Moon Director Duncan Jones Gives update on SOURCE CODE and why he Passed on Judge Dredd
Duncan Jones directed one of my favorite movies last year, a sci-fi film starring Sam Rockwell called Moon. I'm very much looking forward to seeing his next film which is currently in post-production called Source Code, and it stars Jake Gyllenhaal.
Jones recently did an in depth interview with the blog Man Made Moon and in the interview he gives an update on his latest film, as well as talks about why he decided not to direct Judge Dredd and more.
I think it is safe to say that the film will be out early next year. My edit is complete, and we are working hard on visual effects, choosing a composer and trying the film out on a few people just to see how it goes over. Lots to do really, but everything is coming together, and I am in the capable hands of Paul “Mount Rushmore” Hirsch!
I seriously can't wait to see what this film ends up looking like. The only thing we've had to go off of is concept art. He goes on to talk about the trailer that will be released and how it won't reveal much about the film.
We showed a lot early, on Moon. People knew more than they should have just by watching the trailer. I think for a small film like Moon, it was probably the right move, but this film is a little bigger, and I think we can afford to hold our cards a little closer to our chest.
Jones then goes onto talk a great deal about his first film Moon, and what he's learned about the entertainment business along the way.
Moon was a huge labour of love. It drained us, broke our hearts, lifted us up and then drained us again. I would never change it though. I think everyone who worked on it is as proud as they can be about it, but the PR effort was gigantic for me. Twitter and the net I can handle, but I did about 8 months of non stop traveling supporting the film. that was necessary but crazy. I look forward to being able to pick my PR trips a little more carefully on SC… which is why all my press junkets will be in Hawaii!
The crazy thing is the business side of things…It has earned nearly $9.5M so far, worldwide… it cost just under $5M to make… and yet we are STILL trying to pay back our initial investors. That was always one of the biggest priorities for me and it has been the most frustrating part about our apparent success. The lesson of the film business they don’t tell you in film school is this; if you make back everything you spent on making your movie, you’re still barely half-way to going into profit. That certainly educated the hell out of me!
On the HUGE plus side, we made a film that actually means something to a lot of people! We threw something at the wall that maybe stuck, a little bit. That feels good.
He then went on to discuss Judge Dredd. He was given the script but passed on the project because his vision for the film was much much different.
I would have loved to do the Judge Dredd movie that is underway. I was in fact sent the script to look at. Its a great script, and I hope I will not rue the decision of passing on it. Thing was, I had such a strong idea of what I wanted to do with a Dredd movie, I could not bring myself to take it on and not do it my way! … and its not like I could do it as a sequel either; my Dredd would have been really weird, and dark and funny, but not your traditional introduction to a hero character. I dont even know if I could have made my version of the film pitch-able. It was maybe too off the wall.
I would have loved to see what he would have done for Judge Dredd! The movie is now in the hand of director Pete Travis, and Karl Urban. I'm still excited for the movie, but I like the fact that Jones' version would have been unique.