While Denis Villeneuve awaits awards news for "Arrival," he's busy editing "Bladerunner 2049"; what does it mean that Donald J. Trump will remain as executive producer on NBC's "The Celebrity Apprentice"?; there's a particular glass ceiling for women who work in animation.
Denis Villeneuve: Moving on from 'Arrival' to 'Blade Runner 2049'
French-Canadian director Denis Villeneuve's latest film, “Arrival,” has been seen as remarkably timely in the wake of this year’s contentious Presidential election.
The movie has a linguistics professor played by Amy Adams at its center, and it very much poses questions about the value of talking with our enemies, and with people or creatures who are alien to us, as opposed to fighting with them.
Villeneuve’s other credits include “Sicario,” “Prisoners,” and the foreign language film “Incendies,” which was nominated for an Oscar in 2010. Villeneuve lives in Montreal, but is in Los Angeles doing post-production on his next release, “Blade Runner 2049.”
When he spoke with The Frame's John Horn and Vulture.com reporter Kyle Buchanan, Villeneuve began by discussing his most recent film.
Interview Highlights:
On the timely message of unity in "Arrival":
I understand that it came out at a very, very precise moment in America, where half of the Americans were traumatized. And its message of being open and building bridges was more then welcome ... but I think that the poetry and the strength of the story would have been well received even if the election outcome had been different.
On the tendency of his films to tap into the cultural zeitgeist:
The thing is that I'm coming from documentary [filmmaking], which means that I'm really reality driven. I'm inspired by what is around me and I like to tell stories that are talking about ... a bigger picture seen through the lens of intimacy of a single character ... Those are for me the best stories and I was trying in the past years to find stories like "Sicario" and "Arrival."
On how the cinematic language has expanded his mind:
We spend half our lives dreaming and the other half is like a reality. For me, it's like a bridge between both states, and it allowed me to make peace with some of my angers or fears. It helped me to understand and it helped me to expand my consciousness. And I think that I evolve as a human being in the same way I evolved as a filmmaker.
On choosing the futuristic elements of "Blade Runner 2049":
The person that helped me the most to create that new movie was [screenwriter] Hampton Fancher. Ridley [Scott], too, gave me strong advice. But Hampton came to me right at the beginning and said I was asking him tons of question and he said" "Stop talking. You know the first Blade Runner — at the end of the day, it was a dream. So you just have to dream again." That's what he said to me and that was the key, actually.
On attending the Academy Awards when "Incendies" was nominated:
I was thinking that [we'd] see a big show with a lot of glitz, a lot of sparkles and a lot of champagne. And I was really surprised. At first there was like a very beautiful ceremony where all the directors are invited to a dinner ... Each of us were welcomed by an artist, and me — I didn't know, but the person that stood up to talk about it was [cinematographer] Roger Deakins. And he said the most beautiful speech about "Incendies." We were in tears because of emotion and because he's one of our cinematic heroes.
Trump won't be firing himself from 'The Celebrity Apprentice'
Donald Trump will retain his credit as executive producer on NBC's “The Celebrity Apprentice” when that show returns with Arnold Schwarzenegger as the boss in January.
The President-elect will also continue to profit from his ownership stake in the series, which includes spinoffs in many foreign countries. Trump’s compensation does not come from NBC, but from MGM, which owns the series.
Cynthia Littleton, managing editor for TV coverage at Variety, broke the story. When she spoke with us, she said the fact that Trump will make money from the show isn't necessarily the main concern.
In the realm of Trump's wealth, it's a very small amount. But I think it's the optics of it that are clearly raising some issues for a lot of people that are already scrutinizing the very unprecedented level of [potential] conflicts of interest raised by his status as both a private businessman and a reality TV star.