Moon, the Duncan Jones "space miner" movie unveiled at Sundance this week.

I've been tracking the approach of Duncan Jones' forthcoming "space miner" feature Moon, and thought I'd blog a few of those sources today, on the occasion of its debut at Sundance.Kevin Spacey plays the voice of an AI presence, Sam Rockwell plays the space protagonist, and the film is directed by David Bowie's son -- so, I'm in already. Over at i09, Meredith Woerner writes:

The dark but beautiful space-isolation movie Moon, starring Sam Rockwell, is finally starting to explain why our astro-miner starts losing his mind. Moon will screen at Sundance this year and I couldn't be more excited to learn more about what David Bowie's son Duncan Jones (aka Zowie Bowie) thinks about space madness.

Then, a few days later, i09 scored some video clips. Cinematical pointed to various links for stills and more background on the film, which opens on May 25 in US theaters, and today Cinematical posted a review from Sundance. Here's a snip:

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.

Many reviews of Moon will go to great pains to preserve its twist -- as will I -- but let it also be said that Moon is more than just a film defined by its twist. Moon has a cat in the bag, yes, but it knows when to open the bag and bring out the cat, fairly early on, so we can take a good look at both and think about what they really mean. Jones (who, not coincidentally, is David Bowie's son; Sam Bell and Major Tom could be distant relations) has made a science fiction film that's not about aliens but instead about alienation, not about future technologies but instead about the people who'll have to live and work and cope with them.

Here's the IMDB listing. Trailer please? (Big thanks, Susannah Breslin!)

[#1 posted by noen , January 19, 2009 12:16 PM]

Open the pod bay door Hal.

I had to, I just had to, sorry.

[#2 posted by asanisimasa , January 19, 2009 12:26 PM]

Hey, did anyone mention that Duncan Jones is David Bowie's son? Seriously though, I would hate to be defined by who my dad is. David Bowie has nothing to do with this movie apart from being the director's dad.

Anyway, I've been looking forward to this movie for a while. Can't wait to see it.

[#3 posted by holtt , January 19, 2009 12:36 PM]

Pretty cool looking, but is there another source for the videos? They all stream and I can't seem to watch any of them without frequent "buffering" breaks.

[#4 posted by Frank W , January 19, 2009 12:45 PM]

Heeere am I sitting in a tin can
faaar above the world
Planet Earth is blue and there's nothing I can do…

[#5 posted by Ray Bradbury , January 19, 2009 1:01 PM]

Can't wait to see this. If you're interested in this one, you'll want to check out The Clone Returns Home. I just saw it last night. An absolutely brilliant sci-fi film from japanese filmmaker Kanji Nakajima. I really can't say enough about how touching and beautiful it is.
IMDB page

[#6 posted by codesuidae , January 19, 2009 1:06 PM]

[as he free tumbles through space] Well, here I am.

(to obscure?)

[#7 posted by Takuan , January 19, 2009 1:13 PM]

#5, you have committed blasphemy as well as suspected link-whoring. What shall be your penance for using that name?

[#8 posted by codesuidae , January 19, 2009 1:15 PM]

I said 'too'

Oh, I thought... That's weird.

[#9 posted by coldspell , January 19, 2009 1:18 PM]

MOON trailers:
http://moon-trailer.blogspot.com/2009/01/moon-preview-clips.html

I love hard SF, but these trailers are boring as hell and a dubbed with inappropriate music. And who in space measures anything in miles?

[#10 posted by buddy66 , January 19, 2009 1:32 PM]

#7 Takuan,

Could #5 maybe...?

[#11 posted by zuzu , January 19, 2009 1:34 PM]

Space Madness!!!
(oblig. Ren & Stimpy)

[#12 posted by Takuan , January 19, 2009 1:42 PM]

mmm at 88 interested in just released Japanese cinema? More likely I'd eat my squeedlyspooch. Especially on a one post account.

[#13 posted by Takuan , January 19, 2009 2:11 PM]

(psst! Buddy! LA ain't in Utah!)

[#14 posted by Ray Bradbury , January 19, 2009 2:26 PM]

Wow! Not the responses I expected. Long time reader, first time poster because, as you can hopefully tell, I just saw the film and am very excited about it.

[#15 posted by Brad S. , January 19, 2009 6:01 PM]

@4
How about:
It's cold outside
There's no kind of atmosphere
I'm all alone (more or less) ...

@14
If you were a true long-time reader, Takuan's snarky posts would not come as any kind of surprise.

[#16 posted by Takuan , January 19, 2009 6:30 PM]

and this relates how to the film posted?

"The Clone Returns Home is a compelling meditation on the paradox of life and death, and the meaning of love and family. Set in an imaginary - yet utterly imaginable - future, this quietly provocative film skillfully transposes complex emotional drama into the realm of science fiction by exploring the influence of technology on human memory and experience. Filled with stunning imagery and haunting stillness, The Clone Returns Home deftly combines subtly nuanced sci-fi with a uniquely Japanese perspective on the universal themes of family, life, love, and death. Written by Hikari Ohta "

"snarky"? bleeding snarky?? Roight mate, I'll SHOW you snarky!

[#17 posted by Takuan , January 19, 2009 6:33 PM]

"snarkâ‹…y
   /ˈsnɑrki/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [snahr-kee] Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective, snark⋅i⋅er, snark⋅i⋅est. Chiefly British Slang.
testy or irritable; short.
Origin:
1910–15; dial. snark to nag, find fault with (appar. identical with snark, snork to snort, snore, prob. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

snark·y (snär'kē) Pronunciation Key
adj. snark·i·er, snark·i·est Slang

1. Rudely sarcastic or disrespectful; snide.
2. Irritable or short-tempered; irascible.

[From dialectal snark, to nag, from snark, snork, to snore, snort, from Dutch and Low German snorken, of imitative origin.]
snark'i·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

snarky (adj.)
"irritable, short-tempered," 1906, from snark (v.) "to snort" (1866), from an imitative source akin to Low Ger. snarken, N.Fris. snarke, Swed. snarka."

well, ....OK.... so I'm snarky. So?

[#18 posted by Takuan , January 19, 2009 7:04 PM]

whaddyer lookin' at!?

[#19 posted by Ray Bradbury , January 19, 2009 8:41 PM]

Haha. Well...thanks for the warm welcome. Anyway all I meant to say was that if you're interested in this film, check out the other film. I guess I lump them both together because they're the two sci-fi pictures opening at Sundance this week and I've been incredibly excited to see them both. Sam Rockwell is one of the greatest actors of our generation and it's about time he gets some recognition. Now when will Jeffrey Wright get his...

[#20 posted by benwl , January 24, 2009 1:15 PM]

Moon movie preview at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston TX

To whom it may concern, please forward this message to Duncan Jones.

Dear Duncan Jones,

I recently saw a few preview clips of your new movie entitled: Moon. I run a grass roots lecture series in the Houston area and am wondering if a special showing of your new movie might be possible. We would also like to invite you to introduce your movie and give some commentary.

Our audience is composed of current and former astronauts, NASA administrators, NASA employees and contract employees, students, and members from the Houston public. Our first lecture featured former Apollo moonwalker Dr. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt. Jack is a large proponent of He3 mining on the Moon and has a book out detailing the business case for mining consumables and He3. I also attended graduate school at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where Dr. Gerald Kulcinski, of the Fusion Technology Institute, spoke and taught on the subject of He3 mining and Resources from Space.

I would propose setting up some type of spring lecture/preview on a Thur or Fri evening. We like to have 3-4 weeks of time to advertise our lectures, so we just need that amount of time to plan everything out.

Best regards,
Ben

www.SpaceCenterLectureSeries.com

Benjamin Longmier, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Houston,
Ad Astra Rocket Company

[#21 posted by benwl , March 10, 2009 5:27 PM]

Duncan Jones will screen his film MOON in Houston, TX at the official visitor center of the NASA Johnson Space Center on March 16th 2009.

www.SpaceCenterLectureSeries.com

Regards,
Ben