A couple of months ago, Josh Brolin threatened he’d quit acting if Denis Villeneuve didn’t receive a Best Director nomination at this year’s Oscars. Well, it looks the Academy wants to thicken this plot, as Villeneuve got snubbed this morning, and the “Dune: Part Two” actor has taken to social media in retaliation.
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“Apparently, I am going to quit acting because Denis Villeneuve didn’t get nominated,” Brolin wrote in an Instagram story today. “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.” Despite Villeneuve and Walker missed nods in their respective categories, “Dune: Part Two” still picked up five total nominations today, including Best Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects. That’s down from the ten nods 2021’s “Dune” collected, perhaps a side effect of a wide open awards season.
Brolin’s threat about quitting acting came in an interview with Variety last November, telling the outlet, “If [Villeneuve] doesn’t get nominated this year, I’ll quit acting,” a follow-up to a 2022 tirade about the director getting snubbed for a Best Director bid for “Dune.” “It was a better movie than the first one,” the actor continued about “Dune: Part Two.” “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.”
The Oscars must not be very meaningful, then, as Villeneuve didn’t make the Academy’s final nominee list. And out of those that did, maybe only Coralie Fargeat and James Mangold could be shuffled out for Villeneuve. But Mangold is a Hollywood favorite, and Fargeat’s “The Substance” is riding a cresting wave through this awards season that no one expected (the same could also be said of Brady Corbet and “The Brutalist.”). So it begs the question: a nomination for Villeneuve would’ve been nice, but did he really stand a chance to win against favorite Sean Baker and dark horse pick Jacques Audiard? Probably not; but as Brolin avers, it’s the thought that counts.
It’s charming that Brolin wants to stick up for his director, but let’s face it: snubs happen at every Oscars ceremony, and sci-fi isn’t the Academy’s favorite genre. And ask Edward Berger how he feels after not getting a Best Director nod for “Conclave,” arguably his second snubbing in a row (he didn’t get nominated for “All Quiet On The Western Front” either). With any luck, Villeneuve’s upcoming “Dune: Messiah” will fare better with the Academy in a couple of years (and let’s hope Brolin returns as Gurney Halleck instead of swearing off movies in protest).