Amanpour and Company

IT IS CALLED "MOONWALKERS," AND IT IS NARRATED AND COWRITTEN BY TOM HANKS, WHO IS A LONGTIME SPACE ENTHUSIAST, ALONGSIDE THE WRITER/DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER RILEY.

HERE IS A TASTE OF THE EXPERIENCE.

>> IN THE 50,000 YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY, JUST 12 OF US HAVE TRAVELED FROM OUR EARTH TO WALK ON ANOTHER SELL LEST Y'ALL BODY.

>> 40 SECONDS AWAY FROM THE APOLLO 11 LIFTOFF.

FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE -- LIFTOFF, WE HAVE A LIFTOFF.

LIFTOFF ON APOLLO 11.

>> NOW JOIN ME ON A JOURNEY BACK TO THE MOON.

IN A REMARKABLE, IMMERSIVE SHOW.

>> SO, JUST DAYS AHEAD OF TODAY'S OPENING TO THE PUBLIC HERE IN LONDON, I ASKED THEM, WHAT INSPIRED THIS PROJECT NOW?

TOM HANKS, CHRIS RILEY, WELCOME TO THE PROGRAM.

>> GOOD TO SEE YOU.

>> THIS IS AN AMERICAN STORY, SO, WHY IS IT DEBUTING IN LONDON?

WHAT MADE YOU THINK OF LONDON?

>> AH, THIS VERY FACILITY THAT WE ARE SITTING IN NOW IN KINGS CROSS IS THE MOST -- IT IS THE MOST UNIQUE, IMMERSIVE VENUE I'VE EVER COME ACROSS IN MY LIFE.

THE FIRST TIME WE CAME HERE, WE SAW AN EXHIBIT OF PAINTINGS.

NOW, I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO BE SEEING AN EXHIBIT OF DAVID HAWKING PAINTINGS.

I DIDN'T REALIZE I WAS GOING TO BE WALKING INTO ONE OF HIS PAINTINGS AS DAVID HIMSELF WAS PAINTING IT ALL AROUND YOU.

SEEING THAT THAT WAS POSSIBLE, IMMEDIATELY WENT TO THE POWERS THAT BE, RICHARD SLATE, EVERYBODY ELSE, SAID, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD PUT PEOPLE IN THE VALLEY WHERE WE'RE SITTING RIGHT NOW ON APOLLO 17 AND IT WOULD BE AS THOUGH WE ARE SITTING RIGHT ON THE MOON.

YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT THAT?

THEY SAID NO, BUT WOULD YOU LIKE TO THINK ABOUT IT WITH US?

SO, HERE WE ARE.

I COULD NOT QUITE FATHOM THE -- IT'S NOT VIRTUAL REALITY, CHRISTIANE, IT'S REALITY.

IT'S NOT A HEADSET WITH EARPHONES ON, YOU ARE LITERALLY IN A 360 -- YOU DON'T HAVE A ROOF, BELOW YOU, AROUND YOU, IS THE ENVIRONMENT YOU WANT TO CREATE AND IT JUST SO HAPPENS TO BE THE VACUUM OF SPACE AND THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY.

>> AND THE TWO OF YOU WROTE THIS TOGETHER.

WHAT DID IT TAKE TO WRITE THIS?

WHAT WERE YOU TRYING TO ACHIEVE, WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THE MOON, THE STORY THAT'S BEEN TOLD SO MANY TIMES?

>> THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

WHY.

>> WELL, YES, I MEAN, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY ABOUT THE MOON.

THE STORY IS ACTUALLY A STORY OF HOPE, OF COURSE.

IT'S ABOUT HOPE, OF HUMANITY, OF WHAT WE CAN DO WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER.

APOLLO REALLY EPITOMIZES THAT.

IT'S THE WORK OF HALF A MILLION PEOPLE FOR A DECADE, ALL PULLING TOGETHER FOR ONE PARTICULAR QUEST.

AND IT WAS DRIVEN BY CURIOSITY IN PART.

AND WHEN WE ARE CURIOUS, WE DISCOVER UNEXPECTED THINGS.

AND THAT'S THE MESSAGE WE WANTED TO TRY TO CONVEY IN PART.

>> THE QUESTION IS WHY AND WHY NOW?

IF YOU TOOK THE HEADLINES OF 1969 AND THE HEADLINES OF 2023, THEY ACTUALLY MATCH UP IN QUITE -- WHAT'S THE WORD I'M LOOKING FOR -- >> SIN CRON NICETY?

>> YES.

AND IT'S NOT GREAT NEWS.

IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE TROUBLESOME, AND IT'S VERY MUCH SORT OF A DEFINING OF THIS ERA THAT WE'RE IN RIGHT NOW, AND AT THE SAME TIME, IN 1968 AND IN THE SAME TIME IN 2023, PEOPLE WERE GOING TO THE MOON.

I MEAN, WE DO MAKE A BIG DEAL ABOUT THE ARTEMIS MISSIONS THAT WILL BE GOING BACK AROUND THE MOON WITHIN THE NEXT YEAR, WHICH IS AN INCREDIBLE STEP FOR HUMANKIND.

FOR MYSELF, WHEN I WAS 13, THE APOLLO MISSIONS WERE THIS EXAMPLE OF -- IT WAS AN EVOLUTIONARY PLACE IN THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF HUMAN KIND.

THE ONLY REASON TO GO TO THE MOON IS BECAUSE WE'RE HUMAN BEINGS AND WE DESIRE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE HILL.

AND THAT AFFECTED ME VERY MUCH.

AND IF WE ARE HUMAN BEINGS, DO WE NOT HAVE TO REMAIN CURIOUS AND DO WE NOT HAVE TO STRIVE IN ORDER TO SEE WHAT IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT HILL?

>> AND DO WE NOT HAVE TO BE STIRRED?

BECAUSE YOU SAY, CORRECTLY, THAT THIS UNBELIEVABLE 360 EXPERIENCE PUTS YOU IN THE MOMENT, AND THE OPENING WORDS WE'VE HEARD, AND YOU HAVE THE OPENING THEIR THEIR YAGS -- >> EVERY HUMAN BEING THAT LIVED ON THE PLANET EARTH LOOKED UP AT THE MOON.

IT'S GIVEN US OUR DAY, THE LENGTH OF OUR MONTH.

AND WE'VE BEEN MOVED BY IT, SPIRITUALLY.

>> HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH, I MEAN, WHAT'S REALLY CURIOSITY, HUMAN, YOU KNOW, CONNECTION, TO YOUR OPENING STATEMENT?

HOW DID THAT COME OUT?

>> IF WE ARE GOING TO BECOME INTERPLANETARY BEINGS, FROM "STAR TREK" AND THE GREAT WONDERINGS OF GREAT SCIENCE FICTION, WE WILL BE DOING SO BASED ON WHAT WE LEARNED AS SPACE-FARING BEINGS.

THERE'S ONLY 12 HUMAN BEINGS THAT HAVE WALKED ON THE SURFACE OF ANOTHER PLANET.

ONLY 12 OF US.

IN THE 50,000 YEARS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR.

WHEN WE DO IT AGAIN, AND WE WILL, WE WILL BE DOING IT BECAUSE THESE WERE THE PATHFINDERS WHO SHOWED IT WAS POSSIBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE.

IT'S NOT JUST A MATTER OF THE TECHNOLOGY, CERTAINLY, THAT IS, BUT IT IS ALSO A QUESTION, AS YOU YOURSELF SAID, IT'S WHERE WITH ALL.

DO WE WANT TO?

AND THE ANSWER IS, YES, WE DO, SO, THEN THE HOW IS, WELL, WE ALREADY HAVE KIND OF, LIKE, A TEMPLATE OF HOW, WE JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW IT THROUGH TO WHATEVER THE NEXT CHAPTER IS GOING TO BE.