Video Interview With Moon Director Duncan Jones

duncan_jones

Following after the break is a nice, meaty interview with Duncan Jones, conducted in his ‘bijou’ office in central London. Despite it being quite an unorthodox request, he agreed to meet me there, let me set up the camera and chat casually to him for around an hour about whatever took my fancy, Moon-related or otherwise. One of the things I’m not able to show you in the video is the full shelf of scripts that Duncan has been sent as potential projects and there’s no way I could name any of them - well, okay, one of them, because a script for his likely-to-be-next film, Mute was on the shelf too - but I will tell you, any of these films would be blessed to get Duncan on board.

There’s a few minor edits in the video - and turnaround time dictated that they had to be conducted at speed, I’m afraid, so don’t expect anything fancy. I’ve clipped out some sections where it was me talking, not Duncan, and I’ve muted one moment, and it will be obvious why when you see the full clip. There’s also a spoiler warning before we go beyond discussing any of the material you could infer from the trailers.

If you’re just a news hound and less interested in discussion, be aware Duncan reveals some new Mute details, specifies what we can expect to see in the Moon DVD special features and spells out the situation with Escape From the Deep. Is that enough to convince you to click play?

Moon is currently on a rolling release across the US and launches in the UK on Friday July, 17. Supporting this film is supporting all small film, but also small sci-fi, smart sci-fi, intelligent and ambitious sci-fi. This is the collective audiences’ opportunity to redeem themselves for giving Transformers 2 such a boost at the box office.

Through Duncan’s grace and humility, this was allowed to be a very candid discussion. I definitely enjoyed it and I hope you find it interesting - and if it convinces you to go see Moon, which you really, really should, then I’ve achieved what I set out to do.

To keep the file size down sufficiently that I could e-mail it to Peter for it to be embedded on the site, I had to sacrifice a certain amount of quality. Sorry about that - but the audio is still clear and it doesn’t look awful. Definitely watchable, and besides, Duncan will draw you in and hold your attention.

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  • ambient_indie
    I just got back from "Moon". Great science fiction film! I'm buying it on Blu-ray!
  • todd4film
    I've seen "Moon" twice. The first time happened to be on a night when Duncan Jones was there for an after picture Q&A. I made a point of personally thanking him and complementing him on such a fantastic picture. I consider "Moon" to be a classic science fiction film. I am definitely looking forward to Jones' next film, whatever it may be. And yes, it definitely deserves a much wider release.
  • What does Brendon mean by taking points when he talks about Sam Rockwell's salary? (19:14) Just curios.

    Fantastic interview. Duncan Jones really does appear to be a nice fellow and down to earth and I'm happy for his success with Moon as he's just so passionate. Here's hoping he's allowed to carry on said passion to other projects. Didn't know that bit about Mute being the indirect sequel to Moon, i thought it was two separate films, so very informative interview work, Brendon, thank you! Very good questions and great flow.
  • BrendonConnelly
    'Points' would be a percentage share of profit.
  • Ah. Haha I don't know why I didn't think of that, thank you, sir. I'm sure Sam Rockwell got a fair pay either way, regardless he certainly has gained even more critical acclaim for his acting capabilities.
  • Really good interview Brendon, good info about the film bonding and how it works and how they raised the money for the film. Going to see Moon in London tonight.
  • Jaworski
    I recently had the opportunity to see Moon, even though we don't get any other than big releases. It's my favorite movie of the year, and I'll definitely be watching more Duncan Jones movies.
  • spoo
    "clever fella" :-D
  • dullard
    Going to drag the wife to "Moon" this weekend.

    Duncan seems like a really great guy.
  • Fir3Wolf
    I have yet to see Moon but I really want to. Probably won't get a chance until it hits DVD. Good interview Brendon, keep up the good work.
  • uknowbetter
    Moon was solid. Worth seeing.
  • oats
    Moon was fantastic and Duncan seems like such an unbelievably nice guy I really hope he has alot of success.
  • krackajap
    I'm still pissed that hawaii may not ever get Moon....
  • jason
    Moon and Bronson are the two best films ive seen all year. Fuck Transformers and Wolverine!
  • you douchebag
    what's with the crap aspect ratio? for god's sake at least get THAT right you tard
  • BrendonConnelly
    Riiiiiiight.

    For the record, I have been informed by a reader of this very site that the file returns to the 16:9 AR if you rip it and use a media player.

    The upload to Vimeo was... limited by Vimeo, in some fashion it appears. I didn't do it, so I don't know the details. But I know that Peter isn't a 'tard' and didn't screw up here.
  • Alyssa
    I saw Moon, and I thought it was possibly the best and most original movie I've seen yet this year.
  • bbooms
    I'm going to have to be the voice of dissent here. "Moon" wasn't very good. I thought the tone was wildly uneven, the 3rd act should have been majorly revised, and the relationship between the two human characters didn't ring true considering the situation they were in and what each of them knew.

    I think it's important to support indie films and encourage new film artists, but only when what they're creating is actually good.
  • Ghost
    The way the main character re-acted to the twist, or should I say did'nt re-act by barely questioning it and accepting it made the last half of the film almost unbearable for me to sit through. Otherwise, loved the visuals, set design, and Rockwell's performance but the story definitely needed some work.
  • SSCC
    Loved Moon
  • BluePhone
    Great interview and a well done video apart from it being squashed like that.
  • Ed
    he's got laCie quadra hard drives!
  • quintushalls
    Moon is really the best scifi film of the decade (unless Avatar doesn't disappoint). He made an excellent film and I look forward to seeing Mute and his short film on the DVD.
  • David1225
    Just saw Moon. It was a very decent film, raised to a higher level by Sam Rockwell's bravura performance(s).
  • Rob
    Will be attempting going to see this, been waiting for this for ages. That said, it's a case of "attempting" to see it, as the UK distribution (and information about it) is absolutely pathetic. Distributors need to learn that not everyone in the UK lives in London, or even that near to a sizeable city.

    And i saw Transformers 2, and see no need to "redeem" that cinema outing with this one. Apples and oranges ;)
  • nickjones
    He does not look much like his Dad (David Bowie), but the talent and intelligence are both obviously there.
  • quintushalls
    it was the mailman...darn mailmen, sleeping with our mothers!
  • Wriggly Scott
    God.. he looks a bit thin, doesn't he?
  • Andrew
    Its the aspect ratio. Filmed in 16:9 but squashed to 4:3. N00b error.
  • BrendonConnelly
    Not a 'N00b' errror, actually (we're old hands) but a side effect of the transatlantic collaboration that brought the video to you. I could explain the technical side of what went down, but it'd be dull.

    Suffice to say, a different encode with the 16:9 ratio preserved is on the cards.
  • Andrew
    I look forward to a 16:9 correct aspect upload. :)
  • VLCfixer
    Copy the following URL into VLC and play the root file - it comes out in 16.9

    http://bitcast.vimeo.com/vimeo/v/452/326/452326...
  • scotty
    really great video (i'm only half way through so it might go down hill).

    seems like a really nice guy, got to love his openness and frankness. also really admire how he's made it on his own and not used any family names (within reason i'm sure).
  • hellojacktoad
    "There's a star man, waiting in the sky. He'd like to come and meet us but he knows he'll blow our minds!"
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