The movie Gravity (see earlier post) did very well this opening weekeng: Space thriller ‘Gravity’ earns record $55.6 million
The film, which stars Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney and wowed critics with its special effects, added $27.4 million from sales in international markets, for a combined debut of $83 million, distributor Warner Bros. said on Sunday.
The movie Gravity starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney opens this Friday. Though the vivid trailers give the basic story, I’ve tried not to read too many stories about the film so as to avoid spoilers. Generally, it looks like the reviews from film festival and preview showings indicate that it is quite an entertaining and well made film.
The filmamaker was careful about details and even had mission patches created by famed Star Trek artist Mike Okuda: ‘Gravity’ movie mission patches shaped by real space history – collectSPACE.
I’m amazed that the whole film was first created in animation to get the lighting and composition optimized for each scene before filming it with the actors : Why Gravity Director Alfonso Cuarón Will Never Make a Space Movie Again – Underwire/Wired.com.
While there appear to be a number of Hollywood tropes involved (e.g. the Shuttles have stopped flying, there are no sounds in space, etc), it looks like they kept the science and technology fairly realistic. Will be interesting to see if this space story in the solar sci-fi style will get a strong audience response.
Here’s an interesting discussion about “Our Interstellar Future in the eyes of Science and Science-Fiction” with SF writer Alan Steele, writer and NASA physicist Geoff Landis, plus SETI Institute scientists Frank Marchis and Cynthia Phillips.
Robert Pearlman writes about gravity as a force and a metaphor in the new movie Gravity, which will be released on Oct.4th: Defining ‘Gravity’: Sandra Bullock, Alfonso Cuarón talk pull behind film’s title (video) – collectSPACE
Actress Sandra Bullock and director Alfonso Cuarón talk with Pearlman:
In researching her role as an astronaut for the new movie, Sandra Bullock talked with NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman while she was onboard the International Space Station in 2010-2011.
Here is a press conference at a film festival:
Via Jeff Foust comes a pointer to a reality show based on a spaceflight contest:
And a pointer to a Mars Western: CW Buys Mars Drama From ‘Mentalist’ Duo – Deadline.com
Written by Szentgyorgyi, Red is described as a neo-Western drama about the first human settlement on Mars and life on this new frontier, centering on the relationships between the town’s female sheriff, a doctor and a criminal. WME-repped Szentgyorgyi and Heller executive produce for Warner Bros. TV where Heller is under an overall deal.