Jessica Alba is in final talks to take the lead role in Weightless, a movie about an American astronaut who unwittingly causes a fatal motorcycle accident before fleeing from the scene to pursue her dream to be involved in a mission to space, and then regretting her actions. The movie is based on an original screenplay from the Academy Award-nominated co-writer of Monster's Ball - Milo Addica - who would be making his directorial debut. Myriad Pictures have announced the casting and are beginning pre-sales on the movie at the Berlin Film Festival this week. Although the subject matter may be a tough sell, the talent behind the picture should secure it sells. Here's the extended plot details from Coming Soon, likely derived from a Myriad Pictures press release;
Weightless is set in the near-future and is the story of Maysie Overall, a female astronaut who has dreamt of exploring outer space her whole life. Just as she is about to fulfill her life-long dream, she is unwittingly the cause of a tragic, fatal motorcycle accident. Rather than risk losing the opportunity to join the space shuttle's next mission, Maysie chooses to ignore her conscience and flees the scene of the accident. Following the space shuttle's successful flight, an unexpected mechanical failure causes the shuttle to crash on re-entry to earth. Maysie miraculously survives the crash. Once on the road to recovery, Maysie's survival against the odds begins to needle her conscience and leads her to re-visit the scene of the fatal motorbike accident. Riddled with guilt, she cautiously reaches out to the victim's family and meets the motorcycle rider's brother, who is also a local police officer. Maysie then forms a unique bond with the victim's brother that quickly evolves into a steamy affair. Maysie begins to find it impossible to suppress her deep-seeded feelings of guilt and keep the truth hidden that will ultimately set them both free.
Myriad's Kirk D'Amico will produce with Steve Norris, alongside the UK's Apollo Productions and its partners, Pinewood Studios and VFX powerhouse Double Negative. 31-year-old Alba has mostly been working with Robert Rodriguez in the past few years, starring in 2011'sSpy Kids 4: All The Time In The World and this year reprising two of her past characters for the filmmaker's sequels Machete Kills and Sin City: A Dame To Kill For. She also voices a character in next week's US released animated flick Escape From Planet Earth.