Space Station Breaks Record for Highest Number of Pre-Leases in IMAX’s History
Tom Cruise and Astronauts to Star at World Premiere of First-Ever IMAX(R) 3D Space Film
Astronauts, Academy
Award® nominee Tom Cruise, U.S. Members of Congress, Lockheed Martin
executives, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe, IMAX filmmakers and other special
guests will walk down the red carpet at the National Air and Space Museum on
Wednesday evening to attend the world premiere of SPACE STATION 3D — the
first-ever IMAX® 3D space film, presented by Lockheed Martin.
SPACE
STATION, has commitments from more than 100 IMAX theatres making it the widest
release in the Company’s history.
The film will initially open at 24 theatres
in North America on April 19, rolling out worldwide into 14 countries
thereafter.
“We are very excited by the enthusiasm SPACE STATION is generating in the
IMAX theatre network,” said IMAX co-CEOs Richard L. Gelfond and Bradley J.
Wechsler.
“Only a handful of highly skilled individuals will ever actually
travel to space but the astronauts and cosmonauts involved in this project
have told us that only IMAX captures their experience and recreates the
excitement and awe that they have felt in this unique environment.
We believe
that this ground-breaking film will inspire generations of students to focus
on the next frontier and enable millions of people to experience space.”
The Washington premiere event celebrates the launch of SPACE STATION,
which chronicles the most ambitious construction project in our history, the
building of the International Space Station.
Hosting tonight’s gala will be
Lawrence Small, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; General John R.
Dailey, Director of the National Air and Space Museum; Sean O’Keefe,
Administrator, NASA; Dr. Vance D. Coffman, CEO, Lockheed Martin Corporation;
and Richard Gelfond and Bradley Wechsler, Co-CEOS of IMAX Corporation (IMAX).
Representing their ISS colleagues will be U.S. astronauts Robert Curbeam,
Brian Duffy, Susan Helms, Marsha Ivins, and James Voss; Italian Astronaut
Umberto Guidoni, representing the European Space Agency; and Japanese
Astronaut Koichi Wakata.
Academy-Award® nominee Tom Cruise, who narrated SPACE STATION 3D, is one
of the world’s true movie stars, having acted and/or produced more than
30 films including: Risky Business, Top Gun, The Color of Money and Rain Man.
He received his first Oscar® nomination for Born on the Fourth of July and
has gone on to star in A Few Good Men, The Firm, The Mission Impossible
series, and Jerry Maguire, for which he received his second nomination.
After
working on Stanley Kubrick’s last film, Eyes Wide Shut, he earned his third
nomination for his work in Magnolia.
Most recently, he starred for Cameron
Crowe in Vanilla Sky and this spring teams with Steven Spielberg in Minority
Report.
SPACE STATION, produced by IMAX Corporation (IMAX), in cooperation with
the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and presented by
Lockheed Martin Corporation, crowns a nearly 20-year partnership that has
entertained and educated more than 70 million people each year about
achievements in space.
Previous films include: The Dream Is Alive (1985),
Blue Planet (1990), Destiny In Space (1994) and Mission To Mir (1997) — all
produced, directed and written by Toni Myers.
About IMAX Corporation
Founded in 1967, IMAX Corporation is one of the world’s leading
entertainment technology companies.
IMAX’s businesses include the world’s
best cinematic presentations together with IMAX, IMAX 3D and the development
of the highest quality digital production and presentation.
The IMAX brand is
recognized throughout the world for extraordinary and immersive family
experiences.
As of December 2001, there were more than 225 IMAX theatres
operating in 30 countries.
More than 700 million people have seen an IMAX
presentation since the medium premiered in 1970.
IMAX Corporation is a
publicly traded company listed on both the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges.
IMAX® is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation. More information on the
Company can be found at http://www.imax.com.
About Lockheed Martin Corporation (http://www.lockheedmartin.com)
Through its various business programs and services, Lockheed Martin and its
heritage companies have supported America’s space program from its inception.
From the earliest days of rocketry to the recent and continuing missions to
service the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station, to
continued interplanetary exploration, Lockheed Martin’s team of scientists,
engineers and support personnel are committed to furthering our knowledge of
this planet and beyond.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin
is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design,
development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems,
products and services.
Employing about 125,000 people worldwide, Lockheed
Martin had 2001 sales of $24 billion.
