Is 'Fly Me to the Moon' based on a true story? Inspiration behind the comedy-drama film explored

The Scarlett Johannson and Channing Tatum starrer Fly Me to the Moon has raised intrigue as well as questions in the audiences' minds. It explores one of the most infamous conspiracy theories of all time — the 1969 NASA fake moon landing.

People have been wondering if Fly Me to the Moon is indeed based on a true incident. Well, the truth is, Fly Me to the Moon tells an imganiary story, with certain real incidents to boost the fictional narrative.

Set in the 1960s, Fly Me to the Moon follows the plot of a marketing genius Kelly Jones who has been assigned to orchestrate a false narrative as a backup, if and only if the Apollo 11 moon landing is unsuccessful.

NASA's launch director Cole Davis, who is at loggerheads with Kelly, disapproves of the idea. However, in the course of the story, Kelly and Cole fall in love, and we witness how the truth triumphs.

The synopsis of Fly Me to the Moon, as per IMDb is as follows:

Marketing maven Kelly Jones wreaks havoc on NASA launch director Cole Davis's already difficult task. When the White House deems the mission too important to fail, the countdown truly begins.

Let us uncover more details about the storyline of Fly Me to the Moon.

Is Fly Me to the Moon based on a true story? Inspiration behind the comedy-drama film explored

Fly Me to the Moon is an imagined story, but it has some true events laced in its plot. It is a colourful, romantic story along with some historical events.

The director of Fly Me to the Moon, Greg Berlanti, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, mentions:

“When you see the movie, without giving away the ending, you realize that so much of it is about why the truth is important. And so I think I was fine to take on an OG conspiracy theory, knowing that in the end, what we were really trying to say why the truth matters.”

A number of characters and events are incorporated from real life in Fly Me to the Moon, including the existence of promotional campaigns organised by the NASA.

Although the marketing campaigns did exist, Scarlett Johannson and Channing Tatum's respective characters, Kelly Jones and Cole Davis, were fictional.

The Apollo 11 astronauts shown in the film were real — Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong. We also witness historical figures, namely Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, who tragically lost their lives due to a fire at the launch rehearsal test of Apollo 1.

Along with them, Yuri Gagarin, the first person to travel to the outer space, and USSR premier Nikita Khrushchev are also shown in the movie.

Was the NASA moon landing fake or real?

According to Business Insider, there is no proof that the NASA moon landing was fake. However, certain portions, where live shots could not be obtained, had to be imitated with the use of dummies.

America was witnessing major changes and political tensions at the time, and the Civil Rights Movement was at its peak. Vietnam War and the fear of a nuclear war with the USSR was also on the rise. So, many people initially doubted the idea of a moon landing.

It is also revealed that as a part of their marketing strategy, the space organisation had conducted programmes where they would educate people with factual knowledge about space, and also held media interactions. That helped NASA garner a massive viewership of their telecast of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

According to NASA, the moon landing telecast received a viewership of roughly 650 million.