Russian film crew in orbit to make first movie in space

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian actor and a film director have rocketed into space to make the world’s first movie in orbit. Actor Yulia Peresild and director Klim Shipenko blasted off Tuesday for the International Space Station in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft with cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov and docked 3 1/2 hours later. Peresild and Klimenko are to film segments of a new movie titled “Challenge,” in which a surgeon played by Peresild rushes to the space station to save a crew member. After 12 days in space, they are set to return to Earth with another Russian cosmonaut. The Russian filmmakers have beaten Tom Cruise to the space station. NASA confirmed last year it was in talks with Cruise about making a movie in orbit.