Actor Sam Rockwell in Moon.
Photo: Mark Tille Copyright © Lunar Industries/Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics
How did the story for Moon come about?
Well, about 3 1/2 years ago I met with Sam Rockwell in New York. He had read a script of mine, and had loved it, but wanted to play a different role than the one I wanted him to do. We met in a small cafe in the village to try and convince each other. It didn't work. We were both too clear on what we wanted. But we got on incredibly well and started talking about films; in particular, the sci-fi films that we both loved growing up. There was a period of sci-fi in the late '70s and '80s when films like Outland, Alien and Silent Running were coming out that focused on blue collar characters, and the hardships of living and working in space. They were character-centric films and we realized that those kinds of films weren't getting made anymore. It seemed like a long-shot, but I told Sam I would write a script just for him, if he promised to read it, of a sci-fi film like the ones we missed and weren't getting made anymore. He said he would take a look, if I ever wrote it.
How is Moon different than most films set in space? It's quite remarkable the film was produced on a tight budget of only 5 million dollars.
There was a time when films like Moon were getting made -- smart sci-fi that concentrated on believable characters and how they survived or failed to adapt to the rigors of space-bound life. The kinds of films that get made are cyclical though, and recently sci-fi has been focused more on spectacle and special effect set-piece than character and story. I guess what makes Moon so different, unique in a way, is that few indie films have ever dared to put their hat in the sci-fi ring, at any point in the cycle. Sci-fi is expensive by its very nature. The effects, the production design and the props are all things that require time and money -- two commodities in short supply on indie films. We had a plan though, and by sticking to it, we managed to beat the odds; creating a true science fiction film, that delivers on the visuals while resurrecting the more dramatic and "smart" subject matter of sci-fi past.
Why did you set the film on the moon and not make up another galaxy of planets for your story?
I think the fact that I wanted to make a near future science fiction film was part of it. Also, I felt there were a surprisingly slim number of films that had focused on the moon. It's so obvious a place to set a sci-fi film! It's been sci-fi in our eye-line ever since our ancient ancestors looked up in the sky and wondered what the moon was made of. My other reason is that the moon is personal -- to all of us. Every human being on this planet with eyes to see, has seen the moon. It's recognizable and something we can all relate to, which is important in Moon, as the film is about personal feelings that all humans can relate to.
Sam Rockwell talks with director Duncan Jones while making Moon.
Photo: Mark Tille Copyright © Lunar Industries/Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics
What did you want to accomplish with the film? What do you hope people will take away from it?
I wanted, in my own small way, to do what Star Wars did for me -- to take me to a place I will never see in person. But beside that, I wanted to shine a little light on some very human feelings -- loneliness and the need for self-examination. What makes you the person you are? What are you like to deal with? Would you like yourself, if you had to meet yourself? If a person sees my film and asks themselves, "I wonder what I would think of myself, if I were face to face with me?" I would be incredibly happy.
Moon was produced at Shepperton Studios -- the same place where Alien was filmed, as well as where Sam Rockwell filmed Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and where George Lucas filmed much of the Star Wars prequels. While shooting there did you feel like you were adding to sci-fi history?
I could only hope! Those were the grand daddies of the genre. Funnily enough, a good few years ago, I believe it was when Episode III was being shot, I was shooting a commercial next door to George Lucas. I think he must have been shooting some extra green screen work. I remember the vast bank of computer monitors in front of him as Hayden Christensen performed on a green screen set. During a pause in my shoot, I wandered over to the open sound stage door of Mr. Lucas' shoot and stood there, gawking like a young girl backstage at a Jonas Brothers concert. Lucas leaned quietly to his side, whispered to an assistant, and the sound stage door slowly closed in my face. I was so embarrassed. He was probably being distracted by the sound of my brain pounding away as I took it all in!
