“First Man” (2018)—Neil Armstrong story - from “La La Land” director

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Monosterio, Aug 13, 2018.

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  1. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    Do you have a vested interest in this movie failing? Are you the head of a rival studio? A director with a movie opening the same weekend? Or just a contrarian who likes to zap the joy out of other people's lives?

    Besides, you didn't say you hoped it would "fail" (which would at least make a little more sense in regards to your defense). You said you hoped it would "suck." Sucky movies can still be successful (I'd imagine you'd argue that La La Land falls into that category), and good movies can still fail. What you were saying is that you want it to be a bad movie. You want audiences to spend their money, and walk out of the theater disappointed.
     
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  2. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Looks like they're covering a lot of the Apollo story (including the Grissom tragedy). I'm all in for this one, but when I first saw the title I was kinda hoping it was about Alan Shepard :agree:
     
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  3. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    It's baffling to me as well. Every time I hear about in upcoming film, I always hope for the best. Even the most talentless hack can turn out a really great film if everything comes together.
     
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  4. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Two words: Yuri Gagarin.
     
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  5. dprokopy

    dprokopy Senior Member

    Location:
    Near Seattle, WA
    I don't think you can make a moon-landing movie without covering the Apollo 1 disaster. It's basically what sets up the whole dramatic premise that manned space flight is inherently incredibly dangerous.
     
  6. pdenny

    pdenny 22-Year SHTV Participation Trophy Recipient

    Location:
    Hawthorne CA
    Here ya go.

     
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  7. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    Agree. I suspect that they view that event from Armstrong's POV as part of the larger story, but I don't think the movie will take the "Right Stuff" route and attempt to offer a broad picture of the Apollo program...
     
  8. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US

    I’m amazed how many movies they’ve been able to milk out of this stuff which is completely foreign to most of the living population. Except us old fogies.
     
  9. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    No kidding. I have heard that should this Neil Armstrong biopic do well at the theater, they will do a prequel involving Neil Armstrong's third cousin, who allegedly shot a bottle rocket at young Neil and spurred the latter's interest in riding a space rocket into outer space. :eek:
     
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  10. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    The Right Stuff, Apollo 13 and the HBO series From the Earth to the Moon. Those the only ones I can think of right off the bat. This was, in my opinion, Mankind's greatest achievement, and it's nothing short of shocking that there hasn't been a movie about it until now.

    You're welcome to be cynical about anything you want to be cynical about... as long as you also walked on the moon.
     
  11. Monosterio

    Monosterio Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    South Florida
    After reading some of the Rotten Tomatoes reviews, I’m not all that excited to see the movie now. I’ll likely still check it out, though...
     
  12. jtiner

    jtiner Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maine
    From what I can see in the trailers, it looks like much of the film is shot in "shaky cam". I love the subject matter, but I really, really have trouble watching anything shot in shaky cam.
     
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  13. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I was born in 52 so I grew up with the space program and watched every Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo launch on the tube. My dad had been a pilot in WW II and flew after the war so I loved all things aviation. In the early eighties I worked with Neil's nephew. I had saved the front page of the Denver Post the day of the moon landing so I asked Jay Armstrong if he thought his uncle would sign it. Jay took it and said he'd send it to his dad, Neil's brother and we'd go from there. Neil was reclusive and really had no interest in fame. A few months later I got my front page back signed and framed. Still a prized possession. Love the series From The Earth To The Moon. I think it captures the determination, dedication, and American spirit of the Apollo program. I've read this movie leaves out the flag on the moon because they wanted to make the landing a world event. I couldn't disagree more with that but I'll still see the movie.
     
  14. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    Neil's son responds

    Neil Armstrong's Sons Fire Back: 'First Man' Isn't "Anti-American"

    The astronaut's family notes that, yes, in the Universal film, "there are numerous shots of the American flag on the moon."
    Sparked by Ryan Gosling's comments at a Venice Film Festival press conference, and fueled by a critical tweet from Sen. Marco Rubio, a narrative emerged that awards hopeful space drama First Manwas minimizing the uniquely American achievement of astronaut Neil Armstrong. More specifically, there was some concern that the Universal film depicting NASA's Apollo 11 mission didn't properly depict the American flag planted on the Moon in 1969.

    This is not so, according to Neil Armstrong's sons, who are speaking out to note that "there are numerous shots of the American flag on the moon" in First Man and that "the filmmakers chose to focus on Neil looking back at the earth, his walk to Little West Crater, his unique, personal experience of completing this journey, a journey that has seen so many incredible highs and devastating lows."

    At a Venice press conference on Aug. 29, the film's star, Ryan Gosling, said he believed Armstrong's moonwalk "was widely regarded not as an American, but as a human achievement." The comments spread on social media and were amplified by critics who viewed them as insufficiently patriotic. Gosling also said at the press conference, "I don't think Neil viewed himself as an American hero, quite the opposite."
     
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  15. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    If anyone is interested in the Apollo 11 mission and the space program I highly recommend Michael Collins book Carrying The Fire.
     
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  16. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    Seconded. Collins is so different from the taciturn Armstrong, and a great storyteller.
     
    ssmith3046 likes this.
  17. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

  18. Success is good because there are more jobs and more films that are approved. There are those who root for things to fail though because of rivalries, etc. When we were doing test screenings for Supergirl, other folks I knew who really really disliked the Salkinds hoped it would fail simply for that reason.
     
  19. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    My favorite space program book I have read was Riding Rockets: The Outrageous Tales of a Space Shuttle Astronaut by Mike Mullane. In the introduction, he's talking about being interviewed by a NASA shrink:

    His next question was an obvious attempt to have me judge myself, "Tell me, Mike, if you died right now, what epitaph would your family put on your head stone?" Boy, this was going to be easy, I thought. After faking some serious deliberation, I replied "I think would read 'A loving husband and devoted father'." I was sure I had scored some points. Could there have been a better answer to convey the message that my family came first, that I had my priorities right" In reality I would have sold my wife and children into slavery for a ride into space. I thought it best not to mention that fact.
     
  20. Deuce66

    Deuce66 Senior Member

    Location:
    Canada
    I watched Hidden Figures again last night, great movie based on the early days of the space program and the unsung heroes behind the scene who crunched the numbers to make it a reality.
     
  21. Splungeworthy

    Splungeworthy Forum Rezidentura

    So I'm a big fan of La La Land, and have been looking forward to this for some time. I'm generally a fan of space movies anyway.
     
  22. I want to see this film, but the lead actor really, really takes me out of it.

    In The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, and From Earth to the Moon, so many of the actors at least resembled the real folks. Not so with this film. It's like giving Billy Gibbons the role of Abraham Lincoln simply because he wears a beard.
     
    Last edited: Oct 2, 2018
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  23. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Reviews look good on RT.

    I'll see it. But GRAVITY kicked ass.
     
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  24. Knox Harrington

    Knox Harrington Forum Resident

    "Piss and vinegar . . . and balls" That about sums it up.
     
  25. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    I prefer Ryan Gosling in movies like Drive, The Place Beyond the Pines, and Bladerunner. The only guy I want to see riding a rocket is Slim Pickens -- he did it with style.
     
    Knox Harrington likes this.
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