The Help helmer Tate Taylor, whose James Brown biopic Get On Up will open this August, has just signed on to direct historical drama In the Event of a Moon Disaster for FilmNation.
Mike Jones penned the script for the film, which was included on a recent iteration of the Black List for best un-produced screenplays. Jones was inspired by the 2009 discovery of a speech called “In Event Of Moon Disaster,” which was found in the papers of presidential speechwriter William Safire shortly after Safire passed away.
Written in 1969, the speech was intended to be read by President Richard Nixon in the event that the famed Apollo 11 mission to the moon was met with tragedy. However, this film won’t be your typical historical drama. In the Event of a Moon Disaster will run with the speech and fictionalize the events of the Apollo 11 mission, imagining a reality in which the grave speech became necessary.
It’s certainly an interesting project, and the script’s inclusion on the Black List suggests that Jones found a way to tell a compelling alt-history tale without being exploitative or disrespectful to those involved with the actual Apollo 11 mission. As for Taylor, he is definitely a skilled director and an excellent choice to bring this story to the big screen – with Oscar favorite The Help and highly anticipated biopic Get on Up under his belt, his filmography really speaks for itself.
Principal photography is set to commence on In the Event of a Moon Disaster in early 2015. Producers at FilmNation have already begun casting, so stay tuned!
