Armageddon (1998) - Synopsis - An oil driller and his crew are hired to rocket out to a gigantic asteroid and blow it up before it slams into the Earth.

Armageddon (1998)
Synopsis - An oil driller and his crew are hired to rocket out to a gigantic asteroid and blow it up before it slams into the Earth.

Director
Michael Bay (See Also Bad Boys 1 & 2, The Rock, Pearl Harbour)

Interview with Bruce Willis

Q: This film has a lot of action, though--and the story is scary. A: There's no way anything we did in this film is anywhere near as scary as the things that are going on in the world. You pay attention to the news, and there are a lot more terrible things happening right now than an asteroid hitting Earth.
Q: Maybe it's time to try a new planet. Would you ever want to go into space? A: Making Armageddon, we got to hang out with real astronauts. What they're doing is not like making movies--they're under incredible pressure. We worked with the guys who went up in the shuttle and caught that satellite. I'd just like to drive a nice sightseeing mission, but I don't think I'd like to go out and have to catch a satellite. I would go--but I don't think they'd take me.
Q: Did you feel the pressure of competition because of that other "asteroid" movie? A: I haven't seen the other film, but I'm told ours is very different. From time to time, this happens. It happened with two volcano movies, and four or five years ago, there were a couple of Robin Hood movies. Nobody wants--or tries--to come out with the same kind of movies at the same time, but it happens.

Alternative Versions

Criterion's two-DVDs version features the longer director's cut with added dialogue and footage, including a scene between Harry Stamper and his father. A second DVD with supplemental material is included, with additional deleted scenes, outtakes and bloopers.
The TV version concludes on the runway after the return of the shuttle crew. The wedding scene and related "home movie" footage is not shown.
British TV premiere on Channel 5 (March 2002) excluded the wide shot showing the damage caused to New York by the meteor shower.

Continuity

Shots in the shuttle launch sequence alternate between closeups of the X-71 (metallic, with boosters over the wings) and panoramic shots of a regular shuttle (white, with no boosters over the wings).
When preparing for launch, the two shuttle crews board from the same gantry tower, but later shots it is obvious that there are two separate gantries.
The Russian space station simulates gravity when it is rotated. The direction that this force applies to people and objects within the station and the two attached shuttles is inconsistent with the geometry of the station.
Falling objects near the surface of the asteroid fall as if affected by gravity as strong as the Earth's.
On an asteroid that has little atmosphere, dust can't billow and fires can't burn.

The terrain on the far side of the canyon changes from smooth to jagged during the jump.
The asteroid is supposedly rotating in all three dimensions, yet the view of the Earth from the asteroid remains the same.
People in numerous locations all over the globe are shown reacting to various events simultaneously - all in daylight.
When AJ enters the shuttle after Harry decides to blow the nuke, he is covered in dirt and blood. As he is being strapped in a few seconds later, he is totally clean.
When Harry goes to A.J.'s room and finds his daughter there, he places his golf club on A.J.'s throat. First the club head is pointing to the right and on the next scene is pointing the other way around.
wo shuttles are launched separately, some minutes apart. But they are shown flying very close when they are leaving Earth atmosphere.
Harry knocks on A.J.'s wall with a golf club, knocking everything off the shelf except a few playing cards. Once he's inside the room, some cans and other things fall off the shelf a second time.
A dog is seen chewing on a miniature Godzilla toy. In the next shot, he is chewing on a much bigger, balloon type Godzilla. But throughout, a guy has been trying to remove the toy from the dog's mouth.
The material that the shuttles were covered with was said to be impenetrable; this was even proven with the debris collisions behind the asteroid. Yet after it crashed, AJ was able to shoot through it with some kind of gun, and crash through it using the Armadillo with ease.
Crew or equipment visible - On asteroid, a puff of smoke reveals / reflects shadow of a camera on crane.

Miscellaneous

The shot of people celebrating in Mission Control after the nuclear weapon is detonated is used twice, just longer the second time. Most noticeable is the officer in a beret in the front doing the same motions both times.
As our heros sit at a long table in a scene before they launch, the mining equipment laid out before them is really a collection of high performance auto parts, including a supercharger and a set of shorty headers.

Filming Locations

USA - Kennedy Space Center Florida, Aubrey Texas, Badlands National Park South Dakota (Asteroid Scenes), Cape Canaveral Florida, Carson California (Fletcher Oil Refinery), Denton County Texas, Edwards Air Force Base California, Ellington Air Force Base Houston Texas (T-38 Jet Training Scenes), Johnson Space Center Houston Texas USA, Kennedy Space Center Florida (Vehicle Assembly Building), Launch Complex 34 (Apollo 1 Memorial) Kennedy Space Center Florida, Launch Complex 39a Kennedy Space Center Florida, Los Angeles, California (St. Brendan's Church. Shrine Auditorium), New York City (New York), Pilot Point Texas,
Very Large Array Soccorro, New Mexico (Second Unit).
France - Baie Du Mont Saint Michel, Dinan, Paris & Saint Coulomb Brittany.
Turkey - Blue Mosque Istanbul & Ortakoy Istanbul.
Mexico - Gulf of Mexico (Oil rig stationed off the Texas coast).
India - Red Fort, Agra, Uttar Pradesh (near the end, shots in India)
Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh.