Duncan Jones is a movie-making treasure. These days, saying that you’re going to go see a science fiction film pretty much means you’re going to watch a movie about space ships blowing up the Earth, and that’s about it. There aren’t many people making science fiction that’s based heavily on ideas rather than action, like the greats of the genre used to in pulp magazines like “Astounding Science Fiction,” these days. But with his first two directorial efforts Moon and Source Code, Jones proved himself to be a strong voice capable of making sci-fi the way it should be; full of forward thinking ideas and philosophical quandaries. The good news coming out of an interview that Jones did with DIY is that he’s currently readying his third science fiction project. The bad news is that it could potentially be his last. When talking about what will make his third film different from his first two, Jones said “Moon was done at a tiny budget and we really squeezed everything we could out of it. Source Code was a chance to work on a bigger budget with name actors, but on a project that wasn’t my own. Hopefully, this third film will be the kind of sci-fi I want to make, on a budget where I can afford to do it as I see it in my head,” he then added, “After that, I’ll change genres.” Jones paired with a hefty budget and creative freedom sounds great to me, but if [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

This editorial contains spoilers for Source Code and Moon. If you haven’t seen the movies yet, go check it out first before diving in. When I watched Duncan Jones’s sophomore effort Source Code, I couldn’t help but think about how much it resembles, nearly beat for beat in its structure, his first film Moon. This is not necessarily a criticism of Source Code or Jones, as repeated thematic occupations and narrative revisitation can be the sign of the auteur, and I’ve enjoyed both his films. But the films are, admittedly, structurally identical in several ways. Both involve a lone protagonist who discovers something unexpected about their identity that changes their relationship to their given tasks (Sam Bell realizing he is a clone in Moon, Captain Colter Stevens’s “near-death” state in Source Code), and combat some form of repression against a bureaucratic organizational body (a private corporation in Moon, military scientists in Source Code) while being assisted by an empathetic, benevolent subordinate of that organization (GERTY the robot in Moon, Vera Famiga’s Captain Goodwin in Source Code). But it is rather appropriate that both of Jones’s films be so structurally similar, for the major themes connecting them, and the narratives by which those themes are exercised, are enveloped in the topic of the repetitive structures of everyday life.

Source Code really solidifies a suspicion we all have had about director Duncan Jones: he’s a real people person. Yes, unlike most sci-fi filmmakers, there is very little cynicism or dread to his films. While both Moon and his successful sophomore effort, Source Code, do explore the idea of man abusing science, ultimately, there’s a huge amount of hope in his work. Not only that, but he follows generally fun and – if a tad flawed – good people. That’s right, there’s no mopey, emo action lead in Source Code. Colter Stevens, the hero of the film, is the Han Solo archetype. He’s charming, brash, and sometimes, thinks more with his fists than his head. Stevens is quite similar to Duncan Jones’s previous antagonist, Sam Bell. There’s an everyman quality to both leads. They’re not macho. They’re not invincible. And they’re both flawed individuals. Like Bell, Stevens doesn’t shy away from acting like a jerk here and there. The predicament he’s in – once again, just like Sam Bell – raises ethical questions. Although Source Code isn’t entirely hardcore science-fiction, Jones does what all classical films of genre should do: ask a few questions. If you’ve ever seen Jones an interview before, then you already know he’s a personable and fun-seeming filmmaker. He manages to take that upbeat spirit of his and interject that good nature in his films, and as was the case with Moon, it works. WARNING: This interview contains major spoilers.

What is Movie News After Dark? This is a question that I am almost never asked, but I will answer it for you anyway. Movie News After Dark is FSR’s newest late-night secretion, a column dedicated to all of the news stories that slip past our daytime editorial staff and make it into my curiously chubby RSS ‘flagged’ box. It will (but is not guaranteed to) include relevant movie news, links to insightful commentary and other film-related shenanigans. I may also throw in a link to something TV-related here or there. It will also serve as my place of record for being both charming and sharp-witted, but most likely I will be neither of the two. I write this stuff late at night, what do you expect?

Moon director Duncan Jones’ sophomore effort Source Code hasn’t even hit theaters yet, but he’s already talking about what he wants to do for his third film. Before he even began Source Code, Jones was trying to get producers to sign off on a script he had written called Mute. It was described as a sci-fi influenced noir with a sprawling, futuristic version of Berlin serving as the backdrop. Unfortunately, times are tough, and Jones hasn’t been able to find funding for such an off the beaten path project. He’s moving on to another pitch instead, but this isn’t the last we’ve heard of Mute. Jones told Gordon and the Whale that he is going to take the Darren Aronofsky doing The Fountain approach and produce the script as a graphic novel, “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.”

After spending all that time isolated on the dark side of the moon (mere miles away from Michael Bay and never knowing it), and then re-living the same explosive scenario over and over, Duncan Jones is ready to move to the city. Moon was great, Source Code is highly anticipated, and Jones is already looking to the future. Far into the future. According to We Got This Covered, the director wants to homage Blade Runner by setting his next film in a city of the future. The man gets to do an intimate psychological drama with Sam Rockwell, tap into time travel, and now he paves his own way to filmically celebrate an iconic sci-fi favorite? It’s official. Duncan Jones is a replicant.

Groundhog Day was the first thing that came to mind while watching the first trailer for Duncan Jones‘s Source Code. If you don’t know Jones, he’s the man behind Moon, one of the best sci-fi films of the last decade. Hopefully, this (studio backed) followup will be of the same caliber. From the looks of it, it just might be. If there’s anything surprising in this trailer, it’s is how heightened the world seems to be. The moments of Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) communicating with the military fat cats has a slightly surreal feel to it. There seems to be a sense of grounding as well, but this looks surprisingly out there. I’m not quite sure this is a hard sci-fi film or more of an action film, but I’m getting hints of it being the former.

Editor’s Note: Normally it’s Landon Palmer hustling your brain through the mental gymnastics of popular culture and film theory, but he’s grading papers or something, so Cole Abaius is taking the reigns to drop kick your mind (instead of completely blowing it). Check back next week for the brilliance if you survive the completely adequate. It’s dark. Not the kind of dark where you strain to make out figures in the near distance or the kind of dark that sends a thrill through you in a movie theater. It’s the kind of darkness that your eyes never adjust to because there’s no light, and there never will be. I’m at the bottom of a cave near the small town of Bustamante, Mexico, and after passing graffiti from the 19th century, my friends and I have all decided to turn off our headlamps before heading into the grand hall. With the lights gone, the cool of the room becomes more tangible, and the walls begin to creep inward. Fortunately, this seems to be the latest trend in movie-making: shoving someone into the solitary confinement of life threatening danger, and seeing if they can work their way out.

The new synopsis for Source Code is essentially the entire set up for the main character, so don’t read it if you consider that sort of thing a spoiler. Suffice it to say that this movie has great sci-fi potential both from the pedigree of the wacky Brit who gave us Moon and from the plot description below. It seems to expand on playing with time and reality in ways that were only hinted at in Moon. In short, it sounds great. The beefy synopsis from the American Film Market:

My interview with the Iron Man 2 star that has nothing to do whatsoever with Cowboys and Aliens.

For those around here (almost all of us) who have been rooting for Duncan Jones’ Moon, today is a day for a bit of celebration. Jones led off today’s ceremony for the British Academy of Film and Television Awards (BAFTA) with a win for Outstanding Debut with his first film, the excellent cerebral piece of sci-fi that it was. Reports say that Jones was very emotional in accepting his award, completing a run that began last year at the Sundance Film Festival.

Gabriele Muccino might sign on to direct Passengers, another flick to put on your sci-fi romance to-watch list.

Hopefully 2009 prepared you for brilliant science fiction. Back in 1936, it’s Christmas in Everytown, and there’s talk of war coming to their doorsteps.

All hell appears to be breaking loose. Think about all of the critically acclaimed films of the year, then think about the ones that the internet (and more specifically Twitter) has been talking about all year. Those are all out on Blu-ray this week!

Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves defusing bombs. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. This week features three MUST BUYS including The Hurt Locker, In the Loop, and Moon! (But Big Fan can suck it…)

Often “Best of” lists include a bunch of the Oscar bait roles that we hear about at the end of every year but in 2009 we had some great performances in big movies which sadly isn’t always the case. With this list I tried to balance the two opposing worlds of critical credibility and popularity by considering which roles stuck out in my mind most. This is what I came up with…

Haven’t heard much talk about Moon this awards season? Mad that it’s not showing up on the lists of your favorite critics? Blame Sony Pictures Classics.

Perhaps one of the greatest honors, yet most difficult tasks of my year is the creation of my annual top ten list. As this site’s editor in chief (or whatever title suits me this week), I get to kick-off our Year in Review every year with my picks for best of the year.

Rob Hunter loves movies. He also loves his job as a CPA who occasionally finds a little mystery thrown his way. These two joys come together in the form of cash money payments that he receives every week and immediately uses to buy more DVDs. This week includes Star Trek, Vampire Party, Taintlight, and more!

A few weeks back, director Duncan Jones revealed some of the DVD and Blu-ray release details for the import release of his highly acclaimed film Moon via his twitter account. We now have some official word as well.