140: William Shatner and Filming Movies in Space

Casual Space

Does filming in space change the way in which we view space? How will filming in space change our perspective? When actors, directors, and artists go to space, can they help us see ourselves, and our planet Earth in a different way?

Last week, a Soyuz spacecraft carrying a Russian film crew docked at the International Space Station to begin a movie shoot in orbit. The Soyuz ferried a Russian actress and a film director to the station alongside a veteran cosmonaut, who commanded the capsule. Their goal? To spend 12 days shooting scenes for a space film called "The Challenge" on the station.

This week, William Shatner, also known as Captain Kirk, will travel to space on the Blue Origin New Shepard capsule. Actors are traveling to space, and movies are being made in space, so Beth, Chad and new friend of the show, Chris Byars are ready to celebrate how exciting these events are and what it means for humanity’s future!

Join in on this episode as Beth, Chad and Chris attempt to answer questions about movies in space, including:

How many movies have been filmed in space?

How many actors have flown to space? (This answer has since changed from today’s historic Blue Origin flight, by the way)

What movie SHOULD have been made in space?

Tune in for a very casual conversation with lots of laughs and a couple of great ideas in this week’s Casual Space Podcast!

More miscellaneous stuff discussed:

The “female friendly” space toilet on the ISS: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/10/space-toilet-nasa-women/616686/

Tom Cruise will be making movies on the ISS: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52556699

Beth references this article from the Chicago Tribune of the top 50 movies about space- here is the list: https://www.chicagotribune.com/featured/sns-stacker-best-space-movies-all-time-20210331-ls6z5ha6ubekdgyov76fxs7tam-photogallery.html

A film made in space, Apogee of Fear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKOK0VzTix4

Wally Funk’s previous Blue Origin flight: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wally-funk-blue-origin-space-travel-oldest-astronaut/

Want to know more about job opportunities in the space industry? Don’t miss this free webinar, hosted by Space Nation on October 22, Beth mentioned during the show break. You can check it out and register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/space-jobs-and-astropreneurship-opportunities-are-launching-now-tickets-191110435457?aff=bm.