Speakers, authors, and individuals of interest – whos you might also want to check out
Some incredible humans that are qualified with the stamp of approval & recommendation of Richard Phillips.
Chris Riley
Christopher Riley is a double-BAFTA nominated writer and film-maker, specialising in science, engineering and history. He co-wrote “The Moonwalkers” with actor Tom Hanks, an immersive show which premiered in Lightroom, London in 2023.
He conceived and co-produced the Sundance award-winning Ron Howard feature documentary In the Shadow of the Moon, and produced and directed the hit YouTube documentary recreation of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering space flight, First Orbit. He wrote and directed across the multi-award-winning Will Smith / Darren Aronofsky National Geographic series One Strange Rock, and was responsible for casting all the astronauts and directing the astronaut sequences shot on board the International Space Station. Chris produced and directed National Geographic’s Emmy-nominated Hubble’s Cosmic Journey and the BBC’s acclaimed film The Girl who talked to Dolphins, nominated for every major British documentary award, including a BAFTA, an RTS and a Grierson. Riley worked on Space Shuttle data for is Ph.D. in planetary science at Imperial College and has worked closely with NASA’s extensive film archives since the late 1990s. He is the author of Haynes best-selling ‘Apollo 11 owner’s workshop manual’ and the Apollo anthology ‘Where once we stood’, nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal.
David Woods
David Woods is an author and researcher on the Apollo program, based in Central Scotland. He has writtem four books including the highly-regarded "How Apollo Flew to the Moon". He created and curates the "Apollo Flight Journal" website that is hosted by NASA that delves into the detail of each Apollo flight. David has consulted on many documentaries, books and films, and has given many talks on the Apollo program around the UK, mostly describing the technical and procedural aspects of conducting an Apollo mission, often with an emphasis on the difficulties of the first Moon landing.
