The Knockturnal had the pleasure of sitting down with Halle Berry, Patrick Wilson, John Bradley and Roland Emmerich to talk about their new sci-fi/action film ‘Moonfall’.
Halle Berry plays a NASA executive and former astronaut who teams up with her disgraced ex-partner Patrick Wilson and conspiracy theorist John Bradley to save the world when a mysterious force knocks the moon from its orbit and sends it hurtling toward Earth.
Berry’s character was originally written as a man, but she tells The Knockturnal that having a Black woman in a high position at NASA was one of the things that drew her to the role.
“To be a Black woman and be able to play the head of NASA seemed pretty exciting to me,” she said. “Nobody makes these movies better, in my opinion, than Roland Emmerich. He is the king of the big sci-fi disaster, CGI movies. And fans love these kinds of movies – they’re always crowd-pleasers. So to be a part of that and to work with Roland was a real treat.”
Director Roland Emmerich – the mastermind behind end of the world films ‘The Day After Tomorrow’, ‘Independence Day’ and ‘2012’ – said he got the inspiration for this screenplay from a book.
“I read a book called ‘Who Built The Moon’ and every time I looked at the moon I said, ‘Oh my God, is it an artificial object?’ and then they offered three theories about it, but then I said I have to find my own theory,’ Emmerich said.
Patrick Wilson, who’s known for the terrifying ‘The Conjuring’ films, said people love disaster movies the same way they love horror films.
Wilson said, “It provides a scare and makes you think, ‘Well, as bad as my life can feel, it’s not that bad.’ But there’s also the release. A good horror movie is well crafted and a disaster movie is well crafted in that even if it gets so scary and overwhelming and oh my gosh what’s going to happen to these people, usually – with the exception of ‘Don’t Look Up’ -a good disaster movie ends on some kind of positive emotional success.”
‘Moonfall’ was shot at the beginning of the pandemic and John Bradley, known for his role in Game of Thrones, said it was difficult to socialize with the cast due to protocols, but added that they had a great time on set.
Bradley said he relates to his character in so many ways.
“He’s been fixated and obsessed with space from a very young age, never thought in a million years he’d get to go up there and I sort of feel the same way about movies and acting. Never did I in a million years think I’d get to do a movie with Halle Berry or directed by Roland Emmerich, so that personal sense of achievement in very unlikely odds, I really connected with in a warped way,” Bradley said.
Berry, who just made her directorial debut, said she would definitely direct again in the future, but she wants to continue doing projects that she’s passionate about.
As for whether the cast will be blasting off into space any time soon, there were mixed feelings.
Halle Berry gave a stern, ‘No.’ when asked about space travel. While Wilson and Bradley said they’ll never say never, and would be open to it when it becomes safer in the future.
‘Moonfall’ hits theaters Friday, February 4.