bstempleton (12/01/82)
A recent mention of movies in space brought back to me an old idea that I have had for some time. It might be neat if this message got to Lucasfilms, although I won't be surprised if they have not already thought of this. The idea is to make a movie in the space shuttle, a science-fiction one. Such a movie would be about the near future exploration of space. The special effects would be great and you could get real weightless shots. The nice thing is that this is quite possible. A director like George Lucas or Steven Spielberg could afford to rent one shuttle flight, although it would make the movie perhaps the most expensive ever made. They could recover the cost because: a) The film would become an instant classic, as the first movie made in space. People would see it even if it were crap. b) A name like Lucas making an SF movie would cause millions to see it even if it weren't in the shuttle. The interesting point is that you could probably simulate the weightless conditions with special effects right on earth for less then the rental of a shuttle. The reasons to take the shuttle are a) You can advertise that you shot the film in space and b) The director gets to go up on the shot, probably to act as cameraman as well, and thus realizes the dream of many an SF person, which is to go into space. Find actors that can stand the free-fall and I'd be glad to crew such a mission. NASA might also approve because of their plan of taking artists into space to bring back the message of space to the people. What better way to do it than a Lucasfilms movie?