Author Topic: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA  (Read 12423 times)

Offline collectSPACE

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Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« on: 05/22/2015 05:33 pm »
Disney's 'Tomorrowland' draws inspiration from NASA's past and future
http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-052215a-tomorrowland-movie-nasa-launchpad.html

In the new Disney film "Tomorrowland," now in theaters, NASA provides the launch pad — literally and figuratively — for the movie's plot to unfold.

The feature film, which drew its initial inspiration from the theme park land by the same name, juxtaposes the end of NASA's space shuttle program in 2011 with the space age future Walt Disney envisioned when he opened the original Tomorrowland in 1955.


(Article contains minor spoilers.)

Offline sanman

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #1 on: 05/24/2015 02:33 am »
I just saw the movie, and it felt like someone crossed the movie Interstellar with Charlie & the Chocolate Factory.

The basic message of the movie was, "Awww, what the hell happened to that nice awesome future we were promised??"

At one point I felt sure Elon Musk was going to jump out from the background and say, "Here it is! Welcome to TomorrowLand!"

The main actress came across as a little too precocious, and also seemed like she was overacting. During those TomorrowLand scenes, she was grinning so ecstatically that I could almost hear the director screaming to the actress - "pretend that green screen is the most amazing backdrop you've ever seen!"


**********SPOILER************
Furthermore, we don't get to see enough of titular TomorrowLand - only just tantalizing glimpses which were quite cool, but too brief.

I also didn't like the overemphasis on needing dreamers. Science and engineering knowhow seem to be taken for granted, and meanwhile dreamers are more valuable? That's Futurism for Dummies.
*****************************

Anyway, it does seem to mirror that feeling which Elon Musk articulated as, "I thought there was going to be this really cool space-age future, and it turned out nothing was happening"

But of course Musk has sought to address that by applying the power of private enterprise, a la Tom Swift. They didn't bother to explicitly include that message in the movie.

Somebody should really make a Tom Swift movie. I would really watch that, because I read all those books as a kid. That's the kind of movie that could be done with a modern updated rebooted look, while tapping the famous classic.











Tony Stark wasn't modeled after Elon Musk - he was based a bit on Howard Hughes, but also a lot on Tom Swift too. Stark's repulsors are a rip-off of Tom Swift's repellatrons.
« Last Edit: 05/24/2015 08:13 am by sanman »

Offline The Amazing Catstronaut

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #2 on: 05/24/2015 07:23 am »
*spoilers*


-



The film was extremely pro-Nasa, including featuring a (none-specific) NASA engineer. However, it was fairly disingenuous as to the state of the US space program. Whilst it made it fairly public (and this is a good thing) that NASA essentially doesn't have any concrete manned exploration milestones anymore, the first 15 minutes of the movie featured heavily around the primary character sabotaging pad reconstruction at LC39a, in the name of hoping for a better future, which made me chuckle audibly in the cinema.

Elon Musk got an incredible amount of nods. in Tomorrowland, the protagonist stares for a good three seconds at a rocket landing vertically in the long distance (the exhaust gasses from said rocket looked extremely similar to that of a landing F9). In the penultimate scene, one of the "Dreamers" who are taken to Tomorrowland was working in a very particular car factory before she is given her pin, holding a tablet of with a Tesla model S mid screen whilst walking past a clay model of said car.

The movie on the whole was extremely good, and read like a deliberate (and much needed) punch in the eye to cynics, pessimists, and the idea that modern humanity is bound for self-destruction. The ethics of actually colonising somebody else's dimension are not really touched upon, but hey, it's a kids movie. A damn awesome one.


« Last Edit: 05/24/2015 07:25 am by The Amazing Catstronaut »
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Offline sanman

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #3 on: 05/24/2015 07:33 am »
@ 0:12s and @ 0:20s you can momentarily glimpse the Heinlein-esque VTVL type rockets:



Of course, when you see them in the movie, you immediately think of F9R, except they're stylized to look a little more like 1950s sci-fi rockets.

Offline CameronD

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #4 on: 05/26/2015 02:06 am »
Looks interesting.. I'm looking forward to seeing it.

One question only slightly off-topic:  Starting with Interstellar at least, I notice an increasing number of movies containing overt use of NASA equipment and/or logos.  Does that mean a deliberate decision within NASA to commercially sponsor these movies to some degree?  If so, is it part of their "advertising" budget? Some other funding source? ..or is it simply a case of Hollywood doing it gratis??
With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine - however, this is not necessarily a good idea. It is hard to be sure where they are
going to land, and it could be dangerous sitting under them as they fly overhead.

Offline collectSPACE

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #5 on: 05/26/2015 12:17 pm »
NASA cannot and does not sponsor movies (in fact there is a legal disclaimer in the credits of "Tomorrowland" that states that NASA's cooperation with the film does not imply endorsement of it or the ideas it presents).

NASA can (and does) enter into Space Act Agreements with filmmakers who want to use NASA's logo or its centers in their movies. The studios come to NASA, though sometimes the space agency reaches out when they hear about a space film (and sometimes the filmmakers say thank you, but no thank you [cough, "Gravity," cough]).

Before the latest rash of films, there was another wave with "Armageddon," "Deep Impact," "Mission to Mars," "Contact" and "Space Cowboys" in the late 90s. But it extends even earlier: "Futureworld" in 1976 used NASA's mission control center, for example.

Offline CameronD

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #6 on: 05/26/2015 11:39 pm »
NASA cannot and does not sponsor movies (in fact there is a legal disclaimer in the credits of "Tomorrowland" that states that NASA's cooperation with the film does not imply endorsement of it or the ideas it presents).

NASA can (and does) enter into Space Act Agreements with filmmakers who want to use NASA's logo or its centers in their movies. The studios come to NASA, though sometimes the space agency reaches out when they hear about a space film (and sometimes the filmmakers say thank you, but no thank you [cough, "Gravity," cough]).

Before the latest rash of films, there was another wave with "Armageddon," "Deep Impact," "Mission to Mars," "Contact" and "Space Cowboys" in the late 90s. But it extends even earlier: "Futureworld" in 1976 used NASA's mission control center, for example.

That's really interesting.  Thanks! :)

Do the agreements ever get to the point where the studios are "renting" NASA equipment/personnel/resources?  With increasing popularity of some of these films, aside from the free publicity, I imagine it could be a not-insignificant source of revenue..
With sufficient thrust, pigs fly just fine - however, this is not necessarily a good idea. It is hard to be sure where they are
going to land, and it could be dangerous sitting under them as they fly overhead.

Offline hanschristian

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #7 on: 05/27/2015 12:36 am »
NASA cannot and does not sponsor movies (in fact there is a legal disclaimer in the credits of "Tomorrowland" that states that NASA's cooperation with the film does not imply endorsement of it or the ideas it presents).

NASA can (and does) enter into Space Act Agreements with filmmakers who want to use NASA's logo or its centers in their movies. The studios come to NASA, though sometimes the space agency reaches out when they hear about a space film (and sometimes the filmmakers say thank you, but no thank you [cough, "Gravity," cough]).

Before the latest rash of films, there was another wave with "Armageddon," "Deep Impact," "Mission to Mars," "Contact" and "Space Cowboys" in the late 90s. But it extends even earlier: "Futureworld" in 1976 used NASA's mission control center, for example.

That's really interesting.  Thanks! :)

Do the agreements ever get to the point where the studios are "renting" NASA equipment/personnel/resources?  With increasing popularity of some of these films, aside from the free publicity, I imagine it could be a not-insignificant source of revenue..


correct me if I'm wrong guys, but Armageddon and Transformers 3 are examples of this...
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Offline the_other_Doug

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #8 on: 05/27/2015 03:47 am »
I believe that the first film allowed to use JSC facilities (especially filming in the MOCR) was "Houston, We've Got a Problem," a 1974 TV docudrama about Apollo 13.  The next one, this time a feature film, was "Futureworld", a lot of which was filmed on the JSC campus (and in the tunnel system that lies underneath, and connects some of, the main campus buildings).  That one also used the large environmental chamber, as well, if I'm not mistaken.

"Marooned" in 1969 had a lot of help and support from NASA and the contractors, but they built their own sets of the MOCR and the Air Force launch facilities, among other locations.  They did exteriors at the Cape and at JSC, though.

Among other notable films that used JSC and Cape facilities was "Capricorn One," if I'm remembering correctly.  I know they used one of the unused LMs as their Mars lander -- either that, or a very high-fidelity trainer.  (It was 1977, so if it was a real LM I bet it was LM-9.  Could have been LM-2, I guess, though.)

Keep in mind that NASA can refuse to co-operate with a film company if they decide that the project portrays NASA, NASA personnel, or space exploration in general in a negative light, or if the proposed filming would interfere with, or possibly damage, Center operations, grounds or equipment.  (No big explosions, even if they are film effect explosions -- that kind of thing.)

NASA can't really stop filmmakers from using NASA films and images, since they have been published as available for public use by NASA itself.  But they do have a choice as to how actively they decide to co-operate with any given film project.  They're not compelled to fully participate with every request or proposal that comes down the line.
-Doug  (With my shield, not yet upon it)

Offline NovaSilisko

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #9 on: 05/27/2015 03:51 am »
Keep in mind that NASA can refuse to co-operate with a film company if they decide that the project portrays NASA, NASA personnel, or space exploration in general in a negative light

Surprises me they were okay with Capricorn One then...

Offline the_other_Doug

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #10 on: 05/27/2015 04:26 am »
Keep in mind that NASA can refuse to co-operate with a film company if they decide that the project portrays NASA, NASA personnel, or space exploration in general in a negative light

Surprises me they were okay with Capricorn One then...

Yeah, that's been commented upon.  Apparently, "Capricorn One" was done by the same production company that did "Futureworld", and had good relations with NASA PAO at that time.  One wonders exactly how much of the script NASA saw in advance, though.
-Doug  (With my shield, not yet upon it)

Offline Archibald

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #11 on: 10/04/2015 04:50 pm »
Indeed it sounds very bizarre that NASA supported Capricorn One, considering that movie plot. As explained earlier, it was all because of Futureworld earlier relationship.

The key explanation is found here
Quote
“This is a highly unlikely film to get NASA cooperation, because they are the bad guys in the movie,” says Lazarus. “But I called my contact at the NASA Clear Lake facility [i.e. the Johnson Space Center], and he said he would have to see a script. I said to Peter, ‘We’re dead.’ I sent the script and my contact said, ‘Oh, it’s a good story! We’ll be happy to give you our prototype landing module.’ We didn’t have to build any of that! It came up from Orange County, California. In a sense, it’s tax-payer paid for, but anybody who’s been around the government knows that if it’s not something they like, you’re not going to get cooperation.”

“We had untold savings, not to mention authenticity, to get those capsules and other materials from NASA,” Lazarus continues. “Much after the fact, I said to someone at NASA, ‘How could you possibly have approved that script?’ He said, ‘If it had gone to Washington, you would have been finished, but because we liked working with you on Futureworld, I took it upon myself to give cooperation.’ I said, ‘We’re really grateful and surprised.’ He said, ‘I thought you might be.’”

http://archive.lewrockwell.com/spl2/making-of-capricorn-one.html
http://www.thespacereview.com/article/1718/1

One can wonder who was that guy, and what level of power within JSC hierarchy did he had...

Quote
Among other notable films that used JSC and Cape facilities was "Capricorn One," if I'm remembering correctly.  I know they used one of the unused LMs as their Mars lander -- either that, or a very high-fidelity trainer.  (It was 1977, so if it was a real LM I bet it was LM-9.  Could have been LM-2, I guess, though.)

www.ibiblio.org/apollo/hrst/archive/1690.pdf

Dated March 1978

LM-2
shipped to the Smithsonian 4/28/71-on display at National Air and Space museum (NASM) , Washington, D. C.

LM-9
Accountability transferred to the
Srnithsonian on 12/20/73. On loan to KSC for display.

Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capricorn_One
Capricorn One  release dates
17 December 1977 (Japan)
2 June 1978 (US)

« Last Edit: 10/06/2015 10:45 am by Archibald »
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Offline JamesG123

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Re: Disney's "Tomorrowland" and NASA
« Reply #12 on: 10/13/2015 02:24 am »
The basic message of the movie was, "Awww, what the hell happened to that nice awesome future we were promised??"

That wasn't the message at all.  The message was, "YOU have find your optimism and build an awesome future."  The movie literally lectured it to you.

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