Denis Villeneuve is an acclaimed Canadian filmmaker, who made headlines across the world of ‘fandoms’ for his magnificent storytelling and movie adaptation of the popular novel Dune. His commitment to the source material helped capture the very essence of it to a perfection that is hardly ever witnessed in movie adaptations.
As a result, the movie received numerous critical reviews with exceptional box office success, grossing over $402 million against a budget of $165 million. However, despite the magnificent vision of its creator, Villeneuve once claimed that the studio, Warner Bros. didn’t trust him enough for a second part.
Denis Villeneuve Reveals Warner Bros. Didn’t Grant Him Enough Fund For Dune: Part 2
Dune was an immense success, receiving over 10 Oscar nominations and winning six of them. But these are just the tip of the iceberg, for the movie went on to be nominated and won multiple other accolades and awards.
The reason for its success was the vision that its creator, acclaimed filmmaker Denis Villeneuve had for the movie. Not only was he praised for remaining true to the source text, but the visual and special effects that he brought about, captivated the audiences.
The director once revealed on Variety’s Directors on Directors that he wasn’t allocated enough funds to shoot the second movie, for he wanted both Dune and Dune: Part 2 to be shot simultaneously.
“I decided to split the first book in two parts because I was feeling that from the start that it was too dense… And I wanted to try to keep as much of the essence of it… So I proposed just to do the obvious. I said let’s shoot both parts and then I will edit the first one… Finish the first one, we released and then I worked on the second one. And the studio agreed spontaneously to do the movie in two parts but they gave me the only money to shoot the first part. They said let’s shoot first.. the first part see how it goes.”
And so he went, shooting only the first part and creating absolute magic on the big screen, leaving fans wanting for more. But when it comes to the fund part, the director is now rather grateful for shooting just the first part.
Denis Villeneuve Is Glad WB Didn’t Trust Him To Shoot Both Movies Simultaneously
Although most directors would find it atrocious to have their creative wings clipped by studios, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is rather glad. In the interview with Variety, the Dune creator revealed he is grateful that Warner Bros. did not give him enough money to shoot both parts at the same time.
“Today I’m grateful that it happened this way because frankly, I don’t know I would have the necessary stamina to be able to sustain a double shoot. You know it’s like after shooting part one I was like (exhausted).”
