First Man

First Man is the riveting story of NASA’s mission to land a man on the moon, focusing on Neil Armstrong and the years 1961-1969. A visceral, first-person account, based on the book by James R. Hansen, the movie explores the sacrifices and the cost – on Armstrong and on the nation – of one of the most dangerous missions in history.

Before I began work on First Man, I knew the textbook narrative of the mission to the moon – the success story of an iconic achievement... but little else. Once I started digging, I grew astounded by the sheer madness and danger of the enterprise – the number of times it circled failure, as well as the toll it took on all involved. I wanted to understand what compelled these men to voyage into deep space, and what the experience – moment by moment, breath by breath – might have felt like. To grasp, I had to explore Neil’s home life; this was a story that needed to hinge between the moon and the kitchen sink, the vast expanses of space juxtaposed against the textures of quotidian life. I chose to shoot the film in vérité, playing fly-on-the-wall to both space missions and the Armstrong family’s most intimate, guarded moments. My hope was that this approach could highlight the heartbreak, joy, lives lived and lost in the name of one of history’s most famous goals: setting foot on the moon.

PRODUCTION 1: TEMPLE HILL ENTERTAINMENT
9255 Sunset Blvd., SUITE 900
90069 - WEST HOLLYWOOD (CA), United States

OTHER COPRODUCTIONS: UNIVERSAL PICTURES, DREAMWORKS PICTURES (Executive producers: Steven Spielberg, Isaac Klausner, Adam Merims, Josh Singer)

WORLD SALES: Universal Pictures International
100 Universal City Plaza, Bldg. 2160 / 8e
91608 - UNIVERSAL CITY (CA), United States

ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION:  Richard Borg - UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL ITALY
Via Po, 12
00198 – Rome, Italy

PRESS OFFICE: Simone Raineri
Tel. +39 340 6441257
simone_raineri@hotmail.com