Ad Astra trivia: 42 facts about the new James Gray film

Ad Astra is a new film by director James Gray starring Brad Pitt. It made its worldwide premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

So let’s dive into some trivia and facts!

1. Ad Astra is a 2019 American science fiction adventure film
2. It is produced, co-written, and directed by James Gray
3. Starring Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, and Donald Sutherland
4. It follows an astronaut who goes into space in search of his lost father, whose experiment threatens the solar system
5. The project was announced in early 2016
6. With Gray saying he wanted to feature “the most realistic depiction of space travel that’s been put in a movie”
7. Pitt signed on to star in April 2017
8. And the rest of the cast joined later that year
9. Filming began around Los Angeles that August
10. Lasting through October
11. Ad Astra had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2019
12. It is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on September 20, 2019, by 20th Century Fox
13. It received positive reviews from critics
14. With Pitt’s performance receiving universal praise
15. Astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the Solar System to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones)
16. And unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of humans on Earth
17. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and its place in the cosmos
18. Director James Gray first confirmed his plans to write and direct Ad Astra on May 12, 2016
19. During the 2016 Cannes Film Festival
20. In April 2017, while promoting The Lost City of Z, Gray compared the story of Ad Astra to Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness
21. Gray also mentioned that he intended for the film to feature “the most realistic depiction of space travel that’s been put in a movie and to basically say, ‘Space is awfully hostile to us”
22. Gray also confirmed that filming for Ad Astra would commence on July 17, 2017
23. On April 10, 2017, James Gray confirmed that Brad Pitt would star in Ad Astra
24. In June, Tommy Lee Jones joined the cast to portray Pitt’s lost father
25. In August, Ruth Negga, John Finn, Donald Sutherland and Jamie Kennedy joined the cast
26. Principal photography on the film began in mid-August 2017 in Santa Clarita, California
27. Lasting 60 days
28. The visual effects are provided by Moving Picture Company, Method Studios, Mr. X, Weta Digital, Brainstorm Digital, and Capital T
29. And Supervised by Christopher Downs, Guillaume Rocheron, Ryan Tudhope, Aidan Fraser, Olaf Wendt, Anders Langlands, Eran Dinur, and Jamie Hallett and Territory Studio
30. Ad Astra had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, 2019
31. It is scheduled to be released on September 20, 2019, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
32. It was previously scheduled for January 11, 2019
33. And then for May 24 before being pushed back
34. In the United States and Canada, Ad Astra will be released alongside Downton Abbey and Rambo: Last Blood
35. And is projected to gross $17- 20 million in its opening weekend
36. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 84%
37. Based on 56 reviews
38. With an average rating of 7.76/10
39. The website’s critical consensus reads: “Ad Astra takes a visually thrilling journey through the vast reaches of space while charting an ambitious course for the heart of the bond between parent and child”
40. On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 80 out of 100
41. Based on 19 critics
42. Indicating “generally favorable reviews”