Don't believe everything you see and hear in Fly Me to the Moon, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum's new comedy, which is now in cinemas.
Based on historical events, but not exactly on a true story, the movie pokes fun at all of the insane conspiracy theories that still surround the moon landing. Set in 1969, it follows marketing genius Kelly Jones (Johansson), as she brings the Space Race back to the hearts of Americans who have lost faith in the programme.
Kelly is willing to do anything to achieve her goals, even telling a few not-so-innocent lies, hiring some actors and staging a fake moon landing – just in case the real one didn't look good enough.
Originally set to debut on Apple TV+, Fly Me to the Moon was granted a cinema release following strong test screenings (via Variety). As we wait to see how audiences embrace it, here's what's true and what's not.
Is Fly Me to the Moon based on a true story?
Fly Me to the Moon is partly based on historical events, but most of it is pure fiction.
Of course, everything about Apollo 11's mission and the moon landing is part of the real story. In the movie, we see NASA's extensive and meticulous preparations in order to get Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins ready for the journey.
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Director Greg Berlanti revealed in an interview with EW how important it was to get the blessing of NASA for this movie. They even allowed the production to film on location at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
"Everything was really meticulously done, from the headsets to every knob and dial on every computer," he explained.
"When we were shooting, we had a number of people who actually attended the original launch, and they were in tears walking into the firing room because it felt like they had walked a step back into time," Berlanti added.
However, not everything in the story is real.
The movie leaves no room for debate about the veracity of the moon landing itself, but it includes another well-known conspiracy theory – that the video everyone saw of Armstrong becoming the first man on the moon was faked, filmed in a studio to boost the nation's dominance in the Space Race.
"It plays with this concept of whether or not we faked it," Berlanti explained to EW.
"I've always been a huge NASA fan and space nut, and [I loved] to read something that both celebrated NASA but also keyed into the importance of the truth – especially in this era right now when it seems like every other thing is a conspiracy story. What is the origin of that? Why does the truth still matter?" he said.
Fly Me to the Moon only flirts with the idea of the fake video, though. By the end, it makes clear the live feed the world saw was 100% real, and that Neil Armstrong really did make one giant leap for mankind.
Was Kelly Jones from Fly Me to the Moon a real person?
Scarlett Johansson's character in Fly Me to the Moon, Kelly Jones, was not a real person and she's not particularly based on anyone in particular.
She's a completely fictitious character, although writer Rose Gilroy (daughter of actress Rene Russo and director Dan Gilroy) probably found inspiration in the PR team that NASA hired to promote their lunar missions in the 1960s.
Scarlett Johansson described her character as "a big thinker" in an interview with ScreenRant.
"She sees the bigger picture. I think a lot of people that are in brand development and marketing and creatives in that world, they really see, they're very forward thinking and they kind of see what audiences or what the public wants, the consumer wants before they know they want it," she explained.
"I think she's a survivor. She believes in herself and her ability, she knows she's incredibly good at her job, and I liked all of those qualities about her.
"She's a really fully realised woman. She's in herself and she's a sum of all her parts. She knows when she's done something wrong and she'll admit her faults and her flaws, and I really like that about her."
Was Cole Davies from Fly Me to the Moon a real person?
Channing Tatum's character in Fly Me to the Moon, Cole Davies, was not a real person either, but has a much more tangible inspiration than Johansson's Kelly Jones. In the movie, we're told Davies has been working at NASA for a long time, and he is the launch director for the Apollo 11 mission.
In real life, that role belonged to Eugene Kranz, a long-time NASA engineer who served as second Chief Flight Director. Kranz also directed the mission to save the crew of Apollo 13 in 1970, as portrayed in Ron Howard's 1995 movie (he was played by Ed Harris).
Kranz might have been an inspiration for the role, but Cole Davies is his own character, including his guilt over a terrible mistake he made in a previous Apollo mission and that still haunts him.
"I think that Cole has a lot going on emotionally," Tatum said in an interview with ScreenRant. "I think there's a lot of, I would say, maybe guilt that's driving him.
"On top of that, it's almost astonishing to him because he's so bought in to what this means that America wouldn't want this, that the government doesn't want to give him the money, that they want to go to the moon, but they don't want to do what it takes to get there," he added.
"I think it's preposterous for him and it's almost offensive in a way. I think that anybody that believes in what they're doing that much, it would be."
Fly Me to the Moon is now out in cinemas, and will be released on Apple TV+ at a later date.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
