Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

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domino harvey
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Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#1 Post by domino harvey » Fri Jun 16, 2017 12:02 am

James Gray's next film, a sci-fi flick starring Brad Pitt, starts filming next month

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Ribs
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#2 Post by Ribs » Fri Jun 23, 2017 4:31 pm

Tommy Lee Jones has joined as co-lead, and here's a synopsis from Deadline:
In Ad Astra (which means “to the stars” in Latin), Pitt would play the slightly autistic space engineer Roy McBride. Twenty years after his father left on a one-way mission to Neptune in order to find signs of extra-terrestrial intelligence, McBride travels through the solar system to find him and understand why his mission failed.
When I saw Gray do a Q&A he mentioned his main operating interest in this was to do the most scientifically accurate sci-fi film ever.

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Big Ben
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#3 Post by Big Ben » Fri Jun 23, 2017 5:01 pm

As someone on the Autism Spectrum I get a chuckle out the term "slightly autistic". I imagine he'll be closer to the "quirky but functional" type usually portrayed by the media (The other being the autistic individual who is portrayed as being completely incapable of doing anything). In short he'll be very smart but gosh darn it he can't handle those social skills!

I'm in no way mad and am quite interested to see what Pitt can do with the material. But "scientifically accurate" makes me chuckle.

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carmilla mircalla
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#4 Post by carmilla mircalla » Fri Jun 23, 2017 5:15 pm

what does "slightly autistic" supposed to even mean? so he's gonna have aspergers?

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knives
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#5 Post by knives » Fri Jun 23, 2017 5:17 pm

I would assume that means on the mild side of the spectrum, but it definitely is a phrasing at odds with any goal of realism.

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Big Ben
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#6 Post by Big Ben » Fri Jun 23, 2017 5:34 pm

knives is correct. People that I would classify as severely autistic have severe IQ deficits, some never speak. There's even a hypothesis that they don't even see or perceive the world the same way others do. (In the sense that colors and sounds are distorted.) I don't have those issues but I do retain several of the traits associated with autism. Obsessive interest (Take a guess as to what area that is!) and being socially awkward.

I would imagine Pitt's character will suffer no IQ deficit (He'll likely be very intelligent) but will be awkward, especially around women.

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thirtyframesasecond
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#7 Post by thirtyframesasecond » Mon Jun 26, 2017 7:17 am

So is James Gray going to be making films for Plan B now as a director for hire? Probably beats working for Harvey Weinstein but his previous Jewish-Russian New York films were so distinctive that it'd be a shame if he just became a journeyman. Maybe it's a one for them, one for me thing - his personal films aren't commercial hits.

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Ribs
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#8 Post by Ribs » Mon Jun 26, 2017 9:25 am

I don't really think of either this or Lost City as being "one for them" in the traditional sense - this'll probably still cost less than Arrival or some other lower-budget big sci-fi movie from one of the major studios, and are developed from the outset by Gray. I think he's viewed these projects as stretching his legs - doing movies exclusively set in Queens for a decade probably exhausted him on that front, at least for the near future.

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Cremildo
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#9 Post by Cremildo » Mon Jun 26, 2017 10:29 am

thirtyframesasecond wrote:So is James Gray going to be making films for Plan B now as a director for hire? Probably beats working for Harvey Weinstein but his previous Jewish-Russian New York films were so distinctive that it'd be a shame if he just became a journeyman. Maybe it's a one for them, one for me thing - his personal films aren't commercial hits.
Wouldn't it be more intelligent to wait for the film to be made - and after it is made, to be seen - before suggesting it's a sell-out situation? Gray is making a space movie with some stars; it doesn't mean he's won't be expressing himself artistically. Are we ready to dismiss Claire Denis' sci-fi starring Robert Pattinson for the same reason?

Besides, I see nothing to suggest that Lost City of Z was an impersonal work for hire. It wasn't even a "commercial hit", apparently the benchmark for personal films as you put it.

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solaris72
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#10 Post by solaris72 » Mon Jun 26, 2017 11:15 am

A lot of science fiction films have set out to be the "most scientifically accurate" in recent years...to me that never really seems to be the most interesting thing about them...

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The Narrator Returns
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#11 Post by The Narrator Returns » Mon Aug 21, 2017 2:45 pm

The film's cast also includes Ruth Negga, Tommy Lee Jones (as Pitt's father), Donald Sutherland, and, my hand to god, Jamie Kennedy.

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domino harvey
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#12 Post by domino harvey » Mon Aug 21, 2017 2:47 pm

Now there's an actor I haven't heard from in a while. If they ever make a Lewis biopic, Kennedy should play the role

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knives
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#13 Post by knives » Mon Aug 21, 2017 3:24 pm

I approve of that casting.

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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#14 Post by flyonthewall2983 » Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:51 pm

First image, I checked IMDB recently and now it appears this will open in January, presumably as not to collide with First Man

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domino harvey
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#15 Post by domino harvey » Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:54 pm

No one knows when this is coming out yet

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Persona
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#16 Post by Persona » Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:55 pm

supposedly a trailer for this should be coming next week.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#17 Post by DarkImbecile » Thu Feb 28, 2019 1:48 pm


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Persona
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2018)

#18 Post by Persona » Thu Feb 28, 2019 4:14 pm

Persona wrote:
Thu Sep 13, 2018 2:55 pm
supposedly a trailer for this should be coming next week.
boy, that didn't age well, ha.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#19 Post by DarkImbecile » Thu May 02, 2019 3:11 pm


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Oedipax
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#20 Post by Oedipax » Thu May 02, 2019 5:41 pm

Probably for the best, lest every review be unable to resist doing a compare/contrast with High Life.

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DarkImbecile
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#21 Post by DarkImbecile » Tue May 07, 2019 2:19 pm


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The Narrator Returns
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#22 Post by The Narrator Returns » Wed Jun 05, 2019 3:58 am


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DarkImbecile
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#23 Post by DarkImbecile » Wed Jun 05, 2019 11:59 am

Image

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swo17
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#24 Post by swo17 » Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:14 pm

Now that's a poster

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Finch
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Re: Ad Astra (James Gray, 2019)

#25 Post by Finch » Wed Jun 05, 2019 12:37 pm

Dreadful trailer music. The film is likely to be a lot more cerebral than that score suggests. I get the impression that most of the trailer is from the first and perhaps second act as it feels mostly like exposition. The images are lovely, especially that corridor shot of Pitt bathed in red light. The poster is fantastic. I'm a Gray fan and this is my most anticipated film after Lighthouse, Parasite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

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