MOSCOW. Oct 4 (Interfax) - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitsky, a member of the ISS crew, will play the role of a hurt cosmonaut in The Challenge movie, which will be the first film shot in orbit, filmmaker Klim Shipenko said.
"Anton [Shkaplerov] will play one of the cosmonauts helping Yulia [Peresild]'s character rescue Oleg Novitsky, a colleague who needs help. Pyotr Dubov will also be involved in the rescue," Shipenko told reporters on Monday.
The script was somewhat adapted to the characters of the cosmonauts who are now on the ISS, he said.
"The script was made in such a way that the cosmonauts will not play themselves, but cosmonauts in the proposed circumstances. We wrote the script to make it easier for them," the filmmaker said.
Soyuz MS-19 commander Anton Shkaplerov said he is finding it hard to prepare to play a role.
"There is a script, you have to learn your role. I have never done that before. It's hard for us, non-professional actors, but we are trying. We are trying, and therefore I hope we can do it," Shkaplerov said.
The launch of the Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft is scheduled for October 5. It is expected to take to the ISS the group shooting The Challenge film: filmmaker Klim Shipenko, actress Yulia Peresild, and also flight commander cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. The alternate crew is cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, cameraman Alexei Dudin and actress Alena Mordovina. They will shoot the first feature film in space. According to Roscosmos, the crew will return to Earth on October 17.