The Hollywood Reporter - 21.08.2019

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 63 AUGUST 21, 2019

JAMES GRAY Blasts Off

The indie stalwart on why he cast Brad Pitt in his new space epic

Ad Ast ra, navigating the Fox-Disney merger and why he’s not afraid

to take on Donald Trump in his next movie BY TATIANA SIEGEL

Back in 2011, director James Gray

happened upon two science articles

that provided the seedling for his

latest film, Ad Astra. The first chronicled an

experiment to split the atom that posed a

small, but real, risk that all known matter in

the universe would be destroyed. The second

dealt with NASA’s quest to enlist astro-

nauts with schizoid personality disorder,

who would be ideal for deep-space mis-

sions because they wouldn’t have to interact

socially. Enter Brad Pitt as the space thriller’s

protagonist, and suddenly Gray, who is best

known for indies like The Immigrant and Tw o

Lovers, was working with a budget much

bigger — $87.5 million — than any of his

previous outings. Ahead of Ad Astra’s world

premiere in Venice, Gray, 50, talked with THR

about whether he’s gone mainstream, how

the film landed in the crosshairs of Disney’s

acquisition of Fox, and why he’s bringing

Donald Trump’s father to the big screen.

What was the mind-set behind casting Pitt

as your lead?

I thought about a very retro, almost 1960s

idea of the all-American astronaut. The idea

was to break down the myth of what it means

to be traditionally masculine, macho. And

the only way you can really break down the

myth is to start with the myth. There’s this

whole mythology that comes along with

[Pitt], and that’s what you can play with.

Ad Astra was a Fox film, but Disney is releasing

it. Have there been any notable changes to the

marketing/decision-making?

That’s a very good question, but I don’t know

that answer simply because the Disney

merger became a possibility while I was still

in post, and the marketing machine of Fox

hadn’t revved up yet. But it was very sad. At

a certain point you’d have meetings with Fox

marketing people, and they all knew they

were going to lose their jobs in a few months.

The whole Fox slate was thrown into chaos.

Is Donald Trump’s father, Fred Trump, going to

be a character in your semi-autobiographical

film Armageddon Time?

How did you know that? (Laughs.) Yeah, he’s

going to have a role in it. He was the head of

the board of trustees of [Kew-Forest School],

a small school I went to for high school. At

this prep school, all of a sudden there was

Fred Trump walking the halls.

Any concern about the inevitable backlash from

Trump trolls or Trump himself?

No, I have no fears at all, because first of all,

you’ve got to take some risks as a creative

person. Sometimes you’re defined by making

enemies that you want to make enemies of.

Brad Pitt (center) stars as an astronaut who travels to the far

reaches of space in search of his missing father.

VENICE

Film

FESTIVAL

↑

FERRAGAMO

For a high-water

platform,

check out these

cork-soled

sandals ($1,190).

↑

SWIMS

This waterproof

lace-up ankle boot

($250) is ideal

when confronted

with flooding

streets in Venice.

→
GUCCI
Costume designer
Luke Reichle says
finding the right
rain cover, like this
floral-print trench
coat ($3,500),
is “the holy grail.”

←

ZEGNA

Style consultant

Andrew Weitz

suggests a light-

weight tech-fiber

coat ($1,395) “that

is chic enough to

go over any look.”

WHAT TO PACK TO STAY

DRY (AND UPRIGHT)