CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Hey, girl. Er, hey, Space Coast.
Actor Ryan Gosling will film scenes at Kennedy Space Center on Monday for his new film "First Man." Gosling stars as astronaut Neil Armstrong in the biographical piece, according to News 6 partner Florida Today.
The film takes a look at the life of the astronaut and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969.
In January, Florida Today reported about casting calls for "First Man" at KSC, with filming set for Feb. 14.
However, the schedule was moved up to the week of Feb. 5 instead.
"We love the opportunity to work with another major feature film. Even though their shooting schedule is limited, we can still add them to our credits to say 'First Man,' filmed in part on Florida’s Space Coast," said Bonnie King, film commissioner for Florida's Space Coast Office of Tourism.
"Having a major motion picture film in our area brings us not only an economic impact, but an awareness to our area prompting other films to take a look at our locations," King added.
"First Man" is based on the book "First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong" by James R. Hansen. "Ant-Man" actor Corey Stoll portrays Buzz Aldrin in the film, with Kyle Chandler ("Bloodline") and Claire Foy ("The Crown") co-starring in the biographical drama, which is directed by Damien Chazelle. Chazelle also wrote and directed the Academy Award-winning films "Whiplash" and "La La Land."
The 37-year-old Gosling, Stoll, actor Lukas Haas, Robert Hatch, and Pablo Schreiber will film a Vehicle Assembly Building and crawler scene, Florida Today reported.
Be sure to look for cameos by astronaut Michael Collins and his family.
Coincidentally, this week "Star Wars" star Harrison Ford will be in town to watch the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket launch, which has a window from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Tuesday at pad 39A at KSC. Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon — portrayed by Corey Stoll in "First Man" — will also watch the inaugural launch of the Falcon Heavy, the most powerful rocket in the world.
It is not known whether Gosling or Stoll will attend the VIP viewing as well.
Movies filmed at KSC and the Space Coast
When "First Man" films here, it'll join a small list of movies that mention and filmed scenes at NASA.
In 2010, actor Shia LaBeouf (and Optimus Prime) rolled on to a set at KSC for "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon." In 2013, actress Britt Robertson filmed scenes for the sci-fi adventure movie "Tomorrowland" — it's still unknown whether co-star George Clooney joined her on the Space Coast to film.
Other movies that filmed scenes at KSC include "Contact" with Jodie Foster, "Armageddon" with Bruce Willis, "Apollo 13" with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks, "Space Camp," "Moonraker," and "Space Cowboys" with James Garner, according to Florida Today. In the past, notable celebrity film appearances here include Meryl Streep, Leonardo DiCaprio, John Goodman, and Diane Keaton.
Looking for Gosling
"First Man" is set for an Oct. 12 release.
In 2017, Gosling was nominated for a best actor Academy Award for "La La Land" and has two daughters with actress Eva Mendes. He's best known for his roles in "The Notebook" and "The Place Beyond the Pines," which co-starred Mendes.
According to his IMDB profile, "First Man" is his first space movie.
Space Coast film commissioner King is especially excited for the film shoot here.
"Space is very popular right now. Our office is working on several documentaries and future film ideas regarding space," she said.