Zendaya plays a mysterious young woman from the Bedoin-like inhabitants of Arrakis. Credit:Warner Bros
But the 46-year-old admitted he was apprehensive going into Dune.
“The fear was I was going to screw it up,” he said. “This is a big thing. There’s a lot of Dune fans out there and trying to bring people’s vision to reality in a really honest way is hard.”
Before the shoot – largely at Wadi Rum in Jordan, an oasis in Abu Dhabi and a studio in Budapest – Fraser watched classic movies set in the desert then tried to forget about them.
“We saw them, closed the book on them and said, ‘OK, we’re not going to do a Lawrence of Arabia shot’,” he said. “We’re not paying homage to anything that’s come before us. We’re trying to be really original and fulfil the vision of Frank Herbert.”
While he has won an Emmy for The Mandalorian and had an Oscar nomination for Lion – it was “quite an event” when La La Land was wrongly named best picture winner instead of Moonlight – Fraser played down the importance of awards.
“When anyone enjoys the movie, it’s very, very, very, very, very rewarding,” he said. “I find the enjoyment factor more important than necessarily the awards.”
Jason Momoa in a battle scene in Dune. Credit:Warner Bros
That enjoyment factor was high when Fraser watched Dune for the first time, on a giant IMAX screen in Los Angeles.
“It was quite awe-inspiring being at the same place that we decided to shoot the way we decided to shoot, and then all the places we’d gone to get to this point,” he said. “I walked out of the cinema shaking …
“I’m really proud of the cinematography on this film and I know the actors are really proud of the performances and the script is fantastic. But it’s better than all of those things put together.”
A former photographer, Fraser’s filmography includes Bright Star, The Boys Are Back, Let Me In, Snow White and the Huntsman, Killing Them Softly and Mary Magdalene. And while he is preparing to shoot the second Dune, he is wary about believing he is a Hollywood success.
Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune.Credit:Warner Bros.
“‘Have I made it?’ is a really wild question,” he said. “I wouldn’t say that I’ve ever made it because once you’ve made it, what do you do from there? You go and buy yourself a fast car? I dunno.”
Fraser said he had been lucky to work with brilliant directors from Australia, New Zealand, the US and Britain on high-quality dramas.
Loading
“More than anything, my camera being able to capture the best performances from an actor to the vision of the director is what I pride myself on,” he said.
“I hope that I haven’t made it because I hope to make it one day and come up with the ultimate movie where I have an interview and go, ‘I’m done, I’ve made it, thank you very much’.”
Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.
Email the writer at gmaddox@smh.com.au and follow him on Twitter at @gmaddox.
‘I walked out of the cinema shaking’: The Australian cinematographer who shot Dune
Source: Philippines Alive
