‘Spaceship Earth’ Director Matt Wolf on What Drew Him to Saga of Biosphere 2 | Video

Director Matt Wolf said he was inspired to make his new documentary, “Spaceship Earth,” after seeing photographs of Linda Leigh and Mark Nelson in bright red jumpsuits in front of the massive early-1990s science experiment known as Biosphere 2. “I was just doing research online, and I saw these very compelling images of eight people including these two (Leigh and Nelson) in bright red jumpsuits in front of this enormous glass pyramid, and I actually thought it was still from science fiction film and when I realized it was real,” Wolf told TheWrap’s Steve Pond at the Sundance Film Festival. In 1991, eight men and women were sealed into Biosphere 2, an airtight terrarium in the Arizona desert containing a miniature replica of Earth’s environment. Funded by a Texas oil tycoon hoping to acquire licensable technologies for space colonization, the mission of Biosphere 2 was to maintain an isolated, sustainable environment for two years. “Spaceship Earth” will be released by Neon for Hulu and digital download on May 8. Watch the full video above.