Although Duncan Jones’ dad (that’s David Bowie) was hoping his son would follow in his music-making footsteps, Duncan (born Zowie Bowie) — whose first feature film, the smart sci-fi piece Moon – recalls he discovered his love for film very early on. “Although dad tried his hardest to get me interested in making music, he set me on a different career course when he would decide to act,” Jones admits, “so he definitely had an influence on what I wanted to do with my life. It wasn’t in music, but it was definitely doing something creative, which he really loves. He loves the fact that I’m now directing films.”
In Earl Dittman’s exclusive interview, Jones reveals the reason he had to have Sam Rockwell as his main (and practically only) character and how he was able to make the amazing sci-fi film for $5 million dollars. Duncan also recalls how his dad inadvertently helped to turn him into a director, what it was like being the son of a music icon like David Bowie and he talks about dad’s current health status, when he will start calling himself Zowie again and his plans for his next movie.
Since hitting the film festival circuit earlier this year (before it’s opening in theaters across North America this summer), both movie-lovers and film critics alike have also fallen in love with Jones’ directorial debut, Moon. “It’s a science fiction film with very human emotions,” the 38-year-old filmmaker explains. With Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind) in the lead role of Sam Bell, Moon is the tale of a futuristic astronaut who mentally and physically begins to deteriorate towards the end of his solo, three-year mission on the far side of the moon. With only the voice (Kevin Spacey) of an omniscient, artificial intelligent computer to keep him company, Sam is lonely for the loving arms of his wife back on Earth, which he hopes to see in three weeks. When his replacement arrives, Sam quickly discovers that many of the things that kept him sane in the solitary confines of his moon base may not really exist, and he may not be the man he once thought he was.
How long has the idea for Moon been brewing in your head?
“Not long. Actually, this film came together incredibly fast. I had met up with Sam Rockwell in New York to discuss a different film with him. I had actually given him a script, which he was really excited about. Unfortunately, he wanted to play a different role than the one that I wanted him to. [Laughs] So, when we met up in New York, he was trying to convince me to play one role, and I was trying to convince him to play another one. It didn’t work out. We’re both kind of pig-headed in that way. Then, we started talking about films we loved and how we really wanted to work together. I just got on so well with him that I said, ‘Look, I need you to be in my first film, because I’d love to work with you. I’m going to write something for you.’ So, that’s how Moon came about.”
The role of a depressed, Moon-based astronaut fits him like a glove.
“There was a lot of heart in it, do you know what I mean? I had a really strong idea of what I wanted Sam to do, because as an actor, I knew what it is that I loved watching him do, and I wanted as much of him as possible.”
Since Sam Rockwell has to play dual roles in the film, as a director, how difficult was that process for you to make it look real?
“It was very difficult. It’s a science fiction independent film, which is almost an oxymoron. They don’t happen very often, because it’s expensive to make science fiction films. We made our film for about five million dollars. When you think that a film like (Danny Boyle’s) Sunshine was made for about fifty million dollars, and we’re considered an independent science fiction film, we had to make a lot of smart, inexpensive choices. With the two Sam scenes, we had to plan them out very thoroughly, work out all of our camera angles before we really even built the set. I mean, it was kind of an ass-backwards way of working. But we had to do that in order to achieve what was an incredibly ambitious film.”
Where did you film Moon?
“We shot it at Shepperton Studios in London. We were on the same soundstage where they basically built the Nostroma for (director) Ridley Scott’s Alien. So there was a bit of history there that we enjoyed knowing about.”
Did you grow up on a steady diet on sci-fi films? From your dad’s (David Bowie) role in The Man To Fell To Earth and The Hunger to other sci-fi classic’s like 2001: A Space Odyssey, were science fiction films big in your house?
“Absolutely, I remember when I was really young, I think I was the only kid that had a Sony Numatic copy of Star Wars, which made me very popular at school. [Laughs] I probably shouldn’t say that, because George Lucas might come after me. [Laughs] So, science fiction was very big in my life. I was reading quite a lot as a kid — George Orwell, J.G. Ballard, Phillip K. Dick and a lot of authors like that. There’s also a British comic book called 2000 A.D. which was a staple for me. So, yeah, I loved my science fiction, basically all my life.”
Did your dad ever encourage you to go into filmmaking, or was there ever a time that you leaned towards a career in music, going into the family business?
“To be honest, I never, ever leaned towards music. My dad tried desperately, and I kind of feel so bad, because he would set up lessons for me on the piano, drums and saxophone – anything to try to encourage me to get into music. But, it just didn’t take. I think that was my big rebellion, to not make music. I was always trying to get into all kind of sports, too.” [Laughs]
He must have loved that.
“Yeah, he didn’t care for it much, so that was my big, youthful rebellion. But even as a kid, I was always on sets for his films, anytime he was making a movie.”
Films like The Hunger, Labyrinth and The Man Who Fell To Earth?
“Those movies, and I really remember being on the Absolute Beginners set. It may not been considered a great film, but it was the most amazing set. He [director Julian Temple] rebuilt all of Soho, from the 1950s, and it was dazzling. I was awestruck, even then. It was an incredible set. That gave me a real taste for shooting and directing and also for that kind of visually ambitious affair. However, I stayed away from it for a long time. I used to make little short films, little animation shorts that I would shoot on my Super-8 camera. But, then, I went on into academia, I went to university, graduate school and it took me a really long time to come back to my roots and went to film school.”
Were you always feeling some kind of internal inclination to avoid the spotlight?
“I think so. It took me a really long time to have the self-confidence to believe that maybe I could kind of make my own mark in the world in an artistic endeavor. I think it just took me a long time to get that confidence.”
I imagine it would take a while, especially because you were David Bowie’s son.
“Absolutely. He was incredibly supportive, and I think he always knew that I would probably end up in film. My dad is incredibly kind and generous and gave me the time to sort of realize that for myself.”
Did the two of you ever talk about him contributing to the soundtrack for Moon?
“We did not. I love my dad very much and he’s very supportive, but I think he was kind of aware that I wanted to try and go my own way on this. Not to mention, I don’t think I could have afforded him, even if I wanted to.” [Laughs]
Which one of Sam Rockwell’s films clued you into to the fact that he is a great actor?
“In all honestly, everything I’ve ever seen Sam in, he’s always been fantastic. Even something as popcorn as the Charlie’s Angels film, which I think is the very first thing I ever saw him in, he’s great. From The Green Mile and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind to everything else I’ve seen him in, he’s just so magnetic and so interesting that you can just see the amount of energy, emotion and effort that he’s willing to invest in his roles. That’s what convinced me that I wanted to work with him. But it wasn’t until I actually met him in person and realized what a nice guy he was, it was at that point that I said, ‘I can’t make this film with anyone else. I need to make my first film with Sam, because he’s the right guy to work with.”
I’m surprised that Sam is not a bigger star than he is.
“I think he’s having sort of an evolution right now. He’s obviously doing the Iron Man film, which is going to be big, and he had a small part in Frost/Nixon but he got really great reviews. I don’t know how big Moon is going to be? Hopefully, it’s going to be huge, but if it’s not, I think that Sam’s reviews for his performance in it — which have already been phenomenal – will help audiences take him to heart. I have been very fortunate, because Moon has been seen by some of the directors that I most admire – Terry Gilliam and Ridley Scott watched it – all these people love it and they all know it works because Sam is so good in it. If Moon isn’t the film that breaks him out, I’m pretty sure that filmmakers seeing it will make films where he breaks out.”
Did your dad or mom (Angie Bowie) offer you any words of wisdom about what to expect when you start a career in show business, even as a director? Either one of them?
“Well, I’ve basically lived with my dad since – it seems like always.” [Laughs]
What is your mother doing these days?
“I don’t know to be honest. I kind of stopped seeing her when I was quite young. But, with my dad, at least, there was one piece of advice which, to be honest, is probably what made my decision to make films take as long as it did. And it was really just this idea of ‘If you really want to do it, you’re really going to have to work your ass off, and it’s going to take a long time.’ That kind of intimidated me. It was right, but it probably scared me off for a little while. It took me a while before I was willing to take on that gauntlet. But he was absolutely right. It has taken me a long time, and I went to film school about ten years ago, and I had to work my way up from going to film school, shooting little music videos – cheap music videos for people – and commercials. It has taken me a long time to get my first film made, but it was the right way to go, I think.”
Okay, I have to ask this, but is your legal name on your passport “Duncan Zowie Jones?”
“Yeah, Duncan Zowie Hayward Jones.”
You were christened Zowie Bowie when you were born, weren’t you?
“I was. [Laughs] That was kind of an ostentatious name. I don’t know, I have a habit of changing my name over the years. When I hit my eighties or nineties, I’ll go back to Zowie.”
How is your father? Have his heart problems been corrected? Is he good to go?
“He’s much better. He’s just very much enjoying being able to relax — he’s definitely earned it. I’m sure that he’s working on something – he’s always working on something – but he’s doing very well, thank you.”
Have you already started to think about your next film?
“Absolutely. I’ve been basically polishing up the script and it starts going out to actors in about a week. We’ll see how it goes.”
What genre of film will it be?
“It happens to be another science fiction film. I’m not going to make science fiction forever, but it seems, for whatever reason, that my first two films are going to be science fiction.”
Any initial interest from the big Hollywood studios?
“Well, depending on how the casting goes, that may decide on whether it becomes a studio film or not. The interesting thing about it is that it is very, very different feel than Moon. It’s much pacier, and it’s an urban-based story that has kind of a Blade Runner vibe to it. A futuristic, big city film, so it should be good fun.”
Do you call New York or London home?
“London, right now, is my home base. This next science fiction film that I’m going to do will be based in Berlin, so I am probably going to stay in London for another year or two. Then, what I want to do is move back to New York, because I also consider it home.”
Are you married, divorced or single?
“I’m single. To be honest, I’ve always found the whole relationship thing is going to be really difficult with the whole making movies thing. At least right now, since I am traveling all the time. I actually had a longtime girlfriend who I was with when I was writing Moon. When I was shooting Moon, we were trying to maintain a long-distance relationship. That was part of the heart and soul of Moon — the idea of trying to maintain long-distance relationships and the paranoia of the things that you go through when you are trying to maintain them.”
We’ve all felt that paranoia that comes from being apart from the one you love.
“Well, I hope so. That’s the thing, hopefully, people will pick that up in Moon, that it’s a very human story. It may be science fiction, but what makes it work and what gives it its heart is the fact that it’s very human.”
