James Gray's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, including earning an Oscar for Best Performance by an Actor in a ing Role, many critics were just as impressed with his leading turn in the solemn space drama.
Pitt stars as Roy McBride, a lifelong astronaut living in the shadow of his ultra-famous father, Cliff McBride (Tommy Lee Jones). When Roy gets a chance to find the long-lost Cliff on Neptune, his journey leads to a startling discovery about his father that shakes him to his very core. For more, here are 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About the Making of Ad Astra.
Title Meaning
For those unversed in Latin, the title Ad Astra literally translates as "To the Stars" in the classical language. The idiom is taken from a longer phrase, "Per Ardua Ad Astra," which translates as "Through adversity to the stars."
The phrase is not only the official motto of The Royal Air Force (RAF), but the title of the film also explains exactly what tormented astronaut Roy McBride endures throughout the story. He faces several obstacles en route to finding his long-thought dead father, Cliff McBride.
Pitt/Gray History
Ad Astra marks the first official collaboration between director James Gray and superstar Brad Pitt. However, they were slated to make two prior movies together before both projects fell apart.
Pitt and Gray were in deep talks to collaborate on a project called The Lost City of Z, but Pitt was forced to drop out due to a scheduling snag.
Production Slate
Ad Astra went into production with a budget of $80 million, a modest price-tag for a sprawling space saga. The entire film was shot in Santa Clarita, California over the course of 60 production days.
When initial testing screenings went poorly, director James Gray was forced to conduct reshoots. An additional $20 million went into the reshot footage, swelling the overall budget to roughly $100 million. Brad Pitt was unavailable for the reshoots, so Gray had to cut around him and use a stunt double on occasion.
Opening Soundscape
As a way of subliminally implanting the theme of the movie into the audiences' mind, Gray used a trippy piece of sound at the beginning of the movie.
According to an interview that Gray gave to NPR's Morning Edition, the bizarre soundscape heard in a continuous loop during the opening montage is actually Tommy Lee Jones voicing the phrase "I love you, my son." The speech is sped up and slightly tweaked, created a very strange ultrasonic sound that sets the tone of the entire film.
Virgin Atlantic Involvement
When Roy McBride reaches the Moon to transfer spacecraft and head to Mars, a slew of commercial brands can be seen in the terminal. McBride even hitches a ride on a Virgin Atlantic moon shuttle.
A couple of years prior to film the Ad Astra production team ed Richard Branson's reps and asked if they could use his brand's likeness in the film. After careful inspection of the screenplay, the Virgin group expresses their desire to be a part of the film and allowed the Virgin Atlantic shuttle was incorporated into the script.
Natasha Lyonne Cameo
Russian Doll star Natasha Lyonne has the briefest of cameos in Ad Astra as a secretary on Mars. According to director James Gray, Lyonne lives in the same apartment building as he does and invited herself to dinner while the film was still in pre-production.
At the dinner, Gray explained what project he was working on and Lyonne expressed immediate interest. When she insisted on being in the film, Gray offered her the small cameo role.
Space Cowboys Connection
Ad Astra stars Tommy Lee Jones and Donald Sutherland both played central roles in the 2000 Clint Eastwood movie Space Cowboys. But that's far from the only connection between the two films.
At roughly 19 minutes 25 seconds into the film, Lee Jones can be seen wearing the exact same space suit as he did in Space Cowboys two decades earlier. The only alteration is the two distinct patches that have been added digitally to properly reflect the Space Comm suit-design in Ad Astra.
Compromised Conclusion
Despite Gray's track record and the star-wattage of Brad Pitt, the director told Empire Magazine that he had to compromise with the studio regarding the ending of Ad Astra.
Gray tried to get the movie made for years, but it was only green-lit once he agreed to change the conclusion of the story to end on more of an upbeat note. Gray wrote the first draft of Ad Astra in 2011, but couldn't find a studio willing to make it with his original ending intact. Eight years later the film was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
Wow! Signal
A cool easter-egg was laid in plain sight by Gray that is sure to tickle every aeronautical enthusiast. When McBride receives a top-secret message from Colonel Pruitt (Sutherland), the file name is labeled as 6EQUJ5.
The code is the exact same sequence of digits used for the infamous "Wow!" Signal recorded via radio from a satellite facing the constellation Sagittarius in 1977. The inexplicable signal came from an unknown source that was never transmitted again. The Wow! Signal is widely believed to be derived from an intelligent alien lifeform.
Brad Pitt's Solitary Tear
The emotional journey that Roy McBride endures throughout the movie culminates with a solitary tear shed over the time spent in outer-space. The tear was not scripted but came spontaneously from Brad Pitt.
Due to the zero-gravity environment, Pitt urged Gray to digitally alter the tear so that it floats off of his cheek much like Sandra Bullock in Gravity. Gray refused Pitt's suggestion, claiming that Pitt's acting in the scene was far too strong to change it.
