The Middle East premiere for Dune: Part Two had all the glam and pomp expected for a red carpet event, but it was the light-hearted energy that made the night memorable.
Dave Bautista faced fans in heated rock paper scissor matches. Josh Brolin signed Funko Pops of characters he’s played. Denis Villeneuve spoke about his love of the Empty Quarter, and to top it off, fans got the chance to have their photos taken by a large sand worm installation, posing in front of its gaping, toothy mouth.
Several stars attended the premiere at Vox Cinemas in Abu Dhabi’s Galleria Mall on Sunday. These included the film’s actors, such as Bautista and Brolin, as well as its director Villeneuve, along with his wife, producer Tanya Lapointe. However, there were also a few surprise guests, including French football star Patrice Evra and Iraqi YouTube personality Noor Stars. The event was hosted by radio presenter and Dubai Bling star Kris Fade.
Both Dune films were shot, in part, in Abu Dhabi’s Empty Quarter. The landscape was used to portray the arid desert of Arrakis, where a majority of the films take place. The films were also shot in Italy, Hungary and the Petra region of Jordan. However, it was in the Empty Quarter where Brolin was existentially awestruck by the desert and its majesty.
“I think when you show up to the desert for the first time, you feel very insignificant,” he told The National on the red carpet. “I love that feeling. I love that feeling of humility. Then, by the time you leave, you’re crying. You don’t want to leave because there’s something about that kind of spiritual insignificance that you start to feed off of. It’s very nourishing. I saw my kids go through it. I saw my wife go through it. I fed off this place massively. We had a great experience.”
For Villeneuve, filming in Abu Dhabi’s desert was just as significant of an experience. The landscape easily lent itself to the camera, he said, and in many ways he let the desert guide the film’s idiosyncratic aesthetics.
"The thing that surprised me the most is when I woke up one morning and it was full of fog,” he told The National. “It was very ghostly and mesmerising. I decided to use that in the movie. It was something I was not expecting at first."
While Brolin and Villeneuve were returning to Abu Dhabi and were looking forward to exploring the emirate’s urban facet this time around, it marked Bautista’s first visit. However, being a fan of desert environments, he said he was looking forward to discovering the Empty Quarter portion of Abu Dhabi.
“Everyone keeps saying its hot, but I love the heat,” he said. “In the US, I love to go to places like the Arizona desert or Albuquerque in New Mexico. They constantly try to run and cover me with an umbrella, [but] I’m a sun devil, I love the heat.”
Dune: Part Two releases in UAE and Lebanon on February 29, and is scheduled for a wider regional release on the April 11
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The biog
Siblings: five brothers and one sister
Education: Bachelors in Political Science at the University of Minnesota
Interests: Swimming, tennis and the gym
Favourite place: UAE
Favourite packet food on the trip: pasta primavera
What he did to pass the time during the trip: listen to audio books
Allardyce's management career
Clubs (10) - Limerick (1991-1992), Perston North End (1992), Blackpool (1994-1996), Notts County (1997-1999), Bolton Wanderers (1999-2007), Newcastle United (2007-2008), Blackburn Rovers (2008-2010), West Ham United (2011-2015), Sunderland (2016), Crystal Palace (2016-2017)
Countries (1) - England (2016)
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
Dr Graham's three goals
Short term
Establish logistics and systems needed to globally deploy vaccines
Intermediate term
Build biomedical workforces in low- and middle-income nations
Long term
A prototype pathogen approach for pandemic preparedness
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
Stewart Howison, co-founder of Cycle Safe Dubai and owner of Revolution Cycles
“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
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The Disaster Artist
Director: James Franco
Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco, Seth Rogan
Four stars
How Sputnik V works
