Denis Villeneuve did the impossible. The visionary director of Dune captured everyone’s hearts and interests. When the 94th Academy Award nominations were announced early February, Dune was racking up nominations after nominations. Yet, by the end of the day, Dune was left out in one crucial category.
Villeneuve’s name was missing in the Best Director line-up, the one award that the film should have been granted. It became a surprise, as Villeneuve was the heart and soul of the biggest blockbuster of the year, the one behind the camera who made the film what it was. The news of the director’s snub brought fans and filmgoers flocking to Twitter where they expressed their outrage.
The Biggest Snub Of Them All
There is no doubt that Dune was a successful adaptation when it was released back in October on both streaming and in theaters. As the creative director behind the film, Villeneuve appeared to be the obvious choice for Best Director. His adaptation of Frank Herbert’s epic sci-fi novel, Dune, came to life in a jaw dropping blockbuster that brought both audiences and critics wanting more. So for the Academy to overlook the force behind Dune had people scratching their heads.
The year’s crop of movies that were released were extensive and many directors behind those films were undoubtedly left out in the category. Some of those directors include Wes Anderson for The French Dispatch, Maggie Gyllenhaal for The Lost Daughter and Lin-Manuel Miranda for Tick Tick Boom. But out of all of the directors omitted, Villenueve was not one fans didn’t expect to hear that Tuesday morning when Leslie Jordan and Tracee Ellis Ross read out the nominees.
It's As If The Movie Was Directed By A Ghost
It’s hard to imagine anyone else sitting in the director's chair for Dune. With films like Prisoners, Enemy and Sicario, Villeneuve brings a unique style of filmmaking to the world. When news came that he was going to take on the ride of directing Dune, it seemed like a match made in heaven for fans of both the books and Villeneuve’s filmography.
In one of many tweets aimed at the shock of Villeneuve’s lack of a directing nomination, one fan shared what they thought the Academy was watching when they saw the film. Whether the Academy was blind or not, filmgoers came together with the understanding that Villeneuve knew the assignment. There should be a law that if a movie lands in every technical category at the Oscars, that that director should be nominated as well.
A Technical Masterpiece
The Academy nominated Dune in every major category: editing, cinematography, costume design, production design, sound, visual effects, makeup and hair, original score, adapted screenplay. Overall, the sci-fi opera was honored with a remarkable ten nominations ending with the prestige award of Best Picture of the Year.
From the very first frame of the movie, Dune is a visual dream. For 2 hours and 35 minutes, the film is an escape from reality and it is all thanks to the visionary mind of Denis Villeneuve. So it comes to no surprise that fans were shocked when they didn’t hear the director’s name in the coveted director category. Villeneuve’s film wasn't the first to inhabit the world of Herbert, the first Hollywood adaptation came in 1984 by director David Lynch. After all these years, the latest adaptation is far superior and fans all have Villeneuve to thank.
Villeneuve's Snub Gives Fans Flashbacks
Over the years, there have been plenty of disappointments regarding the best director category at the Academy Awards. In the history of the Oscars, only 5 woman directors have been nominated and many extraordinary woman directors have been omitted from the category altogether despite creating some of the best films of that year including Great Gerwig’s adaptation of Zero Dark Thirty.
With Villeneuve’s snub, some fans another visionary director who was snubbed at the Academy Awards for a movie everyone thought would get nominated. Inception and gave audiences a headache trying to figure out that twist ending, had garnered 8 nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards including many technical awards as well as best picture. However, it did not receive Best Director for Nolan and that omission still leaves fans with a bad taste in their mouths.
How Does This Happen?
How does a director who was behind one of the best films of the year get omitted at the Oscars? Out of all the movies nominated at this year’s Academy Awards, Dune was the second film with the most nominations along with Jane Campion’s The Power Of The Dog which earned a whopping 12 nominations. Despite having his film landing in every technical award category including one of 10 best picture nominees, Villeneueve could not catch a break with that directing nomination.
In an interview with MovieMaker magazine, the director responded to being left out with grace saying; “Frankly, if you had told me a few months ago that we’d be in the Oscar race, that we’d have that kind of recognition, I would have not believed you. It’s really moving,” Villeneuve said. “If you’re nominated, it’s a beautiful thing… I don’t take things for granted, and I was deeply pleased with what we got.”
Honor The Director Behind The Movie
Many fans of Villeneuve wondered after that Tuesday morning that if a movie gets nominated in every technical category, how come the Academy doesn’t honor the director behind those technical feats? It is a question one must ponder when coming to with this devastating director snub. When looking back at past Oscars where a film garnered most of the technical categories, the film almost always lands the best director nomination as well, including George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road and James Cameron’s Titanic.
Maybe that’s why the omission of Denis Villeneuve’s name came as a surprise. While every director who was honored this year; Steven Spielberg, Jane Camion, Kenneth Branagh, Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Paul Thomas Anderson all deserved it, Villeneuve should have been a contender. The one good thing about those films, it won a lot of Oscars the year they were nominated so there is hope for Villeneuve to secure wins for his film.
