Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two made numerous headlines by becoming the highest-grossing film of the year, thus far. While the performances were brilliant, the film’s technical department also attracted immense praise. One of the standout aspects of the film is its breathtaking makeup.
Renowned makeup artist Donald Mowat worked in the makeup department in both parts of Dune. Mowat also secured an Oscar nomination for his work in the 2021 film. Interestingly, the Dune films could have never achieved such make-up work, had the makeup artist not left another major project.
Donald Mowat had to make a tough decision when he was burdened to choose between Dune and No Time to Die. Both were highly anticipated films and the Canadian makeup fame knew that he would surely disappoint a friend as both parties were his regular collaborators.
Why did Donald Mowat choose the Denis Villeneuve film?
Dune marked the fourth collaboration between the Emmy-winning makeup artist and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve. Earlier, the duo had worked in Prisoners, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049. But landing the project was extremely difficult for Donald Mowat as he had to miss out on a James Bond film.
In an interview with Inside the Film Room, Donald Mowat shared that he was a regular collaborator with Daniel Craig and did not want to disappoint him after working in two Bond films before. He praised Craig as one of the “finest-tuned human beings” and also admitted that the entire James Bond crew was so close to him that it made things more difficult.
Surprisingly, No Time to Die faced repeated delays due to several issues like the director’s exit and the worldwide pandemic. On the other hand, Dune was announced and Donald Mowat understood that he had to make the ultimate decision.
Then everyone is calling me, and I get a call asking if I’m available. I went, ‘Well, maybe I am available.’ Basically, I was put on hold and told that I wasn’t coming to Bond for five months. And I sat there going, ‘Well, I could be doing Dune. I’ve got to do this. I don’t have that many more years left; I’m in my fifties now.’ It was a very tough choice for me.
Undoubtedly, the decision paid off as Dune was a bigger challenge for the artist and also brought him his first Oscar nomination. When the film was released, the audience was impressed by how the film was a visual spectacle, and Mowat had made a massive contribution to its beauty.
Dune was a tough challenge for Donald Mowat
The Dennis Villeneuve film, inspired by Frank Herbert’s books, was set largely in the Desert planet of Arrakis. According to Donald Mowat, it was a massive challenge for him to shoot in the deserts of Jordan.
Initially, when the makeup artist witnessed the conditions in which he had to work for Dune, he was shocked. He added to Inside the Film Room that he could not understand why he missed such a good opportunity in No Time to Die for this film. However, he agreed that he takes pride in accepting the challenge.
Once I got to Dune, and I was there exhausted, trudging away in Jordan, I went, ‘Am I insane? I could be in Capri, sipping a cocktail, doing nice makeup on Daniel Craig.’ But no, for this movie, for Denis, it’s a challenge. It’s what I’m about.
The makeup artist also stated to CTV News that he did not like how most of his works are on films based on existing source materials- “I think there’s an influence, and it also makes you [feel] like you’re not creating your own looks.”
To avoid this problem in the Timothée Chalamet film, he chose to ignore the old David Lynch film. It ultimately helped as the latest version of Dune boasts some impressive and authentic looks for all the characters. Now, it remains to be seen if he also returns and recreates his magic in the forthcoming threequel as well.
Both the Dune films can be streamed on Max, while No Time to Die can be streamed on Peacock.
