Last January, David Bowie, 
one of the greatest icons of rock music, passed away.
It is no surprise 
if his name popped up
during our web-cast 
on Chris Marker.
Apart from being well-versed in literature,
cinema and other forms of arts,
he was especially very fond of Sci-Fi.
Therefore, today's topic 
will be devoted to
the connection between 
Bowie and this genre.
David Robert Jones 
was born on 01/08/1947
in London, England.
He quickly discovered Sci-Fi literature
and first and foremost 
'Starman Jones'
by Robert Heinlein, 
published in 1953.
The story of a farm boy 
escaping to go the stars
deeply impacted 
the young David Jones.
Both had the same surname
and this perhaps led Jones
to identify himself 
with the character.
Bowie was only 14
when the 1st human 
spaceflights happened
and was fascinated 
by the Apollo Program.
FIRST SONGS
His 1st songs, with his band 
'Davy Jones & The Lower 3rd'
or his beginnings as a solo artist, 
did not meet with success.
It was hard for him to make a name for himself,
 under the shadows of giants such as
'The Beatles', 'The Rolling Stones',
'Pink Floyd' or 'The Who'.
However, some of his lyrics were already 
very much influenced by Sci-Fi literature.
'Karma Man' for ex.
was based on Ray Bradbury's 
'The Illustrated Man'
about a man whose tattoos 
are animated and tell a story.
'We are Hungry Men'
was about a scientist trying to find 
a way to solve a global famine,
though soon useless after 
the people became cannibals to survive.
A year prior to that song,
'Soylent Green'  by Harry Harrison
was published with a similar theme.
FIRST HITS
His 1st major hit 'Space Oddity'
was released in 1969,
its title being a clear nod to Kubrick's 
'2001, A Space Odyssey'.
It tells the story of Major Tom,
an astronaut losing 
contact with Earth
and condemned to be 
forever lost in space.
The song was most probably based on 
'The Quatermass Xperiment'
a British tv series, 
Bowie was very fond of.
The 1st episodes were about 
a group of astronauts lost in space.
'Kaleidoscope' by Bradbury 
must be mentioned too.
The crew of a spaceship is forced to leave 
their ship due to a malfunction
and fall through Earth's atmosphere 
to their death.
'Space Oddity' would be played
by the BBC
during the broadcast of Neil Armstrong's 
1st steps on the moon.
Chris Hadfield would then cover it too in 2013,
live from the International Space Station.
STYLE AND CHARACTERS
Bowie already was different 
from his contemporary.
His style and clothes were so extravagant
that he looked like a character of some 
Sci-Fi B-movies of the 60's.
At age 15, 
in what looked like a sign of destiny,
he engaged into a fight with George Underwood,
for the love of a girl.
He got punched in the left eye,
which left his pupil dilated
and gave him this weird, otherworldly look.
However, they remained friends
and Bowie asked Underwood 
to do the cover art for his 1st records.
After a few songs still dealing with 
Sci-Fi main concerns
Artificial Intelligence, in 'Savior Machine'
becoming a problem for its makers,
the Nietzschean themes such as 
the Superman in 'The Supermen'
or alien life-changing encounters in
'Oh! You pretty things',
he released in 1972
'The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust 
and the Spiders from Mars'.
This concept album tells of 
the rise of Ziggy Stardust,
an androgynous alien who comes down 
to a dying earth
in order to spread 
a message of peace and love.
His rise, but also his fall,
as can be guessed from the title,
due to Ziggy, now a rock star, 
being destroyed by his new lifestyle.
It was partly inspired by 
English singer Vince Taylor
and his career with many 
ups and downs.
This rock opera's lyrics
were most probably influenced by 
Robert Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land'.
It deals with Valentin Michael Smith,
a young man back to Earth after having spent 
10 years with the Martians
and unfamiliar with the ways 
of his native planet.
He then founds a new religion based on
Love, Non-violence, and the pleasures of the flesh, 
challenging the moral standards.
Bowie becomes one with his character,
Ziggy Stardust
and would perform with his band under the name
'The Spiders from Mars'
until 07/03/1973 
at the Hammersmith Odeon
where he announced the last show of Ziggy,
before playing the song 
'Rock n' Roll Suicide'.
Bowie was actually already working 
on a new project...
He wanted to make a musical adaptation 
of '1984' by George Orwell,
a classic of Dystopian Sci-Fi literature.
However, Sonia Orwell, Orwell widow,
disappointed by the film adaptation of 1956,
denied him the rights to adapt the novel
leaving Bowie disappointed...
«For a person who married a socialist 
with communist leanings,
she was the biggest upper-class snob 
I've ever met in my life».
'Diamond Dogs', 
which Bowie had started working on,
hoping it would become the adaptation 
of the novel was released in 1974.
It refers the novel in 3 songs,
'We are the Dead', 
(a quote from Winston Smith and Julia in the novel).
'Big Brother' 
(about the leader of the totalitarian state of Oceania).
The song '1984' 
leaves no doubt about Bowie's intentions.
Dealing with decadence 
and government conspiracy,
the story takes place in the 
post-apocalyptic world of Hunger City,
standing on the remains of Manhattan
and we are introduced to Halloween Jack, 
Bowie's new alter-ego,
inspired by singer Amanda Lear.
THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH
in 1976, Bowie furthered his reputation
as an alien,
by starring in 'The Man who Fell to Earth',
by Nicolas Roeg
who had worked as photography director 
on Truffaut's 'Farenheit 451'.
Inspired by the novel by Walter Tevis,
it is about Thomas Jerome Newton
who acquires incredible wealth 
by patenting many inventions
and started his company 
World Enterprises Corporation.
However, Newton is an alien 
who came to Earth with a special purpose:
shipping water back to his planet 
experiencing severe drought.
The film became a classic
and Bowie was surely 
an important part of its success.
In 1981, Philip K. Dick wrote 'VALIS',
1st tome of the incomplete 'VALIS Trilogy',
with Horselover Fat as the main character 
and alter-ego of Dick himself.
Fat's quest, characterized by theological musings
and schizophrenia crisis,
leads him to come across Eric Lampton,
a rock star, actor and director 
who made a film called 'VALIS',
whose plot clearly matches 
an episode of Horselover's life.
The character of Eric Lampton is clearly 
a fictional version of David Bowie
and the film 'VALIS' inside the novel of the same name,
refers to 'The Man who Fell to Earth',
which K. Dick held in high esteem.
«I saw The Man Who Fell to Earth 
and thought it was one of the finest films
not just science-fiction films,
but one of the finest films 
I had ever seen.
I thought it was incredibly original, 
incredibly provocative,
rich in ideas, beautiful in texture, 
glorious in its overall conception.
It was enigmatic.
The idea occurred to me that 
a science-fiction film, if well done,
could be as rich a source
of knowledge and information
as anything we normally derive our
knowledge and information from.
My use of the film VALIS is my homage to 
The Man Who Fell to Earth.
It was one of the greatest experiences 
of my life to see that».
'VALIS' is a unique fictional 
autobiography of Philip K.Dick.
The events described happened for real 
but are placed in a fictional setting.
The epiphany the main character experiences
when watching 'VALIS'
is the same K.Dick had 
when watching 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'.
ALTER EGO 
MAJOR TOM
For Bowie, 'The Man who Fell to Earth' 
was the highlight of his 'alien' days
and he naturally moved on 
to explore other subjects and characters.
He however never forgot his earlier influences 
and he revived Major Tom in 1980,
in order to look back on the past 15 years 
as an artist and as a person.
He uses astronaut Major Tom to deal with his inner conflicts
and addiction problems.
The song 'Halo Spaceboy' in 1995 
and its 1996 by the 'Pet Shop Boys'
allowed him to revive Major Tom once again.
In 1983, German pop singer Peter Schilling,
recorded the song  'Major Tom'
about no other than... an astronaut lost in space.
It was later covered by many singers 
among whom 'Plastic Bertand'.
'Space Oddity' was also covered, 
albeit in a totally different style
by Dutch rock/metal musician and composer, 
Arjen Anthony Lucassen.
Known for his rock operas
'Ayreon' and 'Star One',
he often bases his lyrics on 'Blade Runner', '2001, A Space Odyssey', 
'Matrix' and '12 Monkeys'.
SUPERNATURAL & FANTASY
Bowie's influence spread in other fields 
than music and films.
For instance, The comic book
'Sandman'.
Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman 
asked illustrator Kelley Jones
a very precise depiction of the character 'Lucifer':
«You must draw David Bowie. Find David Bowie, 
or I'll send you David Bowie.
Because if it isn't David Bowie, you're going to have 
to redo it until it is David Bowie.»
In 1986, Bowie even stepped into the world of Fantasy
and starred alongside Jennifer Connelly,
in 'Labyrinth' by Jim Henson, 
creator of 'The Muppet Show'.
3 years earlier he had also starred with 
Catherine Deneuve and Susan Sarandon
in 'The Hunger' by Tony Scott,
a supernatural thriller as a vampire trying 
to halt the decrepitude of his body.
He went on to star in 'Fire Walk with Me' 
by David Lynch
an adaptation of TV series, 
in which he portrayed 'Phillip Jeffries'.
Both Lynch and Bowie
had something in common:
1980, Lynch directed his film about Joseph Merrick
while at the same time,
Bowie was cast in a play as the notorious patient
afflicted with Proteus Syndrome.
In 2006, he portrayed Nikola Tesla 
(Thomas Eddison's rival)
in 'The Prestige' by Christopher Nolan.
Nolan wanted a charismatic actor to play Tesla 
and immediately considered Bowie for the role.
His appearance, though limited, is a real asset 
for the film and proves to be crucial for the plot.
Still in 2006, he lent his to the character Maltazard,
the villain, in the animated film
'Arthur and the Invisibles', by Luc Besson.
COMMERCIALS
The 2000-2010, less prolific music-wise
and plagued by health issues
was the opportunity for Bowie to appear as guests
in many commercials while having fun.
In 2003, he teamed up with Vittel 
for a great marketing deal as himself
but also the various personas he had created.
That wasn't his 1st venture into commercials.
Indeed, in 1987 he played a mad scientist for Pepsi 
trying to design the perfect woman.
In this ad, called 'Creation'
and inspired by 'Frankenstein' 
and especially 'Weird Science' a film released 2 years before,
By spilling pepsi on his computer,
he more than succeeds by giving birth to Tina Turner.
More recently, the song 'Starman' was featured in
Audi's new Super Bowl commercial,
where a retired astronaut relives his glory days
by driving the new Audi R8.
VIDEO GAMES
In 1999, Bowie was contacted 
by video games designer, David Cage
known for his ambitious story-driven creations,
to appear in 'The Nomad Soul' 
set in a futuristic and totalitarian city,
as Boz, leader of a religious cult 
fighting an oppressing government
and who exists in purely electronic form.
He also wrote the soundtrack
with his long-time partner Reeves Gabrels
and 3 of his songs can be 
virtually heard in-game
or on the album 'Hours'
released the same year.
AN ICON OF POP CULTURE
in 2006, the BBC produced 'Life on Mars' 
inspired by Bowie's song.
This remarkable TV series tells of officer 
Sam Tyler (John Simm),
who, after being hit by a car awakens in 1973, 
when the song was released.
The show references Bowie several times,
and aside from the main song,
there's a nod to 'The Jean Genie' 
with the nickname Gene Genie,
adopted by Gene Hunt, 
Tyler's boss and partner.
A sequel, 'Ashes to Ashes', 
(also another Bowie's song),
was produced in 2008 and is set in 1981.
The white clown from the original video, 
appearing as a haunting nemesis to the heroine.
The series 'Flight of the Concords' aired by HBO in 2007
is about 2 musicians from New-Zealand,
Bret and Jemaine who come to the U.S to succeed.
In an episode from the 1st season, 
Bret who had lost all confidence,
meets a spiritual guide in the person of David Bowie, 
or at least his dreamlike double.
However, the song 'Bowie in Space' 
is our main focus.
The video is a tribute 
to that of 'Space Oddity'
and the lyrics deal with 
Bowie's fondness for Sci-Fi.
In Fringe, a series leaning to hard Sci-Fi, 
one the villains is called David Robert Jones,
and another one, Thomas Jerome Newton
(after Bowie's character in 'The Man who Fell to Earth'),
has the ability to change his shape 
(a nod to Bowie's many characters).
The song 'The Man who sold the World' 
can be heard in one episode
a sign of his influence on the writers.
The song was also covered in the video game
'Metal Gear Solid V'
by Hideo Kojima and released in 2015.
The song wasn't picked randomly and hints at the ending
if we listen carefully to the lyrics.
'Diamond Dogs' the mercenary group
led by Venom Snake,
was named after Bowie's album
and its theme of government conspiracy
aiming at establishing dictatorship.
Kojima's admiration for Bowie led him to call 
one of the characters 'Major Tom'
in the 3rd episode of  the saga.
In 2014, 'Life on Mars' was interpreted by 
Jessica Lange's character Elsa Mars,
in 'American Horror Story' season 4.
Her performance, for which she was awarded 
the Dorian Award for this cover,
it was quite similar to the freak show in the play 
'Elephant Man' in which Bowie had been cast.
The songs 'Heroes' was also featured in the show, 
very similar to the original version.
'Moonage Daydream' from the 'Zigg Stardust...'
was featured in the soundtrack to 
'Guardians of the Galaxy',
when the crew of outlaws lands on Knowhere, 
looking for The Collector.
Finally, 'The Martian' by Ridley Scott,
featured the song 'Starman'
also from 'Ziggy Stardust...',
when the rescue of Mark Watney,
stranded on Mars was devised.
His latest album 'Blackstar', his musical testament,
is a return to his fundamentals.
The video of the title track, 
literally sends us into space,
where an extra-terrestrial woman with a tail
finds the remains of an astronaut.
She takes the skull and the headless skeleton 
starts drifting into space, drawn by a black star.
It is impossible not to recall 'Major Tom', 
Bowie's double or think of his own fate.
Bowie died of a liver cancer only 2 days 
after the album's release
and a few weeks after 
the premiere of his musical 'Lazarus'
a staged sequel to 'The Man who Fell to Earth'.
It starred Michael C. Hall reprising 
the role Bowie had 40 years before.
In addition to new original songs, the show features 
some of Bowie most famous songs.
LEGACY
Bowie's links to SF are however even more diverse.
He passed on his interest in Sci-Fi to his son, 
Duncan Jones.
«I was raised by a dad that was incredibly fond of Sci-Fi.
He was an avid reader 
and was also very much into films.
He would show me films 
and give me books that lured me into Sci-Fi.
He started with Orwell 'Animal Farm' and '1984'
and John Wyndham 'Days of the Triffids' 
and 'The Kraken Wakes'.
He introduced me to Philip K.Dick, J.G Ballard and 
William Gibson who wrote 'Neuromancer'.
So he really was the kind of guy who introduced me
to all things that excite me in Sci-Fi».
Duncan grew up watching classic Sci-Fi films such as
'2001, A Space Odyssey', 'Alien' or 'Blade Runner'.
He became a director and made 2 of the most 
original Sci-Fi films of the past few years,
'Moon' and 'Source Code'.
'Moon', released in 2009, 
is a Sci-Fi drama film starring Sam Rockwell,
the only actor to truly star in it.
His character, Sam Bell,
employed by Lunar Industries to mine 
the alternative fuel Helum-3 from moon rocks.
He is assisted by GERTY, 
an artificial intelligence with the voice of Kevin Spacey.
Shortly before returning home, 
Bell starts suffering from hallucinations.
The film was selected in many festivals 
including Sundance
and won many awards among which BAFTA's 
Outstanding British Film Award.
He was also rewarded for best debut as a director.
Gerty was ranked 7th coolest A.I ever by IGN :)
2 years later, 'Source Code' was released,
with a script by Ben Ripley.
Jack Gyllenhaal was chosen 
to star as the lead actor,
which he accepted immediately, 
enthused by its plot about time travel.
He lobbied for Jones to direct it 
after watching 'Moon'.
Both films, though well-received 
remain quite confidential
and didn't gross as much as the big block-busters.
However, Jones, was offered to direct 
'Warcraft – The Beginning'
based on the 'Warcraft' video games series.
Among future plans,
Jones wishes to develop the universe in which 'Moon'
takes place by directing 2 other films,
not exactly sequels but taking place 
at the same time than the original fim,
with a cameo by Rockwell as Sam Bell.
The 1st one 'Mute' is in the making
and will take place in a futuristic Berlin
with a release date set in 2017.
TRIBUTES
Throughout his career spanning 50 years,
Bowie's work have promoted Sci-Fi so significantly
that he was inducted in 2013 at the 
Science Fiction & Fantasy Hall of Fame in Seattle,
being so far the only musician 
to be given this honor.
In January 2015, an asteroid orbiting between 
Mars and Jupiter was named after David Bowie.
Following his death, Belgian astronomers 
have dedicated a 7-star constellation to Bowie,
forming the iconic lightning bolt
from the cover of 'Aladdin Sane'.
David Bowie now dances among the stars...
Thanks a lot for watching 
this special web-cast of Total Remake,
and stay tuned for our upcoming videos!
