Fly Me to the Moon Movie: Cole Davis vs. Gene Kranz - Fact and Fiction

Fly Me to the Moon: The Real Story Behind Cole Davis – From Movie to NASA Legend!

From Apple Original Movie to NASA Reality: The Inspiration Behind Cole Davis

Fly Me to the Moon is an Apple Original movie showing the amazing Apollo 11 mission eight months before liftoff, with a focus on the intense pressures surrounding selling the mission to a skeptical public. It creates a fictional narrative centered around Cole Davis, an extremely dedicated flight director battling against that super-driven public relations agent Kelly Jones (played by Scarlett Johansson).

Most of Fly Me to the Moon’s cast are totally made up – even the other side characters have little connection to reality. Yet, the role of Cole Davis takes inspiration from the real life flight director of Apollo 11, Eugene “Gene” Kranz. This real person would make this story even more compelling, making viewers far more engaged.

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Gene Kranz: The Real Flight Director Who Inspired Cole Davis

Scarlett Johansson as Kelly in Fly Me to the Moon with music notes behind her Image

Gene Kranz, as documented in his book Failure Is Not An Option: Mission Control From Mercury To Apollo, shares a surprising amount of similar parallels from his past that overlap greatly with that portrayed in Fly Me to the Moon: He was an Air Force pilot before joining NASA, mirroring Cole Davis’s background, adding even more credence for this film being far more compelling and a tribute to someone critically important and largely overlooked. While he initially desired to be an astronaut himself, his expertise placed him in NASA's mission control, mirroring Cole's fictional trajectory. The similar trajectories between Kranz's and Cole's stories would generate more anticipation surrounding Kranz's experiences and real life counterpart.

Fly Me to the Moon accurately depicts some events; Kranz felt profound guilt surrounding Apollo 1 – this fictional depiction changed some key facts: it incorrectly places him near that capsule's opening which wasn’t the actual reality. In actual history, Kranz provided that inspirational speech to his staff addressing shared responsibilities immediately after this horrific event and is documented in the book itself. This inspirational event showcases his leadership role and would’ve deeply affected how future projects operated. And even the iconic motto "Tough and Competent" (aka The Kranz Dictum) isn't mentioned in the film itself. And these things add another layer of value toward viewing Kranz's life – the things the film omits are far more significant in actually impacting the real life counterparts that make this film so compelling! The omitted items are especially relevant when creating some further comparison in the larger work.

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Kranz's Apollo 13 Triumph and Beyond: A NASA Legacy

Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum standing side by side at the railing of a boardwalk in Fly Me to the Moon Image

Gene Kranz is better known for leading the Apollo 13 mission's heroic recovery effort after an oxygen tank explosion severely crippled that iconic mission itself; yet many viewers aren't actually aware of those things related to Apollo 13. The extremely famous call "Houston, we’ve had a problem.” led to Kranz and his team embarking on a heroic effort—this inspirational event lasted almost 80 hours of intense, continuous problem solving, emphasizing that even when a lot of things fail, perseverance really does create impressive feats of engineering, teamwork and collaborative leadership! Using that kind of immense preparation along with unbelievable team work enabled these individuals to return home, bringing three of those astronauts back to Earth, saving three human lives. And that heroic moment showcases exactly why Kranz’s leadership skills should really be mentioned here, highlighting his extremely relevant influence to all involved.

After Apollo 17, Kranz retired from NASA (1994). Since his retirement, he's given tons of talks and interviews – donating mission vests. His Apollo 13 vest ended up at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He wrote two awesome books, Failure Is Not An Option (2000) and Tough and Competent (2023). This highlights his significant legacy within both NASA itself as well as a larger literary role.

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Fly Me to the Moon: Fiction Meets Reality

The faked moon landing from Fly Me to the Moon Image

Cole Davis isn’t precisely Gene Kranz. However, Channing Tatum’s portrayal captures his essence, those same core character elements including intense leadership; and some important moments from Kranz's life were completely fictionalized or simply adjusted, and for good reasons! The choice made a unique personal angle toward viewing Kranz’s personal experience and adds other important storytelling elements.

The most notable change—the plot point concerning NASA's fake moon landing footage. That’s a well-known conspiracy theory, completely untrue. Director Greg Berlanti explained in Entertainment Weekly that they used this widely believed myth “to tell a narrative story about why the truth is important.” The choice is an obvious and calculated risk. However, ending on that important point regarding the value and power behind truth makes that plot completely valid.

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Conclusion: A Tribute to a True NASA Legend

Fly Me to the Moon (2024) - Poster - Scarlett Johanson & Channing tatum Image

Fly Me to the Moon is fun and thrilling, showcasing Channing Tatum and Scarlett Johansson’s excellent work within the film; these performances however aren’t merely good on their own, they add great emotional layers and meaning behind this specific movie. This entire narrative provides amazing insights; highlighting some important personal moments through fictional storytelling and that makes this movie a great tribute to Gene Kranz; celebrating his contributions while providing a creative, cinematic approach and perspective. The film presents facts alongside fiction in creative ways that only a very clever film crew could accomplish effectively; generating immense impact.