posted 06-05-2019 09:23 AM               

Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos.

In Theaters September 20. Directed by: James Gray. Cast: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler and Donald Sutherland.

posted 06-05-2019 05:16 PM               

Excited to see the trailer for "Ad Astra" drop today! I did a little work on this film providing some technical advice. Best part was getting to know director James Gray and teaching Brad Pitt how to fly a spaceship!

posted 08-21-2019 04:42 PM               

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Originally posted by JohnSpaceUK:
I cannot make up my mind if I love it or hate it from that trailer.

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posted 09-12-2019 12:05 AM               

Fans who see it in IMAX at AMC theatres opening weekend starting September 19th will get a free, movie themed collectible pin. Available while supplies last and only at participating theatres.

Fans who see it in IMAX at Regal Theatres in the US and at Cineplex Theatres in Canada starting September 19th will receive an exclusive collectible patch. Available while supplies last and only at participating theatres.

Fans who see at other select IMAX theatres in the US on opening night, September 19th will receive an exclusive print.

posted 09-15-2019 12:56 PM               

Brad Pitt to Speak with NASA Astronaut on Space Station about Artemis Program

As NASA prepares to send the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024 under the Artemis program, Brad Pitt is playing an astronaut in his latest film. Now the actor will have the opportunity to discuss what it's truly like to live and work in space with a NASA crew member living aboard the International Space Station.

Pitt's Earth-to-space call will air live at 11:35 a.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 16 on NASA Television and the agency's website.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague will answer questions from the actor. For nearly 20 years, astronauts have continuously lived and work on the International Space Station, testing technologies, performing science and developing the skills needed to explore farther from Earth.

In Ad Astra, which Hague and his Expedition 60 crewmates recently watched during their downtime aboard the orbiting laboratory, Pitt travels across the solar system, including to the Moon and Mars. Without providing spoilers, the parallels between the movie and the current state of human spaceflight stop there, making the film more science fiction than reality. However, the agency did provide visuals for the film and some technical expertise.

"We reviewed a script of Ad Astra early in production," said Bert Ulrich, the agency's liaison for film and TV collaborations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Although there was no NASA storyline, we provided some of the exciting images and footage for the film especially of the Moon and Mars. Sci-fi films like Ad Astra, the Martian, Interstellar, and Gravity take movie audiences out of this world incorporating some of NASA's most inspirational photography and footage."

Inspiring the next generation of explorers – the Artemis Generation – ensures America will continue to lead in space exploration and discovery. Additional information about working with the agency on a feature or fictional film is available online under the Media Usage Guidelines.

The agency is planning to return astronauts to the Moon in the next five years with commercial and international partners. First, NASA will send a suite of new science instruments and technology demonstrations to the Moon on commercial landers.

Following the 2024 crew landing, NASA will send astronauts to the Moon about once per year thereafter and establish sustainable lunar exploration by 2028. After gaining experience at the Moon testing new systems, such as NASA's Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, Gateway, and human landers, NASA will take humanity's next giant leap, sending astronauts to Mars.

posted 09-16-2019 03:38 PM               

Join us for a special evening with Brad Pitt as he discusses his new film Ad Astra. He will be joined by writer and director James Gray as well as NASA officials, Dr. Sarah Noble and Lindsay Aitchison.

Ad Astra is a science fiction, adventure film that was created with the intention of presenting "the most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie" to date. The filmmakers worked with experts to fully capture and convey the dynamism and power of the astronaut experience in outer space. The conversation will be moderated by Washington Post Film Critic Ann Hornaday.

posted 09-20-2019 10:03 AM               

"In my view, it sets a new standard for science fiction films, updating for all to see on the big screen some of the most fantastic imagery we have obtained of our solar system since films like '2001: A Space Odyssey' were released over 50 years ago," said Robert Yowell, who served as an engineer at NASA for 11 years and as a senior mission manager for SpaceX.

...Yowell explained what it was like to be a consultant on the film.

"I was overwhelmed by the sheer atmosphere of teamwork, dedication and pride of the hundreds of people it took to make this magnificent film. From the carpenters who assembled the sets, to the artists, prop masters, costume designers, cinematographers, lighting specialists, and of course the actors and director, this team reminded me greatly of the period in my career when I was part of the team to prepare and then operate an actual space shuttle mission," Yowell told Fox News.

posted 09-20-2019 10:53 AM               

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Originally posted by Ted:
Not too bad a film. Bit heavy on the philosophizing. Some great imagery. It's worth a look.

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posted 09-21-2019 09:09 AM            

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Originally posted by cspg:
I stopped going to the movies 20 years ago for that particular reason: no intelligent and thought-provoking script.

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posted 09-21-2019 08:04 PM               

If you've always wanted to see "Apocalypse Now...IN SPACE," here's your movie.

posted 09-22-2019 08:41 PM            

Fans who see it in IMAX at Regal Theatres in the US and at Cineplex Theatres in Canada starting September 19th will receive an exclusive collectible patch.

posted 09-23-2019 01:00 AM               

'Ad Astra' per historia: Real space history in new Brad Pitt movie

In an early scene in "Ad Astra," the new space epic starring Brad Pitt, the camera pans by a small snow globe with an Apollo astronaut inside.

"I always wanted to be an astronaut, for the future of mankind and all," Pitt, as Roy McBride, says, reflecting on his past. The snow globe, an apparent souvenir of McBride's childhood, also serves as one of several nods to real space exploration in the film, which director James Gray said was less sci-fi as "science-future-fact."

posted 09-23-2019 11:07 AM               

The nuts and bolts of me proved distracting. The opening sequence of an antenna array anchored on the ground that went into space was a little confusing to me, tears going down a face in zero gravity, "Space Force" uniforms that were simply pre-9/11 Army class A uniforms with almost NO insignia of any kind (something that really made no sense to me), people with ranks that did not fit the ages of the actors whatsoever and a animal research space craft nowhere near Earth orbit?

Yeah, this is a mash-up of "2001" and "Apocalypse Now," taking the more confusing elements of each.

I've described this to some friends as one of those movies that could easily be half an hour shorter than it is without the audience missing anything. Also, that by the end, you are sort of left wondering what the overall purpose of the plot really was. I've also followed with three key words: Wait For Video.

posted 09-25-2019 12:13 PM               

But after that, I just felt most everything else was "lost in space."

Of course, though, I know it's a Sci-fi picture, but when Pitt tried to enter the rocketship before launching from Mars to Neptune along with his later EVA-spacewalk after losing his father in deep space, I was done with it.

While there were some great set designs of spacecraft interiors, spacesuits used, lunar/planetary station concepts, and so on . . . I was very much disappointed with the overall story plot and how the film portrayed the father-son relationship.

And how about that enormous space station from the Earth's surface going way up in space? I know it's only a science fiction theme, but what!!!! As someone just pointed out, I did see a number of technical glitches with astronauts in a real space environment.

My wife, whose a big fan of Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones (and that's why she saw the film), hated the movie and does anyone else feel the same as I do about it, or, what am I missing here?

posted 09-26-2019 04:02 PM               

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Originally posted by Moonbase Alphan:
Here is the patch given out...

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