Denis Villeneuve He has directed some of the best films of the last decade and, like another great director, Christopher Nolan, he bans the same item: cell phones.
In an interview with Los Angeles TimesVilleneuve comments: “I feel like we humans are governed by algorithms right now. We behave like artificial intelligence circuits. The way we see the world is narrow-minded binary. We are becoming disconnected from each other and society is falling apart. “In some ways it's terrifying.”
The interviewer notes that he looks at his phone while giving that answer, and Villeneuve notes that there is “something addictive about the fact that you can access any information, any song, any book. It's compulsive. It's like a drug.”
For this reason, he, like Nolan, bans cell phones on his film sets. “Cinema is an act of presence,” he explains. “When a painter paints, he has to be absolutely focused on the color he puts on the canvas. The same thing happens with the dancer when he makes a gesture. With a filmmaker, you have to do that with a team, and everyone has to do it.” concentrating and being completely in the present, listening to each other, being in relationship with others. So cell phones are also banned on my set, since Day. When you say cut, you don't want someone to access your phone. to look at your facebook account.”
There can certainly be a lot of downtime between takes on a film set, so it may seem a little cruel to prevent people from having a break using their phones, but I think you're right. Making movies is a creative process, and if you separate yourself from that when you're not focused on a shot, you're not giving your brain a chance to solve a problem or come up with an interesting idea.
It's clearly a method that works, as both Nolan and Villeneuve have had Oscar-nominated films. Nolan even won two thanks to Oppenheimer – and his work is beloved by fans and critics alike.
If you want to catch up on your movies over the holidays, check out our list of best movies of 2024.