- We are here with James Gray,

the director of Ad Astra.

So, do you mind talking about

some of your sci-fi inspirations for the movie?

- You know, I'm a child of the seventies.

I was a big fan of watching Star Trek on television,

and also, of course, 2001,

which was a huge inspiration.

And the first three Star Wars movies,

particularly, Empire Strikes Back,

which I found a really beautiful film.

To tell you the truth, it's not really movies

that got me into science fiction at all.

Basically, I grew up in New York City,

and it's too light to see the stars at night.

And I'll never forget, we went

to see our friends who lived in Commack,

which is out on Long Island.

And at night, you looked up,

and it was the first time we could see the stars.

And it was as though

the world had opened up and become

something larger, more vast, more beautiful.

- That's amazing.

- Yeah, it's a true story.

- And it ties to the name of the movie, right? Ad Astra.

- That's right, Ad Astra, to the stars.

But that's not the whole phrase, you know.

- No, I did not know that. - The whole sentence

is per aspera, ad astra,

which translated from the Latin,

means through hardship, to the stars.

But we felt that it had power,

because the idea is, it's beautiful to look outward,

but it's also difficult.

- That touches the soul, that answer. (laughs)

- Well, I don't get out much,

but it's nice to know I can touch a soul

every once in awhile. - You can!

- That's good.

- So, speaking of touching souls,

if you were an alien, or if aliens

were to watch your movie,

what do you think they would gain

from the humanity in the state

of how we exist and live on Earth?

- Oh, my God.

I think aliens might be very disturbed

to look at us, maybe disturbed to see the film.

The whole film is trying to make sure that

we're aware of ourselves emotionally,

and that we can open up,

because I think the film is very hopeful,

in that way.

I'm not gonna tell you the ending,

but I think aliens would probably

think of us as a pretty damaged species,

don't you think?

- [Dr. Moo] Probably.

- [James Gray] We kind of are, aren't we?

- Yeah, but that's what makes us beautiful and unique.

- Oh, absolutely.

You know, there's a great quote I once heard

from a very wise man.

He said, "imperfection allows us to breathe."

Which I thought was great, you know,

so the imperfections makes us beautiful.

- It does.

And it's captured very well in the movie.

- [James Gray] Oh, thank you.

- It really is, yeah.

So, switching gears, space pirates.

- [James Gray] Yup.

- Space pirates are attacking your vehicle.

You're on the moon, you're traversing the moon.

What do you protect?

- I think you protect yourself.

You don't care about what's in the rover, do you?

You protect yourself!

Aren't you more important than a machine?

You know, we're making light of it,

but you know, if the moon is out there

for exploration, it's very, very

rich in natural resources. - [Dr. Moo] M-hm.

- And there are going to be treaties,

but how are you gonna be able to enforce those treaties?

- [Dr. Moo] Exactly.

- So, if the moon gets colonized,

you're probably gonna get some lunar pirates, too,

every now and then.

- Yeah. I know you recently became an expert

on the lunar tubes, the caves that exist.

- Expert? I wouldn't call myself an expert in anything.

- Do you think that the space pirates may hide there?

- Well, maybe, but they would have to

have the safe haven from another part of the world

that had colonized the moon.

But yeah, isn't that interesting?

There's all these, maybe, tunnels, under the moon,

and how vast they might be?

The more we find out, the more incomprehensible

and fantastic the universe becomes.

I was telling my daughter this the other day.

I said to her, what do you think of the person

who's the smartest astronomer?

Oh, I'd be very impressed.

I said, well, you know,

they don't know what makes up

70% of the universe.

They have no idea. - That's right.

- She says, what do you mean, Daddy?

I said, dark matter.

Do you know what that is?

She says no.

I said, exactly, neither does anybody else.

(laughing)

- That is very accurate.

What a great way to bring that home to your daughter.

- Yeah.

- And give her hope!

- Well, I sure gave her a little humility,

which is what I was trying to do at the time.

- There are so many beautiful locations

that you capture in the movie.

If you were to visit one of them,

if you could pick one place, where would you visit?

- I would go to Mars, I would think.

Mars is really interesting.

- Really, why?

- Well, first of all, there's nothing else like it here,

on the Earth.

And from all I can tell,

and we used actual Martian photographs

to make our landscapes by the way,

maybe the first movie ever shot partially on location

that takes place on Mars.

It just seems so un-Earth-like.

And the fact that you can't really see the Earth

from the surface.

It seems like it might be kinda interesting.

- Yeah, but how long would you wanna stay?

What would you do while you're there?

- Let's be honest here, I wouldn't stay very long.

So I would be gone as quickly as I could,

once I got there, I'm sure.

- Well, thank you so much for your time,

I really appreciate it!

- You're welcome, thanks for having me.

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