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Russia’s largest television channel has launched a contest to find a woman to star in what it hopes will be the first feature film shot in space.
In partnership with the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Channel One is aiming to find a female lead for the film, tentatively titled “Challenge”, which will begin filming on the International Space Station (ISS) in October 2021.
And in a space race for the 21st century, the project is competing for pip movie star Tom Cruise to post after he announced that he would partner with POT Y Elon muskSpaceX will shoot the first narrative feature film outside of Earth’s atmosphere at around the same time.
Tom Cruise has a career on his hands to star in the first space feature film. Image: Getty Channel One / Russia
Cruise is no stranger to high-altitude stunts. Photo: Top Gun: Maverick / Paramount Pics
The casting announcement for the role says that a “real superhero” is required for the role, someone who wants to “go to the stars … while also becoming a major international star.”
While the chosen candidate does not have to be a professional actress, she must be between 25 and 40 years old, between 150 and 180 cm tall, weigh between 50 and 70 kg and have a “chest girth” of up to 112 cm.
You are also required to have a clean criminal record.
In addition, you must be fairly fit and able to run 1km in 3.5 minutes or less, swim 800m freestyle in 20 minutes, and launch off a 10-foot springboard with impressive technique.
Maybe unsurprisingly, just Russian they will be considered citizens.
As part of the initial screening, each applicant must also submit a screen test in which they read the famous letter of the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin from Tatyana to Eugene Onegin in his 1833 novel.
A short list of 30 candidates will be drawn up after the face-to-face casting, and then narrowed down to two with a series of physical, medical and psychological tests.
Eventually, two women will be trained as “cosmonaut-investigators”, one for the lead role and the other as a backup / stunt double.
It is understood that a supporting actor will also be selected and sent to the space, but in a separate process to the public female casting.
Roscosmos CEO Dmitry Rogozin described the project as “a kind of space experiment” and said the winners would be prepared for any situation that might “arise unexpectedly aboard the station.”
They will spend three months training in basic knowledge of space, spacecraft and the ISS at the School of Cosmonauts. Three more months of practice will follow.
They will be drilled in weightless flights using vestibular training and a centrifuge, and survival training in the unlikely event of an “abnormal splash landing.”
The training will include weightless flights. Photo: Channel One of Russia
Applicants were also advised to be prepared to sleep in an ISS sleeping bag and wash their hair with just a couple of drops of water, leave-in shampoo and a towel.
Astronaut and deputy of the Federal Assembly of Russia Elena Serova said: “If the applicant is married, then there will be little time left for a family, and the environment, believe me, is quite demanding.”
It takes about six years to train a professional astronaut to go into space, although all the preparation to enter orbit for the film will take place in less than a year.
During the flight into space, astronauts travel at around 17,000 miles per hour and orbit the Earth 16 times a day once on the ISS.
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While details of the plot have yet to be released, Channel One CEO Konstantin Ernst said the script was currently being written with the help of Roscosmos in an attempt to make it happen.
He said: “This is not science fiction, it is a very realistic version of what may happen in the near future.”
Filming in the space will last 10 days and, in addition to the time on set, the actors will also have to exercise for two hours a day, using weights, a squat machine or a treadmill.
The Russian film also faces other competitors in the urge to film in space, such as in addition to Tom cruiseIn the still-untitled $ 200 million Universal Studios project (£ 150 million), there is also an American reality TV series in the works.
Using a similar selection process and training schedule, Space Hero Inc plans to send a civilian to the ISS in 2023 and broadcast it live around the world. It is said to involve the largest award ever awarded on American television.
The International Space Station is a $ 100 billion (£ 80 billion) science and engineering laboratory, 250 miles (400 km) above earth.
It is a multinational collaborative project that houses five participating space agencies, including Roscosmos and NASA.
