Filmmaker Denis Villeneuve is on an unbreakable winning streak. After winning Dune fans’ hearts by making one of the most memorable live-action adaptations of the novel series, he is now winning the world through his heartwarming deeds. Just like how he recently went to extremes just to honor a dying man’s wish.
According to reports, Villeneuve had a fan on his deathbed, who desperately wanted to watch the second installment of the blockbuster film series before passing away. And being the exceptional personality that he is, the filmmaker agreed to fulfill that fan’s dying wish, making Dune: Part Two even more special than ever for his other fans from all around the globe.
Denis Villeneuve Went to Extremes to Fulfil One Dying Man’s Wish
Dune: Part Two was unarguably one of the most anticipated films of all time after the massive success of its predecessor, with people from all around the globe desperately awaiting it to hit the theatres. Among these people was included a man from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Quebec.
However, this man wasn’t an ordinary fan, rather, he was in palliative care and on his deathbed way before the film’s release. Thus, knowing he was going to leave this world soon, he expressed his desire to watch the second installment of Timothée Chalamet‘s novel-based saga before his death.
This dying wish was communicated to Josée Gagnon of L’Avant and notably happened a month and a half before the film was released worldwide on the 1st of March, 2024. For the same, Gagnon made sure to do everything in her power to make his wish come true.
This led to her putting out a call on Facebook for the same, hoping to connect with someone who could help her out. This caught the attention of filmmaker Sébastien Pilote from Chicoutimi, Saguenay, Canada. Luckily, he knew the Montreal director Denis Villeneuve personally.
Because of this, Gagnon was able to contact Villeneuve and share the gravity of the situation of the dying fan with him. Thankfully, being the humble and kind personality he is, he agreed. According to what Gagnon shared during her interview on Radio-Canada’s Place Publique (via CBC):
“[Villeneuve and Lapointe] said, ‘It’s for him, it’s for that man that we make films, it’s for the guy who said before he died, I want to see that film.'”
Initially, Villeneuve and wife (and producer) Tanya Lapointe planned for the movie buff to be transported to Los Angeles. However, the man’s life span wasn’t certain, and they couldn’t take the risk in such a critical condition.
Thus, the filmmaker instead decided to bring the movie to his dying fan. As reported by CBC, Villeneuve’s laptop was flown down to Quebec with his assistant, and everyone involved in the process had to sign NDAs.
As Gagnon shared: “They locked themselves in a room at the Maison de soins palliatifs […] and this man managed to watch the film on his own.”
But this story had an even sadder twist as the man on his deathbed couldn’t even finish the 166 minutes (or 2 hours and 46 minutes) movie and fell asleep before its end. It was reported later that the man had passed away soon after.
Josée Gagnon’s Take on the Man Not Being Able to Watch Dune: Part Two End
Since the movie buff wasn’t able to fulfill his dying wish completely because he was too fatigued to watch until the end.
However, Josée Gagnon tends to differ in her opinion. According to her, “You don’t understand, it’s extraordinary what this man went through. The end of a film when you’re going to die, it doesn’t mean anything … it was all there for him.”
All in all, even though misfortune befell and the guy wasn’t able to finish the movie, what’s worth commending is the extent filmmaker Denis Villeneuve went to just to fulfill a dying man’s wish — something that would unarguably make Part Two even better of a movie.
Dune: Part Two is out in theatres now.
