'Before Sunrise' director Richard Linklater is developing a new animated film for Netflix. Titled Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure, Linklater wrote the film which is set in the time of the 1969 Apollo 11 mission to the moon, with elements of his childhood in Houston as part of the narrative.The cast comprises Jack Black, Zachary Levi, Glen Powell, Josh Wiggins, Milo Coy, Lee Eddy, Bill Wise, Natalie L’Amoreaux, Jessica Brynn Cohen, Sam Chipman, and Danielle Guilbot. Linklater has previously directed Jack Black in School of Rock and Bernie.
“It struck me years ago that this was my film to make, from both a chronological and proximity level – I was there, going into 3rd grade,” said Linklater on his compulsion for making the film. “Our unique animation style allows both the conjuring of a world long gone, and the flowing, playful expression of memory and imagination. It’s been a fun, creative journey to incorporate things like 3D graphics into a live-action shoot to help bring this story to life.”
As per reports, the team has already completed the live-action shoot and is working on combining hand-drawn and computer-generated animation. This is Linklater’s third animated feature after A Scanner Darkly and Waking Life. Both films were shot using live-action imagery and Rotoscope animation.Apollo 10 1/2: A Space-Age Adventure will be told from two parallel perspectives—one from the astronaut-mission control point-of-view and the other from a child who is watching the event on TV at his home in Houston. Linklater will be producing the film through his Detour FilmProductions jointly with producers Tommy Pallotta, Mike Blizzard, Femke Wolting, and Bruno Felix of Submarine.