Principal photography on James Gray’s “Ad Astra” began in mid-August 2017 in Santa Clarita, California and finished, more or less, in early October of 2017. Whatever happened after that, which has resulted in the film finally being released two years later in theaters, is still up for debate, but, according to an anonymous source I spoke to, reshoots were most definitely done despite Gray’s vehement disapprovals.
The inner conflicts between Gray and Fox included forced-upon reshoots. What those scenes were, we aren’t entirely sure, but as mentioned in my review of the film this week, you can tell there are two separate visions of the story being told on-screen, it’s a schizoid-feeling film, which, despite the production drama, has amassed very good reviews so far.
The film’s arduous post-production will be told in greater detail in the weeks to come. I am told a trade is currently working on a story, but given that the film has been met with positive reviews and that it is set to open with a more-than-decent $20 million weekend, there is no point for Gray and company to be subjected to such a story filled with controversial post-production drama.
Gray fought hard for final cut, there's no doubt about that, but he eventually lost that battle.