Tagline: If we don’t have our dreams, we have nothing.
Charles Farmer is a former astronaut-in-training who was discharged from the military before he could fulfill his dream of becoming a vital part of NASA. Having missed the opportunity to travel into space, he decides to build a replica of the historic Mercury-Atlas in the barn on his secluded ranch in the fictional town of Story, Texas, using all his assets and facing foreclosure as a result. When he begins making inquiries about purchasing rocket fuel, the FBI and FAA step in to investigate, and the ensuing publicity thrusts Farmer into the spotlight and makes him a media darling.
Farmer’s first launch is delayed by endless red tape created by government officials, who seek to stall him beyond his deadline to foreclose on the farm. Farmer is denied the fuel he wishes, which would be liquid hydrogen. His ranch facing financial ruin, he panics and somehow launches his rocket before it is ready and without the proper fuel. His rocket falls over and horizontally blasts out of an old wooden barn.
Farmer nearly dies with head trauma and other injuries after his capsule is thrown from the rocket. Spectators and their vehicles are nearly crushed. During the months he spends recuperating, public interest in his project wanes, and when he recovers sufficiently to start anew, he is able to do so in relative privacy with the support of his wife Audrey, his son Shepard, and daughters Stanley and Sunshine.
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An inheritance left by his father-in-law Hal allows him to settle all his debts and finance reconstruction of his rocket which he succeeds in launching. The rocket rises out of the barn. After orbiting Earth nine times and suffering a brief period of a communication blackout, he returns safely and is given a hero’s welcome home through the credits.
About the Production
In How to Build a Rocket: The Making of The Astronaut Farmer, a bonus feature on the DVD release of the film, screenwriters Michael and Mark Polish reveal they used their father as a role model for the character of Charles Farmer.
The space suit worn by Farmer is a replica of the Mercury-era Navy Mark IV pressure suit worn by all Mercury Seven astronauts prior to Mercury-Atlas 9. Additionally, the rocket featured in the film is a nearly-scale replica of the Mercury-Atlas that launched America’s first astronauts into orbit.[2]
The film’s soundtrack includes “Rocket Man” by Elton John, “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” by Waylon Jennings, “(Hey Baby) Que Paso” by Texas Tornados, “John Saw That Number” by Neko Case, “Stop the World (And Let Me Off)” by Dwight Yoakam, “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” by Freddy Fender, “List of Reasons” by Dale Watson, “I Made a Lover’s Prayer” by Gillian Welch.
The film premiered at the 2006 Mill Valley Film Festival. Its February 23, 2007 theatrical release in the United States was three days after the 45th anniversary of the country’s first orbital mission, Friendship 7, piloted by John Glenn.
When Thornton’s character is being interviewed by Jay Leno during the closing credits, the studio audience members are not extras but the actual audience from that day’s filming of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Production notes provided by Warner Bros Pictures.
The Astronaut Farmer
Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Bruce Willis, Virginia Madsen, Bruce Dern, J.K. Simmons, Matthew Kimbrough
Directed by: Michael Polish
Screenplay by: Mark Polish
Release Date: February 23nd, 2007
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material, peril and language.
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $11,003,643 (98.9%)
Foreign: $127,246 (1.1%)
Total: $11,130,889 (Worldwide)