‘Inspirational classic’: José Hernández talks about upcoming Amazon Prime film based on his life

The 10-year-old who once dreamed of reaching the stars — and ultimately did — will soon have his story told by Amazon Prime in a new film called “A Million Miles Away.”

The film is based on “Reaching For The Stars,” the autobiography of Stockton native and former NASA astronaut José M. Hernández.

The son of migrant parents, Salvador Hernández and Julia Hernández, both from Ticuitaco, Michoacán, made it to the stars and now will be making it back to where his dream first started, on television.

From the archives: Stockton's astronaut makes his lifelong dream a reality

It was December 1972 and Hernández was just 10 years old when he recalls his father making him hold the antenna of the television to improve reception.

“Here I am, you know, watching astronaut Gene Cernan on a black and white TV holding the rabbit ear antennas for dear life to improve reception,” Hernández said. “I would get up and go outside and the moon was ... almost full and I would come back inside and see astronaut Cernan walk on the moon, listen to the reporter still remember his name, Walter Cronkite narrating that moonwalk and that's when it hit me. I said, you know, this is for me, this is what I want to be.”

Growing up Hernández, would travel back and forth from California to Mexico working in the fields in the Ontario/Chino area, Salinas, Stockton and Tracy. He worked in strawberries, lettuce, cherries, peaches, grapes and more.

Hernández's family, after moving from one place to another, ultimately remained in Stockton. He attended the University of the Pacific, and applied to the NASA astronaut program 11 times before he was accepted on his 12th try.

In 2009, he finally made his dream come true when he went to space as a flight engineer, part of the STS-128 Space Shuttle Discovery mission.

American actor Michael Peña. whose credits include "The Martian" where he played a pilot on a mission to Mars, is set to portray Hernández in the film.

Filming is set to start in August and casting for his wife, Adela Hernández, and his parents is still underway.

“I think Michael Peña fits the bill, because he's kind of like me, in terms of normal looking. I mean he’s a very talented actor, but I want the audience to sympathize with the character as the character struggles through 11 rejections to get selected as an astronaut,” Hernández said.

The film was originally going to be produced by Netflix. Netflix gave the option to shelf the project for a few years or give up its rights and be free to shop it around, which is how it ended up in Amazon Prime being interested and picking up on the project, Hernández said.

“I think Netflix sold it to Amazon Prime and so now it's being made by Amazon, not Netflix,” he said.

Hernández said that he knows they have done some scouting in Houston, at the Johnson Space Center and that they are doing some filming in Mexico. He is unaware if there will be any filming done in California but hopes they do some shots of Stockton and of University of the Pacific.

Mexican film director and writer Alejandra Márquez Abella will be directing the film. She has worked on films such as "The Good Girls," "Semana Santa," and "Northern Skies Over Empty Space."

“To me, it's the greatest honor that they write a movie about my story that, to me, it feels kind of strange, but what I'm hoping that the movie gets out is what I'm hoping it creates a sense of empowerment to kids,” Hernández said. “Where they see, you know, the humble beginnings I came out of, you know, working as a migrant farm worker, and that the key to moving forward or to breaking the cycle of living at or near poverty is through education.”

Hernández said he hopes his movie encapsulates inspiration but also the “five-ingredient” recipe that his dad gave him.

“Determine what your purpose in life (is), right, recognize how far you are from your goal. Draw yourself a roadmap, so you know how to get there. Back it up with an education and develop a work ethic second to none,” Hernández said.

Hernández added his own sixth ingredient, perseverance.

Hernández might have retired from NASA in 2011, but his legacy might not only continue through his new film but through his eldest son Julio Hernandez, 27, who is pursuing his aerospace Ph.D. at Purdue University and has aspirations of becoming an astronaut himself one day.

“I think it's safe to say that the oldest one is. He's gonna try to become an astronaut because he's working on his PhD.” Hernández said. “When I asked him, why Purdue? His answer was that he made a list of all astronauts NASA has selected and where they graduated from and that Purdue has produced the most astronauts. So, that's why he went to Purdue.”

Hernández is a current Manteca resident and owns a vineyard, Tierra Luna Cellars, where he works alongside his father.

“There's a saying that you can take a kid out of the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the kid,” Hernández said. “It's kind of another chapter of my life, but it's kind of coming full circle because I started working in the fields, and look at me now still working in the fields.”

Hernández is not only back to his roots with Tierra Luna Cellars but also has his own foundation, the Reaching for the Stars Foundation, a nonprofit organization with the mission to inspire youth to find a passion in STEM, establish family support and community engagement.

Hernández's story can also be seen at the Children’s Museum of Stockton new STEM exhibit “Destination Space” which features Hernández's story as a young Stockton boy who dreamed of becoming an astronaut.

The exhibit by Dean Weldon, creative director of Weldon Exhibits, not only features the story of former NASA astronaut Hernández but is a replica of the International Space Station. It’s an interactive and hands-on exhibit where children can learn what it is like to eat, work and sleep in space.

Hernández said he hopes that this film “A Million Miles Away” becomes an “inspirational classic.”

Record reporter Angelaydet Rocha covers community news in Stockton and San Joaquin County. She can be reached at arocha@recordnet.com or on Twitter @AngelaydetRocha. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at https://www.recordnet.com/subscribenow. 

This article originally appeared on The Record: Amazon Prime making movie based on former Stockton NASA astronaut