USA: SCIENCE FICTION FILM "MISSION TO MARS" TAKES FIRST BOW IN FRONT OF VIP AUDIENCE AT EL CAPITAN THEATRE

Record ID: 389010

  • Title: USA: SCIENCE FICTION FILM "MISSION TO MARS" TAKES FIRST BOW IN FRONT OF VIP AUDIENCE AT EL CAPITAN THEATRE
  • Date: 16th March 2000
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 27) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) GARY SINISE SAYING Everytime we do something kind of monumental in terms of space flight, people are fascinated because it's something we can't grasp, our curiosity is still there. It's always peaked. You know, if we said we're going to Mars, governments got together and they made a commi
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA1V6SKXLPGPRCD1BGZWP71UKFD
  • Story Text: Mission to Mars, the first of two competing studio science fiction blockbuster projects dealing with a high-tech journey to the Red Planet, has taken its first bow in front of a VIP audience at Hollywood's El Capitan Theater.
    Directed by suspense/thriller master Brian De Palma, "Mission to Mars" is the first film of two designed to capitalize on the public's fascination with Earth's nearest planetary neighbor in the wake of the Pathfinder mission and the two recent failed Mars probes.
    The other film is "Red Planet," which stars Val Kilmer.
    It'll be released by Warner Brothers in November.It originally was slated for release this summer, but the studio recently moved it back, presumably to move it away from the similarly-themed "Mission to Mars."
    In De Palma's film, Gary Sinise stars as Jim McConnell, an astronaut who leads a rescue mission to Mars to find out what happened to the ill-fated crew of a previous mission, led by Commander Luke Graham, played by Don Cheadle.
    Accompanying McConnell on his epic trip are Commander Woody Blake, played by Tim Robbins, his colleague and wife Terri Fisher, played by Danish native Connie Nielsen, and scientist Phil Ohlmyer, played by "Jerry Maguire" co-star Jerry O'Connell.
    In order to make the film as realistic and authentic as possible, De Palma and his screenwriters brought on board dozens of current and former astronauts and NASA scientists, including the legendary Story Musgrove, the longest-serving astronaut to date the the one who holds the record for the most space-walking hours.
    Musgrove and his colleagues collaborated in every aspect of the film, from the script to the sets to the special effects to the preparation of the actors to be able to simulate movement in the Zero Gravity of outer space.The actors all found his involvement and expertise indisposable.
    Another remarkable aspect of "Mission to Mars" is the care and expense that went into the elaborate sets, especially for the scenes taking place on the surface of Mars itself.
    The most awe-inspiring set was built at the Fraser Sand Dunes, located south of the Canadian city of Vancouver and replicated the harsh and unpredictable surface of Mars.
    The 55 acre Martian landscape was sculpted from sand dunes and coated with thousands of square yards of concrete.
    Fire hoses were used to paint the two million square-foot terrain, spraying 100 gallons of Mars Red latex paint per minute.In all, a total of 120 thousand gallons of paint were used on the Martain surface.
    The final effect was awe-inspiring on the actors, who were most impressed by the mountains, valleys and geological formations that the crew were able to construct.
    The rest of the scenes were shot on huge soundstages throughout the city of Vancouver and were equally-impressive and constructed entirely with the input of the film's technical advisors.They assured De Palma and his crew taht all the technology used in the film either currently exists or is being constructed by NASA for use in the orbiting Space Station.
    Besides the sets and soundstages, "Mission to Mars" also makes ample use of the latest in computer generated special effect and for these, De Palma turned to two visual effects house: Dream Quest Images and the renowned Industrial Light and Magic, ILM.
    Now that the special effects, computer imagery and massive sets have all come together, it's up to audiences to decide if a "Mission to Mars" is one they want to take when it opens throughout the United States this week.
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