An experimental new David Bowie documentary featuring never-before-seen footage and the late music superstar’s own narration was previewed on Tuesday at the CinemaCon convention in Las Vegas.
“Moonage Daydream” will premiere at next month’s glitzy Cannes film festival before hitting theatres in September. It is the first film to be approved by Bowie’s estate, which gave director Brett Morgen access to thousands of hours of archives.
“Bowie cannot be defined. He can be experienced,” said Morgen. “We’ve crafted ‘Moonage Daydream’ to be a unique cinematic theatrical experience — to offer audiences that which they can’t get from a book or an article.”
Neither biopic nor traditional documentary, the film blends Bowie’s songs, concert clips, extensive fan footage and a series of surreal, trippy and abstract images to create a “sonic and visual extravaganza,” said producer Bill Gerber (“A Star is Born.”)
Morgen, who previously made “The Kid Stays in the Picture,” spent two years trawling through the Bowie vaults. He was aided by Bowie’s longtime music producer Tony Visconti and the sound team behind Oscar-winning “Bohemian Rhapsody.” CinemaCon attendees were shown extended clips from the movie, including Bowie performing “Hallo Spaceboy” and “Heroes.”
“I think we took it on our shoulders that we were creating the 21st century in 1971,” Bowie is heard explaining, over the top of the footage. “We wanted to just blast everything in the past. We questioned all the established values and all the taboos.
“Everything was rubbish and all rubbish is wonderful.”
The film will be released in the United States by Neon. CinemaCon, the annual movie theatre industry summit, runs until Thursday.
This story was published via AFP Relaxnews
