Is Fly Me to the Moon based on a true story? The conspiracy theory that inspired the movie

Given all the space movies about real people and the events leading up to the moon landing, it’s fair to wonder if certain things in Fly Me to the Moon are based on a true story.

The new movie follows Kelly, a PR expert (Scarlett Johansson) hired by NASA. Her goal is to put some fuel back into the space race, in full view of the American public.

She arranges deals and sponsorships, and proposes the landing be broadcast live. However, Moe (Woody Harrelson) wants to go one small step further in Fly Me to the Moon.

Kelly is told to film a fake landing, in case anything went wrong with the real one. That’s a lie, though; Moe plans to broadcast the faked footage either way.

Fly Me to the Moon isn’t based on a true story

While Fly Me to the Moon borrows from real elements of the space race, the narrative about the fake moon landing PR stunt isn’t based on a true story.

Screenwriter Rose Gilroy told The Wrap, “It was Scarlett and her company’s original idea.”

“I think I was always coming at it from an angle of, I had a true admiration for what was accomplished on that day and for NASA. Just from a script standpoint, I was never interested in bashing or taking away from it.

Anything to do with conspiracy was only going to be put in to have fun and entertain and also be used in a way to actually point out that the truth matters.”

The famous conspiracy theory that inspired the film

Fly Moon to the Moon was inspired by the conspiracy theory that NASA faked the moon landing and staged footage of the moonwalk.

NASA

The theory rests on the idea that the USA needed to publicly beat the Soviet Union, their closest rival in the space race. To ‘win’, they faked moon landing footage and broadcast it as if it were live. For example, theorists argued that the American flag in the film was waving in the wind, which wouldn’t be possible on the moon.

This and all other ‘evidence’ has been combated. In the case of the flag, NASA extended a telescopic pole along the top to make it look as if it were flying.

Director Greg Berlanti said the movie leaning on it was “part of the boldness and the bravery.”

“And if anything, [truth] matters more now than ever. And what better way to do that than to actually go headfirst into one of these, like one of the OG conspiracy theories?”

However, Fly Me to the Moon used some legitimate facts from the space race, such as the average NASA worker at the time being in their 20s. “A lot of the spirit of the script came from research,” Berlanti added.

Like knowing where ideas came from? We’ve explained if there’s a Longlegs true story, The Exorcism true story, and if Hit Man is based on a true story.