NASA and Hollywood Shoot for the Stars with Mars Rover Documentary ‘Good Night Oppy’

NASA missions and film productions have more in common than you might think, says scientist Steve Squires, principal investigator for the Mars Exploration Rover mission.

“There are a lot more good ideas for movies than movies that are actually made,” says Squires. the hollywood reporter. “And there are a lot more good ideas for space missions than missions that are actually chosen to fly.” There’s even more money at stake with space missions. The time it takes to make an item is comparable or maybe longer. And if you’re a failure, you’re a big failure.”

Squires has a unique perspective on the similarities between space exploration and the entertainment business, as his brother and daughter both work as film editors. But that perspective has recently deepened thanks to a new role played by the scientist: Squires is one of the main human characters. good night oopsAn Amazon Studios documentary that premiered at the Telluride Film Festival over Labor Day weekend.

The main character of the film is Opportunity, a robot sent on a 90-day mission to Mars in 2003, but which ended up surviving for 15 years, collecting images that helped to prove the previous presence of water on the planet and aroused international interest. in space exploration. good night oops, which Amazon will release in theaters on November 4 and on Prime Video on November 23, was one of the most enjoyable experiences in Telluride this year, between intense and divisive films. Directed by Ryan White (Ask Dr. Ruth, Case 8 vs.), the documentary is based on a combination of archival footage from scientists and engineers from NASA’s ground mission, footage taken by Opportunity and its sister Mars rover Spirit, and photorealistic CGI of Mars created by Industrial Light & Magic. .

good night oops Brought together thanks to the alignment of views from NASA and Hollywood. The federal agency doesn’t put cameras on every mission, but NASA has identified Mars rovers as a unique opportunity to reach the public, Squires said in an interview. THR in Telluride, with White. “NASA does a lot of complicated things in space, and a lot of them are really hard to understand,” he says. “They are robots. They look at the rocks. It is not so difficult. So this mission gave NASA a unique opportunity to tell a story about a fundamentally scientific mission that everyone can relate to.

A year after the mission, producers at Film 45, Peter Berg’s company, identified a possible Oppy documentary that could have widespread, rare appeal across generations, and partnered with Steven Spielberg’s company Amblin. A familiar story of fear and discovery was right behind the director’s back wheel. eastern time s Jurassic ParkAnd Spielberg’s name helped open the door for NASA and gave producers access to thousands of hours of archival footage from the mission. “People have been trying to create the Spirit and Opportunity document for years, and NASA is very protective of their archive,” says White. “I’m sure it was Spielberg’s name that convinced them.”

In March 2020, Brandon Carroll of Film 45 caught up with White and his producing partner Jessica Hargrave for dinner and to discuss the project; Film 45 produced the duo’s documentary series on Netflix. goalkeepers And his documentary and EPIX company, Serena Williams, relied on White’s storytelling instincts. “I’ve done a lot of space movies, but I like character-based movies,” says White. “But the magazine line is very good, isn’t it? Robots that are supposed to live 90 days and live 15 years are a big hook. “

As it relied heavily on stock footage and visual effects, good night oops The ideal pandemic project is over. And NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where the mission was based and where many contemporary interviews took place, is just a 10-minute drive from White’s home in the town of Atwater.

The ILM artists, responsible for the film’s hundreds of takes, consulted with NASA to verify accuracy, and the agency had to approve every photo that appeared. “As a documentary filmmaker, when you cut your film and turn it over to a government agency and expect them to say, ‘Delete this,’ it’s terrifying,” says White. “I was afraid they would try to do some sort of creative oversight, but the only thing they told us to remove was sensitive material on computer screens.”

White recruited Angela Bassett to narrate the footage and featured the mission team’s use of morning music to help drive the story. White says it was surprisingly easy to get the rights to these songs from artists like The Beatles, ABBA and Billie Holiday. “I expected people to reject me, ILM or Angela Bassett or this musical group,” says White. “And they kept saying yes. I really think it was the story itself that convinced them. “

In November 2020, the filmmakers reached out to potential distributors with an approximately 17-minute pitch, which White describes as “a healthy presentation, particularly in PowerPoint.” Still, the timing was right for Opie’s gripping story. “We were filming at the height of COVID, but also during the election,” says White. “There was a pleasant political climate. My rant was, this is a story about the best of humanity. It’s apolitical, it’s heartbreaking. It’s just a rare documentary that has that tone.” All the major distributors were interested, but Amazon Studios director Jennifer Salke called White and said it was a four-square film that deserved a theatrical release and extensive marketing. .

The spread started in Telluride, where word spread among festival-goers that there was at least one movie this year that would make you cry. Amazon requested good night oops Shown only at night to allow audiences to exit the theater into the dark, star-studded night sky of the Rocky Mountains, and the studio participated in the festival’s City Lights program, which secretly screens films for local high school and high school students. . before the party.

For Squyres, who is now chief scientist at Blue Origin, the Seattle-based aerospace maker founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the film is also a way to show American taxpayers what their money is buying in the US. “She wanted to share this experience with as many people as possible who would pay for her and her children,” says Squires. “It is a great privilege to have taxpayers paying for the adventure of a lifetime. They deserve to know everything they got for their billions of dollars in a very accessible way. ”