ATLANTA — "First Man" is the winner of the Oscar for visual effects, beating out films about the Avengers and Han Solo.
Paul Lambert, Ian Hunter, Tristan Myles and J.D. Schwalm took home the trophy for recreating Neil Armstrong's moon landing. It's the second Oscar for Lambert and Hunter, the first for the other two men.
Other nominees in the category were "Avengers: Infinity War," ''Christopher Robin," ''Ready Player One," and "Solo: A Star Wars Story."
"First Man" tells the riveting story behind the first manned mission to the moon — a story focusing on Neil Armstrong, played by Ryan Gosling. But its told in a way you would never have guessed.
“It was the personal stuff that really amazed me,” the film’s director Damien Chazelle tells the A-Scene’s Francesca Amiker. "The fact that he lost a child of his right on the eve of becoming an astronaut. The fact that he lost several of his close friends on the road."
And that untold story with those raw emotions came to life, and Gosling says Chazelle went to great lengths to make every scene as real as possible.
“That’s what made it so fresh, diving into the reality of it. And we have technicians on site involved during the missions. We had three people who went to the moon,” Gosling said.
And did we mention they never used a green screen? How cool is that!
Behind the scenes : 'First Man' starring Ryan Gosling filmed in ATL
“Atlanta was very good to us. It makes a good moon,” Gosling laughed.
All the space photography was done at Tyler Perry Studios. The cabin where Neil and his wife Janet first lived was built on the studio’s back lot!
Other scenes were filmed in neighborhoods like Roswell and downtown Atlanta - all areas hoped to be utilized in the future!
“The crews here, variety of locations, the depth of talent here — and I was told the weather was stable here and then it snowed, so that’s my one complaint," Chazelle joked. "It was a stellar experience."
Sons of Armstrong, Rick and Mark, are impressed with the film’s production value. When asked if their father would approve of this story they responded with confidence.
“The biggest thing for him was accuracy and I think he would have appreciated all of the effort going in to getting a right,” Mark Armstrong said.