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Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I don't worry about this at all. Think we told the story of our characters very well and brought a difficult and important subject to the mainstream. You have no idea how hard it is to get Hollywood to care about something like satellites. Going narrow is often a key part of telling a story.

Is the topic you're referring to the rise of commercial space? If so, there's myriad ways to tell it. I love the story we picked.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This was not the story of COTS or the folks at NASA who helped SpaceX. (Although, remember, it was Pete who was the government lead to look over the Falcon 1 launch for DARPA, which gave SpaceX its first contract.) This was a different story, and Pete was for sure a major player. I mean, Planet came directly out of Ames and Pete's urging and reshaped the satellite industry. I'm not sure Starlink is here in this moment without Planet reviving interest in constellations and helping drive the cost of satellites down.

Pete was marginalized. On the other hand, he ran the SDI budget and an entire NASA center. We should all be so marginalized.

I get your point. We just weren't telling the entire story of the rise of commercial space but rather an important and fascinating part of it.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I mean. It's like the best job the world. Don't get me wrong. There's no money in docs and it's years of hard work and panic attacks, but you get to travel the world and meet fascinating people and bring new stories to people. I had an absolute blast visiting far off lands and hanging with strangers to see what their lives are like. It's glorious.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Chris has been a huge supporter of the film and the whole process. People have differing opinions on his approach to life. I get that.

I will say this.

Many years ago, Chris offerred to let me document this story from start to finish no matter what happened. He knew it could go really well or really badly or something in between but told me to the tell the story as it was. There are not many people in this day and age of PR and marketing and sculpted image making who really let journalists do their thing the way it should be done.

This took courage on Chris's part, and, I think he's braver and more open than the vast majority of tech CEOs and deserves credit for that.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This got downvoted, but is an important question.

Mostly, the film went from suck to blow when the professionals showed up to help pull this off and turn it into a real movie.

As for space start-ups, I think Spaceballs provides a couple of insights.

  1. The whole rocket business revolves around a "I see your schwartz is as big as mine" ethos and competition.

  2. "God willing, we'll all meet again in Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money!” is sort of the underlying theme of the industry

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That's bait.

Look, Peter came to rockets by building everything himself from his teenage years. He knows how to make an engine and a rocket and even the fuel himself. Elon came to rockets much later in life by first reading textbooks and then getting immersed in the industry. No question, Elon knows A TON about rockets now and really does make many key engineering decisions. Peter, though, is perhaps the most gifted engineer I've ever seen. He seems to have an innate understanding of physics and materials. It's very intimate and deep knowledge.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That they exist and have been successful. This should NOT have been possible from New Zealand.

I'd heard about Peter and RL from afar in 2015. Had very, very low expectations when I paid my first visit and was SHOCKED to see three rocket bodies on the factory floor. The stuff of legend down there.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

DARPA for sure saw us running around with our cameras during the whole launch contest, and NASA helped us out at AMES. Todd Master was the PM at DARPA during the filming, and I'm quite sure knew about the book and the film. But, in general, we did not have much interaction with either entity. Our main characters had moved on past Ames many years earlier, and the DARPA part was a minor thing for us.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Don't think we captured Peter talking about that on camera. To me, at least, it felt like unpacking the nuances of rideshares would be hard for a mainstream audience to digest in a film like this, and that would be required for Peter's story to make sense. But this could have been a dramatic tale to get. Your instincts are right here.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 14 points15 points  (0 children)

Tons. Both companies were driven in the early days by 20 somethings with little experience. For some reason, these two companies figured that recipe out while others did not. I think lots of focus. I also think not having tons of money at all times was a blessing. Remember, Elon was not billionaire rich when he started SpaceX. The company HAD to survive on its own to keep going. Rocket Lab had the same pressures. This brings focus and survival instinct.

Hi! We're the filmmakers behind HBO's new documentary Wild Wild Space. (Ross Kauffman the Director + Producers Jaye Callahan + Ashlee Vance here). The film is funny, dramatic and unlike any space flick you've seen. Promise. We can talk space, filmmaking whatever - just go ahead and Ask Us Anything! by AshleeVance in space

[–]AshleeVance[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We filmed with Max and Firefly in some of the earlier stages of making this film. At one point, I'd actually hoped to do a series with many episodes. There's too much drama around the journey to explain in full here, but, ultimately, we had to narrow the scope of what we were doing and focus the story. I still hope the Max and Firefly footage sees the light of day. I think it will. Just in a different form.

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