Base Takes a Giant Leap for Moonkind

How do you get spacemen to properly bounce around on a low-gravity moon if you are filming them for a movie that has to be made on standard-gravity Earth?

You get these huge helium balloons afloat just out of camera range, then tie your astronauts’ spacesuits to them with near-invisible wires. The result is a Neil Armstrong-like bounce in your step. So says Debi Hausdorfer of the Orange County Film Commission.

She was present during part of the filming for the new $60-million HBO series on the Apollo space missions, produced by Tom Hanks. While most of the series was shot in Florida, the moon scenes all took place inside Hangar No. 2 at the Tustin Marine Corps Helicopter Air Station.

More than half the hangar was turned into a set where the surface of the moon was re-created. Those historic old hangars have been used for everything from blimp cleaning to ballroom dances to actual military duty; why not the movies?

Filming wrapped up last Friday night. The series, which will be called “From the Earth to the Moon,” is a collection of 12 one-hour dramas based on real events that will begin airing on HBO in April. The 12 pieces will be separate but with interconnected stories covering 11 different Apollo missions and some of the Gemini and Mercury programs.

You may recall Hanks’ fine starring performance in the 1995 movie “Apollo 13” (“Houston, we have a problem”). As a result of that experience, Hanks got hooked on the whole story of the space program and negotiated a deal with HBO that’s being billed as the most expensive series in TV history.

Hanks will direct one episode, star in one, and is overall executive producer. He got friends like Ron Howard and Sally Field to help out with producing and directing. Field also will star in an episode. Other actors include Elizabeth Perkins, Diana Scarwid, Mark Harmon and Cary Elwes. But the big stars in something like this are always the spectacular sets and special effects.

The moon-landing scenes shot in Tustin will appear in five episodes. But don’t watch HBO and expect to recognize even a hint that it was filmed in that blimp hangar. Marine spokesman Capt. Matt Morgan said he saw pictures taken from the daily filming and held them up against actual pictures of the moon. “You can’t tell which is which, it looks that real,” he said.

An HBO spokeswoman who prefers her name not be mentioned told me it took Hanks’ crew six months to find the right place for the moon re-creation. What a break for the movie people that the Tustin Marine station has been taking a nose dive in business these days, with the Marines fast phasing out of Orange County.

The HBO spokeswoman explained: “We needed 40,000 square feet of space to re-create the moon. The average movie sound stage is only 18,000 square feet. The hangar was perfect for us.” The whole set took up just over half the hangar.

Shooting movies is often harder than we might expect. For example, Hausdorfer of the Film Commission said every time somebody walked on the fake moon, it left footprints. So after every scene, the movie crew would have to sling on new buckets of grayish “moon” dirt to cover up the tracks. More than 6,000 cubic yards of dirt and crushed granite made up this phony moon surface.

Also, each of the five U.S. moon landings took place on different terrain, so the sets had to be changed constantly to satisfy Hanks’ demand for accuracy.

Another task, of course, is to make sure those helium balloons behave when Neil Armstrong says, “That’s one small step for man . . . “

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One Giant Leap for Woman: A celebrity with a different message who will be here this week is TV’s Marcia Wallace. If you’re too young to have watched the old “Bob Newhart Show,” she played the receptionist. Some of you may know her better for her Emmy-winning portrayal as the voice of Bart’s teacher on “The Simpsons.”

Wallace is a breast cancer survivor of 12 years who has devoted herself to promoting early detection. She will be honored Saturday night by the City of Hope’s Women’s Council of Orange at its annual gala at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. If you’re attending, there’s also a good reason to dress well: Master of ceremonies will be fashion pundit Mr. Blackwell.

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Come See TV: In local television news, public TV’s KOCE in Huntington Beach celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. It’s throwing a community open house at the station, located at Golden West College, on Saturday, Nov. 22. Included will be a tour of its facilities. If you want to learn more, you can call the station at (714) 895-5623 or check its Web site at htp://www.koce.org

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Jane Yes, Jane No: Fitness buff Jay Blahnik of Laguna Beach worked with Jane Fonda on her last four workout videos, so he thinks he got to know her pretty well. In the latest issue of Time magazine, Blahnik praises Fonda for her new campaign to help pregnant teenage girls. States Blahnik:

“Here is a woman who is powerful, famous and rich enough to sit back and do nothing. Instead, she chooses to help others. She might wear out, but she sure won’t rust out. I say, ‘Go, Jane, go.’ ”

On the other hand, Ken Keller of Valencia wrote to Time that Jane Fonda “ought to lead by example. She should work side by side with others in the community, without fanfare or thanks. Being on ‘Good Morning America’ isn’t the solution. Jane, roll up your sleeves, keep your mouth closed and work hard.”

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Wrap-Up: There was one very special event at Hangar No. 2 at the Tustin Marine base last Saturday night. John Harrington, propmaster for the HBO series (the fellow in charge of all the props) and his fiancee, Karen Steinhaver, got married on the set--feet firmly planted in moon dust. The HBO spokeswoman explained: “John is crazy about the space program and wanted to be married on the moon.”

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Jerry Hicks’ column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Readers may reach Hicks by calling the Times Orange County Edition at (714) 966-7823 or by fax to (714) 966-7711, or e-mail to jerry.hicks@latimes.com