Moonage Daydream, a nonfiction feature about the life and career of the late music icon David Bowie, has been picked up by Neon, Universal and HBO Documentary Films
Neon will release the movie in the U.S., with Imax screenings expected for select markets. Meanwhile, Universal will release the movie internationally. HBO Docs holds both cable and streaming rights.
Brett Morgen, the filmmaker behind The Kid Stays in the Picture and Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, wrote, directed and edited the feature. The description of the project, which took five years to produce, reads: “The feature-length experiential cinematic odyssey that explores Bowie’s creative, musical and spiritual journey. Told through sublime, kaleidoscopic, never-before-seen footage, performances, and music, the film is guided by Bowie’s narration and is the first film to be officially sanctioned by Bowie’s estate.” The doc will also explore Bowie’s art outside of music, including dance, painting, sculpture, video and audio collage, screenwriting, acting and live theater.
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Morgen has access to Bowie’s personal archives, including all master recordings, and hours of discovered 35mm and 16mm film of Bowie’s stage performances.
Moonage Daydream, which takes its name from Bowie’s 1972 album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars, will feature 48 musical tracks, comprising original studio recordings. The team behind the soundtrack includes Bowie’s longtime collaborator, music producer Tony Visconti, Oscar-winning sound mixer Paul Massey (Bohemian Rhapsody) and David Giammarco (Ford v. Ferrari). John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone headed sound design for the movie, which was mixed for Dolby Atmos.
Morgen also produced the movie. Executive producers are Hartwig Masuch, Kathy Rivkin-Daum and Justus Haerder for BMG with Michael Rapino, Heather Parry and Ryan Kroft for Live Nation Productions. Bill Zysblat, Tom Cyrana, Aisha Cohen and Eileen D’Arcy are also exec producing from RZO, along with Billy Gerber and Debra Eisenstadt. BMG and Live Nation Productions financed the film.
Submarine and WME negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
