An in-depth conversation with writer/director RUDOLPH HERZOG as he goes down the rabbit hole of curiosity with research into space exploration and colonization for the fascinating and thought-provoking documentary LAST EXIT: SPACE.
Best known for his documentaries such as Amundsen: Lost in the Arctic, Der Agent, Laughing With Hitler, The Paedophile Next Door, as well as his most recent satiric narrative How to Fake A War, RUDOLPH HERZOG now tackles the final frontier with LAST EXIT: SPACE.
There’s space travel, citizen space travel, and then there’s space colonization. But what does that all mean? What happens when billionaire capitalists and adventurists like Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos start talking about putting cities on Mars and beyond while we are still in the early stages of trying to put just one man on the red planet?
For writer/director RUDOLPH HERZOG that means asking questions that the average layperson never even dreams about. As you’ll hear him discuss in this interview, it all starts with the question, “Is this even possible?”. And if it is possible, should we be using our resources to venture to neighboring planets and outlying exoplanets in other constellations or put our resources to work here on Earth? There are over 7 billion humans on Earth. We face dwindling natural resources, existential threats on Earth, a climate crisis, and so much more. And yet, we look to the stars.
With these thoughts in mind, Rudolph went down the rabbit hole and began digging into the possibilities and considerations for space colonization and along the way discovered scientists and experts in all fields who are working towards this ultimate goal. LAST EXIT: SPACE introduces us to, among others, former NASA astronaut Mike Foale, a veteran of six extended space missions, including surviving an in-space crash involving the Russian space station MIR, in addition to a futurist, space anthropologist Taylor Genovesee, renowned astronomer Dr. Lucianne Walkowicz, expert on rovers Dr. Doug Hoffman, citizen sub-orbiters known as The Suborbitals, space sexologist Simon Dube, geneticist Professor Chris Mason, a flight surgeon, specialists in cryogenics and techniques currently in use today for victims of severe gunshot wounds, physicist Michael Doser of CERN where his work with particle accelerators and anti-matter fuel could prove a key factor to multigenerational space voyages, not to mention some self-proclaimed “benevolent aliens” here on Earth. In addition to scientific and ethical discussions, questions are also hypothesized about corporate colonization and how that could adversely impact any type of colonization. And through it all, Rudolph always circles back to Earth.
Putting together a narrative throughline as he goes from Point A to B to C, etc., Rudolph works with his longtime cinematographer Henning Brummer who, in addition to interviews, delivers some beautiful images of the Earth which serve as transitions between experts, always reminding us of what we have right here in our own backyards. Joining them is editor Barbara Zosel whose work is exemplary with structure and pacing while composer Mona Mur provides an undercurrent of scoring. The icing on this cake is the legendary Werner Herzog, Rudolph’s father, who not only serves as Executive Producer of LAST EXIT: SPACE, but the narrator of the documentary.
Always a joy to speak with Rudolph, be it about his books or his films, being a space geek myself, this time it was a particular joy to share in his enthusiasm and questioning mind with LAST EXIT: SPACE.
TAKE A LISTEN. . .
by debbie elias, exclusive interview March 8, 2022
LAST EXIT: SPACE is now streaming on Discovery+.
