This pivotal year for the nation was on Greg Berlanti’s mind during an intimate screening of his period film “Fly Me to the Moon” that took place on the night of this week’s presidential debate.
Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum star in Apple Original Films’ romantic comedy feature from director Berlanti, which hits theaters on July 12, with Sony handling distribution. Set against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 moon launch during the Space Race of the late 1960s, “Fly Me to the Moon” centers on a NASA director (Tatum) and a marketing specialist (Johansson) who butt heads in the lead-up to the high-pressure moment.
Among the notable guests at the event held at the San Vicente Bungalows in West Hollywood were performers who had previously worked with Berlanti, including Cole Sprouse (Riverdale), Lucy Hale (Katy Keene), and Lukas Gage (You). Also in attendance were Nina Dobrev, Alex Edelman, Donald De Line, and Jim Rash, with the latter co-starring in “Fly Me to the Moon” as a filmmaker hired to help stage the moon landing as a fallback plan.
Berlanti, who helmed the movie from a script by Rose Gilroy, told The Hollywood Reporter at the event that “this moment in the country” was on his mind with the film being shown just as the tense face-off between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump was winding down. The director and prolific television producer said the film has led to viewers feeling nostalgic for a more unified nation.
“When I started to see that response from people from both sides, didn’t matter where we tested — in Denver or Texas or here — everybody was feeling that same thing,” Berlanti said. He likened the response to similarly fond feelings generated by his previous film, “Love, Simon”: “It was a little reminiscent to when I was doing ‘Love, Simon,’ and wherever we went, people were very nostalgic about their high school experience. It didn’t matter that it was a gay love story. It was very unifying.”
While introducing “Fly Me to the Moon” onstage, Berlanti thanked the teams at Apple and Sony for believing in a theatrical release for the film and encouraged attendees to help spread the word about the project. “This is an incredibly auspicious crowd, and we’re incredibly grateful for your time — and on debate night, no less,” he said.
This led event host Sara Foster to quip about the debate, “Nobody wants to watch that shit show.” During the reception that followed the screening, some guests could be overheard voicing concerns about how the debate unfolded.
Berlanti also told THR that the current proliferation of conspiracy theories was on his mind while making “Fly Me to the Moon,” given that the story involves the government encouraging NASA to film a fake version of the moon landing in case the real mission falls short.
“The fact that they’re so prevalent now — this was still a movie that was about why the truth is important, and that people will bring whatever they’re going to bring to it,” said Berlanti, who emphasized that the topic of trust in the government is still worth exploring, despite the fraught nature of our contemporary moment.
The filmmaker said that he aimed to make “a very entertaining movie [that] hopefully still has something to say about that. There’s a reason to look at that head-on and not shy away from doing something like that now because it’s so politicized.”
Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum find themselves in each other’s orbit in the first trailer for “Fly Me to the Moon.”
Apple Original Films’ romantic comedy feature from director Greg Berlanti hits theaters on July 14, with Sony handling distribution. Jim Rash, Ray Romano, and Woody Harrelson round out the cast for the film that takes place against the backdrop of the Apollo 11 moon launch in 1968.
“Fly Me to the Moon” focuses on Kelly Jones (Johansson), a marketing whiz tasked with improving NASA’s public image who ends up complicating the challenging task at hand for launch director Cole Davis (Tatum). In order to appease the White House, she is charged with staging a fake moon landing as a second option in case the mission fails.
“If you fake this mission, every single thing that we have sacrificed will have been for nothing,” Tatum warns Johansson in the trailer.
Berlanti helmed the movie from a script by Rose Gilroy, with Bill Kirstein and Keenan Flynn credited for the story. Producers are Johansson, Jonathan Lia, Keenan Flynn, and Sarah Schechter, while Robert J. Dohrmann serves as executive producer.
The Hollywood Reporter reported in 2022 that the film — previously titled “Project Artemis” and boasting a $100 million-plus budget — landed Berlanti as director after Jason Bateman left due to creative differences. Additionally, Tatum stepped in to star opposite Johansson after Chris Evans dropped out amid scheduling issues.
Johansson’s recent credits include last year’s Wes Anderson film “Asteroid City,” and she voices a role in Paramount’s forthcoming animated title “Transformers One.” The actress, whose drama “North Star” premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, is also known for playing Marvel’s Black Widow, which she most recently did in Disney’s eponymous 2021 feature.
Tatum showed off his fancy footwork in last year’s “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” after appearing in the 2022 movies “Dog” and “The Lost City.” He also has a role in the Zoë Kravitz-directed thriller “Blink Twice,” set for release this summer.
Berlanti is a prolific television producer whose small-screen projects have included “Arrow,” “The Flash,” and “Riverdale.” His most recent feature as a director was 2018’s “Love, Simon.”
Source: The Hollywood Reporter, Apple Original Films, Sony Pictures
