Timothée Chalamet’s Dune: Part Two evidently lives up to the hype of the first installment in terms of cinematography and production design. The breathtaking views of the arid deserts and the stunning visuals of the architecture are indeed worthy of an Oscar nod.
In fact, French production designer Patrice Vermette, along with set decorator Zsuzsanna Sipos, won the Academy Award for Best Production Design in 2022 for Dune: Part One. Now, the question is – will there be a repeat performance?
The Oscar-Worthy Production Design Of Dune: Part Two
The scouting for locations and designing set productions are two of the most rigorous parts of filmmaking. Dune: Part Two director Denis Villeneuve shared via Empire that he, Patrice Vermette, and cinematographer Greig Fraser spent an ample amount of time looking for the perfectly shaped sand dunes.
“For my mise-en-scène, I’ll want a particular shaped dune. But Greig Fraser, on the other hand, will need that same shape to be in a specific light. So Patrice spent weeks and weeks casting sand dunes in the desert!”
Dune: Part Two was filmed in Budapest, Jordan, Abu Dhabi, and Italy. It was truly exhausting work because they had to bounce between locations, from deserts to rocky terrains. Vermette shared with Conde Nast Traveler:
“There’s no real sand dunes in Jordan, but there are amazing canyons and colored stone. The movie is called Dune, so we need the sand dunes. In Abu Dhabi, that’s everything.”
Indeed, Dune: Part Two has every reason to take home the Academy Award for Best Production Design as they did the last time. However, another upcoming blockbuster movie is set to dominate the box office in a few months, which is also a strong contender for the Oscar category.
Furiosa Is Set To Take Home Oscars’ Best Production Design Award
Anya Taylor-Joy’s upcoming post-apocalyptic film Furiosa is gearing up for a summer release. Apart from its gripping storyline showing the early life of the titular character, the movie is also set to conquer next year’s Best Production Design award.
Colin Gibson, along with set decorator Lisa Thompson, won an Oscar for Best Production Design in 2016 for the incredible work on George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road. In his interview with Homecrux, he gave an update about the film:
“We’ve finished shooting. George is deep in the editing process now, and it’s due out in May. This part is more oriented to her backstory and her growth. The film tracks the journey of a girl to becoming a woman, and most importantly, a warrior, so to describe that journey we had new areas to flesh out.”
The production designer shared a comparison between Furiosa and Fury Road in which the shift from gargantuan vehicles to smaller engines reflects “the evolving dynamics of this dystopian world.”
It’s going to be a tough competition between Dune: Part Two and Furiosa for the Production Design category at the Oscars!
Dune: Part Two is now showing in theaters. Furiosa arrives on May 23, 2024.
