Astronaut Chris Hadfield arrives on the red carpet at the gala for “Gravity” Sunday at TIFF. He later hopped up on stage to answer questions about the film.
It was an innocent question, but probably the most obvious one at a Q & A after the North American premiere of Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity.
And it wasn’t for any of the stars on stage, including Sandra Bullock. It was for the astronauts in the audience.
Chris Hadfield, retired commander of the International Space Station, and Roberta Bondar, Canada’s first woman in space, were on hand Sunday night to watch the Toronto International Film Festival opening of Gravity. The visually stunning film shot in 3D shows an astronaut played by Bullock drifting in space, desperately trying to get back to Earth.
“Now I’m very, very scared about the next question,” Cuarón said as someone in the Princess of Wales theatre asked Hadfield to weigh in.
How real was this film? It’s a question best answered by a man who last year spent 146 days in space, 144 of which were on the space station.
Hadfield, a man who doesn’t shy away from microphones, skipped the steps and hopped up and onto the stage to a loud cheer from the crowd.
“Fortunately, the five months that I spent on the space station went way calmer,” Hadfield said to a laugh.
In the film, debris smashes into a shuttle attempting to make repairs during a spacewalk. Bullock’s character is sent hurdling into space; George Clooney’s character is in her ear on the radio. Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También) crafts a movie that is a race against time to bring Bullock back to Earth — draw your own Speed references at your will.
“The visuals are spectacularly good in this film. I mean, I don’t understand how you (Cuarón) did that. That was just marvellous to look at,” Hadfield said.
“And if I were to ever fly in space again, I want to fly with Sandra.”
For those who missed the review from the space commander turned movie critic, Hadfield tweeted about the event Monday morning.
“Good morning! Gravity was fun last night. Fantastic visuals, relentless, Sandra Bullock was great. I’d fly with her,” tweeted Hadfield.
Gravity is due out in theatres Oct. 4.
Source: TIFF
Sebastien Clarke
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