Practice English Listening A2 Exercises – She’s written several books.

A

They are Duncan Jones and his father, David Bowie.

They had a very good relationship.

B

1   His name when he was very young.

2   He was born in the UK in 1971.

3   His parents divorced when he was nine. He stayed with his father. He saw his mother, Angie, until he was 13, but hasn’t seen her since then.

4   His father tried to get him to learn the drums, the saxophone, and the piano.

5   His father bought him an 8mm video camera, which he used to make movies about his Star Wars toys.

6   He went to the London Film School and studied to be a movie director.

7   He directed the TV commercials in the early years of his career.

8   He made Moon in 2006. It’s a science-fiction drama and was very successful. He won the prize for Best New British Director.

9   He made Source Code, a science fiction thriller, and Warcraft, based on the game World of Warcraft. They have both been successful.

10   He wanted to be a movie director because he wanted to be behind the cameras, not in front of them. He hated the paparazzi, who were around when he was a child, and doesn’t like being photographed.

Good evening and welcome to Family, the show where we discuss issues concerning parents and children. Last week, we talked about children following their parents into the same job, and whether children of celebrities have an easier life than other children. Today, we’re going to look at a celebrity son who did something different, and has been successful without the help of his famous father.

Duncan Jones may not be a name you recognize if you’re not a serious movie fan. Duncan Jones is his real name, but when he was very young, he was called Zowie Bowie. His father was the famous singer David Bowie, whose real surname was Jones. Zowie was actually Duncan’s middle name.

Duncan was born in the UK in nineteen seventy-one. When he was nine, his parents divorced, and Duncan stayed with his father. He continued to visit his mother, David Bowie’s first wife, Angie, until he was thirteen, but their relationship wasn’t a happy one, and he hasn’t seen her since then.

When he was a child, Duncan wasn’t interested in music. His father tried and tried to get him to learn an instrument – the drums, the saxophone, and the piano – but Duncan just wasn’t interested. He was more interested in sports, and in movies. So, his father bought him a little eight-millimeter video camera, and he used it to make movies with his Star Wars toys.

After he graduated from high school, Duncan went to the London Film School and studied to be a movie director.

In the early years of his career, Duncan directed TV commercials, for example, for the fashion label French Connection, and Heinz ketchup, and he also worked on video games.

In two thousand and six, he made his first movie, called Moon, a science fiction drama, which was a great success. He won many awards for the movie, including the prize for Best New British Director.

Since then, he has made many more successful movies, including Source Code, a science-fiction thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal, and Warcraft, based on the game World of Warcraft.

Duncan has said that one of the reasons why he went into movie directing was that he wanted to be behind the camera, not in front of it. As a child, there were often paparazzi around, which he hated. Even now, as a successful movie director, he doesn’t like being photographed.

Although, as he says, “I’ve never needed to use my father’s name,” Duncan was very close to his father all his life, and was with him when he died in January two thousand and sixteen. He said of him, “He was a wonderful father who encouraged me to be creative, but different.”