Seth Gordon has signed on to direct the astronaut drama Ground Control To Major Tom. Solstice Studios, which only launched in 2018, have acquired the rights to the film and have begun making casting offers.
The title is obviously taken from the opening line of David Bowie‘s 1969 single ‘Space Oddity’, but the film itself is the story of an astronaut and a NASA ground control expert who have never met but fall in love over the course of the astronaut’s classified mission to an abandoned space station.
But things go very wrong when the astronaut’s ship is destroyed, and ground control and the rest of the world presume he’s dead. That is until 18 months pass and they receive word that may not be the case. Now, they must navigate the huge expanse of space to get him home and finally meet. Jason Micallef – creator of the Heathers TV series – has written the script.
Gordon’s previous directorial credits – which include plenty of comedies, including Four Christmases, Horrible Bosses and Baywatch – make him, at least ostensibly, an odd choice to helm a large sci-fi drama like this. Nobody’s rushing to the cinema to see a Seth Gordon movie. That is, at least right now. Maybe this changes things.
Solstice Studios plans to produce three to five movies per year for a global audience in the $20 million-$80 million budget range. That budget is the kind of “middle class movie” that has dissipated over the last two decades as blockbusters have gotten bigger and indies have gotten smaller.
The company’s first theatrical release will be Unhinged, a road rage thriller starring Russell Crowe. Solstice will also start production in April on Robert Rodriguez‘s action thriller, Hypnotic, which stars Ben Affleck.
#Peace.Love.GroundControlToMajorTom
