Duncan Jones No Longer Attached to 'Escape from the Deep'; 'Mute' May be Next
I love Twitter. There are countless interesting people to follow for any movie geek and one of my absolute favorites is Duncan Jones (follow him here), director of the instant sci-fi classic Moon, one of my favorite movies from the last couple years and the upcoming (and great looking) Source Code. Jones is one of the most down to earth, genuine people on Twitter and he regularly responds to tweets directed at him, so today I took a chance and asked him when we will hear about his next picture and if would be the previously announced Escape From The Deep or his intriguing original script Mute, a future noir in the style of Blade Runner. Jones was kind enough to reply:
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“not on the sub movie anymore, but trying hard to get one of two things made next. Mute is one of those 2”.
Mute: From what we know, the film is inspired by Blade Runner and set in future Berlin. A mute bartender must go against the city’s gangsters to find his missing girlfriend. The film is said to be set in 2046 and would require a budget larger than that of the $5 million miracle Moon, which allegedly caused development to stall before Jones decided to make Source Code next.
Not only does he make great films, but Jones comes off as incredibly down to earth and, dare I say, geeky on Twitter. He regularly talks about his love for video games and is constantly geeking out about games and movies. He regularly responds to tweets at him and he seems like a movie geek like us. I for one can’t wait for Source Code and anything Mr. Jones decides to do after that.
Last month, we reported that Moon director Duncan Jones was possibly moving forward with his sci-fi future noir Mute as his follow-up to his new film Source Code (which opens April 1st). Unfortunately, that appears to no longer be the case. Speaking to We Got This Covered, Jones says Mute “is in a bit of limbo.” He says that Mute is more of a “futurist” film than a sci-fi film since it doesn’t revolve around a sci-fi hook. For those unfamiliar with the project, the film is reportedly inspired by Blade Runner and centers on a mute bartender in 2046 Berlin who must go against the city’s gangsters in order to find his girlfriend. Jones says the film is a tough sell because it’s quite dark, but the budget is in between Moon and Source Code.
Here’s what Jones had told We Got This Covered about trying to get people to understand the tone of Mute and the challenges involved in getting it off the ground:
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That was the whole idea, to tell a film that can be based in any period, but just HAPPENS to take place in the future. And it’s been very difficult to basically pitch that in a way where people understand why it needs to be done that way. People just say, why can’t it be in a contemporary setting? But no, it’s about mood and atmosphere as much as anything else. It’s also quite dark so it’s been a tough sell. Also, it’s not a big film, it has been designed to be sort of a smaller and more independent film.
Jones says that he’s going to get away from Mute for a while and turn his attention to another sci-fi project. While I’m bummed that Mute is going on the shelf, Moon was a remarkable film and I can’t wait to see Source Code and anything else Jones has in store, especially if it’s sci-fi.
I was really looking forward to this Man...I hope it gets off the ground. I love Moon and was really looking forward to having another movie in the same universe...Hope he can find someone that's willing to do it...
OT: Maybe someone can ask Duncan is his father ever plans to tour or record any new material? He has been semi-retired now for the last 6-7 years without ever announcing he was retiring. Very annoying!
Back on topic: Moon was great, looking forward to anything else Duncan comes up with!
Duncan Jones Wants to Follow ‘Warcraft’ With ‘Mute’
Even as he puts the finishing touches on Warcraft, Duncan Jones is already looking ahead to his next project. And though Warcraft represented a step forward for him in some ways (it’s certainly his biggest film in terms of budget) it seems he’s eager to go back to a project he’s been working on for some time already.
Jones has hinted that he wants to take another crack at Mute, a Blade Runner-esque sci-fi project set in Berlin. If that sounds vaguely familiar, that may be because he’s been talking about it on and off for years — since before Moon was even released, in fact. Hit the jump to read Jones’s comments and learn more about his potential next film.
The director pondered his next steps on Twitter.
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Thinking about what film I want to try and do after Warcraft. May give Mute one more push before I put it on the "Don Quixote" shelf.
Jones’s wording makes it clear that nothing is set in stone just yet. That said, post-Warcraft sounds like as good a time as any for Jones to give Mute another shot. Jones struggled mightily to get funding for Mute, even after Source Code turned out to be a hit. But if Warcraft is a success, he’ll have more leverage than ever.
Mute unfolds in a futuristic Berlin, where a silent bartender is looking for his abducted girlfriend. Jones has likened his film to Blade Runner in terms of the look, setting, and tone. Narratively, it has a tenuous link to Jones’s Moon. They’re set in the same universe, and Mute was to feature a cameo by Sam Rockwell’s character Sam Bell.
Jones had originally planned Mute as his follow-up to Moon, and then as his follow-up to Source Code, but financing has proved difficult to come by. Last year, he announced that he’d be publishing the story as a graphic novel from Dark Horse, but he clearly hasn’t given up on his dream of making it into a movie.
Duncan Jones Will Make Sci-Fi Project MUTE Before WARCRAFT Release
The very talented filmmaker Duncan Jones has been very busy (good job, Hollywood), but that’s not stopping him from taking on another project: Mute. It’s both new and old for Jones, as it’s been a passion project of his for awhile, and an homage to his love of Blade Runner. According to Empire, the filmming will take place during Jones’ 11 month hiatus between Warcraft finishing up (which it nearly is), and its release in June of 2016. Jones told them that,
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Dark Horse and Glenn Fabry and myself have been working on the graphic novel for [Mute] for years now – literally years – and there’s a very good chance, if I can squeeze [it in] in these 11 months, that you’ll see the film before you see the graphic novel. It’s 11 months to sneak in my little indie sci-fi before Warcraft comes out. I got Moon done in 11 months.
Mute (co-written by Mike Johnson) is set in a futuristic Berlin, and revolves around a bartender who is lifted while searching for his missing girlfriend. The villains — Rosencrantz and Guildenstern-esque, perhaps? — are a pair of comedians. Although whether or not that story is going to remain the same is not yet known.
A few years ago, Jones told Collider that,
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That was the whole idea, to tell a film that can be based in any period, but just HAPPENS to take place in the future. And it’s been very difficult to basically pitch that in a way where people understand why it needs to be done that way. People just say, why can’t it be in a contemporary setting? But no, it’s about mood and atmosphere as much as anything else. It’s also quite dark so it’s been a tough sell. Also, it’s not a big film, it has been designed to be sort of a smaller and more independent film.
Although he also thought it might first be a graphic novel, commenting that,
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Although, I can sort of tell you that I’ve been talking to my producer today and we have decided that we’re going to release MUTE as a graphic novel. Because we’ve had so many problems trying to get this film made, you know? The people who are involved with financing films have just been…shy…shy of making the script. So what we decided to do is we’re going to make a graphic novel of it, prove it…prove it to an audience that this works and maybe in the future get the chance to come back and make it.
But luckily for fans, Mute might finally be coming to fruition on screen. Moon was such an exceptional film, and I’m really looking forward to what Jones might do with this new project. And, speaking of Jones, you can also get some updates on Warcraft from these pics we snapped from the Legendary booth at San Diego Comic-Con.
Ant-Man star Paul Rudd is joining Alexander Skarsgard (“True Blood,” Tarzan) for the upcoming sci-fi thriller Mute. The project has long since been a passion project for director Duncan Jones (Moon, Warcraft)
Mute is based on a script by Jones and Mike Johnson and is set in Berlin, forty years from today. There, a roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue, and Leo can’t tell if they can help, or who he should fear most.
“I’ve been working towards making ‘Mute’ for 12 years now,” says Jones. “I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that we’re finally going to shoot this utterly unique film. The fact that I get to make it with Alexander Skarsgard and Paul Rudd makes it all the more exciting! ‘Mute’ is a film that will last. It is unlike any other science fiction being made today.”
Mute will be produced by Stuart Fenegan under Jones and Fenegan’s Liberty Films banner. Lotus Entertainment has come on board to handle international sales starting at the upcoming AFM. CAA, who arranged for the financing, is handling the domestic sale. Lotus’ Bill Johnson, Jim Seibel, and Ara Keshishian will serve as executive producers.
“We’re very excited to work with Duncan and Stuart,” says Seibel. “They are an immensely talented team that will surely deliver an exciting and cinematic film. Director Duncan Jones is a true visionary filmmaker and the real deal. It’s his caliber of talent that makes storytelling both visually exciting and captivating.”
“Bill, Jim and Ara share the same passion I do for building another vision of the future with Duncan,” adds Fenegan. “I look forward to going on this journey with them, and also reuniting with Sam Rockwell and composer Clint Mansell… can’t do sci-fi without Sam and Clint!”
Production on Mute is scheduled to start in March 2016.
Im hoping for some Blade Runner / Strange Days influence here! Very exciting. Infinitely more exciting than that bloody Warcraft film which I suspect is going to be disappointing..
Duncan Jones to Start Filming Sci-Fi Film ‘Mute’ Next Week!!!
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Jones announced over Twitter that filming will commence one week from today in Berlin, as well as posting a piece of previously released concept art. Ant-Man’s Paul Rudd and Tarzan’s Alexander Skarsgard star in Mute, which is described as follows:
Berlin. Forty years from today. A roiling city of immigrants, where East crashes against West in a science-fiction Casablanca. Leo Beiler (Alexander Skarsgard), a mute bartender has one reason and one reason only for living here, and she’s disappeared. But when Leo’s search takes him deeper into the city’s underbelly, an odd pair of American surgeons (led by Paul Rudd) seem to be the only recurring clue, and Leo can’t tell if they can help, or who he should fear most.
Jones further described the film to Empire magazine as “a thriller with a very weird tone. It goes very dark, then it also goes very darkly funny. It’s science-fiction urban, so it certainly owes some of its influence to Blade Runner.”
The filmmaker revealed the news via Twitter, reconfirming that the film is still connected to his 2009 film “Moon”, which starred Sam Rockwell as a man living and working alone on the moon. The two films are believed to be set in the same world, with Rockwell’s character set to reprise his role in the new film.
Alexander Skarsgard (“True Blood”) has the lead role in “Mute”. He plays a mute bartender who goes on a journey into the underbelly of the city and encounters a pair of American surgeons, one of which is played by Paul Rudd.
“Mute” is said to be the second in a trilogy that began with the acclaimed “Moon”.
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Mute (2018)
Man...I hope it gets off the ground. I love Moon and was really looking forward to having another movie in the same universe...Hope he can find someone that's willing to do it...
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