MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – If you’re headed to the movies this summer, one flick may have you doing a double-take with some familiar scenes.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex played set to the movie “Fly Me to the Moon.”
Many artifacts from Apollo missions are used in the film, including the Astrovan that was actually used to transport astronauts to the launch pad in the 1960s.
“The movie company said, ‘We want to use that and use it for the ride out to the pad with the astronauts,’ so they went and borrowed it from the visitor complex and took it out there. It doesn’t have an engine, so they had a bunch of people with ropes pulling it to make it look like it was driving. It’s all part of the movie magic,” said NASA Launch Commentator Derrol Nail.
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Nail had the unique opportunity of escorting comedian Ray Romano and his family on set about a year ago, sharing photos from his experience.
“I asked him what role he was playing and he said, ‘I’m an assistant flight director and I don’t know anything about space,’ and he then said, ‘So how does this all work?’ We talked basic rocketry,” said Nail. “We’re in awe of them as actors and actresses and [Ray] was in awe of this place. He was looking around with his jaw dropping.”
“Fly Me to the Moon” is a “rom-com” drama about characters played by Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum surrounding the high-stakes space race and NASA’s historic Apollo 11 moon landing. Nail said the movie, while fiction, incorporates many historic moments and landmarks from Kennedy Space Center.
“It was a really cool scene that they featured the Rocket Garden and what they did was bring in a lidar scanner and set it up and this thing meticulously scanned all of the rocket garden and, in the movie, they put it right next to the VAB… That’s movie magic there,” said Nail.
“You see movie vans traveling down the road and some vehicles had some stars in them. It was an exciting time,” said KSC Visitor Complex COO Therrin Protze.
Protze said when the movie was shot, it was originally called “Project Artemis.” Protze said it took a lot of coordination while KSC played set to the movie for about a month with 200 production staff and hundreds of extras for some scenes.
“Pride is an understatement. We’re on hollowed ground. Some amazing engineering has been done here, the women and men who have made the space program what it is today…. Words just can’t describe how it felt to be a part of the film highlighting that,” said Protze.
Protze said the movie also has some comedic moments, including speculation on whether we actually went to the moon.
“There’s always the question ‘Did we actually go to the moon?’ and this movie plays around with that and even does more in the movie that I was not expecting. It plays to the conspiracy theorists regarding the Apollo mission, but it hits on the heartstrings of us going to the moon and how we actually did it,” said Protze.
“It’s interesting, they used real footage for the moon landing, but they used a fake moon for the moon light on set. It was this gigantic LED panel that was suspended from a 300-foot crane so it can cast this soft moonlight on the actors faces. They needed nine semis and two cranes in order to have this fake moonlight,” said Nail.
So will Kennedy Space Center be the backdrop of a future movie? Protze says he hasn’t heard of anything in the works currently – but it’s possible.
Travelers who have been inspired by the movie can get a real “space fix” at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The attraction allows guests to uncover the past, present and future of space exploration, immersing themselves in authentic and original experiences, displays, artifacts and activities.
Tickets to the visitor complex start from $75 per adult and $65 per child for single-day admission. A two-day ticket, which can be used for up to six months from purchase and averages a cost of less than $45 per day, is available for $89 per adult and $79 per child.
For more information on Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and to book tickets, visit kennedyspacecenter.com.
“Fly Me to the Moon” is in theaters now. If you’ve seen it, give us your review of the movie and tell us what your favorite parts are in the comments below.
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