When Apollo 11 touched down on the Moon, Alfonso Cuaron was just eight years old. As a young boy, this had a significant impression on him, as it did on many other kids of the time.
Even as a young child, he had aspirations of being an astronaut, but it appears he made the right decision given his career as a director.
The writing team of Alfonso and Jonas Cuaron created "Gravity." As you would guess, there is a connection between the two.
Although he is the successful father of Alfonso, Jonas has written and directed two movies on his own, and a third is in the works.
Cuaron did not set out to make a space movie.
He considered many remote locations that would offer difficulties because he was interested in making a movie about it.
At some point, he reasoned, "Hey, what's more lonely than being by yourself in space?"
As far as Cuaron is concerned, "Gravity" is a "drama of a woman in space," not a work of science fiction.