For a film about a planet with a thin atmosphere, there was reportedly a lot of friction on the set. First, NASA decided not to cooperate with film because of the script’s depiction of combative astronauts. Second, press reported Val Kilmer and costar Tom Sizemore at odds throughout the shooting. Sizemore’s and Kilmer’s people both denied any conflict. Adding fuel to the fire, Sizemore maintained strict radio silence at the premiere.

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

VAL KILMER: "I've got a little piece of the Mars rock."
BENJAMIN BRATT: "I'm an Earth freak."
JULIA ROBERTS: Being an astronaut's wife would be "horrible."
SIMON BAKER: "Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go to NASA."
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: "I'm not a gadget woman."
ANTONY HOFFMAN: "People have to go [to space] and see for ourselves."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

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SPACE.com: Why should people go to space?

VAL KILMER: I don’t think we can help it. We’re too darned creative and imaginative. We figure out how to do stuff and then we’ve got to go do it.

SPACE.com: Recently NASA has been on the defensive about the idea of sending people to Mars. . . .

VK: We’ve always been curious, interested and fascinated with Mars and the new ideas about how crews need to get along and what it’s like to survive such a journey.

SPACE.com: What was your training like?

VK: Fairly intense in terms of the action of doing it but also [to] really feel normal in a space suit and all the aspects of the equipment.

SPACE.com: Best and worst part of the shoot?

VK: I didn’t have a worst part. I love Australia. I’ve been there several times. I’ve been to Jordan, we filmed there. I love the cast. It was a great story. We had something called a cool suit that was supposed to keep the space suit cool but it didn’t. That was probably the worst part. But the guys who made it were so great it kind of made it worthwhile. It was good for a laugh every day. They always had a new idea how to make it work, but none of them did.

SPACE.com: We heard you own some Mars real estate.

VK: I’ve got a little piece of the Mars rock. I have it proudly displayed in my living room in a little display case. I have a few fossils and meteorites, stuff that’s small. The Museum of Val Kilmer.

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

BENJAMIN BRATT: "I'm an Earth freak."
JULIA ROBERTS: Being an astronaut's wife would be "horrible."
SIMON BAKER: "Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go to NASA."
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: "I'm not a gadget woman."
ANTONY HOFFMAN: "People have to go [to space] and see for ourselves."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

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SPACE.com Why should people go into space?

BENJAMIN BRATT: Outside [of] the need to explore? Curiosity? I think that’s up to the individual. Why would you want to go into space?

SPACE.com. I’m a space freak.

BB: I’m an Earth freak. I’m an ocean freak.

SPACE.com What do you think about Val’s Mars meteorite?

BB: How do you know it’s authentic? How do you know its not toxic, that’s the bigger question.

SPACE.com In the movie, you look pretty buff, what kind of workout did you do?

JULIA ROBERTS: He’s all natural, I’m here to tell you.

(continued)

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

VAL KILMER: "I've got a little piece of the Mars rock."
JULIA ROBERTS: Being an astronaut's wife would be "horrible."
SIMON BAKER: "Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go to NASA."
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: "I'm not a gadget woman."
ANTONY HOFFMAN: "People have to go [to space] and see for ourselves."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

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SPACE.com. What do you think it takes to be an astronaut’s wife?

JULIA ROBERTS: Oh my God, I think it would be horrible really. It would be worse than being a fireman’s wife. Every time you kiss you husband goodbye, that might be it. You’d have to have a lot of patience and nerves of steel.

SPACE.com. Do you think you have those?

BENJAMIN BRATT: I’m here to tell you she’s got nerves of steel.

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

VAL KILMER: "I've got a little piece of the Mars rock."
BENJAMIN BRATT: "I'm an Earth freak."
SIMON BAKER: "Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go to NASA."
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: "I'm not a gadget woman."
ANTONY HOFFMAN: "People have to go [to space] and see for ourselves."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

~

SPACE.com Why should people explore Mars?

SIMON BAKER: I’m hoping people shouldn’t. I was just hoping that we could love the one we’re with as far as planets go.

SPACE.com What was your training like?

SB: Unfortunately we didn’t have a chance to go to NASA. We were planning on going there but then we weren’t able to. I did a lot of physical training just to increase my stamina to able to endure the suits that we had to wear all the time and in the heat we had to wear them. They were intense but fun. My favorite thing was I had a trenching tool with a beer opener built on the end of it. It was quite a nice design, I thought.

Baker’s wife, film actress Rebecca Rigg, doesn’t think she has the right stuff to be an astronaut’s wife. "No, I’m far too controlling."

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

VAL KILMER: "I've got a little piece of the Mars rock."
BENJAMIN BRATT: "I'm an Earth freak."
JULIA ROBERTS: Being an astronaut's wife would be "horrible."
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: "I'm not a gadget woman."
ANTONY HOFFMAN: "People have to go [to space] and see for ourselves."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

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SPACE.com Why should people go to Mars?

CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: I’m not someone who comes from a scientific point of view. I’m much more of an emotional person. There’s so much exploration that scientists are impassioned to do. I think we definitely reap the benefits of a lot of that. Because I’m not scientific-minded I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it.

SPACE.com What kind of training did you do?

CAM: I trained for a couple of months before, to get in shape; because they wanted me thinner and leaner. Then I did wire training so that I could simulate zero G.

SPACE.com What was the best and worst part of the shoot?

CAM: The best part of the shoot was the crew. I worked with a lot of the same people I worked with on The Matrix. The worst part was being so far away from home.

SPACE.com Could you be an astronaut in real life?

CAM: Definitely not, I don’t like small confined spaces. I like room.

SPACE.com Are you technically adept?

CAM: No, I’m not a gadget woman, I can’t even turn my own computer on.

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

VAL KILMER: "I've got a little piece of the Mars rock."
BENJAMIN BRATT: "I'm an Earth freak."
JULIA ROBERTS: Being an astronaut's wife would be "horrible."
SIMON BAKER: "Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go to NASA."
ANTONY HOFFMAN: "People have to go [to space] and see for ourselves."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

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SPACE.com What was it like shooting this movie?

ANTONY HOFFMAN: We shot in Jordan, which is an incredible location. David Lean shot Lawrence of Arbaia there. To bring a crew there to the same exact terrain, it’s just incredible.

SPACE.com A tough shoot?

AH: Yeah. The hardest thing was just the logistics of jumping from Jordan to Australia with a crew of 800 in different countries with different languages.

SPACE.com Why should people explore space?

AH: It’s the human condition. People have to go and see it for themselves. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews:

VAL KILMER: "I've got a little piece of the Mars rock."
BENJAMIN BRATT: "I'm an Earth freak."
JULIA ROBERTS: Being an astronaut's wife would be "horrible."
SIMON BAKER: "Unfortunately we didn't have the chance to go to NASA."
CARRIE-ANNE MOSS: "I'm not a gadget woman."
TOM SIZEMORE: "..."

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Click direct to the gallery of stars -- photos and interviews: