George Clooney has spent a lot of time in outer space, at least in the movies. Clooney's newest movie, Netflix's The Midnight Sky is the actor's latest science fiction film. However, Clooney himself doesn't spend much time in outer space. He's stuck on earth while other actors like David Oyelowo, Felicity Jones, and Tiffany Boone. However, just because Clooney doesn't get to do any sort of outer space work doesn't mean he wasn't able to use what he's learned making other movies here.
In addition to starring in The Midnight Sky, George Clooney also directed the film, and Tiffany Boone recently told CNET that having Clooney there was an incredibly valuable resource for her, as he was able to use his experience as an actor in scenes that are supposed to take place in zero gravity, and use that to help the actors on set. As Boone explained...
George is the most laid-back director I've ever worked with. And since he's done so many space movies, he knew exactly what to do. He knew how hard it is to move slowly and pretend there's no gravity while you're still speaking at a normal pace. He had so many secrets that he shared with us to make it a little easier.
Having likely done his own research, and received tips form experts as well as being given direction from other directors, George Clooney was able to take all that experience and use it help those who haven't been in movies like Gravity. Tiffany Boone wasn't the only person that Clooney was able to help. David Oyelowo has also spoken about the tips his director gave him to help him make his spacewalk scenes work better.
The Midnight Sky follows two parallel stories. One incudes George Clooney, as possibly the last man on earth after the planet has been evacuated, it's the perfect movie for quarantine. The second thread follows a group of astronauts on the way home from a deep space voyage, unaware of what they're going to find when they finally make it back.
While The Midnight Sky isn't getting as much praise as some of George Clooney's directorial efforts, many critics do like the film and are putting it up there with his best work. It's possible that getting Clooney behind the camera for a film like this was the perfect movie. Considering aall the sorts of films George Clooney has made it seems unlikely there is any genre where he could not offer his expert experience, but there may be few others so well suited.
And now, the next time these actors are in another spacewalking sci-fi movie, they can pass on what they learned from George Clooney to another group of actors.
