duncan jones

Vera Farmiga may be joining Michelle Monaghan and Jake Gyllenhaal in the time-travel thriller Source Code. The Up in the Air co-star is currently in negotiations to join Duncan Jones' follow up to Moon.

Farmiga has (at least) two nominations for that performance, including a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actor's Guild Award.

If cast, Farmiga will play the communications officer controlling Gyllenhaal as he travels through time and space. Monaghan has been cast as Gyllenhaal's love interest. Gyllenhaal plays a soldier assigned to an experimental government program investigating a terrorist incident who finds himself in the body of an unknown commuter reliving a harrowing train bombing until he can find out who is responsible for it.

She's been a longtime favorite of mine, way back from when she was a cop in UC: Undercover. I prefer to forget that awful Roar show where I first saw her, opposite the late Heath Ledger. She's got a presence that can be equally fragile and tough, sometimes at the same time. She's one of those actors whose presence in a film makes me want to see it.

Farmiga's got a long and eclectic history of choosing interesting projects such as Dummy, Quid Pro Quo, Orphan and Joshua.

I was already looking forward to Duncan Jones' next project, but now, I'm even more excited. What do you think about the cast?

There will be a day, sometime in the next few years, when all stories concerning Duncan Jones -- the director of 2009's glorious sci-fi throwback Moon -- will get over the fact the guy's name used to be Zowie Bowie. According to a Tweet from Production Weekly, Jones should be getting back in the saddle for pre-production on his next project, Source Code, in early January, with shooting to start in Montreal in March. And if Ben Ripley's script (with revisions by Billy Ray) is any indication, this could very well be the one that really puts Jones into a spotlight that doesn't require references to dear old dad.

With slight nods to 12 Monkeys and Run Lola Run, Source Code centers on a soldier (Jake Gyllenhaal, upgraded from the previously-attached Topher Grace) who awakes on a train to New York. He's sent to stop a terrorist attack as part of a military time-travel program. And really, what more do you need to know? There's a lot to work with in the concept and Jones seems like an excellent choice to helm. It'll definitely be interesting to see how he specifically handles the time-travel aspects, because it'd be great to see something we haven't already seen 1,000 times over. We'll be keeping our eyes peeled as more casting notes get out, so stay tuned.

Surely we all know by now that Duncan Jones' Moon is not only a great science fiction film, but a great film, period. Moon has more on its mind than about, oh, 98% of the other films released this year (maybe even the last couple years) and it's proof that science fiction can be created on a tiny budget without looking like a Sci-Fi Channel (still refusing to call it SyFy) production. I cannot sing enough praise for Moon, but I'm preaching to the choir at this point, right? Right?

I'm surely preaching to the British Independent Film Awards, who awarded Moon with Best Film and Best Debut Director on Sunday. I can't speak to the BIFA's track record on the subject, but considering that general lack of awards recognition for genre filmmaking from any organization with the power to hand out statuettes, this should be seen as a fist-pumping, "Hell yeah!" moment of triumph for one of the best films of the year.

Will this be as high as Moon flies? As much as I support the ongoing campaign to secure Sam Rockwell a much-deserved Oscar Nomination for his work in the film, that is Moon's only shot at potential Oscar gold (and even a nomination is looking slim).We can take solace in the increasingly obvious fact that most awards are irrelevant and would rather give recognition to more "important films." You know, the ones full of racists who learn that they're terrible people and such.

In the meantime, congrats to Moon and to Duncan Jones (who has proven his talent so fully that I don't even have to mention that he is the son of David Bowie...oops) and kudos the to BIFAs for fighting the good fight in the war on bad taste.

(via Variety)

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, MTV News has decided that two of the entertainers they are most grateful for are J.J. Abrams and Chris Pine for Rebooting Star Trek.

The piece asks some basic questions about the Star Trek (2009) casting and production, as well as the silly questions, including whether or not Pine has practiced his "Khan" scream. I get the feeling Pine is a fun interview. It'll be a hard read if you're on one particular side of the Trekkie/Trekker controversy, . They even go so far as to say Star Trek is now cooler than Star Wars. As much as I liked the original Star Wars trilogy, I have to say that forced to choose between the two, I'd choose Star Trek.

The thanks also include a list of other films, filmmakers, and actors MTV News is grateful for, including Sam Rockwell for Moon. It would be nice if they thanked Duncan Jones as well, but I guess we can't have everything.

I hate money. I hate stockpiling it, which is why I have none of it, which is why I hate that I do not currently have enough money to make some bids on official props from Duncan Jones' science fiction power house Moon. The Prop Store of London is auctioning off nine bits of memorabilia from the film which centers around Sam Rockwell's identity crisis while completing his multi-year contract pushing buttons inside an isolated lunar refinery. So if you'd like to own a piece of the puzzle, if you have an unhealthy respect for miniature models, or if you just simply have a crush on Sam Rockwell, you may want to throw down some eBay love on some of Moon's goodies.

The Prop store has everything from a miniature lunar rover to a Lunar Industries coffee mug to the robotic arm of Gerty, the robot voiced by Kevin Spacey. Prices so far are not too outlandish - at least as far as what I'd consider paying if I had that kind of disposable income - though the auction does have another 6 days left in its life, so you'll need diligence to beat out competing fans. So head on over to Prop Auction's eBay store and show that so-called recession we're in what for.

Earlier today it was announced that Moon director Duncan Jones will follow up that film with one called Source Code, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a soldier who wakes up in the body of some random dude and for reasons unknown to us (right now) is forced to relive a train bombing over and over again until he figures out who's responsible. But while we wait for that flick to hit theaters, folks will have a chance to get re-acquainted with the movie that put Jones on the map earlier this summer: Moon.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced that Moon will arrive on DVD and Blu-ray on January 12th. Extras include a commentary with writer-director Duncan Jones, director of photography Gary Shaw, concept designer Gavin Rothery and production designer Tony Noble. There will also be a second commentary with Jones and Producer Stuart Fenegen, along with four featurettes ("The Making of MOON", "Creating the Visual Effects", "Science Center Q&A with Director Duncan Jones", "Filmmaker's Q&A at the Sundance Film Festival").

Moon stars Sam Rockwell as an astronaut who's nearing the end of a three-year stint working on the moon when some strange events occur that may prevent him from ever leaving. Check out the box cover art above, courtesy of DVD Active.

I was a big fan of Duncan Jones' Moon back when I first saw it at Sundance, partly because Sam Rockwell is absolutely awesome in it, and also because it was nice to watch a quiet sci-fi film that didn't try to win you over with gaudy special effects or giant explosions. To put it simply, it was a complete mind-f*ck of a film -- and that's what made it such a nice addition to the genre. So obviously I've been anticipating Jones' follow up to Moon, and it's just been announced that he'll be helming a film called Mute, which is a passion project for him.

Mute has been around (in script form) long before Moon ever came to be, and according to Screen Daily, the $25 million UK-German production will be an ensemble piece "about a woman whose disappearance causes a mystery for her partner, a mute bartender. When she disappears, he has to go up against the city's gangsters." Mute has already been compared to Blade Runner in some ways, and I can't be the only one who's itching to see what this director does with a larger budget and more actors. Additionally, rumor has it Rockwell will reprise his role from Moon in a small cameo.

Jones talks Mute after the jump ...

One of the most common complaints around Cinematical / SciFiSquad HQ has been "Hey, jerks! I don't live in New York or Los Angeles and I want to see this Moon movie you keep talking about! I love good science fiction and I want to ensure that Moon doesn't become another one of those 'great but overlooked' flicks that you love talking about so much. Jerk." So in the immortal words of Hubert Farnsworth, I say this: GOOD NEWS, EVERYONE! Moon is expanding, big time!

It's a pretty big list, so we'll tuck it away post-jump. And seriously, if you like smart, compelling science fiction and you don't think we get enough of it -- take a break from the Terminators and Transformers and go see Moon. You can thank me later.

In case you're not already aware, a very awesome (and tiny) sci-fi psychological thriller hits screens this weekend in limited release called Moon. It's only arriving in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, but it will expand to more cities in the next few weeks. (See this post for which cities and when.) In the film, Sam Rockwell stars as an astronaut nearing the end of a three-year stint working on the moon. As he makes preparations to return to earth, however, something goes terribly wrong ... and then, well, things just get freaky and fun.

Cinematical interviewed Moon director Duncan Jones earlier this week as he was getting ready to watch his first feature fly off toward movie theaters across the country -- and during that interview, we asked the man to give us his five favorite sci-fi flicks of all time. That info you can only read here (call it our first exclusive on SciFi Squad -- yay!), so check out the deets below.

After the Jump: Moon director Duncan Jones on his five favorite sci-fi films of all time ...

And speaking of Moon, our good pals at Moviefone released a brand new clip from the film today and we have it right here to show you, alongside some additional cities where the film will be expanding to real soon. I caught Moon when it premiered at Sundance, and it's certainly this year's freaky little engine that could, in terms of sci-fi movies. It's hitting theaters in between two giant sci-fi flicks in Terminator Salvation and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, but I honestly believe you true genre fans will enjoy it more than either of those two behemoths.

Without spoiling anything, Moon stars Sam Rockwell as an astronaut who's nearing the end of his three-year stint working on the moon. While making his preparations to come home, however, some really weird sh*t begins to happen ... and we'll leave it at that. Stay tuned for our upcoming interview with Moon director Duncan Jones (who's the nicest guy by the way), as well as a special surprise treat that we'll reveal within the next 24 hours.

Check out the new clip -- along with the cities the film will be expanding to -- after the jump.