SpaceCamp (1986)

Director:

Harry Winer

Writers:

Clifford Green (screenplay) and
Casey T. Mitchell (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 June 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Family | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

An impossible mistake put them into space. The adventure of their lives will be getting back home.

Plot:

The young attendees of a space camp find themselves in space for real when their shuttle is accidently launched into orbit.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Space Camp | Space Shuttle | Astronaut | Alabama

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kate Capshaw	...	Andie Bergstrom
Lea Thompson	...	Kathryn Fairly
Kelly Preston	...	Tish Ambrosei
Larry B. Scott	...	Rudy Tyler
Joaquin Phoenix	...	Max (as Leaf Phoenix)
Tate Donovan	...	Kevin Donaldson
Tom Skerritt	...	Cmdr. Zach Bergstrom (Andie's husband)
Barry Primus	...	Brennan
Terry O'Quinn	...	Launch Director
Mitchell Anderson	...	Banning
Scott Coffey	...	Gardener (as T. Scott Coffey)
Daryl Keith Roach	...	NASA #1 (as Daryl Roach)
Peter Scranton	...	NASA #2
Hollye Rebecca Suggs	...	Young Andie
Terry White	...	NASA #3
Susan Becton	...	Senior counselor
D. Ben Casey	...	Rudy's father
Kathy Hanson	...	Girl
Ron Harris	...	Tom the technician
Scott Holcomb	...	Hideo Takamini (Guy Registering in Space Camp)
Kevin Gage	...	Counselor #2
Saundra McGuire	...	Rudy's mother
Bill Phillips	...	Kathryn's father
Jon Steigman	...	Bully in dorm
Adrian Wells	...	Rudy's brother
Frank Welker	...	Special vocal effects (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rocky Krakoff	...	Boy on rooftop (uncredited)

Directed by
Harry Winer

Writing credits
Clifford Green		(screenplay) (as W.W. Wicket) and
Casey T. Mitchell		(screenplay)
Patrick Bailey		(story) and
Larry B. Williams		(story)

Produced by
Patrick Bailey	....	producer
Walter Coblenz	....	producer
Leonard Goldberg	....	executive producer
David Salven	....	associate producer

Original Music by
John Williams

Cinematography by
William A. Fraker		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Tim Board
John W. Wheeler

Production Design by
Richard Macdonald		(as Richard MacDonald)

Art Direction by
Leon Harris
Richard Lawrence		(as Richard James Lawrence)

Set Decoration by
Richard C. Goddard

Costume Design by
Patricia Norris

Makeup Department
Janice Alexander	....	hair stylist
Katalin Elek	....	makeup artist
Zoltan Elek	....	makeup artist (as Zoltan)

Production Management
Wendy Bailey	....	production supervisor
Herb Jellinek	....	executive in charge of production
David McCann	....	post-production supervisor
David Salven	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
James Simons	....	first assistant director
Tena Psyche Yatroussis	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Ronnie Chambers	....	lead man
William Maldonado	....	construction coordinator
Tom Miller	....	assistant property master
Leonard Monfredo	....	head painter
Tony Paolone	....	stand-by painter
John Schacht	....	lead man (as John A. Schacht)
Sal Sommatino	....	property master

Sound Department
Ed Bannon	....	special sound effects
Beth Bergeron	....	adr supervisor
Steve Bowerman	....	boom operator
Robert Bradshaw	....	sound editor
Dominick De Stefano	....	cable person
Tom Gerard	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bruce Glover	....	special sound effects
David W. Gray	....	stereo consultant: Dolby
Cliff Latimer	....	adr editor
John Leveque	....	supervising sound editor
David MacMillan	....	production sound mixer
Donald O. Mitchell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Chuck Neely	....	sound editor
Kevin O'Connell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Steve Rice	....	adr editor
Jeffrey L. Sandler	....	sound editor
Solange S. Schwalbe	....	foley supervisor (as Solange)
David Spence	....	sound editor
Becky Sullivan	....	adr assistant
Shawn Sykora	....	assistant sound editor
Sherman Waze	....	sound editor
David A. Whittaker	....	sound editor
Karen G. Wilson	....	sound editor
Richard E. Yawn	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Chuck Gaspar	....	special effects coordinator
Andrew Miller	....	special effects (uncredited)
John Palmer	....	special effects: WonderWorks (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Tom Anderson	....	blue screen camera
Kathleen Beeler	....	graphics technician
Jeff Burks	....	animation supervisor
Nina Chierichetti	....	graphics technician
Joe Day	....	key optical effects crew
Nancy Evans	....	graphics technician
Charles L. Finance	....	visual effects coordinator
Joseph Franke	....	key optical effects crew
Jammie Friday	....	graphics technician
Rocky Gehr	....	key optical effects crew
Robert Habros	....	graphics technician (as Bob Habros)
Ian Jenkins	....	graphics technician
Robert L. Johnston	....	key optical effects crew
Kevin Koneval	....	optical camera
Candace Lewis	....	graphics technician
Michael Lloyd	....	matte painting artist (as Mike Lloyd)
Richard Malzahn	....	graphics supervisor
Peter Montgomery	....	graphics technician
Barry Nolan	....	supervisor special visual effects
Karl Nygren	....	key optical effects crew
Dick Ramirez	....	optical camera
Pierre Rouger	....	motion control
Bob Rundell	....	optical camera
Robert Scifo	....	matte painting artist (as Bob Scifo)
Jethro Singer	....	graphics technician
Doyle Smiley	....	key optical effects crew
Mark Stetson	....	key optical effects crew
Eric Swenson	....	motion control
Ed Thompson	....	graphics technician
Randy Weeks	....	graphics technician
David S. Williams Jr.	....	optical photography supervision (as David Williams)
Dick Wood	....	key optical effects crew
Christopher Nibley	....	visual effects director of photography (uncredited)

Stunts
Donna Keegan	....	stunt coordinator
Donna Keegan	....	stunts
Dianne L. Wilson	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Gerald H. Boatright	....	gaffer (as Gerald Boatright)
Rick Borchardt	....	key grip
Damen Braxton	....	best boy grip (as D. Braxton)
Jerry G. Callaway	....	camera operator: second unit
Billy Clevenger	....	second assistant camera (as Bill Clevenger)
Jack Cooperman	....	director of photography: second unit
David E. Diano	....	camera operator
William A. Fraker Jr.	....	second assistant camera (as William Fraker IV)
James Globus	....	still photographer (as Jim Globus)
Robert C. Jessup	....	director of photography: second unit
David M. Lang	....	first assistant camera: second unit (as David Lang)
Ron Phillips	....	still photographer
Clyde Smith	....	dolly grip
Richard Turner	....	first assistant camera
Clay H. Wilson	....	grip
Julian Wilson	....	second assistant camera: second unit
Don Yamasaki	....	best boy (as Donald Yamasaki)
Wayne Baker	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Animation Department
John 'D.J.' Des Jardin	....	computer animation and displays
Rhonda C. Gunner	....	computer animation and displays (as Rhonda Gunner)
Richard E. Hollander	....	computer animation and displays (as Richard Hollander)
Pete Martinez	....	computer animation and displays
Gregory L. McMurry	....	computer animation and displays
Monte Swann	....	computer animation and displays
John C. Wash	....	computer animation and displays

Casting Department
Jane Feinberg	....	casting
Mike Fenton	....	casting
Mary Gaffney	....	extras casting: Alabama
Barbara Harris	....	adr casting
Pat McCorkle	....	casting: New York

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dan Bronson	....	costumer
Nancy McArdle	....	costume supervisor
John S. Perry	....	costume department head

Editorial Department
Phil Hetos	....	color timer
Pat Magee	....	assistant film editor
Brian Ralph	....	negative cutter
Scot Scalise	....	apprentice film editor

Music Department
Armin Steiner	....	music recordist
Kenneth Wannberg	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Joe Berman	....	transportation coordinator
Andy Straub	....	transportation captain (as Andy R. Straub)

Other crew
Kathleen Beeler	....	graphics technician
Ed Buckbee	....	technical advisor
Judy A. Carbino	....	administrator
Nina Chierichetti	....	graphics technician
Joel Cohen	....	special consultant
Chuck Comisky	....	technical advisor
Jerry Cormier	....	administrator
Rick Edelstein	....	administrator (as Richard Edelstein)
Nancy Evans	....	graphics technician
Alan K.M. Faucher	....	shuttle maintenance
Penelope Gottlieb	....	title designer
Robert Habros	....	graphics technician (as Bob Habros)
Robert Harman	....	flying wire consultant
Rob Harris	....	unit publicist
Richard Heckman	....	technical advisor
Charles Hosang	....	administrator
Billie Beasley Jenkins	....	assistant: Mr. Goldberg
Ian Jenkins	....	graphics technician
Leo Krupp	....	technical advisor
Candace Lewis	....	graphics technician
Toni St. Clair Lilly	....	assistant: Mr. Winer
Richard Malzahn	....	graphics supervisor
Richard Mirisch	....	production assistant
Peter Montgomery	....	graphics technician
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor
Yvonne Ramond	....	assistant: Mr. Coblenz
Myra Rosenthal	....	teacher
Julie Samuels	....	production assistant
Lee Sentell	....	technical advisor
Nanette Siegert	....	production coordinator
Jethro Singer	....	graphics technician
Victoria Singleton	....	assistant: Mr. Bailey
Leonard S. Smith Jr.	....	production executive
Reggie Smith	....	assistant to flying wire consultant
John Taylor	....	technical advisor
Ed Thompson	....	graphics technician
Michael Van der Veer	....	administrator (as Michael Van Der Veer)
Val Van der Veer	....	administrator (as Val Van Der Veer)
Randy Weeks	....	graphics technician
Terry White	....	technical advisor
Carol Davies	....	continuity coordinator (uncredited)
Taylor Jernigan	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
June Jordan	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• ABC Motion Pictures (presents)

Distributors

• Anchor Bay Entertainment (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2001) (Spain) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation
• Vestron Video (USA) (VHS)
• Vestron Video (USA) (laserdisc)

Special Effects

• Van der Veer Photo Effects (as Van Der Veer Photo Effects) (special visual effects)

Other Companies

• Atmosphere Agency, The  extras casting: los angeles
• Brick Price's Movie Miniatures  miniatures by
• Gordon Ecker Productions  sound post-production
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Distributing Corporation (MGM)  color by (as MGM)
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)  the cooperation and assistance does not reflect approval of the contents of this film ot the treatment of the characters depicted therein
• Panavision  
• Springgreene Marketing Associates Inc.  promotional consultants
• TAJ Soundworks  foley
• Tondreau Electronics  motion control computer software
• Video Image  computer animation
• Video Image  displays

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Norway:7 | Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Huntsville, Alabama, USA

Company:

ABC Motion Pictures

Trivia:

In earlier drafts of the storyline, a Russian shuttle is sent up to rescue the American kids. At the end of the film, it was to be revealed that Russian kids had rescued the American kids.

Goofs:

Factual errors: After the shuttle clears the launch tower at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, FL, all radio transmissions are immediately sent and received from the Mission Control room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. Kennedy has no more contact with the shuttle after the initial liftoff, so none of the members of Launch Control including Andy's Husband Zack would be able to talk to them. Also, the radio installed for the FRF test would be the same radio used on regular shuttle missions. It sort of comes standard with the electronics and is not interchangeable.

Quotes:

Andie: So what brings you to space camp?
Tish: Well I did this audit at GPL on Radio Astronomy; it was unbelieveable! I mean can you imagine an extra terrestrial disc jockey? I mean like listening to radio waves from space? I mean like waiting for signs of intelligence?
Andie: ...Like I know the feeling.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

So Far Away

Doesn't Quite Hit As High As It Would Have Liked.

Four teenagers (Lea Thompson, Larry B. Scott, Kelly Preston and Tate Donovan) and one pre-teen (Joaquin Phoenix) get launched into outer space by a small robot in this above-average adventure movie. Kate Capshaw is along for the ride as the instructor and Tom Skerritt is solid as the one in charge of mission control when the crisis occurs. With the exception of Scott, the other four young stars have all had recognizable careers. Joaquin Phoenix, in particular, steals every scene as the youngest of the five. 3.5 out of 5 stars.