“I like to say that the story found me,” she says thoughtfully while speaking over Zoom.
I guess I found some kind of therapy going into the project.
The film starsMichael Penaas Hernandez andRosa Salazaras his wife Adela.
Michael Peña as astronaut José Hernández in ‘A Million Miles Away’.Daniel Daza/Prime
Despite all his success, watching his story on screen was nothing he had ever imagined happening.
“[Adela] said, ‘Hey, I was just your wife.’
Which is simple, yet profound,'” the former astronaut recalls.
Bobby Soto and Michael Peña in ‘A Million Miles Away’.Daniel Daza/Prime
That made a difference in our family’s trajectory."
Adela is not just a character.
She represents so many Latina mothers and feels not just authentic, but familiar.
NASA astronaut José M. Hernández.Shutterstock
“I am a feminist, so I did have to have the Adelita’s involvement be something important.
Latinos have this way of managing themselves in a community that is unique,” the director says.
“, the family parties (one question, where were the chairs with sleeping babies?
), the over patriarchal dating rules, etc.
He starts off by listening to 1980s rock and ends up listening to Mexican music as his career grows.
That was, to me, the main focus.
This is not a story of someone who got out of the fields and became ‘someone.’
That’s what I’m excited about.”
A Million Miles Awayis available to stream on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Want more movie news?
