The Project Hail Mary directors (Phil Lord, Chris Miller) are here to chat bringing Rocky to life, changes from the novel, and constantly pushing themselves creatively.
Please note this interview contains a few mild spoilers
More about Project Hail Mary
Science teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling) wakes up on a spaceship light years from home with no recollection of who he is or how he got there. As his memory returns, he begins to uncover his mission: solve the riddle of the mysterious substance causing the sun to die out. He must call on his scientific knowledge and unorthodox ideas to save everything on Earth from extinction… but an unexpected friendship means he may not have to do it alone.
Photo credit: Jonathan Olley
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More about Phil Lord, Chris Miller
For the better part of two decades, directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have developed their own reputation for achieving the impossible. They breathed fresh cinematic life into projects based on beloved children’s book Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street.
They had silenced legions of doubters by not only making The Lego Movie work, but establishing a wildly successful baseline for the brand on the big screen and they made a comic-book come to life with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. They are artists attracted to big ideas and difficult tasks, making them perfect collaborators for something like Project Hail Mary.
Lord graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with a degree in Art History. His college animated short “Man Bites Breakfast” won “Best Animation” at the 1998 New England Film and Video Festival and was also included in several other festivals, including ASIFA East and ASIFA San Francisco. He is a native of Coconut Grove, Florida, and likes bikes.
Miller is a native of Lake Stevens, Washington. He left there to attend Dartmouth College, where he found a lifelong friend in Phil Lord while obtaining a degree in government and studio art: three achievements, two of which are useful to his career.