Dune stars and director share why Oscars don't matter

Gulf News

“See you at the Oscars,” said Hollywood actor Josh Brolin with a wink. As far as parting words go, Brolin had nailed it.  We were at the end of our whirlwind interview in Abu Dhabi, discussing his operatic sci-fi marvel ‘Dune: Part Two’ with visionary director Denis Villeneuve and wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista. Behind us, the sprawling Al Wathba desert in the UAE capital was witness to his worthy and playful assumption.  Read the full story here: https://gulfnews.com/entertainment/hollywood/why-is-oscars-not-important-for-the-dune-stars-josh-brolin-dave-bautista-and-director-denis-villeneuve-spills-all-1.101308748  See more videos at https://gulfnews.com/videos Read more Gulf News stories here: https://bit.ly/2HLJ2km  Subscribe to Gulf News on YouTube and watch more of our videos: https://www.youtube.com/user/GulfNewsTV  #UAEnews #abudhabi #dune

Transcript

00:00Thank you so much for speaking to Gulf News.

00:02Quickly, I think Dune is all about a masterclass in life.

00:05There's so many life lessons there.

00:07Firstly, there are no heroes or villains.

00:09It's all about a matter of perspective.

00:11Can you perhaps elaborate on that?

00:13I'm so happy you're saying so because I feel that

00:15it's all credit goes to Frank Herbert, of course,

00:18who wrote the novel.

00:20And for him, Dune was exactly an exploration

00:24of a warning against charismatic figures,

00:26be the warning against heroic figures

00:29that sometimes feel very like you're compelled

00:34to believe in them but sometimes it's dangerous

00:36to give them too much power.

00:38True that. What about you? Do you think that as well?

00:40There's no black or white, it's all brown.

00:44No black or white, just brown.

00:47I feel like I'm so charismatic and I don't want to learn that lesson.

00:52That's why it's very difficult to work with Josh, you see.

00:55It creates a lot of problems.

00:57How about you, sir?

00:58You are the quintessential.

01:02For my character, no, I think he's absolutely a villain.

01:06There's really no redeeming qualities.

01:10It's all bad.

01:12One thing I love about this film,

01:14I'm not a fantasy fiction fan, as in I don't follow it as much,

01:18but I'm still so hooked on to that.

01:21It was so immersive.

01:22And what I loved is the mythology and the folklore part of it.

01:26How difficult is it to make people invested in such a film?

01:29It's because you're pointing your figure again on something important.

01:33It's like it's a human journey.

01:35And the story focuses on that love story

01:37between a young man who tries to find his place in a new world

01:41and that young woman who helps him to understand a new culture.

01:45And he will, going into that new culture,

01:49try to find friends in order to fight the enemy.

01:51And it's like something, the idea of that love story is very human.

01:57It's a very human story.

01:59Sorry, I'm not…

02:01No, but what's so great about him is he creates this.

02:04Obviously, every movie has gotten bigger and bigger and bigger in scope

02:07and become more epic and all this stuff, but it's grand.

02:11And yet, he never loses the personal.

02:13The focus is on the emotional.

02:15So that's why I think it becomes,

02:18no matter what genre it is, it's sci-fi, it's this, it's that,

02:21if it's a good story and you feel like you can identify with it, that's it.

02:25It's all that matters.

02:26It's like a Bollywood movie without songs, really.

02:29I take that as a compliment.

02:31Of course, it's a compliment.

02:33I just have to ask, yesterday you told me on the red carpet

02:36that you thought The Desert, you have a love affair with it.

02:39It's brutal, yet it's enchanting.

02:41Do you guys think that? I know you have not filmed here, but still.

02:44No, I think that very much.

02:46There's something very enticing about it,

02:48and then there's something very overwhelming about it.

02:50You want to talk about lessons?

02:51Go live in the desert for six weeks.

02:54You are confronted ultimately with yourself over and over and over,

02:58and especially the way we did this movie.

03:00It was very practical. We were in it.

03:02It was hot.

03:03We were, you know, you got in amazing shape

03:05just because you were picking things up and carrying things and helping people.

03:09It was more of a family.

03:10It was a wonderful, wonderful experience.

03:12Right. It hasn't broken you. Desert hasn't broken you.

03:16No, and my wife and I, and Joshua mentioned it too,

03:22is that when we came here, the smell, the light,

03:26it brings back so many beautiful memories.

03:29I hope we will have the chance to come back.

03:32Excellent. Last question.

03:33How important is Oscar's glory for you?

03:35I know you got ten nods, one six.

03:38With Dune 2, I expect a lot more.

03:40It's not, when you make movies, it's not about the outcome.

03:43Seriously, it's about the process.

03:45Because I have no control how a movie will be received.

03:48Of course, we are making a movie for the audience,

03:51but I have no idea how people, and that's okay.

03:54So for me, it was just having the chance to work with these artists, and that's it.

03:58Oscars are not important as much for you two?

04:01No, they're really, really important.

04:05I love you.

04:06You know what it is? It's a nice gesture.

04:08If it happens, it's a nice gesture.

04:10But if you watch somebody or see somebody who's seen Dune at the airport,

04:14and they come up to you and go, oh my god, I just saw Dune, that's the same to me.

04:18You know what I mean? It's a personal reaction.

04:20How about you, sir?

04:22Yeah, I'm very indifferent about it.

04:24It's never been, well, throughout my whole career,

04:27whether it be acting or wrestling, it's never been about accolades.

04:31It's been about the process, the performance.

04:33You know, so it's really about the art for me.

04:36Right. Thank you so much for entertaining us.

04:38Awards are no awards. You guys won our hearts.

04:40Oh, you're sweet. Thank you.

04:44You're welcome.

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