Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuveis a French-Canadian film director and writer. He is a three-time winner of the Genie Award for Best Direction, for Maelström in 2001, Polytechnique in 2010 and Incendies in 2011. All three films also won the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Award for Best Motion Picture. Internationally, he is best known for his crime-thrillers Prisonersand Sicario...
NationalityCanadian
ProfessionDirector
Date of Birth3 October 1967
CountryCanada
audience bed creating filmmaking imaginary telling
When I was a kid, I was always going to bed creating a story, and that was the birth of filmmaking for me. I would like going to the dream-state by telling the story to someone else in my mind. That was my imaginary friend; it was an imaginary audience listening to my story.
bit coming experience guess life mind sadness
When I think of the 1980s, the only color that comes to mind is a brown, yellowish color. I guess it's coming from my life experience, and it's melancholia and sadness and a bit of joy.
crew job learning powerful share tough
I'm learning more and more to share creativity with the crew and actors. A film crew is more powerful if you listen to them, but it does make my job more tough because I have to listen.
emotions heard last love people premiere scream sharing thousand time turned wife
I was at the premiere of 'Prisoners,' and I heard two thousand people scream at the same time. I turned to my wife and said, 'I love cinema!' It's the sharing of emotions together, and it's collective. It's one of the last communions we have.
followed plays school studied tried
I never went to school for directing. I studied theater with a director. I followed plays to see how a director would talk to the actors. I tried to make my own school.
admire deeply gave great loved movies people states surprise united work
I must say, to my great surprise and pleasure, I deeply loved making movies in the United States because of all the opportunities it gave me to work with people that I admire as artists.
asked berserk direct prep smaller sold
I made 'Enemy' to prep myself for 'Prisoners.' I had the need to direct something smaller in English before going to Hollywood. That's the way I sold it to Warner because they asked me if I was berserk to make a movie right before.
predict
The problem in cinema is that you can never predict what will happen.
love serious
I'd love to be able to do a comedy like 'Dr. Strangelove.' I'm not a very serious person. Really, I'm very silly.
felt five hugh met opened seconds shook soon time
I was 'impressed' by Hugh Jackman for five seconds the first time I met him, but as soon as he opened his mouth and shook my hand, I felt comfortable. He made me feel like I was one of his friends.
born cinema encounters love movies saw smash third
'Close Encounters of the Third Kind.' Big, big, big smash for me. My birth of the love of cinema was born with 'Close Encounters' and '2001.' Those sci-fi movies I saw when I was a little kid.
aiming bit choosing director main means open partners
As a director, you're a bit of a dictator. But I feel that you're a better director if you're open to other people's ideas. It means that it's tougher: you have to be in a choosing process; you have to put the ego aside. As long as everybody's aiming in the same direction... I'm open to my main partners in the film crew.
amazed became coming deal early impressed introduced massive movies stories
Very early on, I was writing stories, and I was amazed at Spielberg's movies when I was young. Coming from the countryside, I was so impressed with the way he was able to tell stories and the way he was able to deal with le merveilleux - the wonders. Very quickly, he became for me a massive hero, and he introduced me to the world of a director.
intuition performance scene technical
When there's no technical problems, if you did the right casting, and the scene is well written, the actor will give you a strong performance with his intuition right from the start.