Man Made Movies

The longlist for the Orange British Academy Film Awards in 2010 has been announced this morning, and MOON features in 10 categories!! Full list can be view on the BAFTA site HERE

The Long List

Over 6000 members of the Academy vote in three rounds to decide the winners of the Orange British Academy Film Awards. The Long List is the result of Round One voting by members of the Academy. With 220 films entered this year, the first round of voting reduces the films down to fifteen in each category. Round Two voting will reduce these fifteen contenders down to the five nominations in each category.

The full list of nominations will be announced on Thursday 21 January at BAFTA Headquarters.

MOON has been nominated for:

• Best Film
• Director
• Original Screenplay
• Special Visual Effects
• Sound
• Editing
• Production Design
• Cinematography
• Music
• Leading ActorSam Rockwell (Sam Bell)

No nomination for Supporting Actor for Sam Rockwell though, what does a man have to do??

So there we go, a 2 week wait until we discover whether MOON makes it into the final nominations, fantastic showing for a debut Director so far though

Would that this were real, backed by the studio, but it is not not (see here for Sony’s reason for no Academy screeners) still, a great image, and great backing from Marq Riley, see his posterous site for further posts in support of MOON.

Certainly could not let this milestone pass without note, the Sam Rockwell Oscar campaign petition setup by @rboulding on October 15th 2009 has passed the 2000 signature mark, not bad for a cause that has no financial / PR backing, just being passed on by word of mouth through social networks (Twitter / Facebook) by people like you & me that have seen MOON and been blown away by Sam’s stunning performance. Just scanning through recent signatures it seems Sam’s peers are making their thoughts known also, with signatures / comments most recently from Director Jim Jarmusch, and Spiderman / Pineapple Express star James Franco.

We know that a petition, no matter how many signatures, is not going to get Sam an Academy Award nomination all by itself, but the aim is to draw attention to Sam’s performance, and hope that the voters interest is stimulated enough to want to see MOON, and consider nominating him in the Best Actor category.

Ballot papers have now been sent out to Academy members (5,777 of them), ballots have to be completed and returned by 17:00 PST on January 23rd 2010, nominations for the 82nd annual Academy Awards will be announced February 2nd 2010, and the Awards themselves presented March 2nd 2010. Further details on the various branches of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences can be found on Variety’s Awards Central site.

Thanks to all who have signed the petition so far,and left comments on this blogs Sam Rockwell Oscar section, as well as the original blog entry where we kicked it all off back in mid October. It ain’t over until the ballots are returned, some voters may already know their choices and be able to complete and return their ballots, some though may have not seen MOON and witnessed the stunning performance of Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, so we’d encourage you to continue to plug / support our little campaign on social networks, on your sites, on your blogs, and in anyway that won’t cause you to be arrested.

MOON is released on DVD – Blu-Ray in the USA on January 12th 2010, though we’re hearing some stores are selling it already, so lovely Academy members, all 5,777 of you, if you haven’t seen MOON yet, I’m sure you will be aware of how talented Mr.Rockwell is already, so try and grab a copy and consider nominating Sam Rockwell in the Best Actor category for the 82nd Academy Awards

We are crossing everything that is crossable here (except anything that may lead to hospitalisation) – Thank you for taking the time to read this.

(ps – You may get so blown away by it all that you wang in a Duncan Jones director nom and a Clint Mansell soundtrack nom as well, I would, but I can’t so….)

MOON UK launch confirmed for Monday 16th November 2009 on Blu-Ray & DVD, we couldn’t be any more excited obviously, but before our review of the UK Blu-Ray, to provide a bit of balance and all that, here are a few of the latest reviews to hit the web this week, clicky the banners for the full review:

Sizemore

Moon is better than 2001: A Space Odyssey by a country mile.

HeyUGuys say:

I cannot recommend this Blu-ray enough. Not only do you get to see one of the most arresting films in years, complete with stunning design work and a flawless performance by Sam Rockwell, the extras on the disc make this an essential purchase.

The Geek Files says:

Jones’s film is thoughtful, technically excellent and superbly crafted, rather astonishing for a debut effort and even more astonishing given the limitations of the relatively microscopic budget. Despite this, nothing looks cheap or wobbly; every cent is well spent on screen. It’ll be interesting to see what the filmmaker can do with more cash in the pot. Overall, well worth investigating.

Sound and image are clean and clear with no problems whatsoever, and the menu display and navigation is slick and stylish.

Empire says:

They do make ’em like they used to — a fresh blast of old-school sci-fi, bursting with ideas and a stellar turn from Rockwell.

ManMadeMovies Says:

Our original review of the theatrical release of MOON

Go see ‘Moon’, enjoy it, spread the word, go again and take a friend, they’ll love you for it. In a summer stuffed full of mega bucks CGI fests, it’s great to get more bang for yer buck when leaving the local cinema with plenty to talk about, and plenty to think about also

And now we say, go buy MOON on Blu-Ray or DVD UK this coming Monday 16th November and prepare to to witness one of the best male lead performances seen on screen in recent years from Sam Rockwell. So much so we think he deserves at least a nomination in the 2010 Academy Awards.

This was my first Blu-Ray experience, enjoyed the movie that much at the cinema, I shelled out for a Blu-Ray player and what is commonly known as a “Big Telly” ready for release, and the transfer to Blu-Ray does not disappoint, in fact, the viewing experience has been enhanced, which is good as MOON demands repeat viewings to pick up on some of the more subtle touches Director Duncan Jones has woven into his fantastic first feature length movie.

Even after repeat viewings, it is still incredible to realise that the entire budget for MOON was $5 Million, or around £2.75 Million sterling. Every single cent has been sucked dry by a crew intent on making a great movie, the craft and effort is on display at all times from the internal Sarang Moon base sets, to the external lunar landscape model miniatures.

More evidence of the skill that has gone into the making of MOON are in the great extras included on both Blu-Ray & DVD:

Commentary with writer / director Duncan Jones, director of photography Gary Shaw, concept designer Gavin Rothery and production designer Tony Noble. Very funny and easy to detect a great sense of camaraderie amongst the crew as they joke about situations that occured during production.

Commentary with writer / director Duncan Jones and producer Stuart Fenegen A more technical overview with great insights into the production of MOON

Whistle – a short film by Duncan Jones Great short about a future assassin and the effect of his work on those close to him, you can see touches of the same style as MOON and what may become a signature of Jones’ work, the subtle involvement of the Director and crew in the film itself. (see if you can spot VFX wizard Gavin Rothery in both films, and Jones also…)

The Making Of Moon featurette What it says on the tin jobby, a one of the only opportunities on the disc to get a glimpse of the work put in by the amazing Sam Rockwell.

GERTY Table Tennis Easter Egg Not gonna ruin it for you ;P

Creating the Visual Effects featurette Very interesting guide through all the methods used to make Sam’s life on Sarang believable.

Science Centre Q&A with Duncan Jones featurette REAL space people at NASA get a special screening of MOON and we get to see the Q&A after, Jones answers questions on the science behind MOON.

Filmmakers Q&A at the Sundance Film Festival featurette Possibly my favourite feature on the disc as we see the premier of MOON at Sundance with Duncan’s intro, and post screening Q&A. He genuinely looks excited and slightly nervous to start with and you watch him grow into the role of feature director as the Q&A progresses. I’m sure he’s done enough now to be an old hand, but wonderful to see the beginning of the career of a Director with such great potential.

Once you have worked your way through the extras, which are the same on either format, you are left with an incredible little British Indie Sci-Fi that pays homage to some of the classics of the past, but points forward to a very promising future for Director Duncan Jones, this is seriously a treat for movie fans whether they love Sci-Fi or Psychological Thrillers alike, or just bloody good film making.

MOON is one of those films where all the ingredients have combined to deliver a thing greater than the sum of it’s parts. Which is something that does not happen too often. For as well as the stunning visuals, incredible performance of Rockwell as Sam Bell, everything is pulled together with the beautiful and haunting soundtrack by Clint Mansell

Check out a few clips below, MOON is available to grace your home from:

UK Monday 16th November 2009
US Tuesday 12th January 2010

MOON Trailer

Moon is now on UK iTunes to pre-order for release on 16th November 2009 linkage >> HERE <<

I do not have any other accounts apart from UK, so if you are elsewhere in this world we call Earth and can check, then please let us know if it is showing up in iTunes for you also.

Oooh and while your there, why not pick up Clint Mansell’s beautiful Moon soundtrack just to keep you going until film release.

The nominations and jury members for the twelfth annual British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) were announced today, Monday 26 October, at Soho House in London.

‘Moon’ has received a massive SEVEN nominations, as follows:

• BEST BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM (Moon)
• BEST DIRECTOR (Duncan Jones)
• THE DOUGLAS HICKOX AWARD [BEST DEBUT DIRECTOR] (Duncan Jones)
• BEST SCREENPLAY (Nathan Parker)
• BEST ACTOR (Sam Rockwell)
• BEST TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT ( x2 Original Score – Clint Mansell & Production Design – Tony Noble)

Congratulations to all, the much anticipated 12th awards ceremony will take place on Sunday 6 December at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, in London and will be hosted by James Nesbitt. Further details on the BIFA site >>HERE<<

Amazing performance from Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell coming towards the end of a three year shift on the Moon mining helium 3 for Earth based energy company Lunar Industries.

Cut off from Earth due to comms problems, Sam’s final days take a dramatic turn when he makes a discovery that will change his perceptions of reality forever.

Assured direction for a first feature for Duncan Jones, (who also wrote the original story) incredible production design considering the teeny $5 million budget. Moon’s interiors were shot at Shepperton on the same sound stage as ‘Alien’ and indeed harks back to a time when Sci-Fi had a brain.

There are plenty of references to the classics of the genre for the audience to spot, indeed Jones has mentioned in many interviews that ‘Moon’ came about off the back of conversations with Sam Rockwell where they discussed their fave Sci-fi classics (Silent Running, 2001, Outlands, Bladerunner..)

As if this wasn’t good enough, you will also get treated to a stunning soundtrack from Clint Mansell who’s previous credits include ‘Requiem for a Dream’ and ‘The Fountain’ AND a great voice performance from Kevin Spacey as Sam’s lunar companion GERTY.

To tell you more if the plot would spoil it. But this is one that demands a second viewing. And, if Sci-Fi ain’t your bag. Have no fear. This is also a treat for fans of psychological thrillers, and those that love to see a great actor at the top of his game.

Go see ‘Moon’, enjoy it, spread the word, go again and take a friend, they’ll love you for it. In a summer stuffed full of mega bucks CGI fests, it’s great to get more bang for yer buck when leaving the local cinema with plenty to talk about, and plenty to think about also.

Moon opens UK 17th June.

Check Duncan Jones’ blog for up to date release schedule on:

www.manmademoon.com

If you like, drop him a line on Twitter:

www.twitter.com/manmademoon

Where you’ll find a very amiable, funny geezer open to comments.

Further details on:

www.sonyclassics.com/moon/