EXCLUSIVE: Legendary astronomer and astrophysicist Carl Sagan, who expanded scientific understanding of the universe and helped millions appreciate the wonders of the cosmos, will be the subject of an upcoming documentary feature from National Geographic Documentary Films.
The Untitled Carl Sagan Film will be produced by Fuzzy Door’s Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins, Emmy and Peabody winner Ann Druyan – Sagan’s life partner – and Academy Award nominee Nanette Burstein, with Burstein directing. Also producing is production company Hungry Man.
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Sagan’s contributions to planetary science were equaled only by his capacity to spread an infectious joy of the marvel and immensity of space. His 1980 book Cosmos became the best-selling science book ever published in English, and he appeared frequently on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (amusing the host and the viewing public with his emphasis on “billions and billions” of stars in reference to the quantity of astronomical objects across the universe). His 1985 novel Contact was adapted into the 1997 Robert Zemeckis film starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey.
“Serving as an intimate and cinematic portrait of Sagan, the Untitled Carl Sagan Documentary will explore his love story with partner Ann Druyan and with science,” National Geographic Documentary Films said in a statement. “The film will include exclusive audio recordings, archival clips and animation, along with interviews with his family, friends and colleagues. With the full support of Sagan’s family and friends, the film will present a fascinating look into the life and career of one of the world’s most inspiring and revolutionizing scientists of our time.” The Untitled Carl Sagan Documentary will be available exclusively on National Geographic Channels and Disney+. A release date has not been set.
“Carl Sagan was a groundbreaking and revolutionary scientist who decoded the complexity of the cosmos and made planetary science accessible and relevant to audiences around the world,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of documentary films for National Geographic. “We are so excited to work with Nanette, Ann and Fuzzy Door to bring Sagan’s pioneering work and compelling personal story to a new generation of admirers.”
The extent of Sagan’s scientific endeavors and achievements defy easy summarization, but they encompass “a leading role in the American space program since its inception,” NatGeo notes. “He was a consultant and adviser to NASA since the 1950s, briefed the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the Moon, and was an experimenter on the Mariner, Viking, Voyager and Galileo planetary expeditions.” In addition, as National Geographic points out, he helped solve the mysteries of the high temperatures of Venus (cause: a massive greenhouse effect), the seasonal changes on Mars (cause: windblown dust), and the reddish haze of Titan (cause: complex organic molecules).
Sagan (1934-1996) earned a Pulitzer Prize for his 1977 book The Dragons of Eden: Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence, and he won NASA medals for Exceptional Scientific Achievement and the NASA Apollo Achievement Award. The National Science Foundation posthumously awarded Dr. Sagan its highest honor, declaring that his “research transformed planetary science … his gifts to mankind were infinite.”
“Carl’s life is a multidimensional epic,” said executive producer Ann Druyan. “He was a pathfinder in the sciences and a force in the culture, articulating the numinous wonder of a science-based sense of the sacred. He is one of the greatest awakeners in our history, and I feel that with Nanette, Fuzzy Door, Hungry Man and NatGeo, I now have the right partners to tell his thrilling story.”
Burstein observed, “Two things that most impacted my childhood were the death of my grandmother and reading Carl Sagan. Carl shaped how I view the world in the most fundamental ways. I am thrilled to be embarking on this trippy and poignant filmmaking journey, which has been an abiding passion.”
Burstein’s many credits include the 1999 Oscar-nominated documentary On the Ropes (co-directed with Brett Morgen), The Kid Stays in the Picture, also co-directed with Brett Morgen, about the iconic movie producer and executive Robert Evans, and the 2020 Emmy-nominated four-part documentary series Hillary, about former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
National Geographic’s recent documentaries include the Oscar-nominated Fire of Love, directed by Sara Dosa, and the Oscar-shortlisted Retrograde and The Territory. NatGeo’s Free Solo, directed by E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. As Deadline reported last week, Vasarhelyi and Chin are currently working on a new documentary feature for National Geographic under the working title Endurance, which will examine the extraordinary effort to locate the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackelton’s ship Endurance, which sank in the frigid Weddell Sea near the Antarctic in 1915.
Fuzzy Door, meanwhile, is behind The Orville, Family Guy, American Dad! And the motion picture comedies Ted and Ted 2, among others. Inspired by 1980’s documentary series Cosmos — created by Sagan, Druyan and Steven Soter — Fuzzy Door produced the Peabody award-winning Cosmos: A SpaceTime Odyssey, “which garnered 13 Emmy nominations and became a global event seen by more than 135 million people,” and the recent critically acclaimed installment Cosmos: Possible Worlds.
Hungry Man is an award-winning global production company with bases of operation in New York, Los Angeles, London, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo. “Since its inception in 1997, Hungry Man has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards and has garnered many creative industry accolades, winning numerous Emmy Awards and hundreds of Cannes Lions.”
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