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"The Astronaut Farmer" "Astronaut Farmer Trailer" - First Look "Astronaut Farmer" - In Theaters February 23, 2007 
"The Astronaut Farmer" - From the time he was a child, Charles Farmer (BILLY BOB THORNTON) had only one goal: to be an astronaut. Earning his degree in aerospace engineering and joining the Air Force as a pilot, Farmer was a natural for NASA's astronaut training program and was well on his way when a family situation forced him to drop out and return home-effectively ending his career. But Farmer was not a man to let anything stand in the way of a dream. He spent the next decade and every cent he had building his own rocket in a barn on his ranch in Story, Texas, working toward the day when he could triumphantly launch it into space. By himself. Sharing his vision are his wife Audie (VIRGINIA MADSEN) and their children-daughters Sunshine and Stanley, and 15-year-old Shepard, already a budding engineer and eager to serve as "mission control" on the big day. Even Audie's father Hal (BRUCE DERN), on hand to lend moral support, can see how his son-in-law's unwavering commitment has inspired the family with a common dream-something he himself, as a father, was never able to achieve. On the eve of the long-anticipated launch, an unexpected problem arises. Farmer's efforts to secure 10,000 pounds of high-grade fuel catches the attention of the FBI...and subsequently the media, who encamp in droves outside his gate, speculating wildly about this "space cowboy" and his homemade rocket. Farmer finds himself depicted on TV screens worldwide as a renegade hero, inspiring an outpouring of popular support, while simultaneously drawing heavy fire from the FBI, CIA, FAA, NASA and the U.S. Military, all of whom see him as a threat and will do anything they can think of to shut him down. But Farmer knows this is his only chance-not only to reach his goal of breaking through the Earth's atmosphere but to instill in his children the courage to pursue their own ideals and never give up...no matter the odds. He will not let himself be grounded again - "The Astronaut Farmer." Wild About Movies Grade: C "The Astronaut Farmer" The Line Between “Dreamer” and “Crazy” “Charles Farmer is a little bit eccentric, but that’s because he’s doing what he wants to do,” says “The Astronaut Farmer” director and co-writer Michael Polish. “Any time you contrast that with people who seem to have a normal life, who are likely not doing what they want to do, you’re going to see someone who looks a little bit out on the edge. “Everybody’s allowed to dream,” Polish continues. “Hopefully, the dream isn’t so big that the ride to achieve it will kill you. But anyone who is chasing something has to give something up. There’s always a sacrifice involved. I think what holds people back from fulfilling their dreams is that sacrifice.”
Charles Farmer has already sacrificed plenty and is willing to go the distance in pursuit of his dream of space flight, even after circumstances and expulsion from NASA seem to have closed that door to him forever. Billy Bob Thornton, who stars as Farmer, puts it pragmatically: “Once you get something stuck in your craw, you gotta do it. What else can you do? Do you sacrifice everything to achieve that dream or do you crawl in a hole and give up? One way or another, the people who try are the ones we care about.” Award-winning independent filmmakers Mark and Michael Polish first earned critical attention in 1999 with their debut drama “Twin Falls Idaho,” which they wrote, directed and starred in. They followed with the 2001 feature “Jackpot,” which earned them an Independent Spirit Award, and “Northfork,” which premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. The Polish Brothers understand the power of conviction and the value of pursuing a goal, as well as the compromises and losses that are often required along the way. “What’s most important is that Farmer does everything he can to succeed,” offers award-winning producer Paula Weinstein. “Then, even if he doesn’t, he can still live with himself. That’s something he feels is vitally important to show his children. It’s what America is founded on and it’s the message of this movie: if you do your best, if you dream high enough and let nothing stop you from climbing all the way to the top of your particular mountain, then, even if it doesn’t work out, you are still fulfilled as a human being for having done your absolute best.” Personally inspired and fascinated by the 1960s space race that culminated in Neil Armstrong’s historic walk on the moon, the Polish Brothers gave their hero a similar passion. “Charles Farmer is a guy who watched the first man step foot on the moon and that was probably the single most dramatic moment of his childhood,” suggests Mark Polish, who co-wrote and was a producer on the film. Adds Michael, “The story was sparked by our interest in space exploration, but beyond that, it’s about a need to dream of adventures, whether it’s Neil Armstrong or Lewis and Clark. I think that, as a society, we’ve stopped dreaming about exploration. With space being the contemporary frontier, we got to thinking how would a common person do this? What if you don’t have the means or you’re not in the military or the NASA program?” Farmer starts out on a conventional path, paying his dues and rising from the Air Force ranks to NASA’s astronaut training program, but, unfortunately, life intervenes. When his father dies unexpectedly, Farmer makes the tough choice to return to the family farm to make the necessary arrangements and, ultimately, to pay off a mountain of debt, knowing that it means losing his position in the space program and his dream of piloting a rocket. “But, rather than give up what he was so close to achieving, he decides to take it into his own hands and build his own rocket,” says Mark. Farmer’s quest not only costs him his savings and strains every professional relationship in his life, it regularly puts him at odds with his neighbors, local law enforcement, his children’s school and the community at large. He faces ridicule, bankruptcy, arrest and even some hilariously misguided attempts at psychoanalysis, and, eventually, the unwelcome attention of a cadre of humorless government officials, from the FBI and CIA to the FAA and even a former NASA colleague—all bent on convincing him that what he’s doing is impossible. Still, he perseveres. “The Astronaut Farmer” isn’t necessarily about space travel, notes producer Len Amato. “As a story about overcoming obstacles, it can apply to any accomplishment where there’s always a certain amount of doubt and a chorus of naysayers—people who call you crazy because they don’t understand—and you have to push through with your own vision to make something where there was nothing before. “It’s also about taking calculated risks and overcoming your fear,” Amato continues. “In this movie, that fear is represented in a very tangible way. You have a guy essentially sitting on top of a gigantic metal tube, filled with jet propulsion fuel, that’s either going to launch him into orbit or blow him to bits.” The Family Factor Beyond Charles Farmer’s desire to orbit the Earth, “The Astronaut Farmer” is about family, depicted here, as Paula Weinstein points out, “in a very real and loving and sometimes combative familial relationship.” The entire Farmer clan is involved in and supports Charles’ one-man rocket program and he, in turn, uses it to teach his three children valuable lessons they might not otherwise learn about determination, courage and integrity. This, actually, becomes more important to Farmer than launching the rocket, observes Mark Polish, who says, “He’s setting an example for them. That’s something we don’t often see anymore; we look for role models outside the family rather than within it. Here, Charles’ son Shepard is just as involved in the project as he is. He’s inspired by his father and aspires to be like him. You see the same level of determination in both father and son.” “Farmer is absolutely determined to give his children the guidance that he didn’t have,” says Weinstein. “His own father was defeated by the world and by the economics of farming, and left a legacy of bitterness and regret. By pursuing his dream to go into space, Farmer is hoping to show his children that you must dare to risk, dare to succeed.” Michael and Mark Polish drew on personal experience for portions of the story. As much as family dynamics are a focus of “The Astronaut Farmer” onscreen, an integral sense of family is a significant part of the brothers’ creative process as well, providing support, inspiration and the humor that threads through their work in myriad ways. “Charles Farmer is based on our own father. We grew up watching him do and build anything he wanted,” says Michael. Mark agrees, adding, “He never underestimated what we could do if we set our minds to it. When I started making movies he never said I couldn’t. He wasn’t in the movie business but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that he never once said ‘Hey, you can’t do that,’ or ‘Don’t try that.’” In writing the screenplay for “The Astronaut Farmer,” the brothers honored the encouragement their father provided them by giving Charles Farmer a similar relationship with his young son, Shepard, who, at 15, is ready to take on the staggering challenge of helping send his dad into space. Although it seems absurd to everyone, in particular the head of the FAA, that Farmer would trust his fate to a teenager, Farmer never expresses the slightest doubt in his son’s abilities—abilities he has been nurturing for years. As Weinstein notes, “Shepard’s schooling is limited. The curriculum is bound by certain rules. It doesn’t allow for dreaming and it doesn’t allow for nurturing extraordinary talent. Meanwhile, at home, Shepard is learning how to build a rocket. He’s charting orbits, calculating trajectories, stretching his mind. By giving him so much responsibility, Farmer encourages him to rise to a higher level.” In another example of art imitating life, Mark Polish cites a scene from the film in which Audie Farmer goes to the bank and is stunned to find that her husband has wiped them out financially to fund his rocket project. “Something similar happened to my wife,” he admits. “I had withdrawn all the money because we were using it on a film, and when she went to the bank there was no money in the account. Suddenly I got a phone call: ‘What’s going on?!’” He laughs, conceding that making an independent film can sometimes seem as farfetched as building a rocket in your barn. “It’s a tough situation to be in, but it happens. My wife was like Audie in the sense that she understood the insanity I was going through at the time and supported me because she would rather have me be that way than have me not doing what I love.” Casting: Because Every Astronaut Needs a Good Ground Team Whether or not Charles Farmer is able to launch himself into space with his homemade rocket, it was his drive to reach that goal that resonated with Billy Bob Thornton, cast as the amateur astronaut and quintessential adventurer. “It’s a dream he had since he was five years old, to go up into space,” states Thronton. “He wants to see what this place looks like from up there. That’s what he set out to do and he decides he’s going to do it…even though it’s not particularly legal and it gets him into trouble with a lot of people, especially the FBI.” It wasn’t just the role and its message that appealed to Thornton, it was the tone and sensibility of the story itself, reminiscent of favorite films from the past. “It doesn’t matter when you were born, at some point in your life you’ve seen movies from the 1940s and 50s, you know the emotions they evoke, and I feel this movie delivers in much the same way. I think the movie business was created to move people, to take them out of the worlds they live in and put them into another world for awhile, and that’s what happens here. It’s a good old-fashioned movie, but in a modern setting.” “Thornton brings undeniable charisma to the role,” Mark attests. “He’s truly one of the greats, a real star, but he also has that working-class quality of a guy you’d just naturally want to be around, like a buddy. He’s strong, subtle, endlessly impressive—it’s a rare blend.” For the role of Farmer’s wife, Audie, the filmmakers cast Virginia Madsen. “People always say that behind every successful man is a strong woman,” says Michael. “It can be a cliché, but in this case it’s completely appropriate. Audie is supportive, but she’s also an individual who has not lost herself in this marriage. She can stand on her own and she has her own questions.” Audie’s commitment to the project grows from her love for her husband. As long as it’s something he believes in and wants to do, she is right beside him. That rings true with Madsen, who drew inspiration for the role from her sister’s nearly 30-year marriage, acknowledging that, “Audie and Charles are real partners. They have weathered the storms together, and when you have a real partnership you can do just about anything and survive just about anything.” But there comes a point when Audie has to wonder if he has gone too far. Says Madsen, “Maybe the difference between pursuing a dream and turning that dream into a dangerous obsession is when it starts to become destructive. This is Audie’s dilemma. She realizes they may lose their house to foreclosure and Charles is truly putting his family at risk, and she needs to take a stand.” “Audie is the heart and soul of the movie, as both the loving and supportive wife and a fierce advocate for her family,” says Weinstein. “She’s not willing to have a marriage without criticism. She’s tough on Farmer. She may believe that this dream they share makes the family strong and unique, but her children should not suffer for it. When he takes them out of school she gives him hell.” Meanwhile, Audie’s father, Hal, played by Bruce Dern, takes a positive approach to his son-in-law’s lofty ideas as long as Audie is happy. He sees how Farmer’s dream has united and inspired the entire family, which is more than he himself was able to do as a father, and in that way he admires him. As Dern sees it, “Hal is a booster; he’s with the program. He loves his daughter and his grandkids, he’s learning to love his son-in-law and genuinely wants him to succeed, though he might have his private doubts. It’s a fantasy, sure, but that doesn’t make it impossible. When you think of it, it’s not any crazier than some other things people do. People say goodbye to their families all over the world on the first week of May to go climb Everest. How crazy is that?” Offering more than moral support is Charles Farmer’s lawyer, Kevin Munchak, who defends his longtime friend and client against an increasingly hostile and vocal group of government agencies that want to put him out of the rocket business. Munchak is played by Tim Blake Nelson, who feels “The Astronaut Farmer” defines and celebrates individualism—not only in the character of Charles Farmer but in the supporting characters, including his own. “Munchak is a good lawyer, so the first thing you wonder is why is he here in this small town when he could easily be at a fancy law firm in New York City, making a lot more money? In talking with Mark and Michael, we decided that he did exactly that, then grew tired of it and came back to a place where he could live without cynicism. He is part of Farmer’s support system, but he also has his own dreams, which you imagine could be equally rich.” Max Thieriot, a 2006 nominee for a Young Artist Award for his role in “The Pacifier,” is 15-year-old Shepard Farmer. Bright, analytical and mature beyond his years, Shepard (named in honor of Alan Shepard) idolizes his father and has developed, under his tutelage, not only an encyclopedic knowledge about the space program but an expertise in engineering and physics far beyond anything he could get at Merriweather Lewis High School. For years he has been helping Farmer prepare for this launch and he will be a vital participant when the big day comes. “Shepard is truly inspired by what his father is doing. Max plays it as a very strong, serious kid who’s obviously proud of his father and who wants his father to be proud of him too,” says Len Amato. “Farmer has given him a lot of responsibility and expects a lot from him, and you can see how determined Shepard is to deliver that.” Completing the Farmer family unit are Michael Polish’s seven-year-old daughter, Jasper, as the Farmer’s middle child, Stanley (named for Stanley Kubrick, another maverick and spiritual space traveler whom Charles Farmer would likely admire), and Mark Polish’s four-year-old daughter, Logan, making her film debut as the youngest Farmer child, Sunshine. Jon Gries, a 2005 Independent Spirit Award nominee for “Napoleon Dynamite” who has appeared in all three of the Polish Brothers previous films, rejoins them here as the overly zealous and suspicious FBI Agent Killbourne, assigned to monitor Farmer once his rocket project is made public. It’s clearly not a plum assignment for the ambitious agent. “He doesn’t want to be there,” Gries admits. “He doesn’t think Farmer is going to get off the ground. He thinks it’s all a ruse and a waste of his valuable time—just another long, drawn-out assignment in the middle of nowhere.” Killbourne and his partner, FBI Agent Mathis, played by Mark Polish, provide comic interplay as they attempt to determine whether Charles Farmer is really an astronaut, a terrorist, a media hound…or just some kind of nut. On Location in New Mexico: Building a Mercury Rocket to Near-Scale, and the Barn to Hold It Principal photography began in September 2005, with locations just outside Santa Fe representing the Farmer home and prospective launchpad, and Las Vegas, New Mexico, depicting the Farmers’ fictional hometown of Story, Texas. On their previous films, the Polish Brothers supervised the production design themselves. “The Astronaut Farmer” marks their first collaboration with a production designer, Clark Hunter, whose credits include four films with Billy Bob Thornton, beginning with Thornton’s striking 1996 directorial debut, “Sling Blade.” Working with Michael and Mark Polish proved to be one of the designer’s most energizing professional experiences, which he attributes to their level of involvement. “It’s a joy to work with them because they’re not only creative but they really understand where you’re coming from artistically when you’re trying to shape environments for these characters.” For the Farmer homestead, Hunter returned to The Hughes Ranch, a spacious and beautiful site just outside Santa Fe. He and Thornton used the ranch for “All the Pretty Horses,” and it has been featured in a number of other films over the years because of its perfect combination of easy accessibility and middle-of-nowhere atmosphere. There was a farmhouse and barn already on the property, but both, says Hunter, “were empty hulls, built for another movie but only as exteriors. It was pretty much a wreck when we got there, with nothing inside.” He created all the interiors for the house and raised a brand new barn big enough to accommodate a 50-foot rocket, with roof panels that could be folded open in preparation for launch. It was imperative that the rocket be built as nearly to scale as possible, “based on research and drawings of the Atlas-Mercury rockets and capsules, which are still very recognizable to many people,” says Hunter. “For the skin, we used a company that makes skins for 747s. We built it in sections, then stacked them up and fastened them together.” Not only is the vintage design appropriate for the story’s timeline, it has become an iconic image. As Michael Polish explains, “That was the era when everyone was getting interested in the space program for the first time, and that was its primary image. Plus, from Farmer’s point of view, it’s easier to build a rocket like this than to build the Space Shuttle. If someone wanted to build a car for the first time he would go back to a simpler way of doing it, back to the original Ford design and the combustion engine. “For Farmer, this is more than a fantasy. It’s a reality. He goes to great lengths to build a replica, based on the Atlas-Mercury model,” Michael continues, noting that Farmer is dedicated to, quite literally, the nuts-and-bolts of his dream. Given his engineering skill and assuming the availability of key parts, it seems…well…almost possible. The companion piece to the rocket and barn was Farmer’s so-called Mission Control, the room containing all the computer and technical apparatus that his son Shepard would use to help launch and then monitor the craft’s orbit. “It was an old Air Stream trailer,” says Hunter. “Inside we packed in a lot of vintage gadgetry and 1960s technology intermixed with modern computer equipment in a kind of Rube Goldberg design, which is what it might realistically look like if he had collected and integrated everything in bits and pieces over the years.” “When I first saw the rocket in the barn, finished and assembled, I was very impressed,” says Thornton. Asked if he would consider taking a trip into space himself, given the opportunity, he does not hesitate. “Absolutely. I’d love to go up in a rocket.” Space Suits and Other Wardrobe Essentials When Charles Farmer isn’t in standard work clothes, tending to his ranch or, more likely, hammering or welding the finishing touches to the rocket in his barn, he occasionally dons his old space suit for inspiration or to wow the kids on Career Day at his daughter’s school. But it’s not just any old space suit, as award-winning costume designer Danny Glicker (“Transamerica”) explains. “It’s a detailed replica of the 1960s-era suit used for the Mercury missions. “It’s important to the story that Farmer’s suit evokes a more innocent and exciting time in American history when space travel played significantly in the public’s imagination,” he says. “All its elements—the silver material, the globe helmet, the charmingly low-tech items like laces on the gloves—recall the romance of space travel.” Although mercifully lighter than an authentic space suit, the garment’s challenge was in its “unconventional access,” notes the designer. “A full-body sideways zipper forces the wearer to contort into highly unusual poses in order to get the thing on and off. It was a time-consuming process at first, but, by the end of the shoot, Billy Bob was a pro and could make the change in seconds flat.” Outside his NASA-issue suit, Farmer’s look is down-to-earth, consisting of the jeans, boots and jackets that are the staples of any rancher’s wardrobe and through which Glicker sought to convey both the warmth of his character and the sincerity of his work ethic. Citizens of the fictional Texas town where Farmer lives are similarly outfitted to be “familiar and real, yet timeless, incorporating elements of classic Norman Rockwell Americana,” says Glicker, who avoided modern fabrics such as polar fleece. This contrasts sharply with the clothing worn by the various government officials who descend on the town to restrict and interfere with Farmer’s plans, a stylistic differential most striking in the big confrontation scene that pits the amateur astronaut and his legal counsel against a formidable collection of suited bureaucrats determined to shut him down. But being shut down was never an option for Farmer. Michael Polish reflects, “This story is about the fulfillment of dreams against all odds. I think that is something everyone might want to do, but not everyone is willing or able. Building a rocket in your barn might be a stretch but that’s the definition of dreaming.”
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