Josh Brolin Says Oscars Rejecting Denis Villeneuve Again for Best Director ‘Makes No Sense’: ‘Dune 2’ Is ‘Even Better Than the First’ and ‘You Deserve It’
Denis Villeneuve has once again found himself shut out of the best director race for helming a “Dune” movie, which doesn’t make sense to cast member Josh Brolin. The Oscars failed to nominate Villeneuve for “Dune: Part Two” after similarly shutting him out of the best director category in 2022 for the first “Dune” movie. That film earned 10 Oscar nominations, while the sequel somewhat underperformed by earning just 5 noms this year.
“Just want to say congratulations on the ‘Dune’ best picture nomination, to Greig Fraser on cinematography, for best visual effects, for Patrice [Vermett] on production design and for sound,” Brolin said on his Instagram story. “Apparently, I am going to quit acting because Denis Villeneuve didn’t get nominated. This is just how this thing works. It makes no sense to me. That’s okay. [Editor] Joe Walker and Denis, you deserve it. It’s an amazing film. It was even better than the first one. The people who have gotten accolades surely deserve it. Happy to be a part of it. Congrats everyone.”
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Other industry names also reacted to Villeneuve’s snubs. “Spider-Verse” producer Chris Miller wrote on X: “There were many films that had great directing this year but what Denis did — in all aspects of the craft — was masterful.”
Brolin, who starred as Gurney Halleck in both “Dune” films, has always urged the Academy to give Villeneuve his due for helming the franchise. The actor told Variety last year that he would stop acting if the Oscars snubbed Villeneuve a second time.
“If he doesn’t get nominated this year, I’ll quit acting,” Brolin said. “It was a better movie than the first one. When I watched it, it felt like my brain was broken open. It’s masterful, and Denis is one of our master filmmakers. If the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, they’ll recognize him.”
After Villeneuve was snubbed for the first “Dune” movie, Brolin memorably took to Instagram to post a video in which he slammed the Academy for its decision.
“I don’t know how you get 10 nominations and then the guy who has done the impossible with that book doesn’t get nominated,” Brolin said at the time. “It makes you realize that it’s all amazing and then it’s all fucking totally dumb. So congratulations for the amazing accomplishments that these incredibly talented people have been acknowledged for, because it’s all really, really dumb.”
Villeneuve may have a third chance to land a best director Oscar nomination for the “Dune” franchise as he’s currently planning a final installment in his trilogy, “Dune Messiah.” The filmmaker was last nominated in the category for “Arrival.”
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