posted 04-16-2007 02:55 PM               

Warner Brothers' and Clint Eastwood's option on James Hansen's authorized biography of Neil Armstrong, First Man expired on March 1 and was not renewed.

Reportedly, Eastwood felt that the film would require "too much heavy lifting" in light of having just tackled two very large projects on Iwo Jima.

When word got out that Eastwood had stepped out, other production companies and studios stepped in. Reportedly, the most serious of those interests is from 21 Laps Entertainment and director Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum and the upcoming movie adaptation of The Flash), working with Twentieth Century Fox.

21 Laps has looked to screenwriter Nicole Perlman (no relation) to develop a screenplay based on First Man. Perlman previously wrote the screenplay for Challenger, the upcoming film about Richard Feynman and the 1986 space shuttle accident, directed by Philip Kaufman. Reportedly, Perlman and Hansen have been in touch.

posted 04-02-2008 10:10 AM               

Studio acquires Hansen's Neil Armstrong tome

Universal has acquired nonfiction tome "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong" and will turn it into a film about the first person to set foot on the moon.

NASA historian James R. Hansen got rare direct access to Armstrong, a test pilot-turned-astronaut who was so driven to reach the moon and play the role of American hero that he became known as "the Ice Commander."

Nicole Perlman will write the script. Temple Hill Entertainment partners Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey produce.

"The closer he got to the moon, the further away he became from his family," Perlman said. "He had a family tragedy before Apollo that turned him into this driven astronaut, and he became such a perfect hero that while Buzz Aldrin was announced to be the first man on the moon, NASA reversed its decision because Neil was regarded as more heroic."

Armstrong returned from the moon as one of the most famous men on Earth but didn't capitalize on it with a political career or endorsements. He reconnected with his family, shut out the world and became an intensely private man.

Perlman just rewrote her script "Challenger, a project about Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman's investigation into the 1986 Space Shuttle tragedy. Originally set up at Media 8 with "The Right Stuff" helmer Phil Kaufman, "Challenger" now has Nathaniel Kahn ("My Architect") attached to direct, and it will go out to financiers shortly.

Perlman is also scripting "Kiss and Tango" for Fox 2000, and she is writing a pic about the Wright brothers for National Geographic Films based on the book "One Day at Kitty Hawk" by John Evangelist Walsh.

posted 04-02-2008 10:30 AM               

"The closer he got to the moon, the further away he became from his family," Perlman said. "He had a family tragedy before Apollo that turned him into this driven astronaut, and he became such a perfect hero that while Buzz Aldrin was announced to be the first man on the moon, NASA reversed its decision because Neil was regarded as more heroic."

posted 04-13-2008 02:31 PM               

(The article also makes the common error of thinking that "One small step..." was scripted, when all indications are that Armstrong devised the line during the flight.)

Hollywood hunts star to play first man on the Moon

It was one small step for man but could be one giant leap in the career of an actor. Neil Armstrong, the first man on the Moon, is to be the subject of a Hollywood biopic. The only question now is: who is worthy of filling the spaceboots of the 20th-century icon who 'came in peace for all mankind'?

posted 04-14-2008 05:51 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by fabfivefreddy:
Ed Harris

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Now that would be interesting. He might be a bit too old for the part, though?

posted 04-15-2008 10:11 AM               

Tom Hanks is the only guy I can think of that could have pulled off Apollo 13 the way he did, and besides his age they would never cast him in the lead of another Apollo-related movie. That would just confuse average people who would think it's a sequel to A13.

But Matt is versatile enough to play a serious role, too, in addition to his action hero skills. Don't forget how he got his start with Good Will Hunting. And Matt is by far the most intellectual of today's current big name actors and has a great screen presence. And he's Jason Bourne!! Did I mention that?

On a side note, I haven't yet read the book but I hope Buzz, Mike, and the rest of the team aren't left in the shadows. That was one of the things that made Apollo 13 great, is that it wasn't about just one person. Might be tough though given the entire basis for the story is Armstrong.

posted 04-15-2008 11:59 AM               

He is good for what he does but certainly has little charisma or nuance to his performances.

posted 04-15-2008 12:17 PM               

You could then use your more bankable stars in supporting roles, such as having Ed Harris reprise his role as Gene Kranz.

posted 04-16-2008 09:04 AM               

The screenwriter has his work cut out for him, too. I can't imagine filming the movie along the lines of the book -- I would think they might use the storyline of the Apollo 11 mission with flashbacks to cover the biographical parts.

It seems to me that the really hard part will be making it "exciting". Not to say that Neil Armstrong's life so far hasn't been exciting -- it's just that when exciting things happened to him, he handled them in a sober and methodical way. Such as... when the LLTV went berserk and he ejected with one second to spare... no big deal, you eject, gather up the parachute, and then head to the office to do some paperwork. If they try to turn it into some kind of emotional, "Oh my God, I could have been killed" kind of moment, then it won't capture his personality.

posted 04-17-2008 04:33 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by mikelarson:
On a side note, I haven't yet read the book but I hope Buzz, Mike, and the rest of the team aren't left in the shadows.

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posted 10-23-2009 02:48 AM               

A biopic based on the 2005 authorized biography of astronaut Neil Armstrong is moving forward, a source tells collectSPACE. Renewing its option to adapt historian James Hansen's biography of the "First Man," Universal Studios has assigned screenwriter Mike Rich ("Finding Forrester", "The Rookie", "Radio") to rework Nicole Perlman's completed screenplay. Producer Wyck Godfrey and his company Temple Hill Productions ("Twilight", "New Moon") were said to now be attached to the film. Hansen has also been named as a co-producer.

posted 10-27-2009 02:06 PM               

Here are a few names I'd like to throw out there:

Joaquin Phoenix - he's a great actor, and he's played characters similar in temperament to Armstrong. I also think he would be a good fit for Michael Collins. Although he is now reportedly working on a career in hip-hop.

Edward Norton - he has the presence to carry the movie, and is very versatile.

Peter Sarsgaard - you may not recognize the name, but look him up on IMDB. He is more than capable.

Greg Kinnear - his past movies have shown him to have great range, he would be convincing playing Armstrong.

Nicholas Cage - I know what you're thinking. I don't see him playing Armstrong, but I can't help thinking that he might play Buzz pretty well.

Someone mentioned Tony Goldwyn who played Armstrong in From the Earth to the Moon. That's an interesting idea. He is the right age, and I think did a great job in that role.

posted 10-28-2009 09:55 AM               

"First Man" is a heavily annotated scholarly biography, as opposed to a straightforward narrative of a dramatic sequence of events like "Lost Moon/Apollo 13." Us space geeks know that there's plenty of drama and tension in Armstrong's career exploits, but I have to wonder how well they will translate to the cinema-going public at large, who mainly just want to be entertained for 90 or so minutes.

I don't doubt that those involved with the film have the best of intentions with respect to doing Armstrong's achievements justice onscreen, but anyone who's worked in "the industry," especially a writer, will tell you that the bottom line is the bottom line and consequently sensationalism and "dramatic license" have a way of creeping into the most sincere and idealistic projects.

posted 03-10-2010 02:47 AM            

quote:

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Originally posted by xlsteve:
Here are a few names I'd like to throw out there: Joaquin Phoenix, Edward Norton, Peter Sarsgaard, Greg Kinnear, Nicholas Cage

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posted 03-10-2010 09:17 PM               

I am not sure who exactly could do that though. Many of the actors listed here are too old in my mind as Neil's life on the big screen should feature a fair amount of his Korean war and early NACA/NASA testing days.