Denis Villenueve made the impossible:
A movie adaptation of Dune that impressed fans of the book.
The interesting thing you don't know?
It began with three crumpled boxes full of science fiction magazines he got when he was 10 years old.
Time for a story THREAD
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1) First, some history...
If you've seen Villenueve's films before, you'll notice he has a unique aesthetic to his films.
This is 100% intentional.
He fell in love with science fiction after his aunt gave him three boxes filled with science fiction magazines at age 10...
“As a boy, I was in love with science as much as science fiction”
He devoured those magazines and became obsessed with science fiction.
But it wasn't until he read Frank Herbert's epic novel did he combine his love for Science Fiction with Cinema.
2) At 13, he stumbled upon Dune in an old book store.
Obsessed, him and his best friend spent their free time creating story boards and dreamt about how the story would look on the big screen.
Little did he know just 40 years later, he'd be responsible for making this happen.
3) Like many ambitious artists, Villenueve's career had a rough start.
He first wanted to study biology due to his love for science.
Thankfully his creative instinct won out and he left Bioglogy and went to film school instead.
Everything seemed to be moving in the right...
direction until he made his debut feature film; August 32nd on Earth (1998).
He got some minor recognition but in the end the film was a flop, as was his second film Maelstrom (2000).
Both failures sent Villenueve into a mild depression which led him to quit making films for...
9 years.
He vowed to only return to film making if he could make "something" he was proud of.
That something became his breakthrough film, Polytechnique (2009).
Lesson: As an artist it's important to find your unique style and the courage to stick to it.
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4) Polytechnique revealed Villenueve's true calling as an artist; his fascination with dark themes and characters who embark on epic journeys of self-discovery.
It was clear Villenueve had found his mark.
After Polytechnique, Villenueve went on an epic creative run which...
includes:
Incendies (2010)
Prisoners (2013)
Enemy (2013)
Sicario (2015)
Arrival (2016)
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Dune (2021)
This run which began in 2009 brings him closer to legendary status along with contemporaries like fellow filmmaker Christopher Nolan
Want to know the...
creative techniques behind Villenueve's work and how you can apply them to be more creative in your life?
Sign up for my newsletter The Creator's Digest (It's FREE) and get a complete breakdown of Villenueve's work
Go here to read it 👇
eddyquan.substack.com/p/denis-villen…
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