Summary
Fly Me To The Moontakes place in the midst of the Space Race in the 1960s. As America tries to beat the Soviet Union to the moon, NASA faces a public image crisis that threatens its funding. Desperate for help, they consult a marketing specialist, a move that rubs the scientist the wrong way. As she works to change public perception of NASA, she is also at the center of a backup plan to fake the moon landing in case something goes wrong with the mission, much to the annoyance of the team working to get the astronauts to the moon.
Fly Me To The Moonis a hilarious historical fictionthat looks at the Space Race through a comical lens that brings the conspiracy of the fake moon landing into play.Scarlett Johanssonand Channing Tatum’s magnetic chemistry delivers charm, comedy, and romance, with Jim Rash, Woody Harrelson, and Anna Garcia delivering hilarious performances as well.Fly Me To The Moonis directed by Greg Berlanti from a script penned by Rose Gilroy based on a story by Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein.
Fly Me To The Moon True Story: Did NASA Really Film A Fake Moon Landing As A Back-Up?
Fly Me To The Moon puts a comedic spin on the Apollo 11 mission, but did NASA hire a marketing team and fake the moon landing in real life?
Screen Rantinterviewed director Greg Berlanti andstar Ray Romanoabout their new movie,Fly Me To The Moon. They both explained what drew them to the movie, including the incredible cast. Berlanti also shared why it was important to him for NASA to not only support the movie but work directly with them.
Greg Berlanti Explains Why Scarlet Johansson’s Involvement Drew Him In
Berlanti shared what stood out to him aboutFly Me To The Mooneven before he read the script. He also explained why he knew that he needed to direct the movie given how selective he is regarding which project he directs versus produces.
Greg Berlanti: You don’t get sent that many things that someone like Scarlet Johansson is starring in it and producing and choosing to throw her weight, at this moment in her career, behind a big budget original story. So when I was told about it, even before I read it, I hoped I connected with the story and then the world of NASA and just the tone and the heart and the humor of it, I was drawn in by immediately.
For me, that bell kind of goes off of like, Oh, I can’t screw this up. When I get that sense of like, Oh gosh, I can’t, this is too good. It’s too great an opportunity, too much of an opportunity to work with people like Ray, which I’d always dreamed of doing. And so yeah, I would say those were the things that attracted me.
Romano shared what drew him to the project, including working with Berlanti. He also shared how the script was changed to flesh out his role, including a stand-out scene.
Ray Romano: Well, I mean, I read the script when it came over and my agent told me the people that are involved with it. I had never met Greg before I knew of him, but it was very intriguing, this whole project. The script I read, I love the feeling of it, the tone, the mixture, the feeling of maybe as a country or as a people, we can unite by feeling just pride in our accomplishments that we came together.
When I met Greg, then we talked about it. My role in the original script was slightly underwritten, I guess, for lack of a better word. Greg agreed and they went back and worked on it a little and that scene you’re talking about came from that conversation from Greg going back. So once that happened, I just said, I’m on board.
Fly Me To The Moon May Not Have Happened Without NASA’s Involvement
AlthoughFly Me To The Moonplays with the idea of the fake moon landing conspiracy, NASA fully supported the project and worked directly with the crew. This allowed theFly Me To The Moonteam to work with consultants and film on location.
Greg Berlanti: I’m not sure I would’ve done it if they weren’t a proponent of it, because I knew that we wanted to celebrate as much as… But you could only do that, you couldn’t pretend like this doesn’t exist. By actually embracing one of the original conspiracy theories I think that looking at that to tell a story about why the truth is important, and especially in this era and in this moment.
I think NASA got that part of it. From the very beginning they got that this was as much a vehicle of fun, an entertaining vehicle, but a vehicle to show, isn’t it amazing what we all can do when we’re unified. We can achieve the impossible and perhaps definitely the most televised moment of mankind, humankind, but arguably the greatest accomplishment of humankind.
So here we are actually getting to tell that story with a fun historical fiction kind of twist on it. Their support meant everything. It meant we could shoot there and meant we had the technical advisors so we could really capture the truth of all that. That was one of the reasons I wanted to do it.
About Fly Me To The Moon
During the 1960s Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, a relationship develops between the NASA director in charge of the Apollo 11 launch and the marketing specialist brought in to fix NASA’s public image and stage a “back-up” fake Moon landing.
Fly Me to the Moon
Cast
A musician and an astronaut form an unexpected romance as she prepares for a lunar mission. Their relationship faces challenges due to the distance and personal issues, leading to a journey of love and self-discovery.
