ELYSIUM Star Diego Luna Says Space Travel Not For Him

If one day regular citizens could live in outer space, don’t expect for ELYSIUM’s Diego Luna to get on that space ride.  He tells CineMovie he would first make Earth a better place before making a home on another planet or space station.

Mexican actor and director Diego Luna stars alongside Matt Damon in ELYSIUM by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. In ELYSIUM, the wealthy have abandoned Earth for Elysium, a space station orbiting Earth while the remaining Earthlings live in squalor and poor health.  In ELYSIUM, there are no diseases or sickness due to the advancement of technology, but the rich are not sharing.  

Diego Luna plays Matt Damon’s friend who’s helping his dying pal make it to Elysium.  A fan of Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, it was a no-brainer joining the cast because of the opportunity to explore the subject matter and working with a director “that works outside the box.” Luna describes Neill as unique director in that not all directors can make a big budget film of that scale with important social commentary about the “have and have nots.” He considers ELYSIUM a special film for that reason.

 

If you like going to the cinema and watching androids, the human race struggling with futuristic weapons and space ships than this film is for you.  Bu if you like movies that make you question and reflect on your own life this one is also for you.  For me, that was the ability of Neill that not all directors have.”

Diego Luna knows a thing or two about portraying social inequalities. For his next project, Luna is currently in post-production as the director on a Cesar Chavez biopic starring Michael Pena and Rosario Dawson.  He reveals during the interview that he’s enjoying the time making the film and he hasn’t tired of watching it over and over as he prepares it for release later this year.

Whether discussing the past or the future of class struggle, Luna hopes we don’t abandon our neighbor in the future by simply moving off the planet.

“I’d be happy to stay here, but in a world that’s not so unequal where … I hope that little by little we live in a world where we are more interested in what’s happening to our neighbors. That would make us different.”

He adds that this is a universal issue and not so much about race relations because our “happiness is dependent on our neighbors.”  He urges viewers see beyond the color of the skin of the characters, and see it either for the entertainment value or social aspect that should speak to all of us.  

ELYSIUM is now playing in movie theaters.