An excite new film just released called Project Hail Mary, based on the bestselling novel by Andy Weir, which infuses real scientific concepts into an epic space adventure. Take a behind-the-scenes look at this amaze film (as one of the leads, Rocky, would say), which used practical sets and effects over CGI to create the sense of connection and emotional depth that makes the story so unique.

Rocky Puppet

@nerdist Ryan Gosling loved working with a practical Rocky #RyanGosling #ProjectHailMary #Rocky ♬ original sound – nerdist

In the film, the protagonist Ryland Grace’s (played by Ryan Gosling) main scene partner is a little five-legged rock-like alien named Rocky. Rather than opting to create this character using CGI and having Gosling talk to a tennis ball during their scenes together, the filmmakers opted for a more practical approach and built a physical Rocky puppet that was used exclusively throughout the film.

There were six puppeteers puppetting Rocky throughout the film, who reportedly referred to themselves as the “Rocketeers”. Rather than CGI being used to create Rocky himself, Rocky is entirely practical in the film, and CGI is only used to remove the “rocketeers” from the shots in post-production.

According to Gosling, this allowed the interactions between the characters to have a much more palpable connection, and it also mirrored the process of attempting to find a way to communicate with the character of Rocky in the film itself.

Practical Sets

Once again, rather than using CGI, the spaceship and all of the space scenes in the film are practical sets, with Gosling using wire rigging to create the illusion of zero gravity in the scenes where he is suspended within and outside of the ship. This is especially ambitious for a film set in space, most of which will opt for CGI over practical sets due to difficulty and expense.

There are many small details in the set that make it feel more realistic, including mismatched panels, since most real spaceships are “Frankensteined” together from parts from several different companies.

Voice Acting

@ign Project Hail Mary’s instantly iconic alien Rocky got his voice thanks to the puppeteer’s chemistry with Ryan Gosling #projecthailmary #ryangosling #movie #interview ♬ original sound – IGN Entertainment

One of the puppeteers or “rocketeers” ended up not just responsible for Rocky’s movements throughout the film, but also his voice.

According to an interview with Gosling, though they were originally planning to cast someone else to voice the alien, he and James Ortiz were practicing frequently together in the early days of filming to get used to working with the puppet. They bounced off each other well, and Ortiz seemed to know the character inside and out, so they decided to make him the voice of the character as well.

@people #RyanGosling shared that his 9 and 11-year-old daughters were part of the #ProjectHailMary ♬ original sound – People Magazine

Another voice acting behind-the-scenes tidbit that likely added to the magic of the film is that, for some of the scenes between Rocky and Grace, Gosling’s kids would get on the earpiece and play the voice of Rocky.

Out-of-This-World Premiere

In addition to the world-premiere on Earth, Sony Pictures worked alongside launch specialists Sent Into Space Ltd to launch a specially engineered “IMAX display unit” to a height of 110,000 feet above the Earth. Once it reached that height, the unit began playing footage from the London premiere, followed by the full film in an exclusive 1.43:1 aspect ratio.