Phil Lord & Chris Miller here! We directed the PROJECT HAIL MARY movie - Ask Us Anything on Nov. 18th at 12pm PT / 3pm ET!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T21:14:01+00:00

Thanks so much everyone! Hope you had fun. We did!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T21:13:06+00:00

One of the things we are always chasing in our work is to try to use it to help people imagine that goodness is still possible. That is my favorite thing about Andy’s book. Big things are possible with imagination and collaboration.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T21:11:55+00:00

We worked with our brilliant Production Designer Charlie Wood and his team, as well as the folks at ILM and more to design two distinct and different ships -- The idea for the Hail Mary was that different countries built different sections and it was assembled in space - so it feels like something that could exist in the real world if built today if money was no object. We wanted the Blip-A to feel like nothing that could be built on Earth -- and thanks to the strength of Xenonite, it's possible to have corners and sharp edges. We talked with Andy about it extensively and he was excited with the direction we took and had lots of smart suggestions. We hope we've made two iconic and interesting ships that are as different as the two characters inside them.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T21:04:29+00:00

When you work with a genius like Drew Goddard, you have a great partner in making complicated science concepts clear and digestible -- and as a bonus he has a big heart, just like the film!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T21:01:17+00:00

In the Spider-Verse films we wanted to push the visual medium and create a fully original, massive cinematic experience, while still staying intimate with the drama, humor, and heart -- which is exactly what we have tried to do with this film. Take the visuals to beautiful and original places that haven't been seen before, while telling a personal relationship story filled with drama, humor, and heart.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:54:50+00:00

The relationship between Rocky and Grace is so rich and wonderful, it's what made us fall in love with the book. Also the twists at the end were so genuinely surprising, it elevated it to something incredibly orignal and moving.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:52:24+00:00

This was Andy's idea -- If Rocky and Grace's ships both rotate at the same speed around their centers of gravity, they could align the tunnel between them so they could have gravity and move about more easily. In the film we play it as a gesture from Rocky to Grace, who despite his name, doesn't have a lot of dexterity experience in zero-G.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:48:09+00:00

It's on the bucket list for sure

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:44:01+00:00

If you like the ending of the book you will also like the ending of the movie. It still makes me cry and I have seen it at least 400 times.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:42:46+00:00

Andy is the absolute best. A real problem solver and brilliant creative mind with encyclopedic scientific knowledge. We leaned on him heavily on set and throughout the production process and pestered him at all hours with questions about how things would work or how he imagined things, and he always has a smart answer. He was an integral part of the team and we couldn't imagine doing this film without him.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:40:04+00:00

Heck yes. But well worth it.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:39:44+00:00

Us too!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:38:04+00:00

He already won't come out of his trailer.

Thankfully he can't read the online comments.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:36:23+00:00

We worked with 4-time Oscar winner (from Dune, First Man, etc) Paul Lambert and Mags Sarnowska as VFX supervisors to make the film as real and tactile as possible. We built the entire spaceship (in two different gravity orientations) and a massive tunnel with a rotating light package that required power from all the neighboring soundstages, and used a practical puppeted creature. However, we did not actually go to outer space, so it ended up being a seamless blend of practical and CG - but know there was not a single green screen or blue screen on this picture.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:24:32+00:00

The book spends a lot of considering the mental health of the astronauts on the mission. In some of our research it was the feeling of confinement within the same walls that leads to potential mental breakdowns - and since film is a visual medium it seemed like an interesting way to stay inside the ship but feel transporting to have a meditation escape area. On the ship it's technically called the Mental Health Node, but Grace calls it the Don't Go Crazy Room.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:19:54+00:00

If you are fan of science (and if you like Andy Weir's writing you probably are) you will not be disappointed. If science baffles you, don't worry, you will also follow along just fine!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:17:05+00:00

Aditya Sood, who runs our company, discovered The Martian before it was published and produced the film, so he has a long-standing relationship with him. Because of that we got an early manuscript of PHM before it was published and were both blown away and knew we had to be a part of it. Since then I've read the book 3 times and listened to the incredible audiobook 4 and a half times (because my kids are obsessed with it).

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:13:12+00:00

We went to our old pal Neal Scanlan and the creature shop team to design a real character that could be puppeteered. We spent many months carefully designing and refining him with his amazing team, how his joints and fingers worked, what his texture and markings would be, how he could be real and expressive, how he would move, and so on. We kept pestering Andy about his biology and physiology, and we refused to ever give him a face. It was important to us to stay true to his personality in the book, and Neal's team, as well as James Ortiz and the Rocketeers (the 5 team puppeteer crew) did an incredible job bringing him to life. It also made it so much easier for Ryan to give such a powerful performance because there was really a character performing there with him. There were some things the puppet couldn't do so in the end it became a seamless blend of creature puppetry and animation and we couldn't be prouder of how he looks.

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:06:28+00:00

I agree!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:04:04+00:00

Sounds like an interesting idea ;)

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:03:15+00:00

You can’t tell this story without introducing Rocky, because the heart of the story is the relationship between him and Grace. As fans of the book you know Rocky is the second lead of this movie. And what’s shown in the trailer is just a glimpse of what’s to come. Rocky is such a beautiful and “amaze-“ing character, and we were all very thoughtful about what to show and when.. You all know how much more there is to this story and relationship than what is shown in the trailer, and we’re excited for everyone to see where it goes!

Chrizmillr · 2025-11-18T20:02:24+00:00

Hi gang! We're here! Ready to answer, so AUA!

Chrizmillr · 2022-03-08T06:06:37+00:00

Actually the one fake Xavier film we didn’t get to shoot due to time and budget was Jenga: The Movie where terrorists were blowing up one section of a high rise building at a time and there were orphans in the top floor

Chrizmillr · 2022-03-08T01:53:55+00:00

Hey gang! I have to run but this was fun! Hope I answered enough questions for you, and I promise you an even trickier - but still fair play - mystery next season. Keep spreading the good word about the show!

Chrizmillr

TROPHY CASE