And now it's time for my first movie post about a documentary. Last night at the ArcLight Hollywood, the American Film Institute hosted a sneak preview of this doc called The Wonder of It All, which profiles seven of the Apollo astronauts who walked on the moon between 1969 and 1972. The main draw for me was that for the Q&A afterward, they had none other than Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, that one guy who, with Neil Armstrong, became the first to walk on the moon on the Apollo 11 mission back in July of '69. Also at the Q&A was the film's director, a young chap called Roth, Jeffrey Roth. Interviewing them was CNN tech guy Miles O'Brien. Miles probably walked to the ArcLight. CNN's L.A. office is literally just a couple blocks away. I have to admit that even though Buzz is getting up there in years (he just turned 78 in January), he's still very sprightly, very well spoken, and gives great long answers, all perfect ingredients for a good Q&A.Before I get to the Q&A, though, let me give you the gist of the film. It's nothing artsy, really. If you've seen any documentaries, you'll know that a healthy portion of them are usually a lot of talking heads. With seven astronauts to talk to, The Wonder of It All is no exception. But it doesn't need to be clever. It's already got a great premise with these guys who are part of this very exclusive club of people. I mean, imagine being one of the only humans in the history of your species to have ever stepped foot on the moon.
There were in fact a grand total of 12 astronauts who walked on the moon in the three-and-a-half-year span this film documents (July '69 to December '72). That's two astronauts from each of the six Apollo moon-landing missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17). Of the 12, three passed 
away in the nineties, and two of them, including Neil Armstrong unfortunately, declined to be a part of this film. The seven included here are Buzz Aldrin from Apollo 11, Alan Bean from 12, Edgar Mitchell from 14, John Young and Charlie Duke from 16, and Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan from 17. Actually, though, the way it worked was that each Apollo mission had a grand total of three people. Two would go down to the moon, and the third guy would be the poor schmo manning the ship and missing the action. The titles of the three would be as follows: mission commander, lunar module pilot, and command module pilot. Those first two would be the moonwalkers. So take Apollo 11, for instance. Neil Armstrong was mission commander; Buzz was the lunar module pilot; and Michael Collins was command module pilot. And yes, Mike knew well ahead of time that he'd be third to Neil and Buzz. We're talking a year and a half to two years ahead of time, which is how long it took to train for these missions once you were selected.
away in the nineties, and two of them, including Neil Armstrong unfortunately, declined to be a part of this film. The seven included here are Buzz Aldrin from Apollo 11, Alan Bean from 12, Edgar Mitchell from 14, John Young and Charlie Duke from 16, and Harrison Schmitt and Eugene Cernan from 17. Actually, though, the way it worked was that each Apollo mission had a grand total of three people. Two would go down to the moon, and the third guy would be the poor schmo manning the ship and missing the action. The titles of the three would be as follows: mission commander, lunar module pilot, and command module pilot. Those first two would be the moonwalkers. So take Apollo 11, for instance. Neil Armstrong was mission commander; Buzz was the lunar module pilot; and Michael Collins was command module pilot. And yes, Mike knew well ahead of time that he'd be third to Neil and Buzz. We're talking a year and a half to two years ahead of time, which is how long it took to train for these missions once you were selected.The film did a great job giving all seven equal face time. It went back and forth between them during each of the film's segments, starting with their childhood and education and then how 
they each fell into the astronaut program and became pals and dealt with a healthy share of setbacks (including losing friends in tragic accidents), and what their lives have been like since, including how their legacies have impacted their families and personal lives. In some cases, like Buzz for instance, life hasn't always been a bowl of cherries. And when I say "fell into the astronaut program," that's pretty much what happened. In other words, none of them had any moonwalking aspirations as youngsters. You have to remember that all of these guys were born in the thirties and went to school in the forties and fifties. So when their guidance counselors asked them what they wanted to do with their lives, it was inconceivable that any of them would say, "Ya know, I'd love to walk on the moon some day." What they could have said, though, was that they wanted to fly planes, 'cause that's pretty much what they all started out doing. It was the perfect time to get into that for sure. All of these guys would've been in junior high and high school during World War II. That war really helped our nascent aviation industry, if you'll pardon the pun, blast off. During that war the U.S. manufactured more planes than every other country in the world combined had ever had. Yes, combined. And yes, we're talking mucho planes, kids. So if you were a kid at that time and were wondering what to do with yourself, suddenly you had an option available to you that your parents couldn't've dreamt of. And if you were a risk taker or a competitive type, then you may have taken it a step further and tried to work it out so you could fly the fastest and newest planes being made at the time.
they each fell into the astronaut program and became pals and dealt with a healthy share of setbacks (including losing friends in tragic accidents), and what their lives have been like since, including how their legacies have impacted their families and personal lives. In some cases, like Buzz for instance, life hasn't always been a bowl of cherries. And when I say "fell into the astronaut program," that's pretty much what happened. In other words, none of them had any moonwalking aspirations as youngsters. You have to remember that all of these guys were born in the thirties and went to school in the forties and fifties. So when their guidance counselors asked them what they wanted to do with their lives, it was inconceivable that any of them would say, "Ya know, I'd love to walk on the moon some day." What they could have said, though, was that they wanted to fly planes, 'cause that's pretty much what they all started out doing. It was the perfect time to get into that for sure. All of these guys would've been in junior high and high school during World War II. That war really helped our nascent aviation industry, if you'll pardon the pun, blast off. During that war the U.S. manufactured more planes than every other country in the world combined had ever had. Yes, combined. And yes, we're talking mucho planes, kids. So if you were a kid at that time and were wondering what to do with yourself, suddenly you had an option available to you that your parents couldn't've dreamt of. And if you were a risk taker or a competitive type, then you may have taken it a step further and tried to work it out so you could fly the fastest and newest planes being made at the time.
And that's why all of the Apollo astronauts without exception were Navy test pilots prior to becoming astronauts. As a Navy test pilot, man, you'd be flying some of the fastest vehicles mankind had ever known. And not only would you be zooming along, but you'd be doing it very high up. Yes, naturally it was risky, but for these guys that was part of the appeal. In modern-day parlance I suppose you'd dub them adrenaline junkies. They were also very competitive, as Buzz confirmed for us during the Q&A afterward. So if one of your test pilot buddies had just flown in some such craft at a certain speed and altitude, then it was sort of an unspoken obligation on your part to 1-up him at your earliest (in)convenience.Another neat thing about this piece was all the moon footage they showed that you normally
don't get to see when watching, say, a TV program about the lunar landings. Those shows tend to show stuff you've seen millions of times, especially those shots of the Apollo 11 module soaring above the lunar surface and then Neil Armstrong on the moon saying those famous words. Here, though, we got to see footage of all seven guys doing various things on the moon. It wasn't all work, either. One of the more hilarious shots they showed was one of the astronauts, I forget who it was, sort of skipping and dancing along the moon while singing, "I was walking along the moon one day, moon one day, moon one day...", and so on.
don't get to see when watching, say, a TV program about the lunar landings. Those shows tend to show stuff you've seen millions of times, especially those shots of the Apollo 11 module soaring above the lunar surface and then Neil Armstrong on the moon saying those famous words. Here, though, we got to see footage of all seven guys doing various things on the moon. It wasn't all work, either. One of the more hilarious shots they showed was one of the astronauts, I forget who it was, sort of skipping and dancing along the moon while singing, "I was walking along the moon one day, moon one day, moon one day...", and so on.A lot of these guys had pretty affecting personal stories, perhaps none other than Buzz. During the segment of the film that talked about the astronauts being selected and then preparing for
the mission, Buzz talked about his mother committing suicide about a year before the Apollo 11 launch, when Buzz had already been training for several months. Depression does run in the Aldrin family, but according to Buzz, his ma also couldn't bear to think what the fallout would be after her son did the whole moon thing. Buzz never really elaborated on that, but you got the idea that either his ma was afraid he'd die during the mission, or that her son would get more publicity than he could handle. Maybe she was scared for his safety, though. You have to remember that the Apollo program got off to a God-awful start in January '67 when all three Apollo 1 astronauts--Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee--died during training when a fire broke out in the command module while they were all stuck inside. So poor Buzz lost his ma while training for the most important job of his life. And the tough bastard still pulled it off.
the mission, Buzz talked about his mother committing suicide about a year before the Apollo 11 launch, when Buzz had already been training for several months. Depression does run in the Aldrin family, but according to Buzz, his ma also couldn't bear to think what the fallout would be after her son did the whole moon thing. Buzz never really elaborated on that, but you got the idea that either his ma was afraid he'd die during the mission, or that her son would get more publicity than he could handle. Maybe she was scared for his safety, though. You have to remember that the Apollo program got off to a God-awful start in January '67 when all three Apollo 1 astronauts--Virgil "Gus" Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee--died during training when a fire broke out in the command module while they were all stuck inside. So poor Buzz lost his ma while training for the most important job of his life. And the tough bastard still pulled it off.It was Charlie Duke, by the way, the lunar module pilot for Apollo 16 and the youngest of all 12 moonwalkers, who coined the phrase used as the documentary's title. He was talking about how, during some downtime on the moon, he took a look back at Earth and pondered "the wonder of it all."
This was the first film for Jeffrey Roth. During the Q&A afterward, he said the inspiration for it
came about four years ago when he and some pals were attending an astronaut convention. He himself isn't an astronaut--the man's practically a child--but it's like a Star Trek convention where the fans can go meet their heroes. So at some point during the convention, he and his pals were sitting in a restaurant having lunch. A lot of fellow attendees were also there, as were a bunch of astronauts. Being an avid fan of the NASA missions, Jeff was able to recognize which of the astronauts were among the 12 moonwalkers. These old codgers were sitting around eating as if they were regular Joes like everyone else, and Jeff was both amazed and appalled that no one else seemed able to recognize these heroes. He decided to remedy that problem. Thus was born the idea for this documentary, which took him three years to complete.
came about four years ago when he and some pals were attending an astronaut convention. He himself isn't an astronaut--the man's practically a child--but it's like a Star Trek convention where the fans can go meet their heroes. So at some point during the convention, he and his pals were sitting in a restaurant having lunch. A lot of fellow attendees were also there, as were a bunch of astronauts. Being an avid fan of the NASA missions, Jeff was able to recognize which of the astronauts were among the 12 moonwalkers. These old codgers were sitting around eating as if they were regular Joes like everyone else, and Jeff was both amazed and appalled that no one else seemed able to recognize these heroes. He decided to remedy that problem. Thus was born the idea for this documentary, which took him three years to complete.Buzz elaborated a little more on the depression that runs in his family. It hit him pretty hard as well, and very soon after his moon mission. He was 39 when he walked on the moon, and the depression bodyslammed him about a year later. Through his forties and early fifties (1970 to '85ish) Buzz said he was basically useless. He was depressed as all get out and drank his way through booze like a catfish goes through a lake. Eventually he got his shit together and even found a new woman. On Valentine's Day 1988, he married this gal named Lois. They're still happily married. In fact, Lois was at last night's screening as well.
Buzz talked about moving to Houston in the early sixties to further his Navy test pilot career. He
moved into the house that had just been occupied by fellow pilot Jim Lovell (the guy Tom Hanks played in Apollo 13). Buzz's best friend at this time was Ed White (one of the Apollo 1 casualties). Buzz and Ed met at West Point where they ran track together. Guess who lived next door to Buzz? That's right, his eventual moonwalking partner Neil Armstrong. Neil, however, wasn't the most sociable of fellows. That's actually why he wasn't involved with the film. It was nothing personal. It's just not in his nature to be very public. Indeed, when he wrote his memoir a few years ago, he didn't even do a book tour. He did one interview on 60 Minutes and that was that. Suffice it to say that the actual Apollo 11 trip from the Earth to the moon was, er, very quiet. As the moderator Miles O'Brien put it very tactfully, the 11 crew "weren't exactly chummy." The extrovert of the trio was the one guy who wasn't allowed to set foot on the moon and therefore should've been the grouchiest: Mike Collins. Apparently he was the one who cracked jokes and kept Buzz and Neil entertained.
moved into the house that had just been occupied by fellow pilot Jim Lovell (the guy Tom Hanks played in Apollo 13). Buzz's best friend at this time was Ed White (one of the Apollo 1 casualties). Buzz and Ed met at West Point where they ran track together. Guess who lived next door to Buzz? That's right, his eventual moonwalking partner Neil Armstrong. Neil, however, wasn't the most sociable of fellows. That's actually why he wasn't involved with the film. It was nothing personal. It's just not in his nature to be very public. Indeed, when he wrote his memoir a few years ago, he didn't even do a book tour. He did one interview on 60 Minutes and that was that. Suffice it to say that the actual Apollo 11 trip from the Earth to the moon was, er, very quiet. As the moderator Miles O'Brien put it very tactfully, the 11 crew "weren't exactly chummy." The extrovert of the trio was the one guy who wasn't allowed to set foot on the moon and therefore should've been the grouchiest: Mike Collins. Apparently he was the one who cracked jokes and kept Buzz and Neil entertained.Buzz talked about how he went about taking a leak while wearing that giant suit and all that gear. Actually, he didn't volunteer that information. Someone in the audience asked him. Yes, that's right. Whereas Neil was the first to take that giant leap for mankind, it was Buzz who was the first to take that giant leak for mankind. It's not exactly surprising how they did it. Each astronaut had a sort of pack down in the nether regions that would collect all the waste, which would then be disposed of accordingly upon arrival back on Earth. You get the idea.
Buzz's most vivid memory of the trip actually didn't come from being on the surface but from when they were still approaching the moon. The most beautiful image he's ever seen to this day is the image of the moon as they were getting very close, so that it took up almost the whole vista outside the window, with the sun's light just behind it forming a sort of halo. Buzz insisted that Neil was not given a script to read for when he first stepped out of the module. To be sure, Neil had been thinking about what to say on the way there (it took four days to get there), but Buzz said he came up with that now immortal line all on his own.
So what have all these guys been doing since their moonwalking days? Buzz certainly seems fully recovered from his depression and just as active today as he was during his piloting days. He's written several books and articles that talk about the future of space travel. He also helps design rockets and goes deep sea diving when he gets bored. Alan Bean of Apollo 12 likes to paint, especially vistas of the moonscape that the cameras didn't capture. Edgar Mitchell of Apollo 14 is into paranormal studies, while Apollo 16's Charlie Duke found God. Harrison Schmitt of Apollo 17 went into politics and became a Senator.
Speaking of politics, I have to say I was a little surprised at Buzz's staunch conservatism. Toward the end of the evening he was saying stuff like how wonderful George W. Bush is for all he's done to help NASA but that NASA should stop worrying about the International Space Station. Buzz also said that global warming is alarmist, to which a young woman in the audience responded with, "Whoa." Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. But hey, who says our heroes can't be just as complicated as the rest of us?
