote in her 1984 review for The New York Times, is “awash in the kind of marble, mosaics, wood paneling, leather tufting and gilt trim more suitable to moguls’ offices than to far-flung planets in the year 10191.” Several characters, Maslin noted, “are psychic, which puts them in the unique position of being able to understand what goes on in the movie.”HARLAN COUNTY, USA (1976) 10 p.m. on TCM. The documentarian Barbara Kopple won an Academy Award for this chronicle of a coal miners’ strike in eastern Kentucky. In his 1976 review for The New York Times, Richard Eder called the film “a fascinating and moving work.” Just don’t expect neutrality: The documentary is “forthrightly an effort to see the struggle through the miners’ own eyes,” Eder wrote.SaturdayYeri Han and Steven Yeun in “Minari.”Josh Ethan Johnson/A24MINARI (2020) 9 p.m. on Showtime. The filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung tells a semi-autobiographical American immigrant story in this warm heartland drama. The actors Steven Yeun and Yeri Han play young parents who move to rural Arkansas with the idea of opening a vegetable farm. The challenges that spring from that pursuit — interpersonal and irrigational — put a strain on the household, and provide much of the drama. But there are a lot of laughs, too, thanks in no small part to a standout performance from the veteran Korean star Yuh-Jung Youn, who plays a nervy grandmother. “The chronicle of an immigrant family, often told through the eyes of a child, is a staple of American literature and popular culture,” A.O. Scott wrote in his review for The Times. “But every family — every family member, for that matter — has a distinct set of experiences and memories, and the fidelity to those is what makes ‘Minari,’ in its circumspect, gentle way, moving and downright revelatory.”SundayCURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM 10:40 p.m. on HBO. “I’m not an Everyman,” Larry David says in the new season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” That may be true, but David’s idiosyncrasies — a more fitting label for him might be Easily Irritated Man — are much of what sets this show apart, so it’s probably good that he’s no Charlie Brown (at least as far as ratings are concerned). The show’s new, 11th season includes appearances from Jon Hamm, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, Vince Vaughn and Patton Oswalt. It’s slated to debut on Sunday night, after INSECURE, another Los Angeles comedy with a writer-producer-performer (Issa Rae also plays a fictional version of herself). That show will air the debut episode of its fifth and final season at 10 p.m. More

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      “Dune”: quid des Oscars et d'une deuxième partie?

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      Notre critique évalue les chances et les attentes du film à l’approche de la saison des grands prix de cinéma. Aux USA, le film sort le mois prochain à la fois en salle et en streaming.The New York Times traduit en français une sélection de ses meilleurs articles. Retrouvez-les ici.L’épice doit couler. Mais le public sera-t-il au rendez-vous ?Le film très attendu de Denis Villeneuve a été projeté en avant-première à la Mostra de Venise le 3 septembre. C’était un choix de lieu inattendu pour le lancement d’une franchise de science-fiction qui aura coûté près de 160 millions de dollars — mais “Dune” n’a rien d’une locomotive de studio ordinaire.C’est un objet cinématographique plus étrange et onirique, une oeuvre effrontément à cheval entre un film d’auteur et un blockbuster de studio, de telle façon que même après l’avoir vu, je ne peux pas prédire quel succès il rencontrera à sa sortie en salle (aux USA et sur HBO Max le 22 octobre). A l’issue de la projection, le premier critique à qui j’ai parlé était conquis. Un autre a fui la salle comme si Villeneuve y avait posé une bombe.Pourtant, après une décennie de films Marvel réalisés avec moultes prouesses techniques mais sans grand risque formel, c’est stimulant de voir un film de cette envergure prendre de tels risques artistiques. Trois questions me trottent dans la tête depuis cette séance à Venise.‘Dune’ percera-t-il au grand écran?‘Dune’ a beau être fondé sur le grand classique de science-fiction par Frank Herbert, ses adaptations sont loin d’avoir enflammé les foules. Celle de David Lynch en 1984 est un célèbre fiasco que le cinéaste lui-même a désavoué. Quant aux deux adaptations en mini-séries, elles auront plutôt marqué par les lentilles de contact bleues déjantées qu’y porte un jeune James McAvoy que pour avoir inspiré quelque réaction significative dans le monde de la pop-culture.Mais ‘Dune’ a les reins solides, et ils ont supporté beaucoup depuis la publication du roman en 1965. Il a inspiré tant de films que les gfrands traits du récit nous sont désormais familiers : un jeune homme (joué ici par Timothée Chalamet) est envoyé sur une planète exotique où l’on exploite une ressource naturelle précieuse — en l’occurrence la fameuse “épice” hallucinogène — mais décide finalement de prendre le parti des autochtones et de lutter contre leurs oppresseurs archi-militarisés.C’est à peu de choses près l’intrigue d’ “Avatar”, direz-vous… et c’est peut-être tant mieux ! “Avatar” a pulvérisé les records, et si Chalamet est novice dans ce type de rôle, Villeneuve l’a entouré d’un casting de vétérans : Jason Momoa, Dave Bautista et Josh Brolin sont des vétérans de l’univers des super-héros, Oscar Isaac est frais émoulu de la trilogie “Star Wars” et Rebecca Ferguson tient le rôle principal dans l’adaptation de “Mission : Impossible”. Si tant de films à succès ont emprunté à “Dune”, ce n’est que justice que “Dune” leur emprunte en retour.En dépit de son pedigrée, “Dune” fait cependant face à des obstacles de taille. Le tournage s’est terminé il y a plus de deux ans et la sortie programmée d’abord pour novembre 2020 a été reportée d’environ un an par Warner Bros. Ce délai réservait l’espoir que “Dune” voit le jour dans une ère post-Covid; en réalité, les ravage continus du variant Delta font trembler les studios au point de repousser à 2022 la sortie de quelques films majeurs — comme “Top Gun : Maverick”.D’une certaine manière, ce n’est peut-être pas si mal pour “Dune” : avec moins de blockbusters de marque sur le marché, le film a plus de chance de sortir du lot et d’attirer les amateurs de grand spectacle. Mais aux USA, à la consternation de Villeneuve, le film sortira sur HBO en même temps qu’il ouvrira en salles, menaçant ainsi de rogner sur les recettes du box-office et de torpiller les chances qu’une suite du film voit le jour.Cela pourrait aussi affecter le buzz de départ : le public qui verra “Dune” en salle se sentira certainement plus immergé dans le film (avec les sensations sonores et visuelles qu’il dispense), tandis que les non-initiés ou les curieux qui arrivent sur HBO Max au moyen d’un simple clic seront forcément moins sensibles à la mise en scène de Villeneuve. La première séquence d’action de taille — l’attaque d’un ver des sables géant — n’arrive qu’au bout d’une heure. Les spectateurs à domicile seront-il aussi disposés à aller jusqu’au bout du film que ceux qui ont fait l’effort de payer leur place en salle?Timothée Chalamet et Rebecca Ferguson dans “Dune.”Chiabella James/Warner Bros.Comment “Dune” sera-t-il reconnu aux Oscar?Une des choses partciulièrement frappante de “Dune” est le sens de la texture qu’a Denis Villeneuve, à contrario d’autres réalisateurs de films à gros budget. Quand un personnage tombe lors d’une bataille, c’est le battement des cils du mourant qui le fascine. Durant l’assaut donné sur un retranchement, la caméra se détourne de l’action pour nous montrer de magnifiques palmiers en flammes, leurs couronnes de feuilles rayonnant de puissance destructrice.Même si les jurys des Oscars ne sont d’habitude pas très friands de films de science-fiction, je soupçonne que ce regard si particulier de Villeneuve distinguera “Dune”, car le film est indéniablement envoûtant. Il est sûr de s’attirer une tonne de nominations secondaires, dont pour la photographie de Greig Fraser et pour les décors de Patrice Vermette. La musique de Hans Zimmer, le son et le montage sont tous bien plus audacieux que ce que le genre nous offre d’habitude : les effets sonores et les plans en coupe semblent élaborés pour vous mettre en transe comme sous l’emprise de l’épice.Et je n’en suis pas encore aux costumes ! Leur design (par Jacqueline West et Bob Morgan) est étourdissant, surtout pendant la première heure du film. Avec Rebecca Ferguson en nonne de l’espace habillée de fourreaux extravagants, et Charlotte Rampling voilée en Jean-Paul Gaultier telle le Chevalier vert, “Dune” a des airs de défilé de haute-couture où passent à l’occasion des vaisseaux spatiaux — et pour moi c’est une bonne chose.“Blade Runner 2049” , le dernier film de Villeneuve, s’est vu décerner 5 nominations aux Oscars et un Academy Award mérité de longue date à son chef opérateur Roger Deakins. Mais il n’a pas pu percer dans les deux catégories d’excellence des Oscars — meilleur film et meilleur réalisateur. Est-ce que “Dune” a de meilleures chances d’y réussir?Je botte en touche et opte pour le ‘wait-and-see’. Aucun des acteurs de “Dune” ne semble avoir de chance d’être nominé, ce qui aurait accru la légitimité du film auprès des membres du jury. Ajoutons qu’une nomination pour le meilleur scénario adapté n’est pas non plus certaine. En même temps, après une année 2020 relativement confidentielle, je pense que l’Académie souhaitera voir un film de grande envergure sélectionné pour le prix du meilleur film. Et le combat qu’a mené Villeneuve pour que son film passe sur grand écran trouvera écho après des jurés réfractaires au streaming, pour lesquels son obstination est une croisade digne d’être soutenue.Le réalisateur Denis Villeneuve, au centre, à la Mostra de Venise entouré du casting de “Dune”. De gauche à droite: Javier Bardem, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Timothée Chalamet, Oscar Isaac et Josh Brolin.Yara Nardi/ReutersY aura-t-il un “Dune : 2ème partie” ?Les spectateurs qui s’attendent à l’expérience complète risquent une déconvenue à la lecture du titre : il ne s’agit pas de “Dune”, mais de “Dune : 1ère partie”.Villeneuve a grosso modo coupé le roman d’Herbert en deux, avec pour conséquence que la trajectoire des personnages principaux ne s’esquisse que vers la fin du film. Et si la promotion du film suggère que Zendaya est le premier rôle féminin, c’est plutôt Rebecca Ferguson qui occupe le récit. Exceptées quelques visions d’anticipation de l’avenir, Zendaya ne contribue pas encore de façon déterminante à l’histoire.Denis Villeneuve compte bien livrer “Dune” en deux parties et travaille déjà au scénario de la suite. Mais la Warner Bros n’a toujours pas donné son feu vert. Le studio a déjà tenté l’expérience d’une adaptation en deux parties avec “Ça” de Stephen King, mais les films sont sortis à deux ans d’écart alors qu’un projet de suite pour “Dune” prendrait vraisemblablement bien plus longtemps à monter. (Le studio se soucie peut-être aussi du fait que le “Ça: Chapitre II” a rapporté, au niveau international, quelque 250 000 dollars de moins que le premier film, malgré une pléthore de stars à l’affiche.)Peut-être la Warner opte-t-elle aussi pour le ‘wait and see’, l’œil sur le box-office avant de donner le top de départ d’un second “Dune”. Mais avec la concurrence du streaming accentuée en temps de pandémie, les critères de succès ont pris une tournure nouvelle. Étant donné que HBO Max prépare une série dérivée sur les Bene Gesserit — un ordre clandestin et exclusivement féminin comptant les personnages de Charlotte Rampling et de Rebecca Ferguson — je m’étonne que le studio ne s’engage pas fermement sur une suite, ne serait-ce que pour favoriser une dynamique en amont de la sortie du film.Cela signalerait en outre clairement au public que le récit est encore inachevé à la fin de ce “Dune”, lequel passe par deux pics d’intensité avant d’atterrir en douceur pour un dénouement quelque peu amorti. Villeneuve n’est pas avare de teasing: on entrevoit beaucoup d’événements majeurs à venir, comme si le film était impatient d’entrer dans le vif du sujet. Combien de temps devra durer cette attente ? More

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      Venice, Day 1: See the Almodóvar, Free the Nipple

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      The director was the toast of a glamorous dinner with Penélope Cruz, Isabelle Huppert and Denis Villeneuve, who talked about “Dune” as if he were a proud parent.VENICE — Denis Villeneuve, the director of “Dune,” wanted to apologize in advance.“This will be a long answer,” he said, “because of the Champagne.”We were at the Hotel Excelsior on Wednesday night for the lavish opening-night dinner of the Venice Film Festival, where the bubbly flowed freely, guests like Isabelle Huppert and Jane Campion supped on pink prawn tartare, and a wide array of major films — including “Dune,” Ridley Scott’s “The Last Duel,” the Princess Diana drama “Spencer” and Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” — all waited to make splashy debuts on the Lido over the next week and a half.Jane Campion x Isabelle Huppert pic.twitter.com/HOsnH9qng0— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) September 1, 2021
      Though Venice was one of the few major film festivals to mount an in-person edition in 2020, this year’s program is significantly more robust. Many consider Venice to be the kickoff to awards season, an expectation goosed even further by the presence on the Venice jury of the last two auteurs to direct best-picture winners: Chloé Zhao, whose “Nomadland” premiered here last year, and the “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho, the jury president.Will Villeneuve’s “Dune” be that kind of contender? The sci-fi drama, adapted from the Frank Herbert novel, has loftier aspirations and a more refined eye than most would-be blockbusters. Villeneuve (whose credits include “Arrival” and “Blade Runner 2049”) will debut “Dune” on Friday with a starry cast expected to show up to the premiere, including the lead Timothée Chalamet, who arrived in Venice via speedboat on Wednesday.At dinner, Villeneuve told me Venice is “the perfect way to launch the movie and it’s the first time that I’ve had time to really finish — usually, I’m finishing movies and then releasing them three days later.”Instead, the French Canadian director has had the better part of a year to tinker, as “Dune” was supposed to come out in November 2020 before a pandemic-induced delay. Now, on the verge of its Venice premiere (and with a release date rescheduled for Oct. 22), Villeneuve talked about “Dune” almost as if he were a proud, anxious parent about to send his young child off to school.“I think it has a soul,” he said. “I recognize myself in it. It’s my biggest project and still, I have the most intimate relationship with it. I know it can walk by itself, but what will other people think?”Villeneuve paused. “How do I say it in English?” he wondered, before finding the words: “I just have to let it go.”Denis Villeneuve said of “Dune”: “I have the most intimate relationship with it. I know it can walk by itself, but what will other people think?”Ettore Ferrari/EPA, via ShutterstockThough Venice is limiting audiences in each theater and requiring moviegoers to wear masks (and to show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test), the festival still offers the most glamorous launchpad for movies since Cannes in July. Still, even in ideal circumstances (or especially because of them), it can be daunting to show your film to an expectant international crowd ready to gauge its award prospects.That goes double when you’re first in line. “You are more vulnerable if it’s the opening,” said Pedro Almodóvar, whose “Parallel Mothers” was selected as the opening-night entry of the festival. How did he feel in the hours before the premiere? Not nervous, he told me. Just a little exposed.Fortunately, reviews were strong. This intimate, precisely judged drama stars Penélope Cruz as a Madrid photographer who suspects her newborn baby was switched at birth with the child of an unwed teenage mother (Milena Smit). Though that logline is outrageous, the film is surprisingly down to earth and accessible, even as Cruz’s character is driven to increasingly desperate decisions.“I didn’t want to ask myself what I would have done in that situation until I had finished the movie,” Cruz said at dinner. “She and I are very different, but when I look back now, I feel I would have done something similar. The way Pedro wrote these imperfect mothers, it makes it impossible for you to judge them.”“Parallel Mothers” is Cruz’s seventh film with the director. “I look at him and feel like he could give his life for the film,” she said. Because of that, Cruz was determined to show the camera her most vulnerable depths as an actor: “The standard is really high and he gives me a character that is a treasure, so I don’t want to disappoint him. I try every day to give him a hundred percent.”Speaking of matters of exposure, Almodóvar was amused at the recent reaction to the poster for “Parallel Mothers,” which crops a lactating nipple as if it were the pupil in an eye shedding a single milk-tear. Upon the poster’s release last month, Instagram banned the image for nudity and then, after an online uproar, promptly unbanned it.“It’s not erotic at all!” Almodóvar protested. “You have to be very dirty to think there’s something sexual about it.”The 71-year-old director doesn’t use Instagram himself, but he knows what he’s up against. “What is very dangerous for all of us is that it’s a machine that decides to reject the poster,” he said. “It’s an algorithm, there is nobody in charge that I can talk to.”But for the time being, at least, Almodóvar has conquered the algorithm. As I left the director, other guests at the dinner swooped in to take selfies with him. You’ll never guess where they posted them. More

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      ‘Dune’ and Princess Diana Biopic to Debut at a Starry Venice Film Festival

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      Hollywood blockbusters are back on the program after a less celebrity-driven edition last year, but the event will still be far from business as usual.“Dune,” Denis Villeneuve’s highly anticipated science-fiction epic starring Timothée Chalamet, and Pablo Larraín’s “Spencer,” which dramatizes Princess Diana’s decision to divorce Prince Charles, are among the movies that will premiere at this year’s Venice Film Festival.The festival, scheduled to run from Sept. 1-11, will also see the presentation of new films by Pedro Almodóvar (“Madres Paralelas,” starring Penélope Cruz), Ridley Scott (“The Last Duel,” with Matt Damon) and Jane Campion (the Benedict Cumberbatch-starring “The Power of the Dog”), as well as Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” based on a novel by Elena Ferrante and starring Olivia Colman.The star-studded lineup, announced at a news conference on Monday, suggests that this year’s festival will be a more glamorous affair after last year’s scaled-down pandemic edition, which featured few celebrity names.The presence of some Hollywood blockbusters on the program shows that “Americans have emerged from the lockdown and they are ready to restart,” Alberto Barbera, the festival’s artistic director, said at the news conference.Some of the most anticipated U.S.-funded movies will appear out of competition, including “Dune,” the latest attempt to adapt that Frank Herbert novel following efforts by David Lynch and Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Scott’s “The Last Duel,” starring Damon as a knight who challenges his squire, played by Adam Driver, to a duel after his wife (Jodie Comer) accuses the sidekick of rape.“Halloween Kills,” the latest movie in the “Halloween” horror franchise, will also premiere out of competition. It stars Jamie Lee Curtis, who will receive the festival’s lifetime achievement award.In the competition, Almodóvar’s “Madres Paralelas” (“Parallel Mothers”), about two women who meet in a hospital where they are about to give birth, is one of 21 films that will compete for the Golden Lion, the festival’s main prize.It will be up against Larraín’s “Spencer,” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana; Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” about a sadistic ranch owner; and Paul Schrader’s “The Card Counter,” about a gambler caught in a revenge plot.Five of the 21 competition films are directed by women, Barbera said — down from eight last year. “It might seem a step backward, but that is just a partial point of view,” he added. Female directors appeared to have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic more than their male counterparts, he said, adding, “I really hope they will have a comeback.”Bong Joon Ho, the director of “Parasite,” will chair the competition jury that also includes the British actress Cynthia Erivo and Chloé Zhao, the director of “Nomadland,” which won last year’s Golden Lion and went on to win the Academy Award for best film.This year’s festival may see the return of blockbusters to Venice, but it will still be far from business as usual. Roberto Cicutto, the festival’s president, said at the news conference that rules introduced last year to limit the spread of the coronavirus, such as compulsory seat reservations and masks for indoor screenings, would likely continue.In line with Italian government regulations coming into force Aug. 6, anyone attending screenings, or even eating indoors at the festival site, will be required to show proof of having received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, a recent negative test result or a certificate showing proof of having recovered from the illness in the past six months.Italy’s government announced the requirements this month as virus numbers rose across the country. On Sunday, the public health authorities reported new 4,742 cases. That is far down from this year’s peak of over 25,000 new daily cases in March, but the rise in cases has caused concern in a country that the pandemic hit hard last year.“This year, we hoped we could be more relaxed,” Cicutto said. “For the time being, it isn’t so. But we continue to hope.” More