• Tagline: Sometimes one dream is enough to light up the whole sky.
• Director: Joe Johnston
• Writer: Homer H. Hickam Jr. & Lewis Colick
• Release Date: 19 February 1999 (USA)
• MPAA Rating: Rated PG for language, brief teen sensuality and alcohol use, and for some thematic elements.
• Parents Guide: View content advisory for parents
• Genre: Biography | Drama | Family
• Runtime: 108 min
• Box Office #’s: Here
In 1950’s mining town called Coalwood, Homer Hickam is a kid with only one future in sight, to work in the local coalmine like his father. However in October 1957, everything changes when the first artificial satellite, Sputnik goes into orbit. With that event, Homer becomes inspired to learn how to build rockets. With his friends and the local nerd, Homer sets to do just that by trial and a lot of error. Unfortunately, most of the town and especially Homer’s father thinks that they are wasting their time. Only one teacher in the high school understands their efforts and lets them know that they could become contenders in the national science fair with college scholarships being the prize. Now the gang must learn to perfect their craft and overcome the many problems facing them as they shoot for the stars.
From the Gallery
Cast Highlights
• Chris Cooper … John Hickam
• Laura Dern … Miss Riley
• Chris Owen … Quentin
• William Lee Scott … Roy Lee
• Chad Lindberg … O’Dell
Trivia
The author wished the movie to be called “Rocket Boys,” like the book it’s based on, but the studio believed that title would not sell well. The compromise title “October Sky” works on two levels: it’s the month when the hero is first inspired by Sputnik flying overhead, and it is an anagram of “Rocket Boys”!
Chris Ellis, who plays Principal Turner, also played Deke Slayton in Apollo 13 (1995) and appeared in the mini-series “From the Earth to the Moon” (1998).
The Japanese title of the movie, directly translated, is “Towards the distant sky”. The sub-heading however, is “Rocket Boys”, which the author wanted to be the English title (see trivia above).
When the college recruiters approach Homer at the end of the science fair, the last one identifies himself as being from “Virginia Tech”, the real life Homer Hickam’s alma mater
The school exterior was actually two different schools – the football scene was shot in the soccer field of Gresham Middle School, Knoxville, Tennessee, and the other exterior scene, right before Homer and his friends are arrested, is the exterior of Fountain City Elementary school in Knoxville. The actual schools are directly across the street from each other.
Homer H. Hickam Jr. never actually met Wernher von Braun.
Two of the real-life rocket boys, Sherman Siers and Jimmie O’Dell Carroll were combined into one character named Sherman O’Dell.
In the steam engine scene where the boys are salvaging iron rails from unused rail lines, the Norfolk & Western coal hauling steam locomotive they see is the former Southern Railway engine #4501. This engine is currently in use at the Tennessee Valley Railroad in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The scenes with the locomotive were filmed in upper Tennessee around Harriman, Oliver Springs, and Lake City with engine #4501 pulling a string of coal hopper cars lettered in authentic N&W livery.
Elsie claims that she’ll move to Myrtle Beach after she leaves John. This was where the real Elsie moved after Homer Hickam Sr. (John) died of Black Lung Disease, and still currently resides.
Although known as Virginia Tech since the early 1990’s, at the time the movie takes place, the university was known as VPI.
The location of the slag dump where the Rocket Boys actually tested their rockets still exists. It is now a large grassy field. It is located in the actual town of Coalwood, WV which still exists today. They erected a replica test stand, launch pad, and “shed” after the movie brought the rocket boys story back into the public light. Every year the town of Coalwood celebrates the Rocket Boys with a festival every October called “October Sky Festival”.
The boys rarely tested a single rocket per day. They often manufactured several rockets and tested them in sequence. The rocket that hit Homer’s father’s office during their early testing, when they were launching rockets near the mine, was actually the last rocket of several they launched that day.
Leon Bolden says he flew with the “Red Tails” in WWII. The “Red Tails” were the 332nd Fighter Group, an all African American unit better known as the “Tuskegee Airmen”.
Cameo: [O. Winston Link] a photographer who has published many classic photographs of steam locomotives appears as a locomotive engineer.
John’s reference to “Bloody Mingo” is about the early 20th century mine war in Matewan. Chris Cooper, who played John, also portrayed union activist Joe Kenehan in the 1987 film Matewan (1987).
The engineer driving the steam locomotive in the rail-harvesting scene was played by renowned railroad photographer O. Winston Link.
