With historical space drama “First Man,” Damien Chazelle said it was important to show Neil Armstrong’s down-to-earth, “quotidian reality” while still showcasing his stellar achievements of flying to the moon.
“I think the thing that interested me the most was finding out how difficult this period of Neil’s life was,” Chazelle told TheWrap at the Toronto International Film Festival. “Growing up, I thought of the moon landing as this great success story and I think the history of it has been cast in this glow that lives in the aftermath of the success. But when you unwind and look back… I got a sense of such sacrifice, such loss, such hardships, such trauma at times, that made me ask questions that I tried to ask in earlier movies as well: What the cost of a goal is and what the worth of a goal is, and there’s no more famous goal than landing someone on the moon.”
“First Man” stars Ryan Gosling as Armstrong, and also stars Claire Foy, Kyle Chandler, Jason Clarke, Corey Stoll and Pablo Schreiber.
Also Read: 'First Man' Expected to Launch to $20 Million Box Office Opening
Josh Singer, who wrote the screenplay for the film that’s already gaining awards buzz, said that initially, a film about Neil Armstrong kind of sounded “bland,” but he soon realized otherwise.
“But when you get into the detail of what you had to deal with, I was just blown away,” said Singer. “The amount of loss, the amount of sacrifice, the amount of failure… seeing these failures in and out throughout this story just made it all the more inspiring.”
Ultimately, what the filmmakers wanted to achieve with the drama was portraying Armstrong’s family life while not taking away from his massive achievement of being the first man to walk on the moon.
Also Read: 'First Man' Gets Bigger and Bolder in Toronto IMAX Premiere
“What fascinated us the most and what we wanted to keep getting at was again that sense of reality, that sense of bringing it all down to earth, creating family scenes and dynamic and show how terrifying and visceral these missions would be,” added Chazelle. “There was a normalcy and quotidian reality at the heart of this.”
Lastly, the filmmaker said that, for most of the people growing up in the Houston area near NASA, “their parents were just doing their jobs — they weren’t making history.”
Watch the video above.
89 Stunning Portraits From TheWrap's Toronto Studio (Exclusive Photos)
-
-
Elle Fanning, "Teen Spirit"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Elle Fanning, Clara Rugaard, Zlatko Buric and director Max Minghella, "Teen Spirit"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Elle Fanning, "Teen Spirit"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Alexander Skarsgård, "Hold the Dark"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Mia Goth, Robert Pattinson and director Claire Denis, "High Life"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gael Garcia Bernal, "Kindergarten Teacher"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Kindergarten Teacher"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Kindergarten Teacher"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Kindergarten Teacher"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Director Alonso Ruizpalacios and Gael Garcia Bernal, "Museo"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Brian Tyree Henry, Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell and Daniel Kaluuya, "Widows"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Elizabeth Debicki, "Widows"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Colin Farrell, "Widows"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Cynthia Erivo, "Widows"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello, "Giant Little Ones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Kyle MacLachlan and Maria Bello, "Giant Little Ones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Radhika Apte and Dev Patel, "The Wedding Guest"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Radhika Apte and Dev Patel, "The Wedding Guest"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Nicole Kidman, "Destroyer"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Sebastian Stan, Nicole Kidman, Tatiana Maslany and Karyn Kusama, "Destroyer"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Paul Dano, "Wildlife"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Paul Dano and Carey Mulligan, "Wildife"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jena Malone, "The Public"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Emilio Estevez, Jena Malone, Christian Slater, and Michaek K. Williams, "The Public"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Emilio Estevez, "The Public"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Michael Kenneth Williams, "The Public"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Director Jason Reitman, Matt Bai and Jay Carson, "The Frontrunner"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Adam Stein, Lexy Kolker and Zach Lipovsky, "Freaks"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Garrard Conley and Joel Edgerton, "Boy Erased"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jason Sudeikis, Judy Greer, Lee Pace, Nick Hamm and Isabel Arraiza, "Driven"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Isabel Arraiza, "Driven"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Lily Rose Depp, "A Faithful Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Lily Rose Depp, Louis Garrel and Laetita Casta, "A Faithful Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Laetitia Casta, "A Faithful Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Laetita Casta and Lily Rose Depp, "A Faithful Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Y'Lan Noel, "The Weekend"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Sienna Miller, Jake Scott, Will Sasso, Aaron Paul and Christina Hendricks, "American Woman"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Werner Herzog, "Meeting Gorbachev"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Alexis Bloom, "Divide and Conquer The Story of Roger Ailes"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Taylor Hickson, "Giant Little Ones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Karyn Kusama, "Destroyer"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
László Nemes, "Sunset"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Lee Chang-dong, "Burning"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Steven Yeun, "Burning"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Darren Mann, Josh Wiggins, and Taylor Hickson, "Giant Little Ones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Zlatko Buric, "Teen Spirit"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Clara Rugaard, "Teen Spirit"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Max Mingella, "Teen Spirit"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Darren Mann, "Giant Little Ones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, "Never Look Away"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jessie Buckley, "Wild Rose"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Nicole Taylor and Jessie Buckley, "Wild Rose"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Nicole Taylor and Jessie Buckley, "Wild Rose"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jessie Buckley, "Wild Rose"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Christian Slater, "The Public"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Joel Edgerton, "Boy Erased"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Josh Singer, "First Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Josh Wiggins, "Giant Little Ones"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Liam Neeson, "Widows"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Louis Garrel, "A Faithful Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Sebastian Koch, "Never Look Away"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Sebastian Stan, "Destroyer"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Tatiana Maslany, "Destroyer"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Thomas Mann, "The Land of Steady Habits"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Thomas Mann, Nicole Holofcener and Ben Mendelsohn, "The Land of Steady Habits"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Tom Schilling, "Never Look Away"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Ali Abbasi, "Border"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Paul Greengrass, Åsne Seierstad, Jonas Strand Gravli, Seda Wit, and Jon Øigarden, "22 July"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Damien Chazelle, Linus Sandgren, Ai-Ling Lee, Tom Cross, and Josh Singer, "First Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Errol Morris, "American Dharma"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Judy Greer, "Driven"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jason Sudeikis, "Driven"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Lee Pace, "Driven"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jeffrey Wright, "Hold the Dark"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Nadine Labaki, "Capernaum"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Paul Greengrass, "22 July"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Wanuri Kahiu, "Rafiki"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Damien Chazelle, "First Man"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Victor Polster, Lukas Dhont, and Arieh Worthalter, "Girl"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Lukas Dhont, "Girl"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Victor Polster and Arieh Worthalter, "Girl"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Paul Greengrass, Strand Gravli, Jon Oigarden, Seda Wit, and Asne Seierstad, "22 July"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Roddy Doyle and Paddy Breathnach, "Rosie"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Paddy Breathnach, "Rosie"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Roddy Doyle, "Rosie"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Felix Van Groeningen, "Beautiful Boy"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Jason Reitman, "The Front Runner"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
-
Juli Jakab, "Sunset"
Photographed by Elisabeth Caren for TheWrap
Toronto Film Festival 2018: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elle Fanning, Robert Pattinson and more stop by our studio
Related Content
-
Awards
‘Green Book’ Wins Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award
By Steve Pond | September 16, 2018 @ 10:43 AM -
Movies
Toronto 2018: Here’s Every Movie Sold So Far, From ‘Wild Rose’ to ‘Stan & Ollie’
By Beatrice Verhoeven | September 10, 2018 @ 2:49 PM -
Movies
Toronto So Far: ‘First Man’ and ‘A Star Is Born’ Lead a Crop of Films With Heart and Dazzle
By Steve Pond | September 9, 2018 @ 6:52 PM