Thursday, September 24, 2015

Matt Damon's NASA spacesuit from The Martian on display...

In this year's adaptation of Andy Weir's 2011 best seller, The Martian, Matt Damon plays the astronaut left behind and thought dead when a fierce storm hits his Ares III team on a manned mission to the Red Planet. Having survived, he finds himself alone and stranded on Mars and must use all his skills, ingenuity and will power to stay alive and find a way to signal Earth.

The Martian Surface Suit worn by Matt Damon on display
The Martian astronaut spacesuit exhibit
Matt Damon The Martian NASA spacesuit
The Martian space helmet
The Martian astronaut movie costume
This amazing orange NASA spacesuit worn by Matt Damon as Astronaut 'Mark Watney' in the movie and was photographed on display in the ArcLight Hollywood cinema foyer on September 24, 2015 (and I believe you can also win a chance to take home a replica space helmet).

The Martian movie billboard
The Martian movie billboard
Academy Award-winner Janty Yates was Costume Designer on the sci-fi movie directed by Ridley Scott, and she's no stranger to space as she also designed the costumes for the Alien prequel, Prometheus.

You can also see her Oscar-winning costumes from Gladiator, plus fantastic costumes from Exodus: Gods and Kings and film costumes from 2010's Robin Hood (all directed by Ridley Scott) on display here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Michael Mooney is also credited as Associate Spacesuit Costume Designer, whilst Shirley Wilson is credited with as Neoprene Spacesuit Cutter on IMDB, whilst the Mars surface suit was manufactured by FBFX.

NASA spacesuit worn by Matt Damon 
as Astronaut Mark Watney in The Martian
Matt Damon The Martian NASA astronaut film costume
NASA astronaut movie costume The Martian
Mars surface suit costume The Martian
The Martian Matt Damon NASA spacesuit
The Martian NASA spacesuit detail
The Martian astronaut spacesuit glove detail
The Martian NASA astronaut spacesuit
The Martian spacesuit
The Martian astronaut spacesuit detail
The Martian spacesuit glove detail
The Martian astronaut costume detail
The Martian astronaut costume detail
The Martian astronaut movie costume detail
The Martian movie costume
Original NASA spacesuit back The Martian
The Martian movie space helmet
The Martian space helmet
The Martian NASA space helmet
NASA spacesuit back The Martian
The Martian NASA spacesuit oxygen tank
The Martian NASA spacesuit costume detail
The Martian NASA spacesuit back detail
Original NASA spacesuit The Martian
The Martian NASA spacesuit costume
The Martian spacesuit legs costume detail
Spacesuit legs costume detail The Martian
Spacesuit boots costume detail The Martian
Matt Damon NASA spacesuit The Martian
I absolutely love getting up close to costumes like this, and reading little details on the space helmet like 'Human space survival instruments' and seeing all the stitching and detail on the gloves and boots. Spacesuits like this really bring out my inner nerd, and this is probably one of the least bulky spacesuits I've seen.

If you like this out-of-this-world astronaut costume, be sure to also get a closer look at Anne Hathaway's Interstellar NASA spacesuit and Tom Hanks Apollo 13 NASA costume and equipment on display.

If you're fan of Matt Damon, be sure to also check out these costumes, props and vehicles from the Bourne film franchise, his True Grit movie costume and costumes and screen-used props from Promised Land.

I don't want to get too excited to avoid disappointment, but I can't wait to see this new movie (until then I'll keep geeking out over this costume)

The Martian movie poster
The Martian movie poster

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Doctor Who Companion costumes past and present...

As Doctor Who will be returning to our screens this coming Saturday it seems like the perfect time to share more photos from my most recent visit to the Doctor Who Experience costume exhibition in Cardiff Bay, Wales back on April 20, 2015. Here's a selection of outfits worn by the Doctor's plucky traveling Companions, new and old, across time and space.

Clara Oswald costumes worn by Jenna Coleman in Doctor Who
Clara Oswald costumes Doctor Who
Clara Oswald costumes Doctor Who
Clara Oswald outfits Doctor Who
Danny Pink Clara Oswald Doctor Who Forest of the Night costumes
Doctor Who Clara Oswald Companion costumes
First up is some of the wardrobe worn by Jenna Coleman as 'Clara Oswald', who has been Companion to both the 'Eleventh Doctor' (Matt Smith) and 'Twelfth Doctor' (Peter Capaldi).

If you';re a fan of the actress and the character she plays, you can also check out more Clara Oswald looks from flapper dresses, to Victorian-era and Medieval gowns here at Hollywood Movie Costumes and Props.

Tenth and Eleventh Doctor Companion costumes
from the new era of Doctor Who
Doctor Who new era Companion costumes exhibit
New era Doctor Who Companion costumes
Next up is a dazzling array of Companion costumes worn by the likes of such favourites as 'Donna Noble', 'Rory Williams', 'Amy Pond', 'Martha Jones', 'Captain Jack Harkness' and 'Rose Tyler', who accompany the long-lived Time Lord on his adventures to different time periods, alien planets and on occasion, dimensions.

You can also see these Doctor Who Companion costumes in more detail from previous visits.

Costume worn by Billie Piper as Rose Tyler in Doctor Who
Billie Piper Rose Tyler Doctor Who costumes
Rose Tyler Doctor Who Idiots Lantern costume
Over the course of its 50 year history, the British sci-fi show has featured a lot of Companions to help the Doctor, but it was Billie Piper who helped kick start a new era alongside Christopher Eccleston's ninth incarnation of the space-time traveler in March 2005.

On this visit to the exhibition they had this new 'Rose Tyler' outfit worn in the second season episode 'The Idiot's Lantern', where she and David Tennant's 'Tenth Doctor' faced off against 'The Wire', an alien criminal hiding in television transmissions during Queen Elizabeth II's coronation celebrations in 1953 Britain.

Sarah Jane Smith costumes worn by Elisabeth Sladen in Doctor Who
Sarah Jane Smith Doctor Who costumes
Sarah Jane Smith Doctor Who costumes
Sarah Jane Smith Five Doctors costume
Five Doctors Sarah Jane Smith Doctor Who costume
One of the most popular Companions from the original series was Lis Sladen's investigative journalist 'Sarah Jane Smith', who starred alongside the Third (Jon Pertwee) and Fourth (Tom Baker) regenerations of the Doctor.

The character returned in the revival's second season episode 'School reunion' and also received her own spin-off series, The Sarah Jane Adventures, which ran for five seasons until the actress sadly passed away from cancer.

I believe the pink outfit on display this time was from the 20th anniversary special, 'The Five Doctors', from 1983.

World War II costume worn by Sophie Aldred as Ace
in Doctor Who's The Curse of Fenric
Doctor Who Curse of Fenric Ace WWII costume
Doctor Who Curse of Fenric Ace WWII costume
Next up from the BBC archives is an outfit worn by Sophie Aldred as 'Ace' in the penultimate serial, 'The Curse of Fenric', before the show went off the air for sixteen years.

Ace was the explosives-loving sidekick of Sylvester McCoy's 'Seventh Doctor' and this final season collection of episodes found the TARDIS materialising at a secret World War II naval base in Northumberland and facing vampiric human 'Haemovores'.

River Song costumes worn by Alex Kingston in Doctor Who
Doctor Who River Song costumes
River Song costumes Doctor Who
River Song Pandorica Opens costume Doctor Who
River Song Pandorica Opens costume Doctor Who
And finally, even though I've shared these some of these costumes on previous occasions, as 'River Song' (the Doctor's wife and daughter of Amy and Rory), is rumored to be returning in this year's Christmas special, enjoy these costumes worn by Alex Kingston in 'The Name of the Doctor', 'The Time of Angels' and 'The Pandorica Opens' episodes.

Personally I love Jenna Coleman's 'Clara', but I do think it would be great to see some alien Companions again sometime soon. Let's see what the new ninth season has in store for us.