Mackenzie Crook will make his feature directorial debut on Mars Express, which tells the remarkable true story of Colin and Judith Pillinger’s bid to find life on the Red Planet.
Mackenzie Crook will explore a couple’s mission to discover life on Mars in his debut feature film as a director.
The Pirates of the Caribbean star is helming Mars Express, which tells the extraordinary true story of Colin and Judith Pillinger’s attempts to find life on the Red Planet.
Mars Express has wrapped filming and stars Toby Jones (who reunites with his Detectorists co-star Crook) and Emily Watson as Colin and Judith.
A synopsis for the film reads: “Mid-90s Britain. Planetary scientists Professor Colin Pillinger and his wife Doctor Judith Pillinger set out to build the Beagle 2 probe to go to Mars in search of organic life.
“With his mutton chops and strong West Country accent, Colin was an unlikely scientific hero. He and Judith owned an idyllic farm in the English countryside where they kept dairy cattle and other assorted animals.
“With little previous experience of building a space craft, they pulled together a team of mavericks who took on NASA and almost won.”
Supporting cast members include Nicholas Burns, Richard Coyle, Thaddea Graham, David Dencik, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Rob Delaney and Fisher Stevens.
The script has been written by Joe Bone and is based on Professor Colin Pillinger’s book My Life On Mars: The Beagle 2 Diaries.
Mars Express is set against a vivid 1990s backdrop with a Britpop soundtrack and arrives at a time when fascination with space exploration is at an all-time high.
Crook said: “It’s a complete honour to be telling the extraordinary story of Collin Pillinger and Beagle 2 for my first feature film as a director.
“Joe Bone’s beautiful script has made it easy to attract some of the best names in the business to join our brilliantly creative team and I’m thrilled to be working once again with my friend Toby Jones.
“Thank you to all at BigTalk Studios, BBC Film, BFI, Sky, Screen Yorkshire, CML Entertainment Finance and Altitude for their trust and support in making this funny, poignant and inspiring film.”
Mackenzie Crook to direct space exploration tale Mars Express
