DuncanJones Tagged Articles at Cinematical

I'm not sure what happened to Escape from the Deep, the World War II submarine thriller which was supposed to be the next project for Moon's Duncan Jones, or Mute (his other original sci-fi film). The news today, though, is even more exciting: it seems that instead of tackling historical fiction, Jones will go back to the well for some more heady science-fiction with Source Code. If the title sounds familiar, it's because the project has been floating around for over two years; last year, Shane Abbess (of the Australian pseudo-religious horror film Gabriel) was set to direct.

Source Code was written by Ben Ripley (Species III!), with a once-over by Billy Ray -- a master of the thoughtful genre film. In it, a character is forced relive a train bombing from the point of view of a stranger until he can figure out who's responsible. Jake Gyllenhaal is in negotiations to play the soldier protagonist, or perhaps the third party he inhabits. It's not clear if this is a "conventional" time-travel story or something more akin to Groundhog Day.

Jones is also attached to another sci-fi project called Mute, which he is writing and which he discusses briefly here. Source Code is supposed to start filming early next year, which will probably put the other film (not to mention Escape from the Deep) on the back burner. Meanwhile, awards speculation is starting to simmer around Moon, and especially the richly deserving Sam Rockwell. I'll believe that when I see it -- but Jones' debut showed such remarkable promise that I'm awaiting his next film with bated breath.

Fall brings with it awards season, and among our first round of nominations are those of the British Independent Film Awards. According to Empire, Andrea Arnold's acclaimed Fish Tank took the lead with eight, while Duncan Jones' similarly lauded Moon came up with seven, including one for lead actor Sam Rockwell.

I'm personally happy to see the savage political satire In the Loop getting due notice, especially its expletive-laden screenplay, since it'll likely go overlooked when it comes to Yank laurels (sad but true, although I'll be happy if it's not). Meanwhile, the multiple nods for An Education and Bright Star only parallel their warm reception Stateside and their likely contention in next year's Oscar race.

And after being quietly blown away by it at Fantastic Fest a few weeks back, I'm also glad to see Down Terrace get some love under the Raindance Award category. Enough of these awards, and maybe that puppy'll earn some distribution in our neck of the woods. (You listening, IFC?)

Moon has been the little movie that did, thanks to director Duncan Jones's tireless traveling, interviews, audience Q&As, fan interaction, and, of course, because it's a kick-ass sci-fi movie. Jones has even gone so far as to create an online petition to get Sam Rockwell nominated for a Best Actor Oscar – heck, it even has its own Twitter hashtag. You can also follow Jones on Twitter for more Moon news, and keep track of his campaign for a Rockwell nom on his blog.

Earlier tonight at a screening for Gentlemen Broncos, there was an audience Q&A session with actors Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano, Halley Feiffer, and Mike White, and writer/director Jared Hess. (Jemaine Clement, I'm sad to say, was not there.) As for Duncan Jones's campaign, Rockwell said, "Well, you know, dreams are nice. It's very flattering. Very, very flattering. Very nice. I mean it's obviously the director so he has an agenda [audience laughs] but it's nice to see that. We worked really hard on that film." (The audience, by the way, clapped hard at the mention of Jones's campaign.)

In the same way that higher-profile actors are jumping on the video game ship sans shame, so too are movie writers like Wanted's Chris Morgan. Morgan has signed up for a rather daunting task – working as the story director for the massive and practically holy sci-fi series The Wheel of Time by the late Robert Jordan.

Variety reports that this job entails "overseeing the writing on the titles, working with executive producers and writers to help develop story arcs and helping to digest the book series' 10,000 pages and over 1,700 characters."

(Of course, Morgan and the other two screenplay writers, Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, were taken to task by fans for not sticking to the original comic book story all that much. However, compared to comic book purists, the wrath of Robert Jordan fans can be deadly. Or so I hear.)

Morgan isn't the only screenwriter who has dipped his toes into the pixellated pool. Saw director James Wan is one of the writers for the Saw video game, which surprisingly got some good gamer feedback from its preview at SDCC. And David McKenna, who wrote American History X, Get Carter, Blow, and Bully, wrote Scarface: The World is Yours, which got generally mixed reviews.

At the beginning of the summer we told you how this year our theme was Summer Appreciation, hence the Our Favorite Summers series and our very cool director's series. Our intention was to speak to as many directors with films coming out during the summer and not only chat about their particular movie, but the summer movie season in general. What were some of their favorite summer moviegoing experiences, or favorite summer movies, etc ...

Though we're still not done shoveling out all those interviews, we wanted to drop in with a little recap of the ones we've already conducted in case you're looking for something to browse through this weekend as we segue into the last month of the summer, August. Links to all our special summertime director interviews below, along with some choice quotes.

McG, Terminator Salvation
"Raiders. That was a time when I would characterize the big movies as the best movies, and so rarely is that the case. That was the case last summer with Iron Man and The Dark Knight, which were the biggest movies of the year and arguably the best movies of the year. So I would welcome that sort of summer moviemaking coming back, and I'm a child of [Star Wars] Episodes IV, V and VI, and that's just where my head is. Those are the seminal moments of my life."

Pete Docter, Up
"I kind of look at it as everybody at the studio has a really unique set of skills. Like, if I was building a house, for example, I could probably do it myself to some degree, or at least teach myself, but why not get the greatest craftsmanship that I possibly could for every part of that house?"

Sam Raimi, Drag Me to Hell
"The point to make it in the first place is to make a horror story – to entertain, thrill and scare the bejeezus out of the audience, if I can, and make them jump and shout, and if I can, make them have a good laugh too."

Much more after the jump

Duncan Jones cut his teeth on the sets of Labyrinth and The Hunger, but for his directorial debut, he opted for something that didn't star his dad (I'll let you guys and girls mull over the common thread).

Rather, Moon is a showcase for star Sam Rockwell, who gives what is surely one of the year's more uniquely layered performances. As the film opens today in NY and LA before rolling out in the weeks to come, Jones spoke with Cinematical about shooting sci-fi on a small budget, releasing an indie in a season of blockbusters, and cracking his skull out of pure giddiness for a movie.

Which one, you ask? We'll tell you after the jump...

(We're reposting our Moon review from the Sundance Film Festival in advance of the film's theatrical release this weekend)

By: James Rocchi

"You haul 16 tons, and what do you get?
Another day older and deeper in debt.
St. Peter, don't you call me 'cause I can't go;
I owe my soul to the company store. ..."

-- "Sixteen Tons," Merle Travis

Know thyself. -- Solon of Athens

Moon, the directorial debut of Duncan Jones, opens with a bright, breezy bit of corporate propaganda explaining how, in the film's near-future, clean energy is provided by fusion fueled by hydrogen wrenched from lunar mineral deposits on the dark side of the Moon. Sam Rockwell is Sam Bell, who runs a fuel-harvesting station, aided only by the base's A.I., GERTY (given voice by Kevin Spacey). Sam is nearing the end of his three-year contract, and it's been a lonely stint; he's got only two weeks left, but he's on the thin edge. The communications satellite is down, so Sam can't talk to Earth -- his bosses, his wife -- directly; for all of the high-tech trappings and whiz-bang science of his work, Sam's a hard rock miner. And that's always been dangerous work.

Moon evokes many things -- the nature of the human experience, the nature of employee-management relations, how the odds are fairly good that the future will be exactly like today, but more so. With all of its far-flung inventions, impeccable visual design and Clint Mansell's eerie score, Moon boils down to a single man having a long conversation in isolation, telling himself a few lies and opening his own eyes to a few truths; Rockwell, playing the only person for tens of thousands of miles, has no one else to act against, and much of his plight has to be conveyed through special effects that gave him little or nothing to work with on-set.

Well, this looks like fun. I really like Duncan Jones' directorial debut Moon -- coming soon to a discerning theater near you! -- but I really like submarine movies. Who doesn't? Only fools.

Jones -- a commercial vet, and David Bowie's son! Did you know that? I totally didn't know that. Next you'll be telling me Freddie Mercury begat Sofia Coppola -- will be moving on to Escape from the Deep, the true story of a World War II submarine that trapped itself at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, 180 feet below the surface, where it proceeded to be assaulted by enemy charges.

I'm pretty sure Escape from the Deep will rule, as I'm not sure I've ever disliked a submarine movie. Das Boot? Duh. Crimson Tide? Yeah. The Hunt for Red October? Gimme gimme gimme. Those are non-controversial. How about: U-571? Yep, McConaughey be damned. K-19: The Widowmaker? Never understood the widespread dislike for that terrifically suspenseful little action flick. And if you want to go a bit more obscure, try the underseen Below.

And spawn of Bowie or no, Jones is a talented chap. Moon is terrific science-fiction, in a confined space, on a shoestring budget -- and that's hard. Oh, and here's to hoping Jones is able to recruit Clint Mansell for both Escape from the Deep, and his other new project, the sci-fi thriller Mute. If you want to get a sense of Mansell's typically awesome work on Moon, give this trailer a look and listen. Suffice it to say the score is a large part of the reason I can't wait to see the movie again.

Having not attended Sundance, last month's SXSW Film Festival was my first chance to catch up with Duncan Jones' acclaimed sci-fi drama, Moon, and I'm happy to say that my expectations were well-met, with Sam Rockwell giving what is bound to be one of the more uniquely layered performances of the year.* (You can read James Rocchi's review here.)

Well, it looks like the guys over at IGN got their hands on the trailer, which we've embedded after the jump and which carefully embraces the intrigue of the film's central conceit. Jones himself told us that the development in question isn't exactly a spoiler in his mind, but don't worry, we're not about to give it up here. All in all, it's a smart sell, and one accurately representative of the movie. AICN, meanwhile, happens to have one snazzy poster on display. Mere coincidence? We may never know...

Co-starring Kevin Spacey (sort of), Moon gets a NY/LA opening on June 12th before rolling out to other markets, where it'll should prove a welcome respite to the comparatively mindless summer fare.

*Trust me, I'm not just saying that.

It may not be the most publicized movie out there, but if the new stills that have surfaced for Duncan Jones' Moon are any indication of the film's quality, it might just be one of the most overlooked. Bloody Disgusting now has 18 new photos from the space drama, and if you are a fan of 'serious' sci-fi, then right away you will probably notice some similarities between this and another 'sacred cow' of sci-fi film making. Not to mention that if you're anything like me, and have even the slightest 'space-phobia', then these images are bound to give you a case of the heebie-jeebies.

The incomparable Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, a solo astronaut slowly losing his grip as his assignment on a remote lunar mining station is nearing an end. As his contract with a conglomerate called LUNAR is finishing, Bell begins to put together disturbing facts about the true nature of his replacement -- and judging from the look on Rockwell's face in some of these photos, it is definitely not good news. Joining in on the fun are Kevin Spacey, who provides the voice of a robot companion, and Kaya Scodelario as Sam's wife, Eve.

Even though Moon might not have a high-powered publicity machine behind it, it's a refreshing change to see a film that isn't using a raft of viral campaigns and internet hoaxes to drum up business. I might be alone on this one, but for once it's nice to see a film that is willing to speak for itself -- don't you think?

Moon will arrive in theaters on May 25th, 2009.