April
Although I have utterly failed at keeping this blog updated with interesting posts recently, I have today finally parted with my VFX work on The Dark Side of The Earth. As this was what was eating up most of my time, expect to see more regular updates here in the future.
Sam Rockwell For an Oscar
I have written about how much I enjoyed Moon before, and now we are approaching awards season director Duncan Jones is trying to start an online campaign to get Sam in the running for an Oscar. This is something I can wholeheartedly get behind as I think his performance was phenomenal. Whether or not those at the Academy can ever be persuaded to feel the same way on the other hand, is a whole different matter.
There is more info about Sam's role and the Oscars in general at this great Moon fansite which I encourage everyone to go and read, so I won't post too much on here - but please spread the word, and if you use twitter tag your tweets with #SamRockwellOscar and encourage others to re-tweet!
So please - spread the word in as many ways as you possibly can, be it Facebook, Myspace, good old simple conversation - lets get Sam what he deserves!
Update: Go and show your support on Facebook now!
Up
Back in May when I was at the Cannes Film Festival I didn't manage to see Up, Pixar's latest animated feature and their first to be produced in stereoscopic 3D. Of course it was showered with fantastic reviews, and knowing that I would have to wait until October to see it released in the UK (despite the fact it opened a few weeks after the Cannes showing in the US), I was rather annoyed and very worried I wouldn't be able to avoid all the spoilers.
Roll on to October and I had indeed managed to avoid all of the spoilers and went to see the film last night. Now, I am a self-professed Pixar fanboy, and Wall-E is one of my favourite films of all time, but Up really is something special.
Sci-Fi Is Back!
During the last 2 month I have been to the cinema twice, and both of those times I was in complete awe of what was on screen. Even better, both of these films were science fiction epics, and even better than that they each represent the opposing ends of great sci-fi. I am (of course) talking about Moon and District 9.
Lets start with Moon:
The first feature by Duncan Jones, who has spent the last 10 years or so working in advertising and refining his directing skills. Although Duncan is David Bowie's son, this film is no Space Oddity. I won't explain the plot here as its easy to find anywhere online (and if you haven't seen it you REALLY, REALLY should), but Duncan has managed to produce a science fiction epic in the style of the 70's classics, and some of his self-proclaimed influences: Silent Running, 2001, Alien, etc.
Moon is charmingly understated, mainly dealing with the protagonist's internal struggles. It isn't effects-heavy, but all of the lunar effects shots were done using miniatures.
I simply cannot emphasise how much Moon impressed me - in a movie climate where for the last few years science fiction has been all about explosions and big budget effects (not that I'm not a fan of these, on the contrary!) Moon is a refreshing breath of fresh air. The fact that Duncan managed to do this with only $5 million is purely an added bonus!
District 9 on the other hand sits at the other end of the spectrum - it is an effects-heavy action sci-fi adventure obviously dealing with big, difficult issues in the kind of bold way only science fiction can - this, combined with the fact that the effects work with the story (and aren't just there for some eye candy) are what makes District 9 really special. I know a lot less about it than Moon, but will definitely be keeping an eye on Neill Blomkamp, who previously directed the Peter Jackson-led Halo movie visual concepts (take a look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUcreY0X33k - the man clearly knows what he's doing when it comes to gritty sci-fi). Again, Neill managed to do this all with a budget of $30 million - Michael Bay could learn a thing or two here.
While District 9 has receiving glowing critical reviews and huge box office success ($126 million worldwide thus far), Moon has only had the luxury of the former (although it has earned back its production costs). While Moon's appeal probably isn't as wide as an action-heavy sci-fi epic presented by Peter Jackson, it is a really fantastic film and should be seen by anyone with even a passing interest in film in general. A worldwide viral advertising campaign would probably have helped it a bit more too!
So to sum it all up - if you like film (especially sci-fi), then you simply must see both of these films. Don't wait until they are on DVD either, they are best viewed on the biggest screen you can get into. Lets hope that both Duncan and Neill will have long careers in the movie business - the future of sci-fi is brighter than it has been in a good few years. Roll on Avatar...