Starman
Jet Propulsion Laboratory scientist, robotics engineer, and best-selling science fiction author Gentry Lee, who was on NASA’s Viking and Voyager teams, discusses his experiences and views on the possibility of extraterrestrial life.
Director Robert Stone and cast member Gentry Lee scheduled to attend.
Tickets
Select showtime for pricing and tickets.
Friday, May 16, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Saturday, May 17, 2025
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Are we alone in the universe? If there are trillions of planets where intelligent life could have evolved, then why have we not definitively seen or heard from anyone (yet)? These two questions weigh heavily on NASA engineer and best-selling science-fiction author Gentry Lee. When he arrived at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in the early 1970s, there was an international fervor for space exploration created by the Apollo 11 moon landing. Along with his professional colleague and close friend Carl Sagan, Lee became a key figure in guiding the Viking, Voyager, and Galileo missions. Lee acts as the film’s guide and narrator, providing fascinating insights not only into the sheer magnitude of those mission’s undertaking and execution but also on the importance of their discoveries. Throughout the film, Lee grapples with the possibility of extraterrestrial life, where and how it might exist—a concept explored within his science-fiction writings—leading up to his own revelatory conclusion. Director Robert Stone’s Starman, a spiritual follow-up to his 2019 critically lauded six-hour PBS mini-series “Chasing the Moon,” not only explores the vast possibilities awaiting us beyond the frontiers of our solar system but also serves as an intimate love letter to science, technology, and the boundless wonders of our own planet.
- Director: Robert Stone
- Principal Cast: Gentry Lee
- Country: USA
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 85 min.
- Producer: Keith Haviland, Ray Rothrock, Robert Stone
- Screenplay: Robert Stone
- Cinematographers: Tom Hurwitz
- Editors: Lindy Jankura, Robert Stone
- Music: Gary Lionelli
- Website: Official Film Website
- Filmography: Pandora’s Promise (2013), Earth Days (2009), Oswald's Ghost (2007), Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (2004), Radio Bikini (1987)
- Language: English
- Format: DCP
- International Sales: Obscured Pictures