One-shot director Denis Villeneuve has been banned from his feature films

For many movie lovers Denis Villeneuve's films rank among the best 21st century. While Quentin Tarantino refuses to watch his Dune adaptationsthe French-Canadian director has amassed a legion of fans who eagerly await whatever he releases. From “Sicario” to “Arrival” to “Blade Runner 2049”, Villeneuve has proven that he has a knack for creating thought-provoking blockbusters that boast plenty of ambition, style and great performances from his cast. However, he enforces strict rules to ensure that his performers remain focused on the task at hand.

In an interview with Los Angeles TimesVilleneuve revealed that he has a similar mindset to Christopher Nolan as they both ban cell phones on set. In his own words:

“Cinema is an act of presence. When a painter paints, he has to concentrate fully on the paint he puts on the canvas. It's the same with a dancer when he makes a gesture. With a filmmaker, it has to be done with a team, and everyone has to focus and be completely in the present , have to listen to each other, have a relationship with each other, so cell phones have been banned in my suite since day 1. It's banned when you say cut, you you don't want someone going to his phone looking at his Facebook account.

Many people would argue that this is a fair point because cell phones are annoying. The good news, however, is that Villeneuve is allowing his co-stars to use other facilities that Nolan reportedly banned.

Christopher Nolan has banned two things from his film setsbut it could be three, if Anne Hathaway is to be believed. The Dark Knight Returns star once claimed he was banning chairs, but the director's spokeswoman, Kelly Bush Novak, denied the report and confirmed that sitting is allowed, although smoking and cellphones are not. Denis Villeneuve also allows chairs on his sets, but he told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn't use them personally:

“When I was making Blade Runner (2049) I had back problems because I was sitting a lot. So to see the Dune films, my cinematographer Greig Fraser and I decided to stand up so there would be minimal feet so we could be flexible and go fast to keep the blood flowing to wake us up Maybe for the producers in the video village.

Overall, more filmmakers should consider banning cell phones. If Nolan and Villeneuve — two of the most famous filmmakers working in Hollywood — think it's a bad idea, they're somewhat distracting. Still, it's good to know that Villeneuve lets his co-stars sit out long days of filming.