This holiday season is full of some spectacular looking movies to look forward to. From Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to Assassin’s Creed, there are plenty of blockbuster films and award-season contenders to keep everyone happy.
There's one ne flick we’ve had on our radar since the cast was announced — Passengers. Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt, in the same movie being billed as a sci-fi romance? Count. Us. In.
Lawrence and Pratt are no strangers to the blockbuster sci-fi arena. Lawrence starred in the hugely successfully Hunger Games series, while Pratt has found himself a home in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Star-Lord in Guardians of the Galaxy (with a sequel coming next year).
While Passengers may not turn into a mega-franchise, it certainly seems to have plenty of elements fans can enjoy:
On a routine journey through space to a new home (the Homestead program), two passengers, sleeping in suspended animation, are awakened 90 years too early when their ship malfunctions. As Jim and Aurora face living the rest of their lives on board, with every luxury they could ever ask for, they begin to fall for each other, unable to deny their intense attraction ... until they discover the ship is in grave danger. With the lives of 5000 sleeping passengers at stake, only Jim and Aurora can save them all.
The Advocate attended a press junket today as part of the film’s pre-release marketing push. While there, they had the chance to talk with the film's stars:
The Advocate: The purpose of the Homestead program is to colonize new planets. So the ideal homesteader would be young, straight and healthy. Do you think the colonies would be diverse and include LGBT people or older adults?
Lawrence: “Well, hopefully, we’re well into the future, where none of these things are even a conversation anymore, where they’ve gone from issues, to conversation, to, hopefully, forgotten about and everybody’s treated equally. So, yes, of course I would assume that there’s diversity.”
Pratt: “The point of the colonization of these planets is not necessarily to branch out because we’re seeking to survive. Earth is still the cradle of civilization, it’s not a post-apocalyptic movie, so I don’t think there’s a scenario where you have a ship full of people where they’re like, ‘Please send our most viable humans off.’ It was, ‘Can you afford the ticket? Then you can go.’ […] I think anyone who’s valuable to the Homestead company […] would go. That would include all people from the whole spectrum. Anyone who could essentially provide a service that’s an old world service. If you’re a member of the LGBTQ community, and you’re really good at plumbing, then, you know, they’ll send you, I’m sure.”
Directed by Morten Tyldum and also starring Michael Sheen, Laurence Fishburne and Andy Garcia. Passengers hits theatres this holiday season, December 21.
