‘Fly Me to the Moon’: Unexpected ‘secret sauce’ to Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum movie

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum dazzle in the new film Fly Me to the Moon, directed by the prolific Greg Berlanti. With an impressive supporting cast that includes Woody Harrelson, Jim Rash, Ray Romano and Anna Garcia, it’s a unique romantic comedy set around NASA’s Apollo 11 moon landing.

Co-written by Rose Gilroy (the daughter of actor Rene Russo, and screenwriter and director Dan Gilroy), Fly Me to the Moon begins with marketing maven Kelly Jones (Johansson), who’s made a career of being a sort of marketing con woman. It’s all very Mad Men-esque.

Kelly is approached by Moe Berkus (Harrelson) to be brought on to mend NASA’s public image, crafting the PR element that will actually get the support for putting Americans on the moon, and it involves a plot to create a fake moon landing.

Leading the actual space mission is Cole Davis (Tatum), who meets Kelly before he knows her involvement with NASA. In their working environment they argue, butt heads, but like any rom-com, that leads to romantic tension.

For Berlanti, what particularly excited the director about coming on board for Fly Me to the Moon was that it was an original idea in a sea of films that are often reboots, remakes and sequels.

“So many of my favourite memories of going to the movies as a kid in the ’80s. … Every weekend there were big stars in some movie that you just didn’t know what was going to happen, and they were a blend of tones,” Berlanti told Yahoo Canada. “This had all of the spirit of that.”

“It was also in a world that I was really interested in as a kid and as an adult. And so to get a chance to do something like that in the space of NASA and the Apollo missions, and something that I felt is still incredibly so relevant, because of the advent of social media and whether or not the government tells us the truth, and all that. It felt like it was even more current today.”

For Rash, who plays Lance Vespertine, a director who works with Kelly on crafting the fake moon landing, there was something nostalgic about the film for the actor, while also tapping into those core moments that can unify people.

“It does feel like this old studio picture back when actors were like under contract and these were two stars that Sony and Apple have under contract,” Rash said. “And you’re going to do a romantic comedy, and it’s set in space, and they don’t have an option.”

“But lucky for us, they did it. … I think these are movies that sort of reignite, when we do put down everything and just take something in together, we can’t help but get emotional about it.”

‘A character who really believes whatever you’re paying them to believe’

There’s something interesting about beginning a story with a character that continues to shift and change. Kelly is a woman who morphs into whoever she needs to be to get what she wants.

“I think it was so fun to start with a character who really believes whatever you’re paying them to believe, … who really doesn’t stand for anything, will do whatever she needs to get ahead,” Gilroy highlighted. “It’s fun to then transform her and show the downside of living that way, and how the truth is important.”

“So much of that character comes from Scarlett and her notes. She is on every page of the script. She was involved from the first note session to the last one, to development. … It’s easy to create a great character when you have notes from one of the legends in our industry.”

Berlanti has been particularly interested in doing a film about a con artist for some time, or more specifically, “somebody who learns the value of the truth.”

“She’s also a cynic, really, in a way she’s the most in common with maybe our contemporary audience, even though she’s at the centre of this period story,” he said.

“And by going to NASA, … it really represents the best in all of us and it changes her character. And I think hopefully in the movie it opens people’s eyes to just the power of what everyone can do when they’re working together. I think she learns that and that’s so much in the DNA of the film.”

‘I’d rather it feel very real coming out of the person’s mouth’

While Johansson and Tatum lead the film, actors like Rash really steal the screen, as a high-energy character with a narcissistic personality, and some of the best costumes in the whole movie.

“All those clothes, you hold your body immediately differently,” Rash said. “Your spine gets straighter, your shoulders are back. Also, I kept telling them make it tighter, but that’s just my own personal taste.”

“The sense of style, the sense of who he is, the sense of no apologies, all that stuff sort of feeds into it. So you can’t help but strut a little bit. You can’t help but sashay a little bit. It all goes in. And if you have a hat cocked to the side, you can’t help but have attitude.”

For Berlanti, casting comedians who can also do drama, and are clever, is his “favourite” part of the job, and he’s open to any particular interpretations the actors bring to their characters.

“If the experience you’re having making the film isn’t fun or funny, then the audience isn’t going to laugh,” Berlanti said. “It’s really always the spirit of the line to me, I’d rather it feel very real coming out of the person’s mouth, even if it’s a joke.”

“When you do get a Babe Ruth of comedy, like a Woody Harrelson or Ray Romano or Jim Rash, or the capacity for comedy and drama that obviously Scarlett and Channing have at the centre, you kind of don’t know what’s going to happen every day. And so I just try and foster an environment where people can just go with it. And then the hard part’s in the edit bay, because you’re sitting there with like 15 good jokes.”

For Rash, who has an expansive improv background, but is also an Oscar-winning writer, he stressed that good improv can really happen when there’s a strong script to work from.

“You can’t get a better marriage and that’s mainly because everyone knows who they are. Everyone knows what’s happening and the intentions of all the scenes is very clear,” he said.

A particularly good example of that blend of comedy and drama is Romano’s character Henry Smalls, who certainly has comedic moments, but the film ends with a really sweet and emotional scene with the character’s family.

“The character of Henry is really interesting because before Ray was attached it was a different part, and he had so many great thoughts and ideas, and through Greg just really elevated his part,” Gilroy said. “And then even just being on set, watching what the scenes with him were and how he comedically just elevated everything, I was blown away.”

“I was really inspired by how it transitioned. Once you brought someone like him on, you’re able to really craft the character around this person and this legend.”

‘Secret sauce’ of the film is a cat

On the theme of scene stealers, Fly Me to the Moon also has a particularly impactful appearance by a cat in a critical part of the film, which was actually three cats used on set.

Gilroy revealed that cat is actually one of her favourite pieces of the movie.

“The secret sauce of the movie is the cat,” she said, adding that originally there wasn’t a cat in a key moment in the film.

“I remember getting notes from [writer Keenan Flynn], and opening it up and it was like, ‘This is really funny, but what if there was like a loose animal like … a cat.’ And I remember spitting out my coffee laughing.”

But Berlanti had a particular challenge working with cats on the film.

“On a logistical level, I’m deathly allergic to cats, so I knew when I read it, I was like, oh that means I’m supposed to do this movie, because I don’t know how I’m going to actually be on set even,” Berlanti said. “There were a few cat pieces that were in the movie that are not in the movie any longer. It was about finding the right balance. But every shot of the cat you see, that is a real cat. It’s never CG.”

“In this day and age, you’re really encouraged to not take those risks, because timing wise, you could be waiting forever. But we had amazing cat trainers, amazing cats. I left liking cats even more, even despite the fact that they could kill me if I was left in a room with one of them. … It’s sort of the spirit of Scarlett’s character, a little bit. There’s a commonality, in think, in terms of the playfulness of the character.”

Fly Me to the Moon is now in theatres and will be released on Apple TV+ later this year.