Denis Villeneuve bans phones on his film sets
Denis Villeneuve refuses to allow phones on the set of his films because he wants cast and crew to be engaged at all times during production.
Denis Villeneuve says phones are "forbidden" on the sets of his movies.
The 57-year-old filmmaker reveals that he follows the same approach as fellow director Christopher Nolan when it comes to not allowing the devices during production because he wants members of the cast and crew to be "present" at all times.
Denis told the Los Angeles Times newspaper: "Cinema is an act of presence. When a painter paints, he has to be absolutely focused on the colour he's putting on the canvas. It's the same with the dancer when he does a gesture.
"With a filmmaker, you have to do that with a crew, and everybody has to focus and be entirely in the present, listening to each other, being in relationship with each other.
"So cellphones are banned on my set too, since Day 1. It's forbidden. When you say cut, you don't want someone going to his phone to look at his Facebook account."
Villeneuve's acclaimed 'Dune' films were criticised by Quentin Tarantino earlier this year as he felt they were remakes of the 1984 David Lynch picture although he respectfully disagrees with the 'Pulp Fiction' auteur.
He said: "I respect Tarantino, and I agree that Hollywood has a nostalgia to remake movies and sequels. I'm guilty. I did that with 'Blade Runner'. But 'Dune' is different because it's an adaptation and totally disconnected from what had been done before. That's where I disagree.
"But it's a free country. He can say what he wants. I admire him as an artist."
Denis revealed that he became fascinated with film after watching Stanley Kubrick's influential sci-fi epic '2001: A Space Odyssey' as a child and revealed that it is his "holy grail" to make a movie that is remembered in the same way.
He said: "It was one of those rare films that promised something so huge and kept its promises, just growing and growing until the end when your jaw has dropped on the floor.
"It is my holy grail. To make a movie that is so perfect and stands the test of time, that is my goal. Making movies, though, it is not easy. It's quite intense."
Villeneuve's daughter Salome has followed him into directing and he recalled a conversation where she expressed a desire to forge her own creative path.
The 'Arrival' filmmaker said: "One evening, she said to me, 'I need to talk to you. I want to tell you something important.'
"I was ready for anything. She said, 'I need to do something. I will ask you to step out of my way, and I want you to do that. If I don't try it, I will regret it for the rest of my life. All my applications at university are in filmmaking. I want to become a filmmaker.'
"She was so gutsy. 'Get out of my way'. I was so proud of her."
