James Cameron & Denis Villeneuve on 'Avatar', 'Dune', and Pioneering CGI | Directors on Directors

James Cameron and Denis Villeneuve discuss the upcoming ‘Avatar’ films, the influence of ‘Dune’, creating worlds within films, the future of streaming and movie theaters, and Timothée Chalamet.

Variety Directors on Directors presented by MGM Studios and United Artists Releasing.

[jolivertv]

29 minutes of James Cameron and Denis Villeneuve complimenting each other. What a special treat! I loved their conversation.

[AlBroMedia]

DENIS was sooo happy when James noticed the helicopter shot was a homage to Black Hawk Down. So cool and wholesome.

[jonathanfoster]

The fact that Avatar 2, 3 and 4 were filmed at the same time blows my mind. The amount of organizational skills James Cameron has to have to be able to shoot so out of order is just mind blowing

[samrogers]

Hearing how tired denis villeneuve was and feeling happy he didn’t do the second dune back to back just cements to me what an absolute champ Peter Jackson is.

[SaraX]

I like how they even maintained their personal color palette in the interview. Blue for Avatar and Beige for Dune. Great shoutout to Bill Paxton.

[GrindhouseFunhouse]

I could’ve watch them talk about the love of their craft for hours. 2 legendary Sci-fi directors at the top of their game. Feeling that 🇨🇦 pride.

[Ken-ijry]

Denis gets so happy that he spotted the Black Hawk Down homage.

And that shot definitely had the desired affect on me as a viewer.

[iestynne]

Cameron's comment about how the epic feeling of Dune was elevated by only doing "up-close and personal" or "grand landscape" shots, with nothing in between... that's such a great insight. Personal experiences, embedded in the vast expanse of deep time. That thought will stick with me.

[mrcoatsworth]

Two filmmakers who have directed two of the best sci-fi sequels of all time, which are both, oddly enough, sequels to Ridley Scott films.

[IsaiasMGPalafox]

Little did we know that exactly a year later, Avatar: Way of Water would release & Dune Part 2 would wrap up filming. What a time to b alive. 😂👏🏼

[Robohtgaming]

Two legendary Canadian filmmakers!! Avatar 2 was fantastic and I can't wait for Dune pt2

[gman]

I absolutely love James Cameron’s idea of having a film that you can choose what kind of experience you want to have with it. Shorter and more immersive for theater or the full vision of the filmmaker (whether that be four or eight hours long) as an option for streaming. I loved the extended edition Lord of the Rings and always wished more movies had that treatment.

[Toonksbell]

Watching Dune in theaters was one of the best movie theater experiences I have had probably in my life. I felt every bit of it in my body, I love sci-fi space related movies and this one just caught me. Denis' ability to make things so personal and so large at the same time is the best.

[davidolden]

They don’t say it out loud, but these two filmmakers truly love each other, in spirit and mind and craft and admiration. Great half hour!

[georgeclayton]

Cameron hits the absolute nail on the head about why i adore Denis films, when he talks about how Denis lets scenes linger and mature and create this epic sense of immersion. I love these stripped back and almost still life scenes in his films, where there isn’t 20 cuts and all this action and spectacle. He just presents you with this slice of the world and lets you ponder it. One strong shot like this would be in Arrival when you first see the ship with the clouds rolling in; the cut lasts a good 25 seconds and you fully feel the epic-ness of what is happening. Other directors would have made this massive thing and had camera wizzing all over the place, but not Denis!

[Afraaz]

I get a warm fuzzy feeling hearing true artists being optimistic about the future of film

[marcusshoults]

Cameron will forever be one of the most interesting legends of cinema ever. From directing some of the best movies ever made to setting records exploring the mariana trench and challenger deep, impossible to forget that guy. Villeneuve is quickly becoming another one, from Arrival, Bladerunner 2049, Dune and more, will be another pioneer of cinema too. Amazing to see these two have a back and forth; something I never expected. Thanks for this gem.

[johnathanfichibmanfathal]

It is extraordinary to see that even though Villeneuve is well accomplished in cinematic storytelling, his childlike sensibility radiates to Cameron's myriad exposition of filming experience and ingenuity. Villeneuve's conversation with Cameron makes it evident to himself that he still has much to learn and his humility and sense of wonder will allow him to learn and achieve even more in his career.

[afterburner]

Crazy how Villeneuve just sounds like a beginner filmmaker who just got his first short film in the public eye and is talking to a legendary filmmaker. He's so humble and reverential to Cameron. Mark of a great human being.

[justthinkingoutloud]

This has given me such a profound respect for both of these legendary artists, and I have the best hopes for the future of both of their franchises.