Stanley Kubrick and a Fake Moon

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​ Good morning: In today's edition of The Industry, we look at:​

Kubrick's moon odyssey, Bridget Jones is back, Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix, Cannes' stars, A24's serial killer, and a poet.

​ Let’s go!

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KUBRICK AND THE MOON LANDING (IN HONOR OF THE ECLIPSE)

Operation Avalanche. Lionsgate.

Stanley Kubrick was accused of faking the moon landing.

After directing the hyper-realistic space sequences in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), it was speculated that Kubrick was the perfect director to stage the 1969 landing.

That rumor seems to be the impetus for Apple TV+’s new film Fly Me To The Moon, starring Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson) wreaks havoc on launch director Cole Davis's (Tatum) already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, Jones is directed to stage a fake moon landing as backup.

Fly Me To The Moon comes from a long line of films that center on faking a celestial landing:

• ​Capricorn One​ (1977)

  • Starring: Elliott Gould (The Long Goodbye, Ocean’s Eleven)

  • Mission: Fake the Mars landing

• ​Moonwalkers​ (2015)

  • Starring: Ron Perlman, Rupert Grint

  • Mission: Fake the Moon landing

• ​Operation Avalanche​ (2016)

  • Starring: Stanley Kubrick (some great VFX work)

  • Mission: Fake the Moon landing

  • Played at Sundance and SXSW

These films have a beautifully heightened absurdity that uses conspiracy as a narrative driver. The weight of the character’s unlawful actions culminates in dramatic shootout sequences in each movie.

What is so enjoyable in Apple’s Fly Me To The Moon is that tonally it feels much lighter.

In one moment in the trailer, Johansson re-casts all the NASA bigwigs so they can be more fun in TV interviews.

Ironically, rebranding was also essential to market Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey.

When the film was deemed too confusing for audiences, a reviewer caused a tidal wave of excitement when they suggested seeing it high. Something Kubrick, of course, had ​complete control over​.

Apple’s Fly Me To The Moon will be in theaters in July.

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