We’ve gotten caught up in them before , movies that show our planet in peril , whether aliens are on the attack or deadly impact threatens Earth. In this article, we will take a look at facts regarding some of the films that had you on the edge of your seat, thinking , “how are they going to save the day.”
“Armageddon”
The Plot
The plot of the movie begins with NASA , where a couple of astronauts are getting ready to repair a satellite when all of a sudden , a collection of asteroids makes instant contact with the shuttle. It is destroyed. Soon after, the asteroids devastate New York. It then doesn’t take NASA long to find out that a asteroid measuring the same size as the state of Texas is making its way towards the planet. The countdown for the demise of Earth is slated for 18 days, where the planet and all that calls it home is put in danger.
NASA faces trouble trying to figure out how to end this calamity, while the United States military steps in and decides that it is best that a nuclear warhead is used to blast the asteroid into bits. Scientists come up with a plan to destroy the asteroid by placing the warhead inside. It appears that the only man for the job is an oil driller named Harry Stamper accompanied by his crew and geologists. As his drill team prepare for the journey into space, the asteroid is steady on its course.
In the film, Bruce Willis plays Harry Stamper, while Liv Tyler plays his daughter, Grace. Billy Bob Thorton is Dan Truman , an administrator for NASA. Ben Affleck plays Grace’s love interest. Other appearances included Owen Wilson (as a geologist), Steve Buscemi, and Michael Clarke Duncan.
Movie Facts
1) Since the theme of the script centered on patriotism and the past success of Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun” that boosted recruitment as a result , the producers were successful in encouraging NASA to allow the director and the company to shoot the film in a space agency that is normally held under restriction. They were able to use the neutral buoyancy lab, a deep pool that measured 40 feet and could hold 65 million gallons of water. They also got a chance to slip into two of the same space suits that astronauts wear into space. The cost for this equipment was $10 million dollars. Another perk was getting the chance to shoot on the launch pad that was labeled “out of service” after the tragedy of Apollo 1 took place.
2) All in all , this would mark the first movie that was permitted to use authentic NASA spacesuits. The cast became the only non-astronauts to wear a NASA spacesuit.
3) When you watch the movie trailers for “”Armageddon” , it is not the ones you see in the film, but real space shuttles instead.
4) The director, Michael Bay actually makes an appearance as a NASA scientist.
5) As the film crews worked on the production, they were surrounded by equipment that totaled about $19 billion, such as an authentic oil rig and space shuttle.