“They Always Refused”: Before Dune 2, not a single movie was filmed in this location!

Duna 2, the epic sequel directed by Denis Villeneuve, is finally in theaters! The Canadian filmmaker took on an astronomical challenge: adapting Frank Herbert’s legendary work. One of the most difficult challenges was finding a setting that would become Arrakis, the arid planet on which the story takes place.

One of his conditions for this task was to shoot most of the scenes in the desert, on real locations. Denis Villeneuve wanted to immerse his actors in a larger-than-life environment.

The infinity of the desert

“It’s like Jaws: they didn’t shoot it in a pool! The film is called Dune, and so you have to feel the infinity of this desert unfolding before your eyes. For me, Dune is the tragedy of a family leaving. Through the upheaval in their environment.

It’s a film about our ability to adapt to any extreme situation… It’s a bit like what we’re going through right now.”Analyzed by the filmmaker on our microphone in September 2020.

Producer Joe Caracciolo Jr. was impressed by the Canadian director’s approach. The latter consisted in giving his film as much authenticity as possible. “Very early on, Denis Villeneuve warned us that he didn’t want to rely heavily on visual effects unless absolutely necessary.”The producer confides.

“Of course there is, but he wanted to physically shoot as many scenes as possible, with authentic lighting, real reflections and shadow play, and he wanted the actors to really be in contact with the sand and the dust and the ground.”

Arrakis in Jordan

Therefore, the team of Dune 1 and 2 filmed on real locations in Hungary, Jordan, Abu Dhabi, Italy and Norway. In this way, the director and his artistic teams were able to create their own planets.

To accomplish this difficult task, Villeneuve hired production designer Patrice Vermette, with whom he had already worked on Sicario, Enemy, Prisoners, and First Contact.

“In Jordan, we loved Wadi Rum, where we shot the first film, but Dennis and I were looking for other sites to replicate the viewpoints, scenery and location setups.

In addition, in 2020 there were torrential rains in the desert, so that the areas we used before were covered with vegetation, and of course there are no trees or plants on the araks.Patrice Vermette points out.

Wadi Rum is also known as the Valley of the Moon because of its surreal landscape carved out of granite and sandstone. “We chose the rock formations in Wadi Rum, Jordan, for the wind traps. It’s a technology that exists: the nets capture moisture in the atmosphere carried by the wind, then transform it into water droplets that flow down the bottom of the traps.”, The production designer explains.

“They were built in Budapest, then flown in by helicopter because they weigh 400kg each. Our graphic designer was inspired by a spider drawing I gave him, a spider weaving its own web, and the underside of the trap is the spider’s abdomen.”

Planet Arakis is not called Dune for nothing. It is completely covered with sand, offering the beauty of the desert as far as the eye can see. For Villeneuve, his cinematographer Greg Fraser, and his production designer Patrice Vermette, the challenge was to forego the green backdrop to create an earth-perfect dune landscape.

So they filmed on Origo studio sets and exteriors in Budapest, Hungary and natural locations in Jordan.

“Patrice Vermette is one of the most talented people I know. His mental creations are a little terrifying because he has this innate talent for creating extraordinary environments.

His scenes are superior to those he created for the first film, although I was already blown away by them at the time. What he came up with for the second part is amazing. I had to believe in myself as a cinematographer, because it was a real dream to light such shots.”Denis Villeneuve emphasizes.

What he came up with for the second part is amazing.

Don’t rely on digital

“What Patrice Vermette built in Budapest was reminiscent of the golden age of Hollywood. You rarely see a set of this scale these days with everything going digital. But for this project, it all came down to Danny’s vision, who wanted everything to be like that. Filmed in real life, based on digital without.

Therefore, we have built permanent sets on a much larger scale than most current productions.“, – clarifies the producer Mary Parent. In addition, the decoration team consisted of about a thousand people!

Note that Villeneuve has already filmed in Jordan. Therefore, he knew what treasures this country had. “I remember falling in love with the people and the landscapes of Jordan, which are magnificent. It’s amazing to see the landscape change every 40 kilometers. There are so many types of desert that it’s beyond ‘understanding’.”indicates the director.

“The first time I got there, I remember saying to myself that if I ever did a movie like Dune, it would be a dream location. It has to do with the vibrancy, the spirit of the country that we put on screen. , in my opinion.

I have never felt such an emotion anywhere else. These landscapes have a rather grand atmosphere that suits the Dune perfectly.Analyzes the Canadian.

Giedi Prime in Hungary

Planet Gyedi in Prime (especially the fight in the giant arena) was filmed at Hungexpo Studios in Hungary. For Patrice Vermette, Dune’s story is unusual and therefore it was necessary that the scenes reflect it.

“We shot on a set that isn’t really there: it’s an exhibition space in Budapest called Hungexpo. It is over 9500m2 and almost 14m high which was perfect for us and another space of almost 5400m2 completes it.

This allowed us to build sets to the correct scale for Giedi Prime and the Imperial Tent and several other sets. There were a few things that didn’t fit in that space, but we learned a few things from the first game about cheating the laws of physics..

Secret Sanctuary

In this second part of Dune, Denis Villeneuve and his teams were also able to shoot scenes in a place where no one had set up cameras before. The Dune team flew to San Vito d’Altivole, near Treviso, Italy for plans to discuss Charlotte Rampling (Mohammy) and Princess Irulane (Florence Pugh).

Here we find the sanctuary designed by the Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa in 1968-1978. “When we started filming, we spent a few days in Italy and went to a very specific place, the Brioni Sanctuary. It’s an architectural marvel that we owe to Carlo Scarpa. It’s absolutely stunning and unique.”Producer Tanya Lapointe reveals.

“That’s what inspired the architecture of Caladan in the first movie, but we never got to shoot there. For the second opus, Patrice Vermette contacted the Brion family and asked if he could be transferred there.

They always refused – no film had been shot on the site until then – but the Bryon family had read Frank Herbert’s Dune and loved Dan’s film, so they agreed to film on their site.The producer explains.

“So when we see Reverend Mother Mohiam and Princess Irulan walking in the gardens, it’s Bryon’s sanctuary. We just arranged the furniture in there to create a princess office.

Otherwise, it was so beautiful that we didn’t have to do anything. We even see water lilies in the koi pond and took pictures. It was a good way to start filming, with Charlotte Rampling, Florence Pugh and Lea Seydoux in this intimate setting.”

The Briony family even refused to produce Star Wars!

For production designer Patrice Vermette, Carlo Scarpa is a “God”. “He’s already had a big impact on me on set Dune. We tried to imagine an imperial garden for this new opus. I showed Danny my reference work, and when we saw the Briony altar, he said, “It’s surreal. This is an exception. Let’s try to shoot there’. Not a single film was shot there. The Briony family even refused to produce Star Wars!”reveals the artist.

But when Bryon’s son knew it was Dune 2, he met us and gave us his approval. It was extraordinary: the first time I started crying while visiting the place. J “I met Carlo Scarpa’s son, Tobias, and all of them. I noticed Scarpa’s influence in Dune. So there was a real logic to it.Patrice Vermette concludes.

Dune 2 It was released in theaters on February 28.