Posted in: Amazon, Exclusive, Interview, Movies | Tagged: amazon prime video, emma roberts, exclusive, Gabreille Union, interview, Liz W. Garcia, space cadet, Tom Hopper

Space Cadet Director Liz W Garcia on Creating Female-Led Space Comedy

Liz W. Garcia (P-Valley) spoke to Bleeding Cool about directing & writing the space comedy, Space Cadet for Prime Video, Emma Roberts & more.

Liz W. Garcia felt it was time, after 36 years in show business, to direct her first major feature in Space Cadet for Amazon Prime Video. An accomplished writer of TV shows like Dawson's Creek, Cold Case, and Memphis Beat and indie films like The Lifeguard and One Percent More Humid (both she also directed). The film follows Tiffany "Rex" Simpson (Emma Roberts), who has always dreamed of going into space, but life isn't going quite as planned. Determined to turn things around, she aims high, and with the embellishing touch of her supportive best friend Nadine (Poppy Liu), her "doctored" application lands her in NASA's ultra-competitive astronaut training program. In over her head, Rex relies on her quick wits, moxie, and determination to get to the top of her class. NASA program directors Pam (Gabrielle Union) and Logan (Tom Hopper) certainly take notice, but can this Florida girl get through training and into the cosmos before she blows her cover? Garcia spoke to Bleeding Cool about her inspiration for the film, why Roberts was perfect to play Rex, and managing her first bigger-budget film.

Space Cadet: Liz W Garcia on Boldly Going Where No Other Space Movie Has Gone Before

Bleeding Cool: What's the inspiration behind 'Space Cadet?'
A few years ago, I saw something in the news from NASA, which announced their first class of astronaut candidates, half female, and that was such an interesting, significant milestone. I started to read how you get to the point where you're an astronaut candidate and who these women are who have made it this far. Flabbergasted with how incredibly competitive it is to reach that point of being a candidate, I was impressed. I started to see it as a good world for a comedy because the people are extreme to be accomplished in so many different arenas while pursuing a goal with such a single-minded focus. It would be hilarious to have an ensemble with all these character types, and I realized there are no space movies for girls and women. Yet, we've reached the point with these incredibly accomplished female astronauts. Where's the cool movie about those types of people?

When you wrote the script and everything, did you have your heart or initially on directing?
I did because my previous two films were indie drums, and I was ready to make a bigger movie and comedy. I planned on directing it and putting my heart and soul into it. If anyone wants to make this movie, they'll have to bring me along with it.

What went into the casting process, and what made Emma perfect for Rex?
I met Emma when she was 16 years old. I was trying to make what wound up being my second movie. We'd been in and out of touch over the years, and I'd always been impressed by her and knew her to be witty and funny. When we met about the movie, she understood what I was trying to do by making this the stepchild of 'Private Benjamin' (1980) and 'Legally Blonde' (2001) and that this would be your classic blonde Hollywood comedy. She was all in on that, and she got it. She got into it; we were on the same page, which was wonderful. From there, I also had a great experience casting everybody else who brought their funny adlibs and sensibility to their specific characters.

What was the most difficult aspect to execute in the film?
I hate to say this because it's what all directors say. You have a certain amount of money, and we had plenty of money compared to the movies that I come from doing. When you're making hard choices about where money is going and when you decide, it goes here, like into our VFX for space, for instance. You're making sacrifices in other areas. You're crossing your fingers and hoping that you're not sacrificing something that's going to screw up the movie. That's how it goes in every film: those hard choices. I feel good about how it turned out.

Space Cadet is available to stream on Prime Video.

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