La La Land director Damien Chazelle is taking Ryan Gosling from the city of stars to the actual stars — and, apparently, it's going to be a very scary ride. First Man, a new film in which Gosling will play astronaut Neil Armstrong, is promising all the thrills with very little of the slowburn popular in many a biopic.
At least, that's what the film's writer, Spotlight Oscar winner Josh Singer, had to say when interviewed about First Man by the Boston Globe. Per Singer, it was director Chazelle who wanted to take this "first man on the moon" story and make it as scary as, say, A Quiet Place.
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"Damien had a very clear vision from the outset. He said, 'Can we get across how challenging this was? Can we get across the visceral nature of this?' The space program has been depicted, tonally, on the softer side in the past," the screenwriter told The Boston Globe. "Damien said, 'I want to be terrified the entire time.' It’s one of the earliest things we talked about. Neil’s heroism isn’t because he landed on the moon, it’s because he had the wherewithal to live through it all."
Totally. But also, the moon thing. People are big fans of that part of the story.
Singer also told the outlet:
"We have at least five major set pieces that are action, and if your heart rate doesn’t go through the roof, if you’re not gripping the edge of your seat the entire times, I’ll be shocked."
I'm inclined to believe Singer (he won an Oscar and also, is writing the movie), but I'm a little confused about how we'll be trembling with fright throughout the entirety of First Man. After all, Armstrong, who died in 2012, was a real guy. We know how his mission ends, which is with him successfully landing on the moon and becoming a celebrated American hero. That's super awesome, but not exactly scary.
Unless, maybe in this version, there are... moon ghosts? Moon ghosts who hunt you when they hear footsteps on the moon? (Sorry. I just saw A Quiet Place.)
This film is already shaping up to be great, but frightening? Well, it will hit theaters in October — perhaps this will be our most unexpected Halloween flick of the year.