IBC
article here
Firing William Shatner into space was just the
curtain raiser to a new era of shooting stars in orbit, as the race for
extra-terrestrial entertainment takes off.
Gravity-defying science-fiction movies need no
longer be propelled by CGI as extraordinary space odysseys of filmed
entertainment take-off. Enterprising projects already announced for galactic
production range from a Tom Cruise blockbuster to a mixed martial arts reality
TV show.
Some media projects have been actively backed by
NASA while US tech entrepreneurs are eager to budget films that boost their
egos further into orbit.
There’s a wider commercial imperative too. The race
to land valuable contracts to build orbital space stations was kicked off when
NASA and Roscosmos declared the International Space Station will be
decommissioned in 2030 after three decades of service, leaving the path clear
for private enterprise.
Blue Origin’s description of its planned station
Orbital Reef as an “off-world mixed use business park” is a blueprint that most
ventures seem to follow.
Alongside film and TV productions, tourism, sports
and celebrity events in space are destined to drive revenue and publicity
within the next few years. Yet the first crop of shot in space projects are not
just designed as marketing vehicles, in spite of the significant challenges
that content creation in space brings with it.
“Of course, filming in space comes with its
challenges, from radiation exposure to microgravity, equipment malfunctions,
and space debris,” said John Lewis, VP & Managing Partner of Space 11 Corp
and the man behind Galactic Combat. “But with proper training and
qualified experts, these risks can be mitigated. However, the biggest obstacle
to filming in space is the cost. The transportation alone is more expensive
than any Marvel movie budget, making it a tough sell for studios.”
As space travel increases the cost of each launch
will diminish raising the prospect of shows shot in space becoming just as
regular as any shot terra firma. Next stop, the lunar surface.
“From someone who has been in the space business
for 30 years I’ve never seen this amount of activity and new blood,” said
Robert Feierbach, former SpaceX executive and Exec Producer of planned space
film Helios. “There are hundreds of companies growing the industry
from U$400 billion to north of a trillion dollars in the next ten years.”
Specifically, he points to the burgeoning economy
of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) systems “which have made it cheaper to access space.”
Casting ahead, he thinks shooting on the moon
eminently possible. “With the amount of companies and investment going in it is
absolutely feasible to think that in 20 years we’ll be on the moon. In fact,
multiple companies and nations will be too.”
Race for Space: Cruise boldly goes
Tom Cruise’s latest daredevil stunt was to ride a motorbike off a mountain in Norway and parachute Bond-style for Mission Impossible 7. He plans to top this by not just filming in space but making a spacewalk too. Details on the production were tantalising but scant when news first broke in 2020 and remain so. Director Doug Liman is reportedly still attached to the project along with studio Universal and the actor would ride to space in SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule.
It is being co-produced by UK-based Space
Entertainment Enterprise (SEE) which has separately announced plans to build and launch a movie production studio which
will connect with the ISS. It has tasked Houston-based Axiom Space to build it.
In a statement, SEE states that the SEE-1 module is “intended to host films,
television, music and sports events as well as artists, producers and creatives
who want to make content in the low orbit, microgravity environment. The
facilities will enable development, production, recording, broadcasting and
livestreaming of content.” The company says it will produce its own content and
events in the module and also make it available for hire.
December 2024 is the planned completion date for
SEE-1 which would later dock with Axiom Station, the commercial wing of the
ISS.
SEE has heavyweight media credentials - SEE’s chief
operating officer is ex-Endemol Shine UK CEO Richard Johnston, while Mark
Taffet, former SVP of sports and pay per view at HBO, and ex-Viacom technology
VP Remi Abayomi are also onboard.
“SEE-1 will provide a unique and accessible home
for boundless entertainment possibilities in a venue packed with innovative
infrastructure that will unleash a new world of creativity,” the statement
continued.
SEE-1 will provide “a supreme-quality space
structure enabling the expansion of the two trillion-dollar global
entertainment industry into low-Earth orbit.”
Unsurprisingly,
the cost of filming in space is astronomical. The Cruise movie was reportedly
budgeted around $200m. Estimates from 2018 put the cost per kilogram using
the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket at $2,720. Then there’s the cost of staying up
there, which can range anywhere from between $88,000 to $164,000 per
person per day.
Put another
way, just one seat on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon is thought to run around $55
million, according to The Verge, plus NASA charges additional fees for private
astronauts using the space station’s facilities while in orbit.
Race for Space: Helios
A rival feature underwritten by Amazon founder Jeff
Bezos’ company Blue Origin is being developed by US production company
Centerboro Productions. Blue Origin and Sierra Space are building the LEO space
station Orbital Reef which will be one of the stars of sci-fi thriller Helios,
according to Centerboro President Patricia Beninati.
“This will be the first film to show what living in
space will be like for real in 2030,” she told IBC365. “This is not CGI. This
is the real deal.”
The story is about a rescue mission to save
humanity when the world’s electricity is knocked out by solar flare – a
scenario that is very much in the realm of fact. “Think Gerard Butler of Geostorm crossed
with Jodie Foster of Contact – that’s the high-level pitch,”
she said.
Beninati said the film has the backing of NASA,
Space Florida and the US Space Force and that the film will feature their
logos, their hardware and their expertise. Astronauts including former ISS
commander Garrett Riesman have advised on the script as has Feierbach.
“We’re not just bringing them in to bring the
money,” she said. “The aim is total authenticity and to spread the word in the
STEM community that we are supporting space for all. That is our mission.”
Yet there is some smoke and mirrors here. The film,
which is in development, is destined for release long before 2030. Footage was
planned to be shot aboard a suborbital aircraft but when that company went bust
this idea also bit the dust. Consequently, Helios will be shot
in some real interiors (or mock-ups) of some genuine space-bound craft but not
in actual space. Ground based locations are planned in New Mexico.
“You will see some very heavy promotion of Helios around
Blue Origin launches,” Beninati promised. She also hinted at a first look deal
with Amazon but that no distribution for the project has been signed. You can’t
deny her enthusiasm though.
“The new gold rush is in space,” she declared.
“There is so much opportunity in space right now for everyone.”
Exec Producer Feierbach said: “[Centerboro] wanted
to get as many possible real space corporations into the film and have modified
the script accordingly so that they can show the brands in a proper way.”
For example, he said Helios’ original script just
featured the ISS but now includes Orbital Reef. “We have access to 2D and 3D
renders of the proposed space-bound vehicles from Blue Origin,” he added.
Orbital Reef itself is described as a “unique
destination” that will provide the essential infrastructure needed to scale
economic activity and open new markets in space, including tourism,
entertainment, research, and manufacturing.
Race for Space: MMA in Micro-G
Space 11 has perhaps the most outlandish plans. It
has announced plans to build a space station operational by 2028 specifically
to be used for film and TV. What’s more, it’s first project will be a reality
TV MMA contest.
Galactic Combat, led by former Big Brother (US) and Hell’s Kitchen showrunner Thomas Loureiro, will see 40 MMA fighters compete for eight berths on board a rocket shuttle orbiting Earth and the chance to fight in zero gravity.
This was supposed to take off this year but there’s
not been an update since early 2022 – until now.
“Galactic Combat is our first core
business venture and is so exciting that I wish I could spill all the beans
right now, but I can’t reveal too much information yet,” said John Lewis, VP
& Managing Partner of Space 11 Corp | MMA-Zero G | Space 11 Studios and a
former MMA champion. “You see, we have to protect our concept and abide by
third-party NDAs. But trust me when I say that eventually, everyone will be
talking about this around their kitchen table.”
Lewis is also a co-producer on Helios.
He believes there’s nothing quite like the thrill of real, tangible risk in
practical filmmaking.
“While it may be too early to say if there’s a
demand for actual film and television shot in orbit, there’s certainly
curiosity,” he said. “Imagine Tom Cruise tethered to a Starship doing a
spacewalk where one misstep could send him hurtling into the abyss. That’s the
kind of risk and excitement that can’t be replicated with a blue screen and CG
effects.”
Space 11 founder Andrea Lervolino is an Italian
producer with 75 credits to his name including Waiting for the
Barbarians (2019) starring Johnny Depp and Mark Rylance.
His space station S11S is intended to host an array
of entertainment content including music concerts, and includes a soundstage
available to rent. Houston-based aerospace company Nanoracks is commissioned to
build the station.
Lewis said: “Space 11 Corp has a unique business
model that could be the answer to the entertainment industry’s space filming
dreams. The S11S Spacestation/Soundstage would be a one-of-a-kind facility that
can be monetized in various ways, providing a controlled environment for
filming, hosting concerts, sporting events, and other entertainment-related
products.”
The real game-changer could be the development of
artificial gravity. “At the moment, the mystery of space is microgravity, which
is wonderful to watch but can be challenging to film in,” he said. “But once we
can create a more stable environment in space, it will become easier to film
movies and television shows with dimension.”
“As for using the moon as a shooting location or
studio, why not? Once a safe environment is created on the moon, it might be
easier to film there than on a rocket ship in orbit.
“Elon Musk is the man to keep an eye on. He is at
the forefront of all the exciting things happening in the space industry,
including his goals of making us a multi-planetary species. Who knows what
doors he will open in the years to come as he leads his company SpaceX into the
future?”
No comments:
Post a Comment