Clooney and his star-studded cast explain the tantalizing lure of ‘The Midnight Sky’
Cast of “The Midnight Sky”: Top, from left: George Clooney, Caoilinn Springall; middle: Felicity Jones, David Oyelowo, Kyle Chandler; bottom: Demian Bichir and Tiffany Boone —PHOTOS COURTESY OF NETFLIX
As if it weren’t enough to listen to George Clooney talk about fatherhood, politics and the chaotic state of the virus-stricken world we inhabit, Inquirer Entertainment went from speaking to the dreamy Hollywood icon to virtually “meeting” the rest of his formidable cast in a press conference for his deeply ruminative sci-fi drama “The Midnight Sky.” Just for you, dear readers—and perfectly timed for Christmas!
Matching its immense narrative scale with star-driven sparkle, the movie, described by Rolling Stone critic Peter Travers as a film that “finds hope in the human impulse to have each other’s backs,” will begin streaming on Netflix this Wednesday.
Set 29 years in the future, the movie follows how a lone scientist in the Arctic, Augustine (George), races against time to stop Earth-bound astronauts after a successful mission. Unknown to them, however, Sully (Felicity Jones), Mitchell (Kyle Chandler), Adewole (David Oyelowo), Maya (Tiffany Boone) and Sanchez (Demian Bichir), will be coming home to death and devastation on postapocalyptic Earth.
Joining the 59-year-old superstar in the group interview were Felicity (“The Theory of Everything”), Kyle (“Early Edition”), David (“Selma”), Tiffany (“Hunters”) and Demian (“A Better Life,” the upcoming “Godzilla vs Kong”). Also present was Irish child actress Caoilinn Springall, whose 7-year-old character keeps George company after she’s left behind by the rescue mission.
Like the Yuletide season itself, “The Midnight Sky” makes wise use of its pertinent, prescient themes as it urges viewers to take stock of life held hostage by a man-made global crisis and the importance of forging connections with the people around us.
As George explained, while the story is set in 2049, it certainly is as relevant now as any other time in history. Asked what he wanted to add to the genre, the actor-director explained, “I was talking to Netflix about all the anger, hatred and the things that have been playing out in our lives, not just in the United States, but all over the world as well, and how if you play that out for 30 years, it’s not inconceivable that we could blow ourselves to kingdom come.
“But after we finished shooting (in February), the pandemic came around. It soon became clear that what we were developing was a story about our desperate need to be home, to be in close contact with the people we love, and how difficult the struggle is to communicate with one another.”
For Felicity, the draw also went beyond her character’s do-or-die exploits in outer space. “The film tackles some massive issues asking existential questions asking about the meaning of life. What are we doing here and why?” she said. “These are the questions we’re asking ourselves in this strange epoch that we find ourselves in. So, it has these broader brushstrokes, but at the same time, the production is also an intimate relationship drama about trying to establish connection. As it turned out, we thought we were making entertainment, then suddenly, we were also making a documentary!”
Springall (left) and Clooney in “The Midnight Sky”
Our Q&A with George and his fabulous crew:
A performance can feel procedural in a movie like this, given the technical jargon that’s part of your dialogue. David and Kyle, can you talk about how you were able to bring interesting shades to your characters?
David: George was very good at guiding us on this. He would often talk about his experience in “ER” and all of that [medical] jargon that they had to spout in that show. Basically, it’s about learning and saying it as fast as you can—that is key. Because if you seem to know what you’re talking about, then the audience gets keyed into the emotion of what your character is actually feeling. Don’t get hung up on the terminology, just keep playing the stakes.
Kyle: George sets up an environment with a calming effect. It’s fair to assume that he expects everyone to come to the set and give his 110 percent. But at the same time, he has a way where everything is relaxed and everyone has a good time. He doesn’t just hear you, he listens to you—and if you’re lucky, you get a joke along with it.
This movie follows two different plotlines—the one in outer space and on Earth. Demian, what were you most impressed by when you saw the finished product?
Demian: The overall result is a beautiful film. We had to use our imagination when we filmed scenes with the holograms and talked about our characters’ roots. I had just done “Godzilla vs Kong,” imagining big monsters like King Kong and Godzilla, so coming into this, I got good training doing just that.
But one of the things that I loved about this particular shoot was the outstanding production design, which makes your work as an actor very easy. There were many moments when we actually saw what the characters would see on the big screen. So, it wasn’t just green screen that we were imagining, we actually saw our planet and realized what became of it! It was very emotional.
Felicity, you gave birth two months after the film wrapped up in February. But how scared were you to have that phone call with George and announce that you were pregnant?
Felicity: Umm, initially, I was very worried that I would get fired (laughs). At first, I was trying not to look pregnant, then I was denying myself a lot of chocolate cake. So, when he said you can be pregnant in the film, I was relieved about it (laughs), thank God! It’s a testament to his modernity to embrace what was happening. Moreover, it was pretty revolutionary—to see a pregnant woman in outer space is quite extraordinary.
Caoilinn, what was it like to have to act without talking? Are you really a silent person?
Well, it’s hard to act when you only have to show emotions. I really struggled with it, but thankfully I pulled it off. But I’m actually a little chatterbox to have around.
The floating blood sequence is one of the best scenes this year—it’s horrifying and truly extraordinary. What was it like to film it?
Tiffany: There was really no blood there—it was just all of us imagining it, from the first droplet and so on, which took a long time to shoot. We rehearsed it for months. The special effects team did such a great job of putting what we saw in our heads right there.
Demian, you’ve done movies in this genre before. But what was it about this one that you were most excited to do?
Demian: For many different reasons! First of all, if George Clooney calls you, you just have to go—whether it’s for a basketball match or jumping off a bridge. Of course there’s also all those names involved in it. Plus, in this industry, you don’t find too many scripts with a Mexican playing an astronaut.
The film is a confirmation that when a Hollywood heavyweight is in charge of a project, he brings with him the best talent in every department. I experienced that before with Ridley Scott (“Alien: Covenant”), Quentin Tarantino (“The Hateful Eight”), Steven Soderbergh (“Che”) and Chris Weitz (“A Better Life”).
For the spacewalk scene, what sort of training did you have to go through?
David: Training started about two to three months before we started shooting, and I actually sought George for advice about it—and boy, did we need it! With “Gravity” and “Solaris” under his belt, George is to space movies what Robert DeNiro is to gangster flicks.
You are being suspended by these wires, which are attached to parts of your body that just shouldn’t have that much level of pressure on them. I’m so glad I already had my four children by the time I did this film (laughs)!
How did it feel shooting like two movies in one?
George: The guys were in training while Caoilinn and I were shooting the first half of the film in Iceland, from October until around New Year, at about the time we finished building the spaceship. Then, everybody came in and it was like doing a different film. It was like doing “The Revenant” for the first half, then doing “Gravity” for the second half.
If you do your homework, then at least you’re not bouncing back and forth between two different worlds. I cut while I shot, so we didn’t have to go back and do reshoots, thank God—because by the end of it, in the beginning of February, they already shut us down!
I remember getting home to LA and they said, “OK, this COVID thing is real and we may have to shut things down.” We were in the editing room and they said, “But don’t worry, it only affects elderly people—like, anyone from 55 or older.”
I said, “What?” Elderly, ha! (George is 59). So, yeah, that wasn’t a thrill for me.
