Tom Cruise and Elon Musk shoot a feature film in space
Seriously: Tom Cruise wants to shoot his next film in space. Tesla boss Elon Musk and NASA are ready to help. A launch date for the film has not yet been set.
The controversial actor and Scientologist is famous for always doing his own stunts, such as when he climbs the world's tallest building or when he does a parachute jump from a height of 7.6 kilometres.
But Tom Cruise's latest project seems crazy, even for him:
he wants to shoot a film in space.
Elon Musk is reportedly coming to the rescue
The news comes from Deadline journalist Mike Fleming Jr., who learned of Cruise's project from his sources. The film is said to be packed with adventure and action, but would not be the next "Mission: Impossible". Planning is said to be at a very early stage; no studio is yet prepared to cover the immense costs of a real space flight for a handful of actors, directors, cameramen and other crew members.
Enters Elon Musk.
According to Fleming's source, the founder of PayPal and Tesla wants to support Tom Cruise with his space programme SpaceX. It's no coincidence: Elon Musk's private company has been launching rockets into space since 2002. The "Falcon 9", a kind of recycled rocket, is particularly popular: thanks to this recyclable two-stage launcher, launch costs per rocket are considerably reduced.
The reduction is so significant that since December 2010, the NASA has been using the Falcon 9 launcher with the "Dragon 1" spacecraft, also developed by the SpaceX programme, to transport cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). 'Dragon 2', the successor spacecraft, is expected to be able to take up to four astronauts per flight to the space station starting on 27 May 2020. This would make SpaceX the first private company in history to carry astronauts into space.
It is also aboard the Dragon 2 that Tom Cruise's film crew is expected to be taken to the ISS.
Officially: NASA is on board
While rumours of Elon Musk's involvement have so far been neither confirmed nor denied, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has already commented favourably on the plans. More than that: he has officially confirmed the cooperation between NASA and Tom Cruise.
NASA looks forward to working with Tom Cruise and filming aboard the International Space Station. We need popular media to inspire a new generation of engineers and scientists to make NASA's ambitious plans a reality.
As Elon Musk's SpaceX programme is currently the only way to launch astronauts into space from US soil - the US depending on Russian help to transport astronauts since 2011 - it would appear that there is more than a grain of truth to the rumours.
It is not known when the spaceships will take off or when filming will begin.
I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.»