Denis Villeneuve gave the screenwriter of “Dune” a goal: to focus on women

Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” began its theatrical release abroad before a US launch at the end of October. Critics have seen the film, and many of them agree that Rebecca Ferguson stars as Lady Jessica. The emotional backbone of Villeneuve’s first “Dune” is the relationship between Lady Jessica and her son Paul Atréides, played by Timothée Chalamet. The filmmaker recently said imperial review it was a priority for him to make “Dune” a more “feminine” story while he was adapting Frank Herbert’s novel with co-writers Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth. The latter has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay five times – “Forrest Gump” (1994), “The Insider” (1999), “Munich” (2005), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” ( 2008) and “A Star is Born” (2018) – winner for “Forrest Gump”.

“For me it was important to bring more femininity to the story,” said Villeneuve. “I am fascinated by the relationship between femininity and power, the place of women in society.

“[Screenwriter] Eric Roth said: “If you had one aspect of the novel that you would like me to focus on, what would it be? “I said: ‘The women’,” continued Villeneuve. “The whole story unfolds because of Lady Jessica, because of a decision she made to give birth to Paul instead of a daughter [via a breeding programme]. He’s a fascinating character, one of the most influential and interesting in the novel.

Ferguson has previously said that part of the appeal of joining Villenueve’s “Dune” was how the writers made Lady Jessica a much bigger presence in the narrative than in the novel. The actress said Fandom, “Something that Denis Villeneuve and the writers really took into consideration is [that] this book was written during a time when women were represented differently from what we expect today, what we call gender equality. And that’s something they took into consideration in making this script.

“Although [Lady Jessica] is a concubine to the King, she is also his bodyguard, his mentor, she can read thoughts and emotions, and she is the best fighter there is, ”added Ferguson. “So there is a subtle power that she needs to teach her son, [Paul Atreides], performed by Timothée Chalamet. It’s a complex story, it’s hard to discuss it in one sentence.

“Dune” opens in US theaters and on HBO Max on October 22.

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