Los Angeles: Two days after Brad Pitt video-chatted with a NASA astronaut on the International Space Station, the star brought his space epic Ad Astra to the U.S., with a Hollywood premiere on September 18.
On the red carpet, the star, who plays an astronaut who travels through the solar system to find his father, reflected on the conversation.
"I was actually surprised how moved I was, and how exciting it was to be able to be talking to an astronaut -- in this case Nick Hague, up in the Space Station," Pitt said. "I mean, it's happening and he's there at this moment. And then his insights and experiences from spacewalks and looking back to the Earth, or why he does what he does, I thought it was really moving."
Ad Astra, which made its world premiere last month at the Venice Film Festival, is the latest from director James Gray (The Lost City of Z) and serves up an intimate family saga painted on an IMAX-sized canvas.
READ | Did you spot Indian moon lander: Brad Pitt asks NASA astronaut
"I thought he (Gray) built something here that was an original addition to the sci-fi genre. That really intrigued me," recalled Pitt. "And then this investigation, he and I both being fathers, being sons, it just spawned this really interesting conversation between us and it felt like a worthy gamble to jump into."
Astra has been a big question mark for film-industry watchers for months, given its release date was pushed back by months after its studio, 20th Century Fox, was purchased by The Walt Disney Company. There also have been reports about the filmmakers making last-minute changes to the movie's ending.
Pitt said the ending was only slightly tweaked, and the change came organically.
Ad Astra releases in India on September 20.
With inputs from APTN
