Soaring in with the unbridled spirit of classics like director Philip Kaufman's "The Right Stuff," a new short film making the festival rounds and being submitted for Oscar contention is indie filmmaker Jean de Meuron's "Edge of Space."
This 18-minute cinematic flight starring Chad Michael Collins is a thrilling leap into the wild blue yonder. It offers an absorbing glimpse into NASA’s X-15 rocket plane, which flew from 1959 to 1968, and we've got an exclusive high-altitude clip to share.
That legendary hypersonic rocket-propelled aircraft was an experimental marvel drop-launched in mid-air from a B-52 Stratofortress. The X-15 set speed and altitude records — 4,520 mph (7,274 kph) and 354,200 feet (108.0 kilometers) — that stand to this day for craft of its type. A collaboration between NASA, North American Aviation, the U.S. Air Force, and the Navy, the X-15 research program included 12 fearless test pilots, including Apollo 11's Neil Armstrong.
"I've always been fascinated with space exploration and NASA," de Meuron told Space.com. "I had the privilege and pleasure of working on Roland Emmerich's 'Moonfall' in collaboration with NASA. That was also the time where now space exploration has had a renaissance with SpaceX and Blue Origin and the Artemis program, where the goal is to land the next woman or person of color on the moon."
De Meuron is a rising star with instinctive talent behind the camera, and his latest project captures the essence of America's ambitious space goals with a rousing drama set in the early '60s during the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Related: What was the space race?
We follow a gallant USAF test pilot recruited by NASA for a daring suborbital mission aboard an X-15 rocket-powered machine. "Edge of Space" showcases stylized production values, compelling performances, stirring flight sequences and visual effects that catapult this short film into the stratosphere.
"So how did we end up here? Because there’s no future without the past," de Meuron said. "The inspiration for 'Edge of Space' came to me when thinking about the men and women who ignited that global interest in space and risked their life in pursuit of seemingly impossible dreams. We have the Wright Brothers in the early 20th century, then in the span of six decades we went into space. I wanted to explore that early pioneer era when we as a species united in one common goal and shared purpose. I love history, and for JFK to have the vision of ushering in the Space Race was amazing. A few years ago, when Chuck Yeager passed away, I read this incredible article about his life and I remembered Tom Wolfe's 'The Right Stuff' and Philip Kaufman's movie. I wanted to make a film about that bravery, that patriotism."
Trying to conjure up as much realism as possible, de Meuron called Universal Studios, which had produced Damien Chazelle's "First Man" starring Ryan Gosling, and asked them if they still had their X-15, but they had already disassembled it.
"There are a lot of visual effects elements in the movie, but that was actually a real mock-up of the X-15 on the ground," he explained. "We scouted the X-15 that's still there at the historic hanger at Edwards Air Force Base. To make sure that the attention to detail was correct, we took pictures and then we scanned it for our effects company. The inside was hollow and the outside was actual metal, so it had that shiny surface. We scanned it so we had a digital 3D print so we can photograph it during different times of the day to give us different reflections of the surface to use when he's in space. The mission in the film was very much inspired by Neil Armstrong's mission when he flew in the X-15 and bounced off the atmosphere, which was depicted in 'First Man.'
"Chad is the lead in the 'Sniper' film franchise, and I molded him off the Mercury 7 astronauts, from Alan Shepard to John Glenn, so I was looking for a handsome, clean-cut, All-American pilot look, and Chad just personifies that and he has such charisma. We gave him the Kennedy cut for a haircut, and Chad was wonderful to collaborate with because he brings ideas. When you say 'action,' he just performs.
"We shot with anamorphic lenses to get that 2:39-to-1 aspect ratio to really have that epic cinematic look. We added a 70mm grain so it looks like film since it's shot on digital. It was very much inspired by the approach of director Terrence Malick, so we shot mostly during magic hour, golden hour, and blue hour and mainly with available light and a little bounce. That was the right tone for that movie, something very nostalgic and beautiful. The opening of the movie is the sun and the closing of the movie is the moon. So I was playing a lot with light and the feeling of the colors."
Related: The best space movies of all time
In establishing overall tone, de Meuron wanted "Edge of Space" to be uplifting and non-political and invoking a nostalgic era, so he began at the end of World War II.
"It's where there's hope again, and the father inspiring his son to follow in his footsteps. To me it was also about the imprint and impact the people you admire have on you while you pursue your own legacy. And that's really the central struggle."
"Edge of Space" continues to compete on the festival circuit, and it could possibly be honored with an Oscar nomination for Best Live-Action Short Film in January!
