n Red Planet, The Matrix's Carrie-Anne Moss plays another SF
heroine, Cmdr. Kate Bowman, leader of the first manned mission to Mars.
Kilmer plays the crew's unlikely hero--"fix-it" man Gallagher--whom the
rest of the crew considers a space janitor.
They are joined by a crew consisting of Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt,
Terence Stamp and Simon Baker, as well as computer-generated mapping robot
named AMEE. Sent to investigate the failure of a terraforming project on
Earth's neighboring planet, the Mars One mission faces unexpected
setbacks that place Bowman and Gallagher in perilous situations.
Fittingly, the actors who play the intrepid characters faced their own
challenges. Kilmer joined Sizemore, Bratt, Stamp and Baker in the deserts
of Australia and Jordan, which approximate the vast Martian landscape.
They were forced to act in heavy space suits in punishing heat, and there
were news reports of flaring tempers on the set, particularly between
Kilmer and Sizemore.
Moss, whose role in The Matrix required performing on wires and in
front of a blue screen, faced a different kind of difficulty. Bowman spends
much of her time stranded aboard the Mars One mother ship, and that
meant Moss spent a lot of time acting by herself on a soundstage.
Moss and Kilmer both took time recently to speak with Science Fiction
Weekly about Red Planet, which opened Nov. 10.
Carrie-Anne Moss, with this role and that of Trinity, you're becoming
the next Sigourney Weaver. Tell us about the character you play.
Moss: I think that's a great compliment. Wow, thank you. I play
the commander of the first manned mission to Mars. And
there are myself, Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Benjamin Bratt, Simon Baker and
Terence Stamp. Basically, we're in a situation where Earth has been
destroyed by our own doing. Pollution and overpopulation. And we're looking
for somewhere new to live. And so we're going to check out Mars. And we go
do that. And a lot of things happen, and ultimately, the mission is
successful, but is it really successful? Successful at the cost of a lot of
different things.
You spent a lot of time in the film on your own, acting in these huge
sets and against green screens.
Moss: It was challenging. When I read the script, I thought, this
is going to be very difficult. To act alone is hard. It's hard for me. Some
people, I'm sure it's easy for them, but it's a challenge for me. So I
really thought about that. And it was hard. But it was important. The
scenes were important. And I had a lot of support from the crew. Because
everyone had gone; everyone had done all their stuff, and the last like 10
days were just me, scene after scene after scene, saying technical words to
no one, to myself. But I learned a lot doing that, because it is hard. You
gotta show up, and you gotta do it.
After The Matrix, which was a pretty grueling experience for the
actors, were you hesitant to take on another big science fiction movie?
Moss: You know what, The Matrix was a joy every single day.
It was the greatest experience that I've ever had on a movie. So, no, I
didn't have any kind of preconceived idea. The only thing was I did
think, wow, it is going to be a challenge for these scenes where I'm all by
myself, pulling it up, pulling it up. And I said yes, so I had to do it.
There's an action sequence in the film, where the ship has gone down and I
have to bring it back to life. I had this whole action sequence that I do
on wires to simulate zero G, and I trained for that for about three or four
weeks before we started training, with the stunt team in Australia. And I
just got used to the wire and simulating zero G, because there's sort of a
specific way that zero G makes you move, which is really hard to pretend.
I wished I could have done the real zero G. I wanted to do it. We were
supposed to. They told me I was going to, and then when I got the movie,
they changed their mind. Maybe they'll do it to me as a Christmas present
if the movie does well.
What can you tell us about The Matrix 2 and 3, in which
you reprise the role of Trinity?
Moss: I can't tell you anything about them. But I'll tell you
they're going to be really special. I'm training now, and we'll start
training with everybody in the middle of next week, and we'll train for six
months, and then we'll shoot. Kung fu, and whatever other action things
they need us to learn, and training to get in shape, get some muscles, and
get my Trinity body back.
There are rumors that your character gets kidnapped in the second
movie.
Moss:: Oh really? I don't remember reading that. I'll have to go back
and read it again. [It's a] rumor.
Val Kilmer, what can you tell us about your character, Gallagher?
Kilmer: I love this character. A very honest man and a righteous
man. Gallagher, who is the only one in charge of maintenance in this first
manned mission to Mars, on the ship, then he kind of reluctantly takes on
the role of maintaining the crew when things get tough. He's a very
selfless man, and quiet, and a very different role than I've played . I
really enjoyed it.
The shoot was kind of arduous?
Kilmer: Very. [There were] incredible locations we went to, which
all add to the feeling of the uniqueness of space. [There are] very
powerful images in this story that we captured live, and then enhanced even
more with the special photography, so you really have the feeling of being
far away from Earth.
You wore heavy spacesuits in 130-degree heat?
Kilmer: Yes. The realism in the film--with all of the props and the
designs of the sets and costumes--was very important to the creators. The
very premise of the story is based on our best estimates of what will
happen in a few years. And some of those details made it tough to be in,
but were worth it. It's easy to go to work when your life's on the line in
the story, and it feels like it is in your costume.
What was your worst day on the set, in the desert?
Kilmer: I live in the desert. I love it, so I really loved every
day. I'd go early. Australia, as well as Jordan, I really loved it. Several
days, the cast and crews were in danger, mortal danger--lightning storms,
rainstorms. Lightning's probably the worst, and windstorms at the same
time. [It was a] very dramatic experience.
You've heard reports about on-set strife between you and Tom Sizemore.
He's denied it. Were there fights??
Kilmer: There weren't. He was going through personal things at the
time, with a divorce, and that was tough for him. We were friends, and are
friends. And it's unfortunate when those [reports] happen, because it's
insulting to the whole film. But you just move on. [They] actually made us
stronger.
