David Bowie ‘Moonage Daydream’ director says he died for “three minutes” making the documentary
The director of the forthcoming David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream says he worked himself so hard on the movie that he suffered a heart attack.
Helmed by Brett Morgen (Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck, Jane), the docufilm promises to take viewers on an “immersive” journey via “sublime, kaleidoscopic imagery, personal archived footage, unseen performances” that are anchored by Bowie’s music and words.
It is the first film to be supported by the David Bowie Estate, which granted Morgen unprecedented access to its collection. Press material says that the Estate presented Morgen with more than five million assets in 2017.
The director has now said his own life was “out of control” when he began work on the film in January of that year.
“Just as I started working on this film, I suffered a massive heart attack. I flatlined for three minutes and was in a coma,” Morgen told BBC News.
“My life was out of control, and I was entirely work obsessed. I put all my ego into my work and I’m the father of three kids. When you have an experience like that, you think, what’s been the message of my life? Work hard and die in your 40s.”
He added: “I needed to learn how to live again and that’s when David Bowie really came back into my life at the age of 47.
“He transitioned me from childhood, and then he transitioned me from being a man-child to being a proper father. That to me was his greatest gift. I had no idea going into this how he would impact my life.”
A teaser for the documentary was shared earlier this week, which you can view above, showing Bowie speaking off-camera about the importance of life. “It’s what you do in life that’s important, not how much time you have,” he says as a montage of performance clips spanning his 50-year career and other behind-the-scenes imagery plays out.
Moonage Daydream will be released worldwide in September, with firm dates yet to be confirmed.
Bowie’s ‘The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars’, meanwhile, is getting a special 50th anniversary re-release.
The album reaches the half-century milestone in June, and a special edition of the record from 1972 will be released via Parlophone Records on June 17.