Director Denis Villeneuve, who is receiving the Visionary Award tonight at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, chats about how he's moved by the audience's reaction to 'Dune: Part Two.' Plus, he says it's been a privilege working with Timothée Chalamet and that he's very proud of him.
00:01Happy New Year. I'm very happy to be here because this film festival has been good to me through the years.
00:06When I was an indie filmmaker, I came here, and to come back is really moving for me.
00:12It's a film festival with great cinephiles, and I'm honored to be among the other artists tonight.
00:19And a visionary award nonetheless.
00:21Yeah, it can sound pretentious, but it gives me a big challenge to honor that title.
00:30Yeah, but I think you deserve it. These two films, and especially the second installment, there's not a better word for what you did with these movies.
00:38Now that you've had a little bit of distance from the release and the way they're being received, what are you sort of thinking about or feeling about this journey for you with Dune?
00:45I would say that when we released the first film, it was during the pandemic, and I didn't have a real contact with the audience, as we did on part two.
00:54And when we released the movie, and finally I got that wave of joy and that's appetite for the film that I misunderstood.
01:04And I'm really moved by the way the movie was accepted, was received by the public.
01:14Honestly, that was the big reward for me.
01:16Can I ask you this question too? Because the first one came out during the pandemic, it went on streaming, and then the second one really helped revitalize the box office.
01:25And I think that so much of the conversation this last year and the year before was about what's wrong with Hollywood.
01:31We want to focus on solutions into 2025.
01:33So may I ask you, what way would you think would be the best suggestion you could offer for how to fix Hollywood and what it can do moving forward?
01:40Go creative, go bold, and go all the way.
01:44I mean, it's like we have to bring to the screen projects that are innovative and that are daring and that are bold.
01:51I mean, that are events that people will have the will to spend $25 to watch.
01:59We need to, we need, the ball is in our camp, you know.
02:04We need to make great movies. That's it.
02:06So how will you be doing, I mean, obviously you do that every time, but like in what ways will you be, you know, talking to studio executives to encourage them to be more bold?
02:14I think that the idea of bringing original stories to the screen, we need to go back to that.
02:21I think that it's something that is, there are a lot of great movies that have been made this year, I must say.
02:30And, but I think we are still recovering from the pandemic, still recovering from both strikes.
02:35And I'm really, I'm optimistic for the future. Yeah, yeah.
02:39And may I ask you tonight, you know, your guy, Timothee Chalamet, is also getting an award and will honor you with his presentation with Amy Adams.
02:47Tell me, you know, what it's been like for you to work with him over these past couple of films and see him grow as an actor.
02:53It's a privilege. It's a privilege to work with Timothee, to see him growing, to getting older in front of my camera,
02:59and to see him in all those movies that I adore, the work he did with Luca, or a complete unknown.
03:05His performance is astonishing, incredible.
03:09And it's always moving for me to see him in other people's work, other directors' work,
03:13when I see facets of him, sides of him that are new, and I adore him.
03:18He's a fantastic artist, and I'm very proud of him.
03:20And then when will you go back to work this year?
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