Interstellar: Beyond Time and Space

by Mark Cotta Vaz

In his sci-fi epic Interstellar, Christopher Nolan takes on the infinite canvas of space to deliver a cutting-edge, emotionally charged adventure that will amaze audiences of all ages. Interstellar: Beyond Time and Space documents the making of Nolan's latest masterpiece in fascinating detail and features interviews with the acclaimed director, along with screenwriter Jonathan Nolan, producer Emma Thomas, and other key members of the production team. Delving into the science and philosophy behind the film, Interstellar: Beyond Time and Space dynamically showcases its incredible concept art, including costume designs, storyboards, and other fascinating preproduction elements. Also featuring interviews with the exceptional cast, including Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, Interstellar: Beyond Time and Space tells the full story of the making of the film, with candid pictures illustrating its elaborate set pieces and reliance on classic special effects techniques. Visually enthralling and engrossing in its in-depth exploration of the themes and ideas at the heart of Interstellar, this book is the perfect accompaniment to one of the most anticipated films of 2014.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

160 pages, Hardcover

First published November 7, 2014

About the author

Mark Cotta Vaz is the author of over twenty-one books, including four New York Times bestsellers. His recent works include Mythic Vision: The Making of Eragon, The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion, and the biography Living Dangerously: The Adventures of Merian C. Cooper, Creator of King Kong, which was a Los Angeles Times bestseller.

Reviews

[Nikola · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well made "making of" book for one of the most ambitious movies in recent memory. You get behind the scenes photos from sets, concept images made for the movie and so on.

It doesn't go deeply into the details of the making of process for this film, its more about the thought process behind the movie and the techniques used for making the movie and not about exactly how they did certain things. There is some of that but not in detail and not for everything.

The only downside to the book is that I wish there was a little bit more behind the scenes images with explanations to the techniques used. Also, the book I got wasn't in the best quality, most sides stuck to each other and the pages where glossy, to the point that your fingerprints were always visible on the pages unless you wiped them off. But luckily the pages that stuck to each other didn't rip any of the images when separated.

But the content of the book was top-notch. I only wish there was a little more of it.

[Shamila · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interstellar was one of the many masterpieces from Christopher Nolan, and this book is a treasure trove of knowledge about how the film was made, comprising of in-depth details about creating the most scientifically accurate depiction of a black hole on a movie/TV show to date (note that this was way before science was actually able to take pictures of a black hole), using actual science in writing the script and making sets to capture everything humanly possible on screen rather than opting for everything CG, composing the score at a Templar church and a lot more details about the lengths a passionate filmmaker would go to achieve the unattainable, as perceived by the rest. Featuring never-before-seen images and accounts of the film-making process and details of scientific as well as artistic decisions that ultimately made the movie one of a kind, well-written and beautifully presented by the author. The only downside is that I cannot get enough of it.

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

reading about my favourite film ever made me appreciate it even more. christopher nolan is beyond legendary.

[Sharath Jothi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having seen the film more than 10 times. Reading about how Chris Nolan achieved this Cinematic marvel got me actually wet eyed..!

In Nolan we trust ❤️⚡️

[Travis Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher Nolan is a genius and this book captures what went into his masterpiece. Greatest sci-fi ever IMO. I do think you have to be a dad and have a daughter to truly get the emotional impact.

[Shukur Al-Rawi · Rating 5 out of 5]

أنهيت هذا الكتاب بنشوة كبيرة، إنني أشعر بالدوبامين يسري في خلاياي العصبية الآن، إنه حقاً لمفخرة، ولو وصفته بجملة لقلت وبالله التوفيق إنه : " الإحسان في صناعة الأفلام "،
وفي هذه المناسبة أقتبس المقولة التي جاءت في نهاية الكتاب:
" Mankind was born on earth. It was never meant to die here "
وتعني: "إن البشرية قد ولدت على الأرض. و هذا لا يعني أبداً أن يموتوا هنا".
كل الإحترام والتقدير إلى :
Christopher Nolan
Kip Thorne
Mark Cotta Vaz
Matthew McConaughey
(Visual effects team)
and others
ولبقية الكادر الفني

[Axel Velasco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Impresionante libro de la impresionante película Interestelar.
Disfruté tanto esta película (es una de mis favoritas), que necesitaba este libro, para tener en fotos a pleno color todo lo realizado para la película.
Es un recorrido y un camino a través de todo el detrás de la película, desde como se filmó cada cosa, hasta comentarios de los actores y director, hasta los sets que se usaron para filmar la película entera.
Si te encantó la película y sos fan de la misma, este libro es otra segunda obra de arte.
Mi sensación es que terminé de leer el libro, y quiero volver a ver la película (por 4ta vez).
Me encantó y me deja una sensación increíble.

[Gab of Green Gables · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having Interstellar as my all-time favorite space film, reading this behind-the-scenes book made me appreciate all the work and heart that the production team put into this film.

I loved knowing more about how the music was created by Hans Zimmer (with him just being given an idea by Christopher Nolan to make music about a parent and child) not knowing it's about a space movie. The effort to make most effects practical is another thing I really liked reading this book.

Christopher Nolan is such a visionary and Kip Thorne did great into making the film scientifically accurate.

This film would never cease to amaze me every time I watch it again.

[C.J. Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a “making of” book of my favorite movie, so of course the rating is biased. This book thoroughly shows the feat they pulled off, from writing, to casting, to costumes, to set design, to production and post-production, and the score. It made me appreciate the movie—and the art of filmmaking—more than I already did. Movies truly do combine most all of the other arts into one, and that’s what makes them so special.

[Cedric Zhao · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great fan book and a close-up shot to the making of a great film. Not intended to be too technical on the details but enough to provide some insights on Chris Nolan's vision of practical filmmaking.

[muhd_akieff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sci-fi fans should check out this book it's amazing especially those who love astronomy and quantum physics it's mind-bending with its Interstellar journey depict in the movies. I wish one day when SpaceX started space travel I want to see black Holes with my eyes and Andromeda Galaxy.

[Lonny Moon Starsky · Rating 4 out of 5]

badass behind the scenes book

[Zachary Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

if you ever wanted a coffee-table book that smells faintly of cornfields and regret, here it is.

[Art of the Film · Rating 5 out of 5]

For photos/video of this book, please visit my blog movieartbook.com

This is a wonderful book that will add to your appreciation of the film after you've seen it -- and I emphasize AFTER because it is best to experience the movie on it's own terms, knowing as little as possible about it. If you have seen the film and liked it, then you should consider picking up this book.

The book "Beyond Time and Space" is half making-of and half an art book. It has enlightening text which elaborates on the casting, the production challenges, building practical sets/models, creating the film's musical score, etc. Also included are high-quality photographs and imagery that really must be seen.

Here's a breakdown of some of the things you'll find in the book (minor spoilers):
- Discussion on the involvement of Kip Thorne and the real science
- Coop's farm - production photos and interior shots of the house.
- Filming on location/designs of the Water Planet and Ice Planet
- Designs of the Endurance and Ranger
- The costume design of the spacesuits
- Storyboards and sketches
- Designing TARS and CASE
- Filming for Zero G sequences
- Casting (and photos of the key actors/characters)
- The aging process for certain characters
- On set photos of director Nolan
- Filming with IMAX cameras
- Hans Zimmer and creating the score

[Halo · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a h u g e fan of Nolan's work, this book is everything. The amount of details it goes through in both the storyline, and the making of the film is amazingly helpful, along with the visuals. I cannot begin to name my favourite chapters, but undoubtedly, I am slightly obsessed of Nolan's constant collaborations with Hans Zimmer, thus that particular chapter is pure gold to me.

I guess my only wish is that Inception + TDK would receive a visually-similar book, since I still have not had enough of watching Youtube videos about the making of these films.

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought this would be more about the science behind the movie, but ended up dealing more with the story development and production, (I guess for that, I should read Kip Thorne's The Science of Interstellar, duh). Still, fascinating behind-the-scenes look - "Interstellar" may not be Nolan's best film, but even mediocre Nolan is still better than most of what's out there. And the parts about filming in Iceland made we want to go right back there again!

[Gothsaku · Rating 5 out of 5]

As beautiful as the movie, a must read if you really loved Interstellar. Nolan is really brilliant.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing visuals and insights....highly recommended.