Hereās the plot: Popular 56-year-old actor threatens the voting body behind the most revered award in cinema with his retirement if they fail to deliver on his desired nomination. While that may sound like an A24 dark comedy waiting to happen, itās actually Josh Brolinās reality, as he has threatened to never act again if director Denis Villeneuve doesnāt receive an Oscar nomination for Dune: Part Two
Speaking with Variety, Brolin, who plays gritty soldier and loyal mentor Gurney Halleck, doesnāt see any logical reason why Villeneuveās 166-minute epic sequel to 2021’s Dune shouldnāt garner him some Oscar nominations. He believes it so strongly, heās willing to put his career on the line for it. āIf he doesnāt get nominated this year, Iāll quit acting,ā Brolin says. āIt was a better movie than the first one. When I watched it, it felt like my brain was broken open. Itās masterful, and Denis is one of our master filmmakers.ā
Not only is his career in jeopardy, but so, as Brolin sees it, is the integrity of the Academy Awards. āIf the Academy Awards have any meaning whatsoever, theyāll recognize him,ā Brolin said. While the stakes of Brolinās current Oscar wager are higher, his delivery of it is much tamer than that in a video he posted a few years ago when Villeneuve failed to receive a directing nomination for the first Dune, even though the film received ten. In that video, posted to his personal Instagram page, Brolin was very close to calling the entire award stupid.
āI donāt know how you get 10 nominations and then the guy who has done the impossible with that book doesnāt get nominated. It makes you realize that itās all amazing and then itās all fucking totally dumb.ā
This yearās Oscar nominations are set to be revealed on January 17. According to Brolinās IMDB, he has two films in production, Weapon and The Running Man, and will more than likely appear in the third Dune film. So, either the Academy gets it right, or else we riot.
