“Project Hail Mary” co-director Christopher Miller issued a clarification on X after his recent interview with Comicbook.com went viral for his revelation that the movie features zero green screens despite being a VFX-heavy space odyssey. Ryan Gosling headlines Miller and Phil Lord’s film adaption of Andy Weir’s 2021 book of the same name, which centers on a school teacher turned astronaut tasked with stopping a mysterious entity from blacking out the sun.
“What’s fun about the movie is that there is no green screen in the movie whatsoever. Not a single green or blue screen was used,” Miller told ComicBook on the film’s press tour. “The whole ship was built as a set from the inside. We had a huge section of the exterior of the ship on the outside that we built. [The alien character Rocky] was really with us at all times. And so, that’s what makes it feel real and makes it feel natural.”
Miller then took to X to clarify that “no green screen” doesn’t mean “no VFX,” and “there were, in fact, thousands of VFX shots in the film (2018!).”
“Green screen is sometimes used in lieu of building sets or figuring out locations/lighting in advance, which can be noticeable if not done carefully, and is something we didn’t want to do,” Miller explained. “We built the entire interior of the Hail Mary ship – but within the ship, there were still wire and puppeteer removals and ceiling replacements, etc.”
Miller continued, “When Ryan is outside on the hull of the ship, we shot him in front of a black background for space and a shifting hue background when he was up against the aurora of a planet which allowed for truer interactive light on him than a green screen would. The wide space exteriors and spaceship shots were entirely digital and beautifully done by ILM. Rocky was a seamless blend of puppetry and animation from Framestore. And other great work from many more. It really does take a village and we had the best of the best on our side.”
The practical effects in “Project Hail Mary” are already being singled out as one of the film’s biggest triumphs. Guillermo del Toro recently attended a screening of the film and posted: “What Phil and Chris did here- the amount of PRACTICAL sets and effects and puppets is just so beautiful to see- so inspiring to hold- it’s a goal- and aspiration and a commitment. Specially now- so much- now.”
“Project Hail Mary” opens in theaters March 20 from Amazon MGM.
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