Does anyone get the feeling that Tom Cruise’s ambition is getting a little out there at this point? Kevin Fraser of Joblo certainly doesn’t and it’s too hard to fault him or anyone for their enthusiasm since the idea of filming in space, aboard an actual space station, is just too tempting for a lot of people to pass up, but it does beg the question of how many members of a film crew the station is going to be able to support and how bare bones this production would need to be if they’re not going to be allowing that many people to occupy the same space. Plus, the simple fact that the coronavirus is still running rampant happens to make this less of a possibility unless everyone’s being tested, which they likely will even if it occurs after the pandemic has calmed down. There are simply a lot of questions to cover and at this time there’s really not enough information to go on when it comes to wondering just what the movie is going to be about without simply saying that it’s going to be based in space. Cruise has a penchant for wanting as many things to look as real as they can and that’s led to some insane stunts over the years and a lot of people being supremely impressed with what he can do, especially since his years are still advancing and he’s not getting younger despite how much he continues to take on.
The ambition of this project is astounding already and they haven’t even gotten started yet. There’s a lot to be said for realism, but there’s also something to be said for limitations, no matter how much one wants to move beyond them at times. Does anyone know the max capacity for the International Space Station? It’s six. Just six people that the station can support, and despite what Elon Musk might be willing to contribute to this endeavor it’s likely that it won’t last for an extended period of time, at least not so long that Cruise will be able to take his time and get everything perfect. It’s great that he wants to do this and make it look absolutely real by having it BE real, but the idea of the training and the rigors that his body would have to endure at this point make one hope that it’s a publicity stunt and a joke. So far it doesn’t sound that way but it’s a hope that Cruise and Musk will do the math (I know how it sounds believe me) and realize that most movies take a pretty big crew to complete, and that going to space isn’t bound to be a walk in the park. It might even make hanging from an airplane as it takes off look kind of tame. But for realism a lot of people are bound to go to the moon and back, figuratively speaking. Tom Cruise might just try to be as literal as he can be in this case.
At this point if he wants realism in that regard then maybe he should consider the half-jest that was raised when it was evidenced that Justin Bieber had mentioned that he wanted to meet Cruise in a fight. That’s real enough, and it’s something of a slam dunk for Cruise, who’s been keeping in great shape and would likely wipe the floor with Biebs without too much effort. In fact it could even be done without a green screen since it’s likely that there are more than enough people that would serve as extras on such a movie and show up just for the pleasure of it. But he wants to go to space, so of course people are going to jump on that and do what they can to accommodate. Is it a wise move? Will it make for a good movie? That’s hard to say since right now the idea is still in the conception phase and the training and preparation that would need to go into this kind of thing would have to be immense in stature and would have to be seen as a spectacle that was going to cost a bundle of money, not to mention that it would be a bit divisive with the fans considering that some folks might argue that sending a movie star into space is one of the last things that needs to be done at this point unless it’s somehow for the betterment of humanity.
Giving Cruise another chance to shine on screen isn’t exactly a humanitarian effort unless the proceeds were bound to go to a worthy charity, which one can already assume wouldn’t happen since Musk would want his cut and those in Hollywood would have their hands out in a heartbeat even as they smiled at the camera and called this a ‘leap forward’ for Hollywood or some other such nonsense. Caroline Delbert of Popular Mechanics has something to say about the subject.
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