The 2022 Oscar nominations have finally been revealed, with Dune among the front lines with an astonishing ten nods. But all of this pressure can prove too much for even director Denis Villeneuve. Thankfully, he had a brilliant plan for that morning.
Dune was released to critical acclaim and enough box office success to merit a sequel being greenlit not long after the first film premiered. The film was considered an awards contender from the beginning, and the predictions proved to be correct when Dune earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and more.
Despite Dune's success, one of the most surprising snubs was Villeneuve not being nominated for Best Director. In a statement, Villeneuve responded to the Oscar snub with advice on how to handle to stress that comes with the Academy Award nominations. "Here is a trick for all filmmakers on Oscars nomination morning. At the very last minute before announcements, make pancakes. It helps with the stress," Villeneuve said before noting that this strategy didn't entirely pan out, as he adds, "Make sure you put enough eggs in the preparation, our pancakes were a disaster." He then expressed gratitude for Dune's ten nominations, saying, "I could not be more proud of my whole team... Thank you to the Academy! We had an amazing morning. None of which would have been possible without our incredible cast- on behalf of the entire producing team, we thank you for your hard work in making my old dream a reality."
Some other snubs include the Jonathan Larson musical tick, tick...BOOM! not being up for Best Picture and Lady Gaga's performance in House of Gucci not being recognized for Best Actress. Some fans are also disappointed Spider-Man: No Way Home is absent in the Best Picture race, though perhaps Academy purists wouldn't have approved of that inclusion. Jimmy Kimmel, on the other hand, made it clear that he was not thrilled by No Way Home being excluded from the Best Picture category.
There's also a fair amount of surprises in this year's nominees. For one, there's a whopping ten nominees for Best Picture, making this the most crowded race in over ten years. Critics are also pleasantly surprised to see the Japanese drama Drive My Car up for four major nominations, which is a rarity for foreign films. Viewers were also shocked to see Kristen Stewart nominated for Best Actress for her portrayal of Princess Diana in Spencer. Between this and Robert Pattinson as Batman, it's safe to say the Twilight cast has been vindicated by history.
There's still a long way to go until awards season is said and done. Filmmakers are sure to feel the pressure for the coming weeks, so they'd better take up Villeneuve's advice and start whipping up some pancakes.
Dune is now playing in theaters.
Source: John Jurgensen/Twitter