“I have always had a fascination with
space and space exploration,” states Alfonso Cuarón, the director, producer and
co-writer of Warner Bros.’ new dramatic thriller “Gravity.” He continues, “On
the one hand, there is something mythical and romantic about the idea of
separating yourself from Mother Earth. But in many ways, it doesn’t make sense
to be out there when life is down here.”
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| Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. |
In “Gravity,” Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a brilliant
medical engineer on her first shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt
Kowalski (George Clooney) in command. But on a seemingly routine mission,
disaster strikes. The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski
completely alone—tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the
blackness. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to
Earth…and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats
away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further
out into the terrifying expanse of space.
“Gravity” was co-written by Alfonso
Cuarón and his son, Jonás, marking their first official collaboration. “I was
inspired by Jonás’s ideas for the movie,” Alfonso says. “I was very intrigued
by his sense of pace in a life-or-death situation that dealt primarily with a
single character’s point of view. But, at the same time, placing the story in
space immediately made it more expansive and offered immense metaphorical
possibilities.”
Jonás Cuarón adds, “The concept of space was interesting to
us both; it is a setting where there is no easy way to survive, thousands of
miles from what we call home, so it was perfect for a movie about surmounting
adversities and having to find your way back. We also wanted it to be a
realistic story, which required us to do extensive research to become familiar
with space exploration in order to depict a plausible scenario.”
The filmmakers soon discovered that they would need to push
the boundaries of moviemaking to tell a story that transpires wholly in zero
gravity. “I have to say that I was a bit naïve; I thought making the film would
be a lot simpler,” Cuarón admits. “Yes, I knew it would require a certain
amount of tricks, but it was not until we started trying conventional
techniques that I realized in order to do the film the way I wanted to do it,
we were going to have to create something entirely new.”
To accomplish that, Cuarón called upon cinematographer
Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, and visual effects supervisor Tim Webber of
Framestore. “From the get-go, Chivo, Tim and I decided we wanted everything to
look like we took our camera into space. That would have been my dream, but, of
course, that’s not feasible,” Cuarón smiles.
Simply put—though there was nothing simple about it—the
filmmakers did not want anything akin to a sci-fi fantasy world, but rather to
depict the stark realities of being marooned in the harshest environment known
to mankind.
That objective turned out to be a game changer.
The filmmakers invented entire systems to generate the
illusion of being in space in ways that were both totally convincing and
utterly visceral. As a result, “Gravity” is a hybrid of live-action, computer
animation and CGI, with sets, backgrounds and even costumes rendered digitally.
“Gravity” had been envisioned from
the beginning as a 3D cinematic experience. Jonás Cuarón says, “The concept was
always to do this movie in 3D because we wanted people to be truly immersed in
the imagery as well as the narrative.”
That said, Alfonso Cuarón emphasizes, “We didn’t want it to
be 3D for the sake of things flying in your face. We tried to be subtle…to let
you feel like you’re inside the journey.”
Despite all the technological breakthroughs developed in
making “Gravity,” the journey that remained the most vital to the cast and
filmmakers was the personal one at the heart of the story—particularly that of
Ryan, who is alone for a large part of the film.
“For us,” Jonás Cuarón offers, “the
meaning of ‘Gravity’ isn’t just what keeps your feet on the ground. It’s the
force that is constantly pulling you back home.”
The director affirms, “Throughout the film there are
constant visual references of Earth as this beautiful, nurturing place. And
floating above it is a woman who is cut off from her nurturing self. We wanted
to explore the allegorical potential of a character in space who is spiraling
further into the void, a victim of her own inertia, moving away from Earth,
where life and human connections reside. Amidst all the tools and effects, we
were always clear that Ryan’s struggle is a metaphor for anyone who has to
overcome adversity in life and get to the other side. It is a journey of
rebirth.”
Opening across the Philippines in Oct. 3 in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular
theatres, “Gravity” is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner
Bros. Entertainment company.
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