LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� were really looking forward to their fight.
The actors had been training, separately, with a Kali instructor in Los Angeles to prepare for the climactic showdown between Paul Atreides and Feyd Rautha in 鈥� When they finally met in Budapest, they weren鈥檛 even technically supposed to do a run through. But they couldn鈥檛 hide their excitement.
鈥淲e got after it right away,鈥� Chalamet said.
Everyone in the ensemble gets a little starry-eyed talking about that fight. It was a spectacle watching Butler and Chalamet do it all themselves, a few times in near continuous takes for the wide shots.
鈥淚t felt like standing in the wings before you walk out on stage or something, that incredible intensity that you feel. And then 鈥楢ction!鈥� is called. And we just got to work,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the moment of truth where you want to just leave it all on the field.鈥�
But it was also the rare occasion in which most of the cast, including Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsg氓rd, Christopher Walken, Charlotte Rampling, and were in the same room together.
Pugh, a newcomer to the world of 鈥淒une鈥� as the Emperor鈥檚 daughter, Princess Irulan, described the atmosphere in the room as a 鈥渇izzing energy that can only at that point, you hope, create greatness.鈥�
Leaving it on the field wasn't just Butler's goal in the fight. It seemed to be the guiding principle for everyone who got the chance to return to Arrakis for 鈥淧art Two,鈥� which opens March 1. The sequel and was dependent on the success of 鈥� ,鈥� which had its own handicap being released simultaneously on Max (formerly HBOMax) and in theaters.
Chalamet worried that they鈥檇 end on an incomplete arc. Other actors, like Zendaya as a Freman fighter (and object of Paul鈥檚 affections) Chani and Dave Bautista as Harkonnen thug Beast Rabban, had barely even scratched the surface of their characters in 鈥淧art One.鈥�
鈥淭hat uncertainty was uncomfortable,鈥� said Bautista. 鈥淢y payoff for the character was in the second film.鈥�
The time in between gave Zendaya and Chalamet breathing room to establish a real friendship with one another, before their characters would have to fall in love in 鈥淧art Two鈥� 鈥� in the midst of all the heightened stakes.
鈥淲hat I appreciate about the love story is that it is earned,鈥� Zendaya said. 鈥淎 real wall has to be broken down.鈥�
But it was a relief to get the official go, even if they knew a lot of sweat and discomfort awaited in order to bring this ambitious and visionary science fiction world to life, with the action upped threefold.
鈥淚t鈥檚 grueling, but it鈥檚 a grueling that I like personally,鈥� said Brolin, returning as Gurney Halleck. 鈥淚 like challenging my idea of comfort often.鈥�
Some were more daunted by the return, like Skarsg氓rd, knowing that he鈥檇 once again have to endure eight hours of sitting completely still to become Baron Harkonnen. The look would include a cooling vest and over 80 pounds (36 kilograms) of rubber suiting that made moving difficult and bathroom breaks impossible.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 that thrilled by it because I thought about those hours in makeup,鈥� Skarsg氓rd said. 鈥淏ut on the other hand, I really love the character, not because he鈥檚 psychologically portrayed very elegantly, but because we managed to create a presence鈥� He is used in very few scenes, but he will still hover over the entire film as a dangerous, dangerous thing.鈥�
One thing he wasn鈥檛 prepared for was Butler as his character鈥檚 鈥減sychotic鈥� nephew Feyd Rautha. Butler came in with the idea to model his voice off Skarsg氓rd鈥檚.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 sort of a funny detail,鈥� Skarsg氓rd said. 鈥淏ut then, God, he was razor sharp. It鈥檚 like a snake. It was fantastic to see.鈥�
Butler also transformed to play a character that Villeneuve described as 鈥渁 cross between a sword master and Mick Jagger.鈥� That took about three hours in hair and makeup, and one at the end of the day to cut him out of the cap.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a real gift as an actor when you look in the mirror and you don鈥檛 see yourself,鈥� Butler said. 鈥淚 knew I had a lot of latitude to play.鈥�
For Pugh, it was a 鈥渄ream鈥� to witness the scale of the sets and be part of not only a transformative experience but also 鈥渢o be around such dedication and such love and passion and such talent.鈥�
Like most of her peers, she said being in that room during the week the fight was a highlight of her career.
鈥淚t was impressive,鈥� said Brolin. 鈥�(These were guys that) really rehearsed that were truly going at it, that were hurting themselves, that were falling... You're like 鈥榶es, this is old school.鈥欌��
Brolin was particularly impressed with the young cast, none of whom leaned on their celebrity, he said.
Of course, at the heart of 鈥淒une鈥� is Chalamet, an actor who was only 23 years old when he made the first. He鈥檇 been nominated for an Oscar and was quickly establishing himself as the next capital M movie star. But it was the first time he鈥檇 ever led a production of that scale.
By the time he鈥檇 return to start production on 鈥淒une: Part Two,鈥� just a few years later, the difference was striking: Like his character Paul Atreides, he鈥檇 also grown up.
鈥淗e was like a little kid and he didn鈥檛 hide it. He鈥檚 like, 鈥榃hat is this? What do we do? Oh my God. So big. So many cameras,鈥欌�� Brolin laughed. 鈥淎nd right now he鈥檚 exactly where he should be.鈥�
Chalamet is self-deprecating about this, laughing that he was 鈥渂ut a boy鈥� on the first and in the interim got some furniture. But everyone around him noticed the change.
Bautista was particularly impressed at his dedication to a training and eating schedule to transform himself into a believably powerful fighter (and rider of sandworms).
鈥淚 know he trained his butt off because he wanted to look the part,鈥� Bautista said. 鈥淗e literally goes from being a boy to being a man, like he is commanding in the second film.鈥�
Villeneuve was sure he鈥檇 get there, too, but still a little relieved that it worked out as he鈥檇 imagined.
鈥淭imoth茅e had learned a lot about filmmaking in between both movies,鈥� Villeneuve said. 鈥淚n 鈥楶art One鈥� it was the first time he was in a movie of that scale, surrounded by a lot of movie starts. But in 鈥楶art Two鈥� he was the one leading. And he did a tremendous job of bringing Paul鈥檚 tragedy to life.鈥�
鈥淒une: Part Two鈥� is the kind of 鈥渆vent cinema鈥� that the cast seems genuinely (and not just contractually) excited to be part of and to see on the big screen 鈥� a propulsive and action-packed spectacle that will surely satisfy anyone who complained the first was too meditative.
鈥淚t鈥檚 storytelling. It鈥檚 heart. It鈥檚 visually stunning. The soundtrack is incredible,鈥� Bautista said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a special film and they just don鈥檛 come along very often.鈥�
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
