Summary
Fly Me To The Moonis set during the heart of the 1960s Space Race as the United States and the Soviet Union attempt to be the first to the moon. As public support for NASA wanes, the funding is in jeopardy, which spurs NASA to bring in Kelly, a markets specialist, to fix NASA’s public image. One of the plans to safeguard NASA’s image is to film a fake moon landing as a backup in case the mission runs into any more trouble, much to the chagrin of the scientists who have dedicated their lives to this mission.
Fly Me To The Moonis a historical fictionexamining what it could have looked like if one of the most popular conspiracy theories, the moon landing being fake, were actually true.Fly Me To The Moonis full of heart, comedy, andcharm with Scarlett Johanssonand Channing Tatum leading a star-studded cast with their performances. Greg Berlanti, one of the most prolific television writers and producers, helmed this project as the director from a script written by Rose Gilroy based on a story by Keenan Flynn and Bill Kirstein, with Johansson also serving as a producer.
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 stars Scarlett Johansson andChanning Tatumabout their new movie,Fly Me To The Moon. Johansson explained what drew her to the character of Kelly and the relationship between Kelly and Harrelson’s Moe. Tatum broke down why his character, Cole, and Kelly butt heads in the movie and revealed how Harrelson keeps every take fresh while filming.
Scarlett Johansson Describes Her Character As “A Big Thinker” And A “Fully Realized Woman”
Johannson shared insight into her character Kelly who is brought in to help sell the American public and government on why investing in the moon landing is a good idea. Similar to how John F. Kennedy publicly supported the space race she approached it from a marketing mindset, causing tension with the scientists who dedicated their lives to this goal like Tatum’s Cole.
Scarlett Johansson: I play a character who is a big thinker. She sees the bigger picture. I think a lot of people that are in brand development and marketing and creatives in that world, they really see, they’re very forward thinking and they kind of see what audiences or what the public wants, the consumer wants before they know they want it. So she, I think, she’s a survivor.
She believes in herself and her ability, she knows she’s incredibly good at her job, and I liked all of those qualities about her. She’s a really fully realized woman. She’s in herself and she’s a sum of all her parts. She knows when she’s done something wrong and she’ll admit her faults and her flaws, and I really like that about her. She has a lot of integrity even though she’s accused of having no integrity by this guy [points at Channing].
Screen Rant: She’s a good person at heart. She’s a good person at heart.
Channing Tatum: I mean integrity? I don’t know, but whatever. She’s a good person at heart. Yeah.
Scarlett Johansson: He’s like, “You big fat liar!” [Both laugh]
Tatum explained how Kelly and Cole are very similar even though Cole refuses to see it because of his steadfast dedication to this project. He explained why it is mindboggling to Cole that people wouldn’t want to dedicate money and time to this project in the same way he has dedicated his life.
Channing Tatum: I think they’re very much alike, but go at it from two [completely] different angles. Cole is a very much get it done, however you possibly can get it done. She is as well, but she’s willing to go around and I’m just like, “No, we’re going to just go straight line and we’re going to march it down the field any way possible.” I think that Cole has a lot going on emotionally. I think there’s a lot of, I would say, maybe guilt that’s driving him.
On top of that, it’s almost astonishing to him because he’s so bought in to what this means that America wouldn’t want this, that the government doesn’t to give him the money, that they want to go to the moon, but they don’t want to do what it takes to get there. I think it’s preposterous for him and it’s almost offensive in a way. I think that anybody that believes in what they’re doing that much, it would be.
I think where she comes in and she’s just like, “Yes, you are right, so let’s just go get it.” And I’m like, “No, they should just give it to us because we’re doing all the hard work.” And she’s like, “That’s not how this works. Look, you’re not ever going to be able to do this without me.” And I fight it, fight it, and then I eventually come to see that she is completely right. I never would’ve been able to do it without her.
Fly Me To The Moon Think Woody Harrelson “Feels Really Cheeky”
Johansson also explained the interesting relationship between Kelly and Harrelson’s character Moe, including the similarities in how they approach achieving a goal. She and Tatum also shared how Harrelson brings something extra to the role beyond what is in the script, with every take feeling fresh and new.
Scarlett Johansson: I cannot imagine Woody actually taking on a role and then just doing right what was on the page. He just doesn’t.
Channing Tatum: He’s done it for too long to do that.
Scarlett Johansson: He’s so loose and it’s just like every take you don’t know what it is. He has such a deep inner life happening.
Channing Tatum: He feels really cheeky to me as he is acting. I’m always just in between takes I see him kind of over there and he is sort of like, I don’t know whether he’s thinking about something. And then sometimes he’ll just be in the middle of the scene and just take a left. And then you’re like, Whoa, all right, we’re going this way, I guess. He just really does, he likes to mess with you in the scene. I think that’s the way he makes it interesting for even himself.
Scarlett Johansson: It’s so alive. I think he also surprises himself too. He’s just very instinctive, which is so fun to work with as an actor because it’s playful and exciting. I think Kelly and Moe have a unique relationship because they understand one another. I mean, they’re different people, but they are, I think, they’re used to [not] playing by the rules. They have a goal, they’re very motivated and they’ll kind of do, I think, whatever it takes to get there.
He’s obviously on a different level because he’s working in a job that requires him to be playing with terrorists and stuff like that. But she has her whatever her version of that is. I think she is different things to different people and kind of whatever they need her to be. I’m sure as an agent, he probably has to do the same thing.
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.
