Storytelling Whiplash: IMAX to iPhone
Denis Villeneuve and ReesaTeesa ride a sandworm to 2024 content history
“Long live the fighters” (Dune)
”Long live long-form content” (me to ReesaTeesa)
This weekend, “Dune: Part Two,” Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to 2021’s 6-time Academy Award-winning first installment, released in theaters as a film that will likely have a lasting impact on film history. 3 weeks ago, a TikTok’r by the name of ReesaTeesa uploaded a 50-part, 7.5 hour video series, “Who the Fuck Did I Marry?” to her channel that has amassed well over 200 million views.
Villeneuve and ReesaTeesa’s projects could not be more different, yet their accomplishments stand in harmony: defying the odds of storytelling by breaking boundaries, and trusting audiences to pay attention.
The Material
Often called “unadaptable” (despite previous adaptions), Frank Herbert’s 1965 sci-fi series of novels Dune has been a dream project of visionary director Denis Villeneuve since he was 13. In fact, it was the first “movie” he conceived, storyboarding it with his childhood friend at the time in the absence of a camera. The 2021 release of “Dune: Part One” was a gamble: Villeneuve split the book in half (without advertising to audiences, or the green light from Warner Brothers for a sequel), had less action sequences than one would intend for a sci-fi film, and was day-and-date released on HBO Max. “Part Two” was soon green-lit, and in just 2 years one of the greatest science fiction films of all time was created. It opened this weekend to a strong $82.5 million domestic gross (vs. 2021’s $41 million gross), with 23% being from IMAX screenings; an impressive 94% positive critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an even more impressive 95% audience score. Beyond these great numbers, sentiment surrounding the quality of film is astoundingly strong, with what was once considered an inaccessible novel becoming a cinematic achievement. To further cement the quality of the film, Christopher Nolan has proclaimed it as the new “Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back,” a fellow legendary sequel.
If “Dune: Part Two”’s success is astounding, then “Who the Fuck Did I Marry,” is double that… and confounding. Beginning on Wednesday, February 14, TikTok'r ReesaMTeesa embarked on a journey that will forever mark a new milestone in the digital content wars. Over the course of 5 days, she uploaded a 50-part, self described "audio book" series detailing the story of her marriage and fallout with what she claims, a pathological liar. It's garnered over 200 million combined views in its first week. The rub? With TikTok's 10 minute video feature enabled, the entire series clocks in at over 7.5 hours in length, with zero frills: no graphics, fancy editing gimmicks, or text further outlining events. It is simply 50 vertical iPhone videos of a woman telling her story. And people engaged. I saw users of all types begin posting videos in response to her story - responding, theorizing, and sinking their teeth into this never-before-seen TikTok content.
The Strategy
Let’s dive into the seemingly impossible parallels in these pieces of content, and how working so far against the “norms” propelled them to success:
“People want short form content”
The majority of ReesaTeesa’s videos near the 10 minute mark, yet millions have made it through all 50.
“Dune: Part Two” clocks in at 2 hours and 48 minutes, following a 2 hour and 35 minute runtime of its precursor. [Plus recent post-pandemic blockbusters: “Oppenheimer” (3hrs); “The Batman” (2hrs 57m); Avatar: The Way of Water (3hrs 12m)]
“You need to do XYZ to make the algorithm happy / No one goes to the movies anymore”
TikTok is begging people to upload photo slideshows instead of videos. And if you do upload a video, they want it to be landscape now (?). ReesaTeesa did neither of these.
With a same-day global release, a star-studded cast, and a press tour that gave us a new headline everyday, “Part Two” not only had an attendance of over 5 million domestic this weekend, but 23% of those sales were from IMAX theaters. It was an event, and people turned up.
“Attention spans are short!!1!one!”
ReesaTeesa’s story came out of nowhere, and the tale is WILD. Notably, her storytelling is impeccable - she seems to have all 50 parts mapped out clearly in her head, but released all the videos quickly, never refers to notes, and rarely misspeaks, "um"'s, or misses an opportunity to perfectly place a cliffhanger at the end of a part. More interesting than the story itself, to me, is simple: people engaged. She bridged cultures and age demographics (I got a text from my mom she finished it just a day after I had, and we hadn’t even spoken about it.)
Denis Villeneuve’s filmography was already legendary: “Arrival,” “Sicario,” “Prisoners,” “Blade Runner 2049,” and if you’re a film bro, “Incendies.” He is a singular talent, yet all of his movies stand on their own as near untouchable accomplishments in moviemaking. They are dense, dark, often hard to decipher stories that challenge the viewer to lean forward and be an activate participant. Each reward multiple viewings, with layers of additional subtext and thematic clues revealing themselves. His artistic language is visual, visceral, and cinematic.
The Evolution
Denis recently made headlines, with a quote:
“Frankly, I hate dialogue,” the filmmaker told The Times of London in a recent interview. “Dialogue is for theatre and television. I don’t remember movies because of a good line, I remember movies because of a strong image. I’m not interested in dialogue at all. Pure image and sound, that is the power of cinema, but it is something not obvious when you watch movies today.”
Cut to: a 7.5 hour self described “audiobook” by ReesaTeesa. At once, these two pieces of media are at odds, yet perfectly symbiotic with each other. How we consume stories in 2024 is constantly changing, and this is just two mediums - there are endless discussions to be had similarly about the state of theater, music, books, painting, journalism, concerts… the list goes on. What is status quo “strategy” today could be irrelevant tomorrow.
Me personally? I adore long-form content, and would give up any streaming service before ditching YouTube Premium, where I consume endless video essays regularly spanning 10+ minutes. As for “Dune,” I’ve been a Villeneuve super-fan since 2013, and remain constantly in awe of his achievements as a visual storyteller. I saw “Part Two” twice this weekend, and while I did get to see the final “Lord of the Rings” film in theaters when I was young, it is exciting to be (as an adult) living through a moment of movie magic that I know people will be talking about - and studying - for a long time.
For now? Long live the fighters, and long live long-form content.
