Neil Armstrong had only one goal in life and that was to go to the moon. NASA spent eight years trying to see how this was going to work by building the rocket by hand and having the astronauts go through numerous tests. On July 20,1969, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
Blaine: We all know the story that NASA put a man on the moon, but it’s never been made into a movie before. In 2008, producers Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey read James R. Hansen’s book and they were asking themselves why no one had ever turned Neil Armstrong’s story into a movie before. They were intrigued with the research James R. Hansen did in order to write the book. No one had bought the rights to the book. Marty and Wyck went to Warner Bros. to see if they would want to make a movie about Neil Armstrong, but it was hard to make a deal with them. So they went to Universal Pictures and they made a better deal with them. Screenwriter Josh Singer spent eight years adapting the book into a screenplay. Damien Chazelle had just done “Whiplash” and the producers wanted to have lunch with him. Marty and Wyck discussed “First Man” with Damien during lunch and Damien got excited from the thought of being the first director to make a movie about Neil Armstrong. Damien was also attracted to it being a story with things you didn’t know about. The astronauts went through a lot being lab rats in order to prove they were worthy enough for this mission and putting their lives at stake.
Damien did a lot of research with Josh Singer for “First Man” as soon as he got involved with the project. Armstrong’s boys, Eric and Mark, and wife, Janet, were nice enough to give Damien and Josh the info they needed of what was going on with Neil and what things were like at home. They also talked to people who knew Neil Armstrong and were apart of the Apollo mission like Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins. Neil wanted to show man landing on the moon differently from what people would expect. He wanted to show the drama and all the trouble that the people at NASA went through just to send a few people into space and have them land on the moon.
Before “La La Land”, Damien went to Ryan Gosling to offer him the role of Neil Armstrong. Ryan didn’t know too much about Neil Armstrong, except for the fact that he was the first man to walk on the moon, and Damien explained to Ryan that “First Man” was about showing Neil Armstrong's background, who he was, what he was going through, his relationship with his family, things a lot of people didn’t know about. Ryan knew this was going to be a big responsibility and that he was never going to get an opportunity like this again, so he was in. Ryan joined Damien and Josh’s research team to learn all there is to know about Neil Armstrong and that Apollo mission. Ryan spent a lot of time with the people who were close to Neil like his ex-wife, Janet, his son’s Eric and Mark and his sister, June. June showed Ryan the farm she and Neil grew up on when they were kids, even though “First Man” doesn’t show Neil's childhood. Ryan was taught a lot of things about Neil Armstrong and he never has been taught so much while preparing for a movie. A lot of people were happy to help.
Ryan shows a lot of drama through his performance as Neil. Judging by the look of it, Neil hated death and it all started with his daughter, Karen, who’s death was caused by a tumor. Karen was no more than two and a half years old when she died. Then four astronauts were killed during this mission and being at their funerals was too much for Neil. There were times where Neil had trouble communicating with others, including his wife, Janet. Janet was worried about a lot of things. She was afraid she was going to be a widow. A lot of the stuff Neil was doing could easily kill him. Janet already saw how damaged her neighbor, Pat White, was after her husband Edward was blown up in an accident when the Apollo 1 was originally supposed to launch. Neil wasn't communicating at all with his family as he was packing up for the launch, but Janet wouldn’t allow him to leave until he had what could have been his last moments with his family. They weren’t sure what was going to happen, if Neil was going to survive this and if he was going to make it back home. Janet wanted to make sure the family had a moment they could remember. Claire Foy showed that Janet was a woman with power and cares too much. Janet would listen in on a lot of stuff that NASA was doing with her husband through a radio. When something went wrong, Janet would march herself over to NASA and demand to know what was going on and if they would lie by saying things were alright she wouldn’t take shit. Claire Foy never got a chance to meet Janet, but she did get to talk to close friends of her's and Eric and Mark were helpful as well. Claire Foy is excellent in the scene where she is convincing Neil not to go without having a little quality time with the family first. What I love most is the strong emotion in her eyes.
Composer Justin Hurwitz was faced with the challenge on writing music for a film that wasn’t a musical or music driven after doing “Whiplash” and “La La Land", but more intense, dramatic and something special. Justin made his music score sound like it had a lot of power to it. Damien wanted “First Man” to be shot like it was a documentary, which hasn’t been done before in space movies. Every scene looks like it’s old footage, but more sharp. Damien also wanted it to feel like we were in Neil’s shoes and going through the experience he and the other astronauts went through like being in that aircraft. You had to feel claustrophobic while seeing those men in the space craft. Going to the moon wasn’t the first time Neil went into space. A few years earlier, Neil and another astronaut, David Scott, went into space during NASA's Gemini program. It was a mission conducted the first docking of tow spacecraft in orbit. As Neil and David were getting into the spacecraft and being strapped in before it’s launch it was like you were trying out the roller coaster for the very first time in your life. Getting a thrilling feeling in your chest as you wait for the roller coaster to start, not knowing what you are going to experience. There are shots that focus on the moon in the sky because the moon is the main thing of the mission and it feels like a character.
The thing that was most exciting for the actors who were playing the astronauts was going to space camp. They got to see several amazing things like the hallways and rooms where the people worked, the consoles, where the astronauts trained, the launch pads, the crawler, everything. Ryan could hardly believe he got an opportunity like this. It was like the actors were school kids on a field trip. NASA was a big help while Damien and Josh were doing the research. Landing the space craft on the moon didn’t look easy. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had to make sure they didn’t crash and make sure the space craft landed softly. Of course you know their mission is going to be successful. Cinematographer Linus Sandgren thought the best way to shoot the sequence where Neil and Buzz are on the moon should be shot outdoors. They found this rock quarry outside Atlanta and production designer Nathan Crowley had sculpted it into the lunar surface. The sun light would be a giant light that has never been used before. It burned out a couple of times. It also snowed at times while they were shooting there.
While Neil was on the moon, all he could think about was his daughter. Neil misses her so much and in one of his memories it shows her pointing at the moon. So I guess you could say Neil went to the moon for her. Neil was asked by the press if he could take one thing on the trip what would it be and his answer was “my shoe”, but really it was his daughter’s name bracelet. Neil leaves a piece of her behind on the moon, so it can remain there forever. You think landing on the moon was a very proud moment, but you never expected it to be a very emotional moment as well. Damien wanted that whole scene to focus on Neil while he was on the moon. He didn’t want to cut to people back on Earth while they are communicating with Neil. “First Man” also doesn’t show Neil and Buzz hanging the American flag on the moon and Neil, Buzz and Mike making it back to Earth, it just shows them back. “First Man” ends silently with Neil and Janet just looking at each other. They are not speaking, but you know Janet is happy to have Neil back home. And Neil has achieved what he was set out to do.
My rating on “First Man” is five out of five stars.
Blaine: My dad, Blaine Harrington III, with Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon. Photo taken in 2015.
