Moon - On-Set photo, an interview with Sam Rockwell and what influences the director, Duncan Jones

I posted the new poster for Moon earlier today. Now here is a photo from the set of Moon. It shows the film crew being busy, but more interestingly it shows a bit more of the moonbase.

Doing a bit more hunting around the web I have found out that Sam Rockwell plays two characters, one of which is a clone of the other and they both have different personalities.

That could explain the dummy lying down in the bottom right of the photo as it may well be used for scenes where Sam Rockwell has to act against himself..or it may be a robot voiced by Kevin Spacey. I hope it is the former option as it looks like it would make a crap robot. Wonder if it will turn out that Rockwell isn't actually cloned and is just going mad and talking to his other personality?

I found the photo on Daneeta Loretta's London Metblog. Apparantly she is mates with the director, Duncan Jones, and says, "My mate and fellow LFS alumni Duncan is in the middle of filming his first feature “Moon” at Shepperton Studios (not technically London, I know, but close enough). Sam Rockwell is in the lead playing a scientist returning to Earth after a three-year sojourn on the Moon.

If you’re interested in Sci-Fi and have a penchant for those classic films of the 70s, this will be the film for you. Duncan’s references are the likes of “Alien” (the original) and “Silent Running.” It won’t be out ’til 2009"

I also came across this interview with Sam Rockwell he did way back in March. He talks about Frost/Nixon, Choke, Snow Angels, Charlies Angels and this is what he had to say about Moon

The A.V. Club: So you're working in London right now?

Sam Rockwell: I'm in jolly old London. I'm working on a science-fiction movie called Moon. And it's just me and a robot. That's it, man. You ever seen a movie called Silent Running with Bruce Dern? It's sort of like that.

AVC: Or Castaway?

SR: It's a little bit like Castaway, too, except my character is on the moon and he meets his clone. That's a little different, too.

AVC: So unless the robot is really charismatic, this is obviously a leading role. Does your mindset change when you're cast in a lead role rather than a supporting role?

SR: There's a mixed bag with it. It's more responsibility, but it's probably easier to do a lead role, because you just get into a groove, vs. a supporting role, you wait around more.

AVC: That seems to be the difference between an independent film and a studio film too, the waiting around.

SR: Yeah. In independent movies, you wait around less. In a way, it's a little more creative, I think. For an actor, anyway.

Now we know a little bit more about it. A mix of Silent Running, Castaway, Saturn 3 and a hint of Solaris (the George Clooney version). Regular reader of the site, Tony H put this forward, "For this to be something new it has to have an almighty twist...is he being replaced by his own clone who has orders to kill him first? A corporation that saves on wages and recruitment by growing, implanting and then disposing of the workforce...."

Where do you reckon this film is going?

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Gyllenhaal as Catwoman?

Since The Dark Knight hit there have been all sorts of rumours as to who will be starring in the next one. Angelina Jolie as Catwoman, Johnny Depp as the Riddler, Phillip Seymore Hoffman as the Penguin. All have been knocking about. Of course nothing has been set in stone as Christopher Nolan has not got anything going for the next movie as yet. Although I'm sure he has lots of ideas.

** Possible Spoilers ** One theory that works very well and ties in with the The Dark Knight is by having the character of Rachel Dawes become Catwoman. The full idea is here.

I really like this idea. It ties in with the fact Rachel's character didn't really do much in both movies, the way she looked when she realised Batman had turned up to save Harvey Dent as opposed to her (she had no way of knowing the Joker manipulated the whole thing), we never saw her body (which, in comic book terms, means she will be alive! Bucky Dead no longer applies) and so she will be majorley pissed at poor Bruce.

Maybe she will come back in the sequel, maybe she'll have amnesia about who Batman really is? Maybe she won't. It's all still very early days for this kind of talk I know, but I can really see this being the way of bringing in Selina Kyle (Catwoman) and tying it into the emotional turmoil that has battered Bruce Wayne in the previous movies. We shall have to wait and see. What do you think?

(BTW, the above image is by Adam Hughes a great comic book artist).

Discuss in the forum.

Are Gort, the Galactus Cloud and the Totem one and the same?

Gort is the big discussion point in The Day the Earth Stood Still remake. Will he be like the original? Will he look like a dog robot thing? Will it look like the Cylon inspired concept art that was featured a while ago on this site? Will it be a balloon like the Prisoner's Rover? (I made the last one up). The filmakers had mentioned something called Totem which would be a dog kind of thing, but then the director Scott Derrickson said they were going with the original design.

However, I put it to you gentle reader that Gort may well be the original, a dog shaped thing and the Galactus cloud that we see in the trailer. Stick with me on this one. It's late and I'm probably talking crap.

Okay, the trailer is just below for you to check these things out. In the original movie Gort was going to destroy the planet if he wasn't given the words "Klaatu Barada Nikto". Well, the trailer shows a cloud ripping up sport stadiums and the like. Now either this is a cloud that doesn't like sport or could it be a shape shifting Gort taking out the planet in order to save his master, Theodore Logan Esq? At the very end of the trailer we see a glimpse of an original looking Gort blasting fire from his visor, so that's the original look. As for the dog like alien Totem robot thing, well I'm not too sure but round about 1:11 in the trailer when the Haz Mat suited scientists are in the misty woods you see something big moving from the middle of the screen to the right. It has sticky out bits and looks nasty. It's only there for a second. Have a look.

So three separate things that could all be one and the same. Just a theory at this point, but maybe, just maybe there could be something in it. What do you think?

Discuss in the forum.