INTERVIEW: David Sander talks about "Man Conquers Space"

With us today, we have David Sander, an Australian independent filmmaker who, for the last several years, has been working on making a film called "Man Conquers Space. David, thanks for agreeing to talk to us today, we really appreciate you taking the time out to speak to us today.

DAVID SANDER:
Thank you for the opportunity to be interviewed. It isn't often I am permitted an opportunity to let people know of my project, so much appreciation to you and your team.

REPUBLIBOT 3.0:
For the benefit of those who haven't heard of it, or seen the writeup on AICN or visited your site, can you please explain what the premise of your film is? I thought it was completely jaw-droppingly brilliant, but I've found it's sometimes kind of hard to explain to people.

SANDER:
Put as simply as possible, "Man Conquers Space" is a documentary of the rise of human activities in space over the 20th and 21st centuries, but from a parallel universe. In essence it is an alternative history, illustrating how things could have transpired had certain pivotal individuals in history made different choices. It shows the power of choice in all of us.

REPUBLIBOT 3.0:
I grew up at a time when there were still lots of books in print that were written in the years between the Colliers series in the early 50s, and the actual real manned space program in the 60s, during that window when great big George Pal spaceships were still considered the shape of things to come, so your concept instantly, instantly, instantly grabbed me with both hands, but I never in a million years would have thought to make the kind of film you're putting together. How did the idea strike you, and when?

SANDER:
About ten years ago, I was given original copies of the Collier's Magazine articles, and was struck with just how wonderful the articles were, how astonishing the illustrations were and how optimistic it all was. Being an artist and visual effects designer myself, I asked myself "I wonder what these scenes would have looked like had they come to pass?". From that blossomed the idea of seeing all that, and over quite some time I developed and wrote the Man Conquers Space "history". From that framework, I wrote the film's screenplay, which has slowly evolved over the years into the shape it is today.

3.0:
It's a faux-documentary, right? What led you to choose that format over something more traditional?

SANDER:
There has been tremendous pressure from some quarters to depict Man Conquers Space as a drama, as something other than how I have structured it, but given the origins in Collier's as a plea by the authors for the subject to be taken seriously rather than as yet another Flash Gordon Saturday serial, I felt a documentary format, inviting the audience to consider it as real, did far greater justice.

3.0:
That's a very cool concept. Anyone who's read the Colliers stuff or read the Bonnestell/Ley book "Conquest of Space" has a rough idea of the progression that your alternate history will be following, but is there any kind of narative through-line? Any recurring characters who tend to run through the story, or just tend to show up at pivotal moments?

SANDER:
Like any good documentary, we meet many engaging and fascinating characters, who each have their story to tell.

3.0:
I've been following