The sky’s the limit when it comes to moviemaking.
Lie in a country field (if you have one handy), and gaze up at the endless night sky. What do you see? The moon and countless stars, sure. But if you look deeper, you’ll glimpse what poets and dreamers and movie studio execs have seen for centuries: infinite potential.
The vast expanse of space has inspired some of the greatest yarns of our time, from 2001 to Star Wars to Contact. While public interest in the world’s space program has waxed and waned over the years–especially as the remarkable becomes everyday–popular culture reminds us that there is nothing mundane about the achievements being made.
And, as Hollywood reminds us, there is no shortage of inspiration coming down the pike.
Movies
Apollo 13
Re-Launches: September 20, 2002, in IMAX (originally released in 1995)
The Crew: Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Ed Harris, Kathleen Quinlan; directed by Ron Howard
Mission Summary: The true story of the ill-fated 1970 moon landing and the crew (on board, on the ground, at home) who helped avert disaster.
Mission Objective: With its 2002 re-release, Apollo 13 will become the first 35mm live-action film to be digitally re-mastered into the IMAX format. Not only will it pioneer a new era in large-screen exhibition, it will also issue a much-needed reminder of our own space program and all that humanity can accomplish when we set our minds to a task. Ironically, one of the messages of the film is how this near tragedy rekindled people’s excitement in lunar exploration after a period of public malaise. It also served to inspire Tom Hanks‘ and HBO’s wonderful retelling of the full Apollo program history–the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (now available on DVD). More recently, Apollo paved the way for this year’s documentary IMAX experience Space Station which portrays the construction of and living experience on the International Space Station (ISS), in 3-D. One of the highest-grossing IMAX films of all time (more than $20 million in domestic box office receipts), Space Station can still be seen in theaters. Just as the ISS can still be seen in orbit.
Solaris
The Crew: George Clooney, Natascha McElhone, Jeremy Davies; directed and co-written by Steven Soderbergh; produced by James Cameron.
Mission Summary: Based on Stanislav Lem’s novel, this remake of Andrei Tarkovsky‘s 1972 Russian-language film has astronaut/psychologist Kris Kelvin (Clooney) traveling to a space station orbiting the planet Solaris to investigate the unexplained behavior of key scientists. He discovers that the commander of an expedition studying the planet has died under mysterious circumstances and that the planet itself is responsible for the death–it seems that Solaris is not only a planet, but a giant and powerful life form which
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has been studying and destroying the minds of the scientists observing it. Once aboard the space station, Kelvin, too, falls victim to this unique world’s mysteries and uncovers a mysterious secret about himself.
Mission Objective: Soderbergh, Clooney, Cameron, and Co. are sure to deliver on one of the most essential themes of space-based films: No matter how otherworldly the setting and events, we’re always going to learn something about ourselves. Kind of like a colonoscopy.
Launches: November 27, 2002
Star Trek: Nemesis
The Crew: Starring Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Levar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, and Marina Sirtis; directed by Stuart Baird (Executive Decision); produced by Rob Berman (all things Star Trek)
Mission Summary: The USS Enterprise-E crew goes on a diplomatic mission to the planet Romulus, longtime enemy of the Federation of Planets. Instead of peace, they’re threatened by a new “nemesis” and must battle to save the Earth from destruction. Nemesis may also give us the wedding of Riker and Troi, the return of Lore (or another android that looks exactly like Data), and cameos by Wil Wheaton (as Wesley Crusher), Kate Mulgrew (as Star Trek: Voyager‘s Kathryn Janeway), and Whoopi Goldberg (as Guinan). The tenth installment in the Star Trek movie franchise will hopefully be protected by the “even-numbered movies are good” umbrella policy.
Mission Objective: While Gene Roddenberry‘s original vision held a futuristic, utopian mirror up to modern society’s ills, Star Trek has grown grittier and grittier over the years–from the political nuance of Deep Space Nine (which should be seen in full-fledged syndication instead of just popping up during baseball rain delays) to the rough-and-tumble, fly-boy beginnings of Enterprise (season premiere, Wednesday, September 18, 8:00 p.m. on UPN). In many ways this change is a fitting portrayal of the world’s current woes, at once exciting and disheartening. No matter how far you go–even where no one has gone before–there is conflict to be had. Can’t we all just get along?
Launches: December 13, 2002
Riddick
The Crew: Starring Vin Diesel (xXx), Ja Rule; directed by David Twohy, written by Twohy, following drafts by David Hayter and Akiva Goldsman
Mission Summary: This sequel (and possible prequel in a Chronicles of Riddick trilogy) to David Twohy‘s mild sleeper hit (Pitch Black ($39 million domestically) follows the continuing travels of the eponymous convict with a heart of pewter, not to mention capitalizing on Diesel’s white-hot star power. (Pitch Black found Riddick shipwrecked on a planet entrenched in darkness, with no choice but to protect his captors from ravenous aliens using his surgically enhanced night vision (sorta like LASIK). Due to start shooting in December, Riddick is expected to expand on the corrupt nature of the near-future established in the first film.
Mission Objective: It’s hard to say exactly how this film will inspire young astrophiles,
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but this particular fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants, hard-boiled futurescape reminds us that no matter what the coming years hold, it’s not going to be a cakewalk. And will require bouncers.
Launches: 2004
Star Wars: Episode III
The Crew: Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ewan McGregor, Samuel L Jackson; written and directed by George Lucas
Mission Summary: Lucas is currently writing the sixth (and final?) installment in the Star Wars saga, so not a lot is known about the plot. What we do know is that at some point, the cute little boy from Episode I will become the dark-sided heavy breather Darth Vader. What a downer of a way to go out. Until the inevitable re-re-releases of Episodes IV through VI (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi–like you didn’t know).
Mission Objective: Star Wars has always epitomized the unattainable in space travel, seeing as its:
a) a long time ago
b) far, far away
Both those elements capture the boundless mystery that lies in the vastness of space. And, with Episode II – Attack of the Clones coming to IMAX screens November 1 (just prior to its video/DVD release November 12), that mystery will also soon be eight stories high.
Launches: Summer 2005
TV
Firefly
The Crew: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Sean Maher, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Ron Glass, Morena Baccarin and Summer Glau; created by Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel), produced by Whedon, Tim Minear (Angel), Ben Edlund
Mission Summary: 500 years in the future, after a universal civil war, a rag-tag gang of mercenaries, prostitutes, smugglers and rebels band together on the good cargo ship Serenity to eke out a living trolling the galaxy.
Mission Objective: It’s nice to know that there will still be a place for sarcasm in the distant future. It’s also nice to see that, despite continued galactic strife, cultural diversity can flourish in the workplace. Perhaps the series will be even inspire the generation of truckers we’re going to need for the long haul from Earth to Martian colonies. OK, how about Lunar colonies? Colonial Williamsburg?
Launches: Friday, September 20, 8 p.m., on Fox
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The Real Deal
Space travel is all about nurturing the belief that the extraordinary can happen to seemingly ordinary people. Challenger disaster notwithstanding, Idaho elementary school teacher Barbara Morgan is scheduled for a shuttle mission to the ISS in 2004, paid for by Uncle Sam.
In June 2000 businessman Dennis Tito heralded the era of space tourism and the notion that anyone with $20 million and a dream can fly in space when he announced that he had purchased a ticket on a Russian Soyuz rocket heading to the Mir space station. (Tito eventually traveled to the ISS in April 2001.)
Then, in September 2000 producer Mark Burnett (of Survivor fame) gave hope to the Everyman who would travel space by announcing Destination Mir, an NBC reality series culminating in one contestant’s journey to Mir at the end of 2001. Unfortunately, those hopes were dashed when Mir crashed into the Pacific Ocean in March of that year.
Nevertheless, the failed endeavor raised the possibility that one doesn’t need to have $20 million to fly into space. As happens, one simply needs to raise $20 million.
For a minute it seemed like ‘N Sync’s Lance Bass was just the guy the do it. However, due to missed payments by his backers — sponsors for a planned TV series about his voyage — that particular dream has been squelched. For now, Lance has been replaced on board the October 27 Soyuz taxi with a small cargo container (how much difference is there really).
If you don’t have the $20 million, how about $98,000? That (or a measly 10 million frequent flier miles) will get you a free 30- to 90-minute trip aboard a sub-orbital passenger spacecraft that will climb over 62 miles above the Earth, offering five minutes of weightlessness and a view of the planet from space care of US Airways and Space Adventures Ltd. Flights are expected to start sometime between 2004 and 2005.
For a mere $5,400, Space Adventures also offers a zero gravity ride on the Russian version of NASA’s “vomit comet,” a jumbo jet flying steep parabolas that simulate zero-g conditions (used for certain scenes in Apollo 13).
The bottom line is that you take inspiration where you can get it. Why, it’s been “proven” time and time again that with basic space travel technology and a little dumb luck, you too can transcend space and time. Take it from Farscape or Buck Rogers in the 25th Century — it can happen.
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