Richard Linklater has brought distinct visions to the screen for years, and when he blends animation and live-action, we the result is the likes of A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life. So we're happy to see he's bringing a variation on the technique back for a new film, Apollo 10 1/2.
Linklater also wrote the script, which tells the story of the first moon landing in the summer of 1969 from two interwoven perspectives. It both captures the astronaut and mission control view of the triumphant moment, and the lesser-seen bottom up perspective of what it was like from an excited kid’s perspective, living near NASA but mostly watching it on TV like hundreds of millions of others. It’s ultimately both an exacting re-creation of this special moment in history and a kid’s fantasy about being plucked from his average life in suburbia to secretly train for a covert mission to the moon.
"It struck me years ago that this was my film to make, from both a chronological and proximity level – I was there, going into 3rd grade. Our unique animation style allows both the conjuring of a world long gone, and the flowing, playful expression of memory and imagination," Linklater says. "It’s been a fun, creative journey to incorporate things like 3D graphics into a live action shoot to help bring this story to life."
Jack Black, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, Josh Wiggins and Milo Coy are among the cast for the film, which Linklater wrapped live-action shooting on in March and is now overseeing the animation process. Apollo 10 1/2 will premiere on Netflix – though the streaming service has yet to specify a date.