The new space thriller, Gravity, from Alfonso Cuarón, who helmed Children of Men and one of those Harry Potter films among others, hits theaters in less than two weeks. You’ve probably seen trailers for Gravity on TV with George Clooney and Sandra Bullock floating around space as classical music plays. It’s an unusual premise for a movie, and even though Cuarón is a brilliant director, one can understand how studios might be worried about box office sales. So, to generate some buzz for the film, production company B-Reel has launched an interactive website that digitally illustrates the experience of floating around space.
The site holds brief appeal – exploring a simulation of space can get boring after a few minutes of scrolling and listening to the eerie loop of someone panting – which is the point. Floating around knowing you’d be lost forever looking at blackness sounds tremendously boring and tremendously frightening. Of course, Cuarón (I hope) will focus on the threat of that boredom, so his space thriller is, you know, thrilling. But if you’re an astronomy geek or interested film buff, the spacewalk and links to the movie trailers should be enough fun until October 4.