Gravity

Last night I went with Ayse to a special "avant-premiere" (advanced screening) of the new movie Gravity. It actually comes out in France next week. I had no idea why there was a special screening last night when I bought the tickets but we had nothing to do and we love movies so we went. The theater that we were in is probably the size of my high school auditorium and so much nicer. Plush red seats and actual stadium seating. It was heaven. As we sat down, I noticed that there were a bunch of people standing at the front of the theater taking pictures and videos and instead of the usual commercials before the previews there was a montage of the International Space Station and other space vehicles and equipment. Finally before the movie started, a man started speaking to the audience, explaining that this was a special screening put on by CNES, the equivalent of NASA in France and that at the end of the movie there would be a Q&A with a bunch of people from CNES who hold various positions in the "Houston" of France, which just so happens to be Toulouse!

Needless to say I was both freaking and geeking out because I LOVE SPACE. Are you guys really surprised that I'm this much of a nerd? It's one of those weird fascinations of mine. If I was even remotely good at physics I totally would have become an astronaut. Hopefully I'll make enough money in the art world that I can buy my way up to space. I would seriously do it.

The movie was amazing. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney were flawless. It was the perfect amount of drama and action. At the end, five or so people from CNES got up and started answering questions. Naturally the first one that anyone asked was what was real and what wasn't. Pretty much the entire premise for the movie was impossible but the way that they depicted space and the different structures like the ISS was very accurate. After some more questions, they turned the tables and started asking trivia questions to the audience. After the first one, the man sitting next to me told me the answer because he apparently worked for CNES. So cool! In fact, we were surrounded by guys who worked there and it was so much fun to watch them get a kick out of watching the film and hearing people talk about space. Gotta love nerds.

Q&A

Also on my way home I saw this on the bus:

Excuse me, WHAT.