The Space Between Us (film)
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''The Space Between Us'' is a 2017 American romantic
science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms, spacecraft, robots, cyborgs, interstellar ...
directed by
Peter Chelsom Peter Chelsom (born 20 April 1956) is a British film director, writer, and actor. He has directed such films as ''Hector and the Search for Happiness'', ''Serendipity'', and '' Shall We Dance?'' Peter Chelsom is a member of the British Academ ...
and written by
Allan Loeb Allan Loeb (born July 25, 1969) is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He wrote the 2007 film ''Things We Lost in the Fire (film), Things We Lost in the Fire'' and created the 2008 television series ''New Amsterdam (2008 TV ...
, from a story by Stewart Schill,
Richard Barton Lewis Richard Barton Lewis is an American film producer and writer. He is the founder and CEO of Southpaw Entertainment and co-founder of Trilogy Entertainment. Education Lewis is a graduate of UC Berkeley's department of Biological Anthropology, and ...
, and Loeb. The film stars
Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
,
Asa Butterfield Asa Bopp Farr Butterfield (; born Asa Maxwell Thornton Farr Butterfield on 1 April 1997) is an English actor. He has received nominations for three British Independent Film Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and three Young ...
,
Britt Robertson Brittany Leanna Robertson (born April 18, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for her lead role in '' The First Time'' (2012), and has appeared in the films ''Tomorrowland'' (2015), '' The Space Between Us'' (2017), ''A Dog's Purpose'' ...
, and
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001â ...
, and follows a teenage boy, born on
Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
, who travels to
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on September 14, 2015, in
Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. The film was released on February 3, 2017 by STXfilms. It received negative reviews from critics and was a
box office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
, grossing $14.8 million against its $30 million budget.


Plot

Multi-billionaire Nathaniel Shepard, CEO of Genesis, launches the first mission to colonize Mars. During the journey, astronaut Sarah Elliot discovers she is pregnant. She gives birth to Gardner after landing on Mars, and dies shortly afterwards from
eclampsia Eclampsia is the onset of seizures (convulsions) in a woman with pre-eclampsia. Pre-eclampsia is one of the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy that presents with three main features: new onset of high blood pressure, large amounts of protein in ...
; Gardner's father is unknown. Nathaniel keeps Gardner on Mars as a secret; he fears a public relations disaster and returning to Earth could be dangerous to Gardner's health. Gardner is raised by astronaut Kendra Wyndham and the other scientists on Mars. Sixteen years later, he hacks into a robot he helped build to gain access to his mother's personal belongings. He finds a wedding ring and a video of Sarah and a man in a beach house. Convinced that the man is his father, Gardner becomes determined to find him. In an Internet chatroom, Gardner talks to Tulsa, a street-smart girl from
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
living in the foster-care system. She believes Gardner is confined to a penthouse due to
osteogenesis imperfecta Osteogenesis imperfecta (; OI), colloquially known as brittle bone disease, is a group of genetic disorders that all result in bones that break easily. The range of symptoms—on the skeleton as well as on the body's other organs—may be mi ...
. They discuss their plans for the future and Gardner promises to visit her someday. Kendra video calls Nathaniel and Genesis director, Tom Chen; she says that Gardner is extremely intelligent and wants him to be allowed to go to Earth. Nathaniel refuses; Gardner would have to have a risky surgery to increase his bone density and train to adapt to Earth's atmospheric pressure. Gardner undergoes the surgery and training against Nathaniel's wishes and boards a shuttle for Earth with Kendra and several other astronauts. When they arrive on Earth, Nathaniel is angry at Tom who kept Gardner's training a secret. Gardner is quarantined at
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
while undergoing medical tests to determine his fitness for life on Earth. When the tests show Gardner cannot live on Earth very long, he escapes and finds Tulsa and convinces her to help him find his father. They are followed by Nathaniel and Kendra, who try to convince Gardner to return to NASA but he runs away with Tulsa and learns the location of the man who married Gardner's parents, Shaman Neka. Nathaniel and Kendra learn that Gardner's body contains dangerously high levels of
troponin image:Troponin Ribbon Diagram.png, 400px, Ribbon representation of the human cardiac troponin core complex (52 kDa core) in the calcium-saturated form. Blue = troponin C; green = troponin I; magenta = troponin T.; ; rendered with PyMOL Troponin, ...
, indicative of an
enlarged heart Cardiomegaly (sometimes megacardia or megalocardia) is a medical condition in which the heart is enlarged. As such, it is more commonly referred to simply as "having an enlarged heart". It is usually the result of underlying conditions that make t ...
, which cannot withstand the atmospheric pressure of Earth; Gardner must be returned to Mars immediately if he is to survive. Gardner confesses his true origins to Tulsa who does not believe him. They find Neka, who agrees to help them and lets Tulsa use his computer to locate the beach house from Gardner's video. They travel to Summerland, California, stopping in
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
for fun, where Gardner collapses and is taken to a hospital. X-rays show carbon tubes in Gardner's bones, and Tulsa finally believes Gardner's claims of being born on Mars. Gardner knows he cannot survive on Earth and wants to meet his father before he dies. Tulsa helps him to sneak out of the hospital and they drive to the beach house; they meet the man from Gardner's video who is Sarah's brother, not Gardner's father. Gardner thinks this is a lie and runs to the sea, telling Tulsa that this is where he wants to die before collapsing. Nathaniel and Kendra arrive in time to save Gardner and pull him out of the ocean. Gardner asks Nathaniel about Sarah and realizes that Nathaniel is his father. Nathaniel, Kendra, and Tulsa rush Gardner to a
Dream Chaser Dream Chaser is an American reusable lifting-body spaceplane being developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) Space Systems. Originally intended as a crewed vehicle, the Dream Chaser Space System is set to be produced after the cargo varian ...
and launch into orbit, hoping this will stabilize Gardner. Free of Earth's gravity, Gardner is revived. Soon after, Gardner boards a space shuttle to Mars after sharing an emotional parting with Tulsa. Kendra, who is retiring from active flight status with NASA, adopts Tulsa. Determined to join Gardner on Mars, Tulsa joins Kendra's training program. Gardner is seen back on Mars with Nathaniel.


Cast


Production

In 1999, Universal Pictures and Mike Lobell Productions acquired a screenplay, then titled ''Mainland'', about a rebellious teen born on the moon who desired to come to the earth but whose physiology, it was feared, would not be able to survive the transition. After failed rewrites by Allison Burnett ('' Autumn in New York''), the project was placed on hiatus, as Lobell left Universal for a deal at Castle Rock Entertainment. The project remained unproduced for over a decade. On March 13, 2014, an industry source revealed that a science fiction-adventure film titled ''Out of This World'' was in development at
Relativity Media Relativity Media is an American media company founded in 2004 by Lynwood Spinks and Ryan Kavanaugh. The company brokered film finance deals and later branched into film production and other entertainment ventures. The company was commercially s ...
, scripted by
Allan Loeb Allan Loeb (born July 25, 1969) is an American screenwriter and film and television producer. He wrote the 2007 film ''Things We Lost in the Fire (film), Things We Lost in the Fire'' and created the 2008 television series ''New Amsterdam (2008 TV ...
. Later in August 2014, it was reported that
Peter Chelsom Peter Chelsom (born 20 April 1956) is a British film director, writer, and actor. He has directed such films as ''Hector and the Search for Happiness'', ''Serendipity'', and '' Shall We Dance?'' Peter Chelsom is a member of the British Academ ...
, who had previously directed '' Hector and the Search for Happiness'' for Relativity, was hired to direct the film, while Relativity would produce and distribute. Southpaw Entertainment's Richard B. Lewis was attached to produce the film, and also received a "story by" credit. On February 2, 2015,
Asa Butterfield Asa Bopp Farr Butterfield (; born Asa Maxwell Thornton Farr Butterfield on 1 April 1997) is an English actor. He has received nominations for three British Independent Film Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and three Young ...
was tapped to play the lead character in the film, a teen who was raised on Mars, and who falls in love with a girl on Earth he has been communicating with. Chelsom and Tinker Lindsay rewrote the screenplay. On July 13, 2015, it was announced that Relativity was selling the project to
STX Entertainment STX Entertainment is a mini-major American entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projects. In April 2020, STX announced that it would merg ...
, in order to reach an agreement with its creditors and avoid having to file for
bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
. STX produced and distributed the film. On July 31, 2015,
Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
,
Carla Gugino Carla Gugino (; born August 29, 1971) is an American actress. After appearing in ''Troop Beverly Hills'' (1989) and ''This Boy's Life'' (1993), she received recognition for her starring roles as Ingrid Cortez in the ''Spy Kids'' trilogy (2001â ...
, and
Britt Robertson Brittany Leanna Robertson (born April 18, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for her lead role in '' The First Time'' (2012), and has appeared in the films ''Tomorrowland'' (2015), '' The Space Between Us'' (2017), ''A Dog's Purpose'' ...
joined the cast of the then-untitled film. Robertson would play the female lead, a teen girl from Colorado. On September 8, 2015, it was announced that the title of the film would be ''The Space Between Us'', and
B. D. Wong Bradley Darryl Wong (born October 24, 1960) is an American actor. Wong won a Tony Award for his performance as Song Liling in ''M. Butterfly'', becoming the only actor in Broadway history to receive the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Crit ...
and
Janet Montgomery Janet Ruth Montgomery (born 29 October 1985) is an English film and TV actress. She first gained attention for her role as Ames in the second season of the television series ''Human Target'' (2010–11), and also for her appearance in the 2009 ...
were added to the cast. On September 30, 2015, Trey Tucker joined the film to play an astronaut, and on October 23, 2015,
Scott Takeda Scott Takeda (born March 21, 1967) is an American actor, filmmaker and photographer. He is known for his recurring roles on the soap operas ''Days of Our Lives'' (2016–17, as Dr. Lee) and '' General Hospital'' (2019–20, as Judge Lowe), and ...
was cast to play a doctor in the film. The actors
Asa Butterfield Asa Bopp Farr Butterfield (; born Asa Maxwell Thornton Farr Butterfield on 1 April 1997) is an English actor. He has received nominations for three British Independent Film Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, two Saturn Awards, and three Young ...
(20 years old at the time of the film's release) and
Britt Robertson Brittany Leanna Robertson (born April 18, 1990) is an American actress. She is known for her lead role in '' The First Time'' (2012), and has appeared in the films ''Tomorrowland'' (2015), '' The Space Between Us'' (2017), ''A Dog's Purpose'' ...
(27 at the time) have a seven-year age gap between them, greater than their respective characters (both of whom are around 16 or 17), which caused controversy, but in an interview Robertson explains that the age difference helped with the dynamic of the relationship between Tulsa and Gardner:
"I don't think Tulsa is really a teenager. She's had to be an adult for a really long time. She's had to take care of herself. She's had to figure out where she's going to live, and pay her mortgage or gas. She thinks like an adult. There's this dynamic where she's almost parenting him in some ways. There's this very specific kind of thing where she's teaching him about the world (saying), 'Get it together, these are people. Why are you doing it this way? Why aren't you being human?' ur age differenceI think really helps the dynamic. It's not something I really pay attention to."
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
on the film began on September 14, 2015, in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...
. Decathlon diving masks were used as ordinary masks for the team that helps the returning astronauts out of the spaceship.
Andrew Lockington Andrew Lockington (born January 31, 1974) is a Canadian film score composer. Life and career Lockington was born in 1974 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. He has composed the complete scores for over three dozen films, including ''Journey to the Ce ...
composed the film's score, which was released through Sony Music Entertainment.


Release

In August 2015,
STX Entertainment STX Entertainment is a mini-major American entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projects. In April 2020, STX announced that it would merg ...
scheduled the film to be released on July 29, 2016. The release date was later switched with STX's other release, ''
Bad Moms ''Bad Moms'' is a 2016 American comedy film directed and written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Jay Hernandez, Annie Mumolo, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Christina ...
'', and was moved its release date later to August 19, 2016. However, ''
Kubo and the Two Strings ''Kubo and the Two Strings'' is a 2016 American stop-motion animated action fantasy film produced by Laika. It is directed by Travis Knight (in his feature directorial debut) with a screenplay by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler from a story by Sh ...
'', '' Ben-Hur'', and ''
War Dogs Dogs in warfare have a very long history starting in ancient times. From being trained in combat, to their use as scouts, sentries, messengers, mercy dogs, and trackers, their uses have been varied and some continue to exist in modern military ...
'' were all slated for August 19, 2016 and STX Entertainment moved its release date later to December 21, 2016, allowing more time for work on the visual effects. The film's release date was later moved to December 16, 2016, and finally STX Entertainment moved its release date later to February 3, 2017.


Box office

''The Space Between Us'' grossed $7.9 million in the United States and Canada and $6.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $14.8 million, against a production budget of $30 million. In North America, ''The Space Between Us'' was released alongside ''
Rings Ring may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell :(hence) to initiate a telephone connection Arts, entertainment and media Film and ...
'' and '' The Comedian'', and was projected to gross $8–10 million from 2,812 theaters during its opening weekend. The film ended up grossing $1.4 million on its first day and $3.8 million in its opening weekend, finishing well below expectations, and 7th at the box office. In its third weekend the film grossed $260,000 after being pulled from 2,441 theaters (dropping 84.6% to 331), marking the 11th biggest theater drop in history.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, the film has an approval rating of 16% based on 136 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "''The Space Between Us'' strands its star-crossed young lovers in a mind-numbingly vast expanse of shameless cheese that will send all but the most forgiving viewers eye-rolling for the exits." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film holds a score 33 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. Writing for
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
, David Ehrlich gave the film a grade of "C," calling it a "guileless and good-natured sci-fi love story".
Kevin Maher Kevin Andrew Maher (born 17 October 1976) is a former professional footballer and coach who played as a midfielder. He is head coach of National League side Southend United. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland internationall ...
gave a scathing review in ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', writing that the film is "notable only for some horrendously bad science and a career-low performance from Gary Oldman".


Accolades


See also

*
List of films set on Mars There is a body of films that are set on the planet Mars. In the late 19th century, people erroneously believed that there were canals on Mars. Into the early 20th century, additional observations of Mars fed people's interest in what was called " ...


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Space Between Us, The 2017 films 2010s adventure films 2010s romance films 2010s science fiction adventure films Films directed by Peter Chelsom Films scored by Andrew Lockington Films shot in New Mexico American science fiction adventure films American science fiction films American space adventure films American teen romance films STX Entertainment films American pregnancy films Huayi Brothers films Films about NASA Films about adoption Films about orphans Films about space hazards Films set in Florida Films set in California Films set in Colorado Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Films set in 2018 Films set in 2036 Osteogenesis imperfecta in films Mars in film Films with screenplays by Allan Loeb 2010s American films