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posted by Fnord666 on Thursday May 07 2020, @09:06AM   Printer-friendly
from the i'm-ready-for-my-closeup dept.

Last year NASA said it would allow two private astronaut missions a year. Now NASA apparently said it is working with Tom Cruise about filming a movie on the ISS.

Unless they want to go for that Blair Witch cinematography effect, given the limited volume to move around in the ISS — and the need for a small film crew — I wonder if this would be a case where you'd actually prefer a green screen instead.


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  • (Score: 2) by corey on Thursday May 07 2020, @10:33AM (11 children)

    by corey (2202) on Thursday May 07 2020, @10:33AM (#991268)

    Didn't read the article but wondering what the impetus is to film in the ISS. It's a lot cheaper to film in an aircraft simulating 0G, like they did for Apollo 13.

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  • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 07 2020, @12:27PM (4 children)

    by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday May 07 2020, @12:27PM (#991285)

    Promotional value. I imagine they'd film token footage onboard the actual ISS, promote the hell out of that, and do the bulk of the work on soundstages constructed dirt-side.

    Space Center Houston has an "actual" shuttle cockpit that you can walk through - it's a really tight cramped space even if you manage to get in there by yourself. The next thing you realize is that: for tourist purposes, they have expanded the cockpit space about 3 feet larger than it was built - it would be a real claustrophobia trigger (and completely impractical to "walk through") in its original size.

    Now, as for filming, modern imaging sensors can capture 120fps in higher than IMAX resolution from a unit smaller than your fist. They could place a couple of dozen cameras around in the corners of the ISS and just "roll film" in all of them continuously, edit it later. Cruise could set the cameras up himself.

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    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:16PM (2 children)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:16PM (#991304) Journal

      It's too bad there are no giant inflatable modules at the ISS. Those could make filming a lot easier, and could be combined with green screens.

      Box office will have to overcome the price of getting Cruise and a couple crew members up there.

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      • (Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:27PM (1 child)

        by JoeMerchant (3937) on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:27PM (#991307)

        Sheeple are remarkably predictable, if you make a movie with stars X and Y in genre Z (and handle the promotion/timing well) the box office returns are equally predictable.

        I'm guessing the reason Cruise is cast for this role is because his personal fee is lower than Hanks' - Hanks would draw bigger box office, but he gets more for himself which might make the combined cost of Hanks + putting Hanks on the ISS too high/risky for the producers. Now, if we had a decent real-life hero overcomes adversity story from the ISS, that might boost Hanks into the top choice.

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        • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @02:11PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @02:11PM (#991325)

          Counterpoint: Tom Cruise does his own stunts, if they sent Tom Hanks to the ISS they may also have to send a body double.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @10:49PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @10:49PM (#991480)

      Now, as for filming, modern imaging sensors can capture 120fps in higher than IMAX resolution from a unit smaller than your fist

      Citation? You might be right about the *sensor*, but I'm incredulous if this includes the recording mechanism (not to mention the lens).

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:00PM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:00PM (#991296)

    Didn't read the article but wondering what the impetus is to film in the ISS.

    1. it will be a crappy movie, like all Tom Cruise's movies - no surprise there - but a crappy movie filmed on ISS
    2. it's a way to restrain Tom Cruise compulsive couch jumping. More expensive than a straight-jacket though

    • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:13PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @01:13PM (#991303)

      But I do like his movies and it appears so do most other people
      https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/tom_cruise [rottentomatoes.com]

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @05:12PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 07 2020, @05:12PM (#991392)

        It can be difficult at times to separate the artist from the work.

        Most actors these days I can't watch anymore, because of their various activism. This includes activism that I actually agree with. Case in point: Woody Harrelson, known for years for his marijuana activism. I don't disagree with that, but whenever I go to a movie and he shows up on the screen, I don't see the character he's playing, I see Woody Harrelson, marijuana activist. Takes me right out of the movie. (I didn't know he was in the recent Midway movie, so I ended up watching a marijuana activist pretending to fight WWII on a soundstage... it really rips me right out of any suspension of disbelief.)

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2020, @01:11AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 08 2020, @01:11AM (#991506)

          It can be difficult at times to separate the artist from the work.

          In the case of Cruise, no.

          I first saw him in Legend, I thought 'something creepy about this wee bugger', to this day, I've never watched the whole thing.
          Then there was Top Gun, which I have not managed to watch anything of other than bits of the F-14 flight sequences..again, thanks to thee presence of the 'creepy little fucker'.

          So, in my case, the dislike started way before I found out he was a sciloon, that was just icing on the cake.

          Mind you, he might have problems separating the two, especially in the case of his later films. I don't know if you've noticed, but no matter what the subject of the film is, he's always attempting to promulgate Co$ propaganda in a less than subtle manner, in all his films he plays whatever his character in the film is as some sort of OT VIII Übermensch beloved of sciloon lore, you know, the blessed state of being that a lot of people spend very large amounts of money with those momsers attempting to become, but which doesn't really exist, but hey, there's short-arse Cruise up on the big screen, being all OT VII½ like, acting as a poster boy for their scheiße..and before you protest 'but that's just the movies...' remember, there are people who literally buy into the cult and it's nonsense creed..their grip on what passes for reality is already somewhat suspect.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Thursday May 07 2020, @08:03PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Thursday May 07 2020, @08:03PM (#991437) Journal

      it's a way to restrain Tom Cruise compulsive couch jumping.

      Cruise control?

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  • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Thursday May 07 2020, @05:41PM

    by captain normal (2205) on Thursday May 07 2020, @05:41PM (#991406)

    Too many "E-meter" readings have over cooked his brain.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-meter [wikipedia.org]

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