# New orbiting film studio to be built in space **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [January 20, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127 "2022-01-20T20:11:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/1 "2022-01-20T20:11:00Z")
Axiom space (who currently is building an independent space station temporarily attached to the ISS) has been contracted to build a orbiting film studio, the S.E.E. The S.E.E.'s first use will be for Tom Cruise’s recently announced space film. It is presumed that it will remain in orbit after shooting Cruise’s film for other studios that want to have space settings for their film’s as well. > **[Tom Cruise space movie producers sign deal with Axiom to build studio in orbit](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/tom-cruise-movie-producers-sign-axiom-deal-for-space-production-studio.html)** > > Called SEE-1, the module would be "the world's first content and entertainment studios and multipurpose arena in space." > **[World’s First Space-Based Entertainment Studio To Launch In 2024; S.E.E....](https://deadline.com/2022/01/worlds-first-space-based-entertainment-studio-to-launch-in-2024-s-e-e-unveiled-as-studio-behind-tom-cruise-space-film-1234915122/)** > > The world’s first space-based entertainment studio and multi-purpose arena is to launch in just two years’ time and has been revealed as the studio behind the Tom Cruise space film. The… ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/2 "2022-01-20T21:10:44Z")
In Hollywood there has always been a dynamic tension between the creative visionaries and the money folks, affectionately termed “bean counters”. I can’t personally see the cost benefit. Also worth mentioning, over the last few decades there have been amazing advances in CGI. So, do we NEED to go to space to portray it in a movie/TV show? It will be interesting to see if this ends up being a going concern or a one-off ego trip. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/3 "2022-01-20T21:27:54Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > In Hollywood there has always been a dynamic tension between the creative visionaries and the money folks, affectionately termed “bean counters”. No offense to accountants and other money folks who do serve an important function, but I’m pretty sure “bean counters” is not a term of affection. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/4 "2022-01-20T22:00:32Z")
> [@duality72](#): > > No offense to accountants and other money folks who do serve an important function, but I’m pretty sure “bean counters” is not a term of affection. Well, they _can_ be pretty annoying. > **[Azuki-Hakari](https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Azuki-Hakari)** > > Azuki hakari on Yokai.com ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/5 "2022-01-20T22:05:28Z")
What’s going to be in this studio? Actors, sets, props? All of those (especially actors) are really expensive to put into orbit. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/6 "2022-01-20T22:09:21Z")
Does this mean we should expect a new variation on the old [moon hoax](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1860992,00.html) claims? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/7 "2022-01-20T22:34:41Z")
I love the idea of filming a movie in space. CGI might be able to recreate the scenes, but there’s a difference if the audience knows the actors are really in space. Tom Cruise’s signature is to do stuff for real that other movies would shoot on a green screen or CGI. And it shows in the movies he does. Knowing that Cruise is actually doing the crazy things you see him doing on screen is a big part of the attraction of his movies. Plus, anything that brings more private money into the space industry is a good thing. I’m not sure why they need a studio. I’m guessing they need sets that aren’t part of ISS, so they’ll have some space where they can configure and reconfigure a set. For example, if you wanted to show a piece of ISS equipment severely damaged, you’d no doubt want a fake version. Or if you need to film a zero-g fight or throw something in a way that wouldn’t be allowed on the actual ISS, you’d need a dedicated set. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/8 "2022-01-20T22:41:48Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > Does this mean we should expect a new variation on the old [moon hoax](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1860992,00.html) claims? Yeah, the moon landings were faked in low Earth orbit. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/9 "2022-01-20T22:49:13Z")
How long before some high profile celeb dies in transit and puts a damper on this kind of thing? ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/10 "2022-01-20T22:54:22Z")
> [@Ike\_Witt](#): > > > [@Skywatcher](#): > > > > Does this mean we should expect a new variation on the old [moon hoax](http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1860871_1860876_1860992,00.html) claims? > > Yeah, the moon landings were faked in low Earth orbit. [It was a soundstage on Mars.](https://xkcd.com/202/) ---
**Author:** ![Kedikat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed655f/32.png) [@Kedikat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kedikat)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/11 "2022-01-21T05:34:02Z")
My first thought too. Do you think there can actually be a cost benefit to filming an actor doing things in real zero G and then CGI the scene around that? I find the current high quality zero G CGI effects to be sufficient. They already do CGI in all the stuff around them. Seems an overall waste of effort/money/resources to do something that most folks won’t notice. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/12 "2022-01-21T13:22:04Z")
In the unlikely event this does become a functional shooting location, I wonder how long it will be until (a) some enterprising porn studio makes a substantial offer to shoot the first zero-G sex movie there, and (b) the station’s owners are sufficiently hard up for cash that they accept. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/13 "2022-01-21T13:31:13Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > In the unlikely event this does become a functional shooting location, I wonder how long it will be until (a) some enterprising porn studio makes a substantial offer to shoot the first zero-G sex movie there, and (b) the station’s owners are sufficiently hard up for cash that they accept. Actually, you don’t have to go into space to shoot “zero g” films, including sex films. Although you only have very limited time, the parabolic trajectories of airplanes like the “vomit comet” give you what is effectively zero-gee at a fraction of the effort and expense (although it still costs quite a bit – I understand the plane needs a big overhaul after the abuse it takes). Some zero0gee scenes have already been filmed in this way. I also heard from someone involved in one such production that there was some sexy footage that couldn’t be released, although how much and how serious wasn’t elaborated on. Actually, it’s already been done by people who definitely wanted to release the film: > [@](#): > > The adult entertainment production company [Private Media Group](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_Media_Group) has filmed a [pornographic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pornography) movie called _The Uranus Experiment: Part Two_ where a zero-gravity intercourse scene was filmed aboard a reduced-gravity aircraft. The filming process was particularly difficult from a technical and logistical standpoint. Budget constraints allowed for only one 20-second shot, featuring the actors [Sylvia Saint](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sylvia_Saint) and Nick Lang.[[31]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced-gravity_aircraft#cite_note-aw-31) [Berth Milton, Jr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berth_Milton,_Jr.), president and [CEO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_executive_officer) of Private Media Group, says “You would not want to be afraid of flying, that’s for sure!”[[32]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced-gravity_aircraft#cite_note-in-32) > **[Reduced-gravity aircraft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reduced-gravity_aircraft)** > > A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research, and making gravity-free movie shots. > Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NASA Reduced Gravity Research Program, and one is currently operated by the Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration Programmes of the European Space Agency. The unofficial nickname "vomit comet" became popular among those who experienced their operation. > Pa... ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/14 "2022-01-21T13:34:44Z")
OK, fine. “The first zero-G sex movie with shots longer than 20 seconds,” then. (quietly goes off to google) ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/15 "2022-01-21T14:25:14Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > I’m not sure why they need a studio. I’m guessing they need sets that aren’t part of ISS, so they’ll have some space where they can configure and reconfigure a set. For example, if you wanted to show a piece of ISS equipment severely damaged, you’d no doubt want a fake version. Or if you need to film a zero-g fight or throw something in a way that wouldn’t be allowed on the actual ISS, you’d need a dedicated set. I’d expect the “studio” will consist of as large a space as they can arrange, a camera, some lights, and a green screen. It would make no sense to bring up anything like a “set,” when, as others have pointed out, you can do that with CGI. They might bring some small props, but ISTM that nothing even as large as a desk would make sense, in terms of cost to orbit, unless you could make it out of very light materials that could look convincingly substantial. Being able to do shots of three or four people in zero-G for more than 20 seconds would be useful and less obviously fake than CGI zero-G. Enough to make it worth the expense after the novelty of the first one or two movies wears off? Who knows? ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/16 "2022-01-21T14:41:13Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > (quietly goes off to google) After a little bit of … judicious research, I discovered that pop-sci author Mary Beard asserts the claimed zero-G (technically, free-fall) shot in _The Uranus Experiment_ **[was faked](https://books.google.lu/books?id=iBq9DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT185&lpg=PT185&dq=zero+g+%22uranus+experiment%22&source=bl&ots=7vF9Pyfy8O&sig=ACfU3U1eSSMDAy56LkWeJn8VChZjO515AQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwidtfOA-8L1AhUahv0HHbEZDJcQ6AF6BAgOEAM#v=onepage&q=zero%20g%20%22uranus%20experiment%22&f=false)**. Her evidence, apparently, is that it looks wrong. Not sure how much, er, weight that carries. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/17 "2022-01-21T16:50:40Z")
With a wee bit of morphing. and training your actors to hold very still during the climb-out portions of the flight, longer zero-g scenes can be filmed. Check out this [3-minute music video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWGJA9i18Co). There was [a thread here about the video](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-this-ok-go-video-really-shot-in-a-vomit-comit/745899); plenty of evidence was presented that the video was not faked with green-screen. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/18 "2022-01-21T21:43:04Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > Her evidence, apparently, is that it looks wrong. As with the Moon landing, “looking wrong” is actually evidence that it’s real. 1 g is what we’re used to. Of course a different gravity is going to look wrong. Back to the station, I suspect that what’s happening here is just that Tom Cruise wants the adventure of going to space, and he’s rich enough to make it happen. Sure, he’s going to film a movie while he’s up there, and he hopes that the hype of “Filmed in space!!!” will be enough to make the movie a success, and maybe some other studios will even pay to use the facility for other movies… but if he goes up, makes his movie, it’s a total flop, and the facility is never used again, I think he’d probably still chalk it up as an overall success. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/19 "2022-01-21T23:04:52Z")
**CalMeacham** … looking over that Wikipedia article, I found the picture below. Never realized jut how much of a boss Stephen Hawking was. [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Physicist_Stephen_Hawking_in_Zero_Gravity_NASA.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Physicist_Stephen_Hawking_in_Zero_Gravity_NASA.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 21, 2022, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127/20 "2022-01-21T23:16:32Z")
I remember seeing some documentary that covered sex in zero-G. A couple tried top have sex on the Vomit Comet. It turned out to be really difficult. So they wound up making a two person body suit. The suit would hold them together in zero-G so they could do there thing. And the couple involved were actually married engineers. Rather than porn actors. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-orbiting-film-studio-to-be-built-in-space/958127.md?page=2)