Villeneuve

Times film critic Amy Nicholson, meanwhile, is rooting for Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” to pull off the surprise win.

But the expertise is physically shaken out of me when surrounded by the impeccable sound work in one of Villeneuve’s “Dune” films.

Last March, it didn’t take a snort of spice to see visions of Denis Villeneuve clutching multiple Oscars for his follow-up to 2021’s “Dune: Part One.”

While Villeneuve clearly adores Frank Herbert’s original 1965 novel, his clever tweaks have rejiggered its 60-year-old themes to fit exactly this moment in time, dialing up the book’s female strength and the shivers we get as Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides convinces a land of zealots that he alone can save them.

Both winners spent their time on stage praising filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, whose directorial efforts have been largely overlooked by awards bodies this year.