Oscar-winning DoP Greig Fraser knows a thing or two about working on challenging movies, from Dune to The Batman, Rogue One to Zero Dark Thirty.
At Deadline’s Contenders London event today, the in-demand cinematographer revealed that none were as challenging as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s space hit Project Hail Mary: “This was the most complicated film I’ve shot,” the Australian native disclosed.
“Every day was the most complicated day,” he explained. “How do you capture a puppet without a face in a rolling circle with no gravity. Then there are stairs and steps to factor in. Everything was a challenge, but an awesome challenge.”
In the film, Ryan Gosling plays science teacher Ryland Grace “who wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction…on the journey, an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.”
Sandra Hüller, Lionel Boyce, Ken Leung, Milana Vayntrub co-star in the Amazon MGM crowd-pleaser, which took $684.5M at the global box office.
Fraser and the film’s production designer Charles Wood, also known for his work on blockbusters including Spider-Man: Brand New Day and the Avengers and Guardians Of The Galaxy franchise, talked about how the film was grounded in authenticity and not overly saturated in VFX.
Wood explained: “A lot of the sets were eight to 10 foot in diameter. So the camera was on everything. Greg’s camera was on everything. I needed to make sure that whatever was in front of the camera really gave the audience a feeling that you were really in this ship with this man going to eternity.”
Fraser added: “There was an authenticity to the rationale of how things operated. There wasn’t anything created for the sake of visual pleasure. It started in a place of honesty from a science perspective, which is how the book’s written.”
That desire for authenticity included the puppetry work behind the film’s memorable alien character Rocky.
Wood commented: “I didn’t realize coming onto the film that this would all be essentially live action. Working with a team of puppeteers on a set of a certain diameter was a real challenge. I wasn’t even sure how it was all going to play out, but it’s extraordinary how the puppet team did their work. It shines through in the film. You feel this creature really did exist.”
Fraser said he recognized the film’s comparison with E.T., another film celebrated for for relying on practical effects and animatronics rather than computer-generated imagery (CGI).
“The times there are VFX, they’re stunningly, authentically appropriate for that particular part of the film. I think that the the directors have found that same through-line with this film. They’re used for an absolutely good reason.”
As part of their research Wood described how the team met NASA astronauts and heard about their experiences, including how one was so overwhelmed by seeing the earth from space that he would cry but his tears wouldn’t fall due to gravity, meaning he often had a blurred vision of the planet from his ship.
Fraser and Wood were both asked about the potential for a sequel or follow-on movie given that the book’s writer Andy Weir has spoken about writing another novel connected to the story. “That’s the first I’m hearing about it”, Fraser said.
The movie is produced by Amy Pascal, Gosling, Lord, Miller, Weir, Aditya Sood and Rachel O’Connor.
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