Halle Berry’s ‘Moonfall’ Character Was Originally a Man
Halle Berry had one of her most epic roles ever in Moonfall. The Roland Emmerich-directed disaster movie starred Berry as Jocinda Fowler, an astronaut who leads a mission to stop the moon from destroying the Earth. Not only does Berry save the day, but she reinvented a character that was originally written as a male astronaut.
Emmerich and Berry discuss Fowler on the 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD edition of Moonfall. Here’s how Emmerich and Berry changed the role, and what the film looks like in 4K.
Roland Emmerich offered Halle Berry ‘Moonfall’ after this change of heart
Moonfall begins on a space mission in 2011 when Fowler and Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) first encounter the evil forces from the moon. Fowler is in the shuttle when the moon debris separates their third crew member from them. 10 years later, Fowler has taken an administrative position but goes back on space duty when the planet needs her.
“We always had this idea that Fowler was a man,” Emmerich said. “And then we’re like, ‘Well, why does it have to be a man?’ It’s interesting for us because we never had a character like this as a woman.”
Halle Berry brought a feminine touch to ‘Moonfall’
Berry said there was a bit more to making Fowler a woman than simply casting her. She expressed what she felt she brought to her Moonfall role. Berry played this role right after making her directorial debut with Bruised also.
“I think a woman’s sensibility is often very different than a man’s and I hope my character brings a little bit of that,” Berry said. “So credit to Roland for realizing that this could be a female character and still have the same impact.”
4K UHD Review
4K gives movies even more detail than Blu-ray and Moonfall is a great example. All the scenes set in outer space are perfect for 4K. The contrast 4K allows makes space a deep black background. Set against that, you really see all the detail in the space shuttle and space suits. By the time they approach the moon, it’s an epic face off between the shuttle and surface details, plus the malevolent force swirling around.
The world inside the moon looks great in 4K too. But, half of Moonfall is earthbound and they don’t scrimp there. On Earth you get a 4K disaster movie. When a city floods, you can see the CGI water really puts in more waves and current than the actual water used in the hotel lobby scenes. A car chase in a snowstorm also looks great with the moon in the distance, and the vehicles dodging flaming chunks.
The best scene in the movie though is when they drive the shuttle down a debris strewn street. You see sharp detail all along the road and the shuttle they’re pulling. Moonfall has great sound too. If you have a surround system, the sound really travels all around the room with the various disasters, and the moon force circling the ship and the astronauts.
