Science fiction (or sci-fi ) is a film genre that uses speculative , fictional science -based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial lifeforms , spacecraft , robots , cyborgs , mutants , interstellar travel , time travel , or other technologies. Science fiction films have often been used to focus on political or social issues , and to explore philosophical issues like the human condition .
192-447: The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 American science fiction romantic thriller film directed and co-produced by George Nolfi in his directorial debut. The screenplay by Nolfi is loosely based on Philip K. Dick 's 1954 short story " Adjustment Team ". The film stars Matt Damon , Emily Blunt , Anthony Mackie , John Slattery , Michael Kelly , and Terence Stamp . It follows an ambitious young congressman who finds himself entranced by
384-619: A Gothic -inspired style. influenced the design of the rest of the complex. The first story is clad with Deer Island granite to a height of 4 ft (1.2 m). The remainder of the facade contains Indiana Limestone and aluminum spandrel panels. Some 212,000 cubic feet (6,000 m ) of limestone, 4,100 cubic feet (120 m ) of granite, and 6,000 spandrels were used in the construction. The limestone covered 600,000 square feet (56,000 m ). The limestone blocks are laid slightly irregularly and contain striations for visual effect. In addition, 10.38 million bricks were integrated into
576-448: A marquee and two works of art on its exterior. The recessed entrance portal is filled with a 79 by 14 ft (24.1 by 4.3 m) mosaic mural, Intelligence Awakening Mankind by Barry Faulkner . The portal is topped by four 11.5 by 4 ft (3.5 by 1.2 m) limestone panels by Gaston Lachaise , each of which signifies an aspect of civilization as it related to the original Radio City complex. The two panels on either side of
768-416: A mass media entertainment complex on the site. By May 1930, RCA and its affiliates had made an agreement with Rockefeller Center managers. RCA would lease 1,000,000 sq ft (93,000 m ) of studio space; get naming rights to the western part of the development; and develop four theaters, at a cost of $ 4.25 million per year. A skyscraper at 30 Rockefeller Plaza's current site was first proposed in
960-608: A 10 ft (3.0 m) tall Comcast wordmark and NBC logo on the northern and southern elevations, as well as a 17 ft (5.2 m) NBC logo on the building's western elevation. In 1960, a 12-foot-wide (3.7 m), 400-pound (180 kg) weather radar dish for the National Weather Service was installed atop the roof when the building became the NWS's headquarters. KWO35 , the NOAA Weather Radio station serving
1152-512: A British cinema and media theorist and cultural critic: Science fiction film is a film genre which emphasizes actual, extrapolative, or 2.0 speculative science and the empirical method , interacting in a social context with the lesser emphasized, but still present, transcendentalism of magic and religion , in an attempt to reconcile man with the unknown. This definition suggests a continuum between (real-world) empiricism and ( supernatural ) transcendentalism , with science fiction films on
1344-517: A Friend for the End of the World ( 2012 ), Safety Not Guaranteed ( 2013 ), and Pixels (2015), romance films such as Her (2013), Monsters (2010), and Ex Machina (2015), heist films including Inception (2010) and action films including Real Steel (2011), Total Recall (2012), Edge of Tomorrow ( 2014 ), Pacific Rim (2013), Chappie (2015), Tomorrowland (2015), and Ghost in
1536-648: A beautiful ballerina , but mysterious forces are conspiring to prevent their love affair. The film premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on February 14, 2011, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 4, 2011, by Universal Pictures . It received positive reviews from critics and grossed over $ 127.8 million worldwide against a $ 62 million budget. It was nominated for Best Science Fiction Film and Blunt won Best Supporting Actress at
1728-470: A civilization's level of technological advancement into types. Due to its exponential nature, sci-fi civilizations usually only attain Type I (harnessing all the energy attainable from a single planet), and strictly speaking often not even that. The concept of life, particularly intelligent life, having an extraterrestrial origin is a popular staple of science fiction films. Early films often used alien life forms as
1920-458: A consistent tone, but The Adjustment Bureau rises on the strong, believable chemistry of its stars." Metacritic , which uses a weighted average , assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, describing it as "a smart and good movie that could have been
2112-415: A direct passageway to 30 Rockefeller Plaza's studios. Rockefeller Center acquired the building in the mid-20th century and ended the restaurant's lease in 1975, but the new lessees continued to run Hurley's until 1999. As of March 2022 , the holdout building contains Pebble Bar. The other tenant, who occupied a plot on Sixth Avenue and 50th Street at 30 Rockefeller Plaza's northwest corner, never received
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#17328699311412304-557: A frontage of 175.46 ft (53 m) on Sixth Avenue. The main entrance is on Rockefeller Plaza, a private pedestrian street running through the complex, parallel to Fifth and Sixth Avenues. In front of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's main entrance, below ground level, is the Lower Plaza. The building is assigned its own ZIP Code , 10112; it was one of 41 buildings in Manhattan that had their own ZIP Codes as of 2019 . Across Sixth Avenue,
2496-411: A great one, if it had been a little more daring. I suspect the filmmakers were reluctant to follow its implications too far." The New York Times called the film "a fast, sure film about finding and keeping love across time and space ... [that] has brightened the season with a witty mix of science-fiction metaphysics and old-fashioned romance." Science fiction film The genre has existed since
2688-478: A highly visible lobby mural, and Pablo Picasso had refused to even meet with Hood and Todd. Installation of the exterior stonework began in July 1932 and proceeded at a rate of 2,000 cubic feet (57 m ) per day. Window installation began the same month. The building's structural steel was up to the 64th floor by September 16, 1932. The photograph Lunch atop a Skyscraper was taken on September 20, 1932, during
2880-401: A long tradition of movies featuring monster attacks. These differ from similar films in the horror or fantasy genres because science fiction films typically rely on a scientific (or at least pseudo-scientific) rationale for the monster's existence, rather than a supernatural or magical reason. Often, the science fiction film monster is created, awakened, or "evolves" because of the machinations of
3072-523: A mad scientist, a nuclear accident, or a scientific experiment gone awry. Typical examples include The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953), Jurassic Park films, Cloverfield , Pacific Rim , the King Kong films, and the Godzilla franchise or the many films involving Frankenstein's monster . The core mental aspects of what makes us human has been a staple of science fiction films, particularly since
3264-458: A moderate success. The strongest contributors to the genre during the second half of the 1980s were James Cameron and Paul Verhoeven with The Terminator and RoboCop entries. Robert Zemeckis ' film Back to the Future ( 1985 ) and its sequels were critically praised and became box office successes, not to mention international phenomena. James Cameron's sequel to Alien , Aliens ( 1986 ),
3456-424: A mythology and symbology professor who oversaw Rockefeller Center's art program, led the installation of artwork throughout the complex. The building's artwork was designed around the concept of "new frontiers", depicting modern society. The massing of 30 Rockefeller Plaza is designed in three parts. The easternmost section contains a 66-story tower with two stories of retail on the west and east. The tower
3648-530: A number of science fiction comic strips were adapted as serials , notably Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers , both starring Buster Crabbe . These serials, and the comic strips they were based on, were very popular with the general public. Other notable science fiction films of the 1930s include Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Doctor X (1932), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931), F.P.1 (1932), Island of Lost Souls (1932), Deluge (1933), The Invisible Man (1933), Master of
3840-461: A paneled bronze screen. The doors are topped by a cast-glass wall designed by Lee Lawrie, which measures 15 feet (4.6 m) high by 55 feet (17 m) wide. The wall is made of 240 glass blocks. Each glass block measures 3 inches (76 mm) deep and 19 by 29 inches (480 by 740 mm) across. Opposite the main entrance doors is an information desk made of Champlain gray marble. Four large ivory-marble piers with embedded light fixtures support
4032-459: A particular area or time period. This is not true of the science fiction film. However, there are several common visual elements that are evocative of the genre. These include the spacecraft or space station, alien worlds or creatures, robots, and futuristic gadgets. Examples include movies like Lost in Space , Serenity , Avatar , Prometheus , Tomorrowland , Passengers , and Valerian and
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#17328699311414224-495: A particular concern of the writer by serving as a vehicle of warning against a type of activity, including technological research. In the case of alien invasion films, the creatures can provide as a stand-in for a feared foreign power. Films that fit into the Disaster film typically also fall into the following general categories: While monster films do not usually depict danger on a global or epic scale, science fiction film also has
4416-555: A popular staple of science fiction film and science fiction television series. Time travel usually involves the use of some type of advanced technology, such as H. G. Wells' classic The Time Machine , the commercially successful 1980s-era Back to the Future trilogy, the Bill & Ted trilogy, the Terminator series, Déjà Vu (2006), Source Code (2011), Edge of Tomorrow (2014), and Predestination (2014). Other movies, such as
4608-461: A private dining room. The western part houses Bar SixtyFive and an outdoor terrace. The dining room itself is a 4,464-square-foot (414.7 m ) space. The restaurant has a 32-foot-wide (9.8 m) rotating dance floor. The seats of the Rainbow Room are organized in tiers, and there is also a platform for bands and a shallow balcony for entertainers. There are stairs and a dumbwaiter behind
4800-516: A sale offer due to a misunderstanding. The grocer John F. Maxwell would only sell his property at 50th Street if he received $ 1 million. Because of a miscommunication, the Rockefeller family was told that Maxwell would never sell, and Maxwell himself said that he had never been approached by the Rockefellers. Consequently, Maxwell kept his property until his death in 1962, upon which Columbia bought
4992-564: A shrub-and-vegetable patch. The garden was staffed by hostesses who wore costumes, and the plantings lit up at night. Ralph Hancock and Raymond Hood designed the rooftop garden, one of several in the complex. Upon opening, the Garden of the Nations attracted many visitors because of its collection of exotic flora, and it became the most popular garden in Rockefeller Center. In its heyday,
5184-644: A special metal called unobtainium. That same year, Terminator Salvation was released and garnered only moderate success. The 2010s saw new entries in several classic science fiction franchises, including Predators ( 2010 ), Tron: Legacy (2010), a resurgence of the Star Wars series, and entries into the Planet of the Apes and Godzilla franchises. Several more cross-genre films have also been produced, including comedies such as Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Seeking
5376-560: A split-second before their demise, and then use their bodies for spare parts. 30 Rockefeller Plaza#Observation deck 30 Rockefeller Plaza (officially the Comcast Building ; formerly RCA Building and GE Building ) is a skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City , United States. Completed in 1933, the 66-story, 850 ft (260 m) building
5568-524: A threat or peril to the human race, where the invaders were frequently fictional representations of actual military or political threats on Earth as observed in films such as Mars Attacks! , Starship Troopers , the Alien series, the Predator series, and The Chronicles of Riddick series. Some aliens were represented as benign and even beneficial in nature in such films as Escape to Witch Mountain , E.T.
5760-506: A two-story space for a dining room with a high ceiling. Frank W. Darling quit his job as head of Rye's Playland to direct the programming for the proposed amusement space. In July 1933, the managers opened an observation deck atop the RCA Building, which consisted of 190 by 21 ft (57.9 by 6.4 m) terraces on the 67th, 69th, and 70th floors. The 40-cents-per-head observation deck saw 1,300 daily visitors by late 1935. Meanwhile,
5952-419: A year to maintain by 1942. The mechanical core also contains emergency-exit staircases, though there are fewer staircases on upper floors. For example, building plans indicate that the 12th story has three sets of emergency staircases, while the 60th story has two sets of staircases. The lobby's main entrance is from Rockefeller Plaza to the east, with revolving and double-leaf bronze-and-glass doors underneath
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6144-422: Is Studio 6B, which hosted Texaco Star Theater , the first comedy-variety show on television to become popular. The Tonight Show was also broadcast from Studio 6B until 1972, returning there in 2014 under the name The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon . Tonight ' s companion program, Late Night (branded Late Night with Seth Meyers since 2014 ) is also taped in the building. The Today Show
6336-578: Is a popular scientific element in films as depicted in Jurassic Park (cloning of extinct species), The Island (cloning of humans), and ( genetic modification ) in some superhero movies and in the Alien series. Cybernetics and holographic projections as depicted in RoboCop and I, Robot are also popularized. Interstellar travel and teleportation is a popular theme in the Star Trek series that
6528-678: Is a popular theme in Independence Day while invisibility is also popular in Star Trek . Arc reactor technology, featured in Iron Man , is similar to a cold fusion device. Miniaturization technology where people are shrunk to microscopic sizes is featured in films like Fantastic Voyage (1966), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989), and Marvel's Ant-Man (2015). The late Arthur C. Clarke 's third law states that "any sufficiently advanced technology
6720-551: Is achieved through warp drives and transporters while intergalactic travel is popular in films such as Stargate and Star Wars that is achieved through hyperspace or wormholes . Nanotechnology is also featured in the Star Trek series in the form of replicators (utopia), in The Day the Earth Stood Still in the form of grey goo (dystopia), and in Iron Man 3 in the form of extremis (nanotubes) . Force fields
6912-782: Is an exception. The first depiction of a sophisticated robot in a United States film was Gort in The Day the Earth Stood Still . Robots in films are often sentient and sometimes sentimental, and they have filled a range of roles in science fiction films. Robots have been supporting characters, such as Robby the Robot in Forbidden Planet , Huey, Dewey and Louie in Silent Running , Data in Star Trek: The Next Generation , sidekicks (e.g., C-3PO and R2-D2 from Star Wars , JARVIS from Iron Man ), and extras, visible in
7104-406: Is blank going forward. Harry commends David and Elise for their devotion and sends them away, speculating that the chairman's true "plan" may be for people to fight for their free will and write their own destinies, like David and Elise did. Chuck Scarborough , Jon Stewart , Michael Bloomberg , James Carville , Mary Matalin , and Betty Liu appear as themselves. In early drafts of the script,
7296-668: Is featured in Minority Report as well as in The Matrix saga (in which precognition is achieved by knowing the artificial world). Robots have been a part of science fiction since the Czech playwright Karel Čapek coined the word in 1921. In early films, robots were usually played by a human actor in a boxy metal suit, as in The Phantom Empire , although the female robot in Metropolis
7488-494: Is indistinguishable from magic". Past science fiction films have depicted "fictional" ("magical") technologies that became present reality. For example, the Personal Access Display Device from Star Trek was a precursor of smartphones and tablet computers . Gesture recognition in the movie Minority Report is part of current game consoles . Human-level artificial intelligence is also fast approaching with
7680-451: Is made of brass-and-terrazzo mosaic. The walls of these corridors are paneled in Champlain marble below the height of the storefronts and elevator doors. A bronze molding runs above the storefronts and elevators, while the walls are made of plaster above that height. The outer walls of the west–east corridors (adjacent to the mezzanines) contain bronze service doors, while the inner walls and
7872-539: Is raining, since water prevents the Bureau from tracking people. As David's "caseworker", Harry feels guilty about all of the negative things he has helped to make happen to David in support of the Plan, so he teaches David how to use doors to teleport and, hopefully, reach Elise before the Bureau can stop him. David finds Elise just before the wedding and tells her about the Bureau, proving what he says by teleporting with her. Agents of
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8064-439: Is regarded as one of the best movies of the period, Planet of the Apes (1968) and Fahrenheit 451 ( 1966 ), which provided social commentary, and the campy Barbarella (1968), which explored the comical side of earlier science fiction. Jean-Luc Godard 's French "new wave" film Alphaville (1965) posited a futuristic Paris commanded by an artificial intelligence which has outlawed all emotion. The era of crewed trips to
8256-528: Is remote telepresence via androids as depicted in Surrogates and Iron Man 3 . As artificial intelligence becomes smarter due to increasing computer power , some sci-fi dreams have already been realized. For example, the computer Deep Blue beat the world chess champion in 1997 and a documentary film, Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine , was released in 2003. Another famous computer called Watson defeated
8448-449: Is scheduled to announce he is running for another Senate seat. Richardson tries to prevent David and Elise from reuniting after the announcement, but David stubbornly persists and outruns Richardson to Elise's rehearsal with Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet , even though members of the Bureau have a way to teleport using ordinary doorways. Richardson learns that David and Elise keep crossing paths because of remnants from earlier versions of
8640-449: Is surrounded by a shorter U-shaped section to the north, west, and south. Some sources give 30 Rockefeller Plaza's height as 70 stories, but this arises from a hyperbolic press release by Merle Crowell, the complex's publicist during construction. At the middle of the site was a windowless nine-story section, which housed NBC's studios. The western part of the site steps up again to a 16-story tower. The western section at 1250 Avenue of
8832-478: Is the headquarters of NBC and houses NBC Studios , NBC News , MSNBC , and network flagship station WNBC . 30 Rockefeller Plaza also contains offices for NBCUniversal Cable and, until 1988, the NBC Radio Network . Part of NBC's space also extends into the central part of the building. The superstructure uses 58,500 short tons (52,200 long tons; 53,100 t) of steel. To transport visitors to
9024-511: Is whether robots will someday replace humans, a question raised in the film adaptation of Isaac Asimov 's I, Robot (in jobs) and in the film Real Steel (in sports), or whether intelligent robots could develop a conscience and a motivation to protect, take over, or destroy the human race (as depicted in The Terminator , Transformers , and in Avengers: Age of Ultron ). Another theme
9216-442: The Planet of the Apes series, Timeline (2003) and The Last Mimzy (2007), explained their depictions of time travel by drawing on physics concepts such as the special relativity phenomenon of time dilation (which could occur if a spaceship was travelling near the speed of light) and wormholes . Some films show time travel not being attained from advanced technology, but rather from an inner source or personal power, such as
9408-548: The Power Rangers (2017) reboot was greatly improved as compared to the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995). While "size does matter", a famous tagline of the movie Godzilla , incredibly small robots, called nanobots , do matter as well (e.g. Borg nanoprobes in Star Trek and nanites in I, Robot ). The concept of time travel —travelling backwards and forwards through time—has always been
9600-452: The Star Wars prequel trilogy , or the huge robot probes seen in Monsters vs. Aliens ). In some cases, robots have even been the leading characters in science fiction films; in the film Blade Runner (1982), many of the characters are bioengineered android " replicants ". This is also present in the animated films WALL-E (2008), Astro Boy (2009), Big Hero 6 (2014), Ghost in
9792-465: The 38th Saturn Awards . In 2006, Brooklyn Democratic congressman David Norris unsuccessfully runs for the United States Senate . While rehearsing his concession speech, he meets Elise Sellas, and they share a passionate kiss. David does not get Elise's name before they are separated, but, inspired by her, he delivers an unusually candid speech that is well-received and makes him a favorite for
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#17328699311419984-572: The Metropolitan Opera . By 1928, Benjamin Wistar Morris and designer Joseph Urban were hired to come up with blueprints for the house. However, the new building was too expensive for the opera to fund by itself, and it needed an endowment . The project ultimately gained the support of John D. Rockefeller Jr. The planned opera house was canceled in December 1929 due to various issues, with
10176-579: The Rainbow Room restaurant and an observation deck called Top of the Rock. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also includes numerous artworks and formerly contained the mural Man at the Crossroads by Diego Rivera . The entire Rockefeller Center complex is a New York City designated landmark and a National Historic Landmark , and parts of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's interior are also New York City landmarks. 30 Rockefeller Plaza
10368-461: The Star Wars prequel trilogy began with the release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace , which eventually grossed over one billion dollars. As the decade progressed, computers played an increasingly important role in both the addition of special effects (thanks to Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Jurassic Park ) and the production of films. As software developed in sophistication it
10560-607: The Washington Monument . Cultural theorist Scott Bukatman has proposed that science fiction film allows contemporary culture to witness an expression of the sublime , be it through exaggerated scale, apocalypse or transcendence. Science fiction films appeared early in the silent film era, typically as short films shot in black and white, sometimes with colour tinting. They usually had a technological theme and were often intended to be humorous. In 1902 , Georges Méliès released Le Voyage dans la Lune , generally considered
10752-479: The Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City on February 14, 2011. The film was originally scheduled to be released on July 30, 2010, but was pushed back to September 17. In July 2010, Universal Pictures announced that the release date was pushed back again to March 4, 2011 because Damon had to promote his two other films, True Grit and Hereafter . The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on June 21, 2011. It
10944-469: The cyberpunk genre spawned several movies on the theme of the computer-human interface, such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day ( 1991 ), Total Recall ( 1990 ), The Lawnmower Man ( 1992 ), and The Matrix ( 1999 ). Other themes included disaster films (e.g., Armageddon and Deep Impact , both 1998 ), alien invasion (e.g., Independence Day ( 1996 )) and genetic experimentation (e.g., Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) and Gattaca ( 1997 )). Also,
11136-434: The distribution company believes that you cannot play this role. The score for the film was composed by Thomas Newman , and two songs by Richard Ashcroft appear on the soundtrack: "Future's Bright" (which was co-written by Newman) during the opening sequence and "Are You Ready?" during the end credits. Some reviewers identified Abrahamic theological implications in the film, such as an omnipotent and omniscient God,
11328-521: The new opera house eventually being built at Lincoln Center , opening in 1966. With the lease still in effect, Rockefeller had to quickly devise new plans so that the three-block Columbia site could become profitable. Raymond Hood , Rockefeller Center's lead architect, came up with the idea to negotiate with the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its subsidiaries, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and Radio-Keith-Orpheum (RKO) , to build
11520-452: The virtual reality world became a real-world prison for humanity, managed by intelligent machines. In movies such as eXistenZ , The Thirteenth Floor , and Inception , the nature of reality and virtual reality become intermixed with no clear distinguishing boundary. Telekinesis and telepathy are featured in movies like Star Wars , The Last Mimzy , Race to Witch Mountain , Chronicle , and Lucy while precognition
11712-815: The young adult dystopian fiction subgenre, popular in the early part of the decade. These include the Hunger Games film series , based on the trilogy of novels by Suzanne Collins , The Divergent Series based on Veronica Roth 's Divergent trilogy , and the Maze Runner series , based on James Dashner 's The Maze Runner novels . Several adult adaptations have also been produced, including The Martian (2015), based on Andy Weir 's 2011 novel , Cloud Atlas (2012), based on David Mitchell 's 2004 novel , World War Z , based on Max Brooks ' 2006 novel , and Ready Player One (2018), based on Ernest Cline 's 2011 novel . Independent productions also increased in
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#173286993114111904-412: The " mad scientist " transferring the human mind to another body is as old as Frankenstein while the idea of corporations behind mind transfer technologies is observed in later films such as Gamer , Avatar , and Surrogates . Films such as Total Recall have popularized a thread of films that explore the concept of reprogramming the human mind. The theme of brainwashing in several films of
12096-613: The 1950s, Ray Harryhausen , protege of master King Kong animator Willis O'Brien, used stop-motion animation to create special effects for the following notable science fiction films: It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955), Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) and 20 Million Miles to Earth (1957). The most successful monster movies were Japanese film studio Toho 's kaiju films directed by Ishirō Honda and featuring special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya . The 1954 film Godzilla , with
12288-471: The 1960s, but some of the films transformed science fiction cinema. Stanley Kubrick 's 2001: A Space Odyssey ( 1968 ) brought new realism to the genre, with its groundbreaking visual effects and realistic portrayal of space travel and influenced the genre with its epic story and transcendent philosophical scope. Other 1960s films included Planet of the Vampires (1965) by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava , that
12480-476: The 1970s included Woody Allen 's Sleeper ( 1973 ), and John Carpenter 's Dark Star ( 1974 ). The sports science fiction genre can be seen in films such as Rollerball (1975). Star Wars ( 1977 ) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind ( 1977 ) were box-office hits that brought about a huge increase in science fiction films. In 1979 , Star Trek: The Motion Picture brought the television series to
12672-408: The 1980s. Ridley Scott 's Blade Runner (1982), an adaptation of Philip K. Dick 's novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? , examined what made an organic-creation a human, while the RoboCop series saw an android mechanism fitted with the brain and reprogrammed mind of a human to create a cyborg . The idea of brain transfer was not entirely new to science fiction film, as the concept of
12864-443: The 2000s-era films Donnie Darko , Mr. Nobody , The Butterfly Effect , and X-Men: Days of Future Past . More conventional time travel movies use technology to bring the past to life in the present, or in a present that lies in our future. The film Iceman (1984) told the story of the reanimation of a frozen Neanderthal . The film Freejack (1992) shows time travel used to pull victims of horrible deaths forward in time
13056-564: The 2010s, with the rise of digital filmmaking making it easier for filmmakers to produce movies on a smaller budget. These films include Attack the Block (2011), Source Code (2011), Looper (2012), Upstream Color (2013), Ex Machina (2015), and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017). In 2016, Ex Machina won the Academy Award for Visual Effects in a surprising upset over
13248-472: The 20th century and was renamed for GE in 1988. Since the late 1990s, NBC has owned most of the lower floors, while Tishman Speyer has operated the rest of the building. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was extensively renovated in 2014 and was renamed for Comcast in 2015. 30 Rockefeller Plaza is part of the Rockefeller Center complex in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City . It was intended as
13440-537: The 65th floor. The remaining 5,824 were casement windows measuring 4 by 6 feet (1.2 by 1.8 m). About 5,200 of these windows contained Venetian blinds, which were installed by the Mackin Venetian Blind Company. At street level, the stonework is relatively sparsely decorated. The main entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed as a loggia of three arches: one at the center, measuring 37 feet (11 m) high by 14 feet (4.3 m) wide, and two on
13632-419: The 69th-story terrace. As of 2024 , the 70th story includes a rotating "skylift" ride, as well as spherical rooftop beacon and floor tiles with a celestial pattern. The construction of Rockefeller Center occurred between 1932 and 1940 on land that John D. Rockefeller Jr. leased from Columbia University . The Rockefeller Center site was originally supposed to be occupied by a new opera house for
13824-556: The Americas, formerly also known as RCA Building West, is accessed mainly from Sixth Avenue. The facade of the annex rises straight from the sidewalk, with notches at the corners, because the corner lots were private properties at the time of the building's construction in 1935. The massing was influenced by the 1916 Zoning Resolution , which restricted the height that the street-side exterior walls of New York City buildings could rise before they needed to incorporate setbacks that recessed
14016-453: The Art Deco style. Developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , 30 Rockefeller Plaza opened in 1933 as the RCA Building. 30 Rockefeller Plaza is 872 ft (266 m) tall and was built as a single structure occupying the entire block between Sixth Avenue and Rockefeller Plaza. As of December 2023 , the building is the 31st tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in
14208-456: The Bureau pursue them all over New York City, and, eventually, David decides to try to plead his case directly to the chairman. Elise chooses to accompany him, and they enter the Bureau's headquarters. Chased to the roof and surrounded, David and Elise declare their love and kiss. When they let go of each other, they are alone. Thompson appears, but he is interrupted by Harry, who presents the chairman's newly revised Plan for David and Elise, which
14400-526: The Center charged admission fees for the Garden of the Nations. However, the nation-themed gardens were demolished by 1938, and the rock garden was left to dry up, supplanted by flower beds that were not open to the public. In 1936, the central roof temporarily housed a prototype of an apartment, which was used to advertise the Rockefeller Apartments between 54th and 55th Streets. From 1937 onward,
14592-515: The City of a Thousand Planets . More subtle visual clues can appear with changes of the human form through modifications in appearance, size, or behavior, or by means a known environment turned eerily alien, such as an empty city The Omega Man (1971). While science is a major element of this genre, many movie studios take significant liberties with scientific knowledge. Such liberties can be most readily observed in films that show spacecraft maneuvering in outer space . The vacuum should preclude
14784-558: The Earth Stood Still , and The Watch , the aliens were nearly human in physical appearance, and communicated in a common earth language. However, the aliens in Stargate and Prometheus were human in physical appearance but communicated in an alien language. A few films have tried to represent intelligent aliens as something utterly different from the usual humanoid shape (e.g. An intelligent life form surrounding an entire planet in Solaris ,
14976-753: The Extra-Terrestrial , Close Encounters of the Third Kind , The Fifth Element , The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy , Avatar , Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets , and the Men in Black series. In order to provide subject matter to which audiences can relate, the large majority of intelligent alien races presented in films have an anthropomorphic nature, possessing human emotions and motivations. In films like Cocoon , My Stepmother Is an Alien , Species , Contact , The Box , Knowing , The Day
15168-685: The March 1930 version of the complex's blueprint, and the current dimensions of the tower were finalized in March 1931. The skyscraper would be named for RCA as part of the agreement; the RCA name became official in May 1932. The designs for Radio City Music Hall and the RCA Building were submitted to the New York City Department of Buildings in August 1931, by which time both buildings were to open in 1932. Work on
15360-786: The Moon in 1969 and the 1970s saw a resurgence of interest in the science fiction film. Andrei Tarkovsky 's Solaris ( 1972 ) and Stalker ( 1979 ) are two widely acclaimed examples of the renewed interest of film auteurs in science fiction. Science fiction films from the early 1970s explored the theme of paranoia, in which humanity is depicted as under threat from sociological, ecological or technological adversaries of its own creation, such as George Lucas 's directional debut THX 1138 ( 1971 ), The Andromeda Strain ( 1971 ), Silent Running ( 1972 ), Soylent Green ( 1973 ), Westworld ( 1973 ) and its sequel Futureworld ( 1976 ), and Logan's Run ( 1976 ). The science fiction comedies of
15552-517: The Municipal Art Exhibition space shortly afterward after Nelson Rockefeller became a trustee of the museum. Subsequently, Edward Durell Stone removed the partitions on the second floor of the exhibition space, and the museum opened there in February 1936. The central wall of the main lobby remained empty until 1937, when Jose Maria Sert's American Progress was installed. At the time,
15744-450: The NBC lobby. The stair to the basement contains Champlain marble and ivory marble, while the stair to the mezzanine contains Champlain marble and bronze railings and moldings. Additional stairs to the basement and mezzanine are placed at the point where the corridors continue into 1250 Avenue of the Americas; they also contain Champlain marble and bronze railings and moldings. Josep Maria Sert
15936-474: The National Weather Service. The mezzanine level also contained a control room, from which all of Rockefeller Center's mechanical systems could be monitored. When the building was constructed, RCA's chief engineer O. B. Hanson was faced with designing an area of the building that was large enough to host 35 studios with as few structural columns as possible. As such, the studios were all placed in
16128-458: The Plan in which they were meant to be together, and Thompson, a senior official in the Bureau, takes over David's case. He brings David back to the warehouse, where David argues he has the right to choose his own path through life, but Thompson says humans only have the appearance of free will , as the Bureau's experiments with withdrawing their influence resulted in the Dark Ages and the horrors of
16320-580: The Pole (1912), Himmelskibet (1918; which with its runtime of 97 minutes generally is considered the first feature-length science fiction film in history), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), The Mechanical Man (1921), Paris Qui Dort (1923), Aelita (1924), Luch Smerti (1925), and The Lost World (1925). In the 1930s, there were several big budget science fiction films, notably Just Imagine (1930), King Kong (1933), Things to Come (1936), and Lost Horizon (1937). Starting in 1936,
16512-435: The RCA Building was 84 percent leased. By 1938, the NBC studios at the RCA Building received 700,000 annual visitors, while the observation deck had 430,000 annual visitors. Two 24- ton cooling machines were installed in the basement of the RCA Building in 1940. The air-conditioning units supplemented the RCA Building's existing units and also served 1230 Sixth Avenue, 10 Rockefeller Plaza, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza. The lobby
16704-655: The RCA Building's early years, NBC housed both the Red Network and the Blue Network (now ABC ) there, and WJZ-TV (now WABC-TV ) and WJZ Radio (now WABC ), as well as the headquarters of the ABC network, were also headquartered there for the first few years until ABC built their own facilities. When the building opened, it also hosted daily tours of the NBC Studios; the tours were canceled in 1977 due to declining attendance. NBC
16896-539: The RCA Building, which was 90 percent complete; the upper floors were mostly finished, but the base was still incomplete. As late as April 24, more than 1,000 workers were still fitting out the RCA Building. As a result of the Depression, building costs were cheaper than projected. The final cost of the first ten buildings, including the RCA Building, came to $ 102 million (equivalent to $ 1.8 billion in 2023 dollars ). Todd, Robertson, Todd Engineering Corporation, which
17088-430: The Rock is accessed from its own entrance on 50th Street, where two elevators (converted from freight elevator shafts) ascend to the 67th floor. The shafts are illuminated, while the elevator cabs contain ceiling panels with historical photographs. There is a double-height indoor observatory on the 67th floor, where escalators lead to the 69th floor. A 8.5-foot-tall (2.6 m) parapet of frameless safety glass runs around
17280-546: The Rock, the 70th-story observation deck atop the skyscraper, opened in 1933 and is 850 feet (260 m) above street level. In addition to the deck, the attraction includes a triple-story observatory on the 67th to 69th floors. Top of the Rock competes with the 86th-floor observation deck of the Empire State Building 200 feet (61 m) higher, as well as a distant view of the Empire State Building. Top of
17472-508: The Rock, when it reopened after a renovation by Gabellini Sheppard Associates . The original limestone and cast aluminum architectural details were conserved. In 2011, the observation deck had 2.5 million visitors a year and grossed $ 25 million. On the 69th story is the Beam, a ride themed to the photograph Lunch Atop a Skyscraper . The ride faces Billionaires' Row to the north; it can fit seven riders, and it rotates 12 feet (3.7 m) above
17664-494: The Rockefeller family's Standard Oil Company moved into the RCA Building in 1934. NBC was one of the first tenants in the new RCA Building and, with 35 studios packed into the base, it was also one of the largest tenants. Westinghouse moved into the 14th through 17th floors of the RCA Building, receiving the contract for the building's elevators as a result. American Cyanamid took four floors and part of another. Other space
17856-494: The Rockefellers' offices resembled an "18th-century English baronial mansion". The space was decorated with art by Paul Gauguin , Piet Mondrian , Paul Signac , and Joan Miró . By 1937, there were 392 employees of Room 5600. After World War II, Room 5600 comprised the entire 54th through 56th floors. The family offices became a hub for the family's political activity, with ties to both the Democratic and Republican parties at
18048-498: The Sea ( 1916 ) is a film based on Jules Verne ’s famous novel of a wondrous submarine and its vengeful captain. In the 1920s, European filmmakers tended to use science fiction for prediction and social commentary, as can be seen in German films such as Metropolis ( 1927 ) and Frau im Mond ( 1929 ). Other notable science fiction films of the silent era include The Impossible Voyage (1904), The Motorist (1906), The Conquest of
18240-521: The Shell (2017) and in Next Gen (2018). Films like Bicentennial Man , A.I. Artificial Intelligence , Chappie , and Ex Machina depicted the emotional fallouts of robots that are self-aware. Other films like The Animatrix (The Second Renaissance) present the consequences of mass-producing self-aware androids as humanity succumbs to their robot overlords. One popular theme in science fiction film
18432-1072: The Shell (2017). The superhero film boom has also continued, into films such as Iron Man 2 (2010) and Iron Man 3 (2013), several entries into the X-Men film series , and The Avengers (2012), which became the fourth-highest-grossing film of all time. New franchises such as Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy also began in this decade. Further into the decade, more realistic science fiction epic films also become prevalent, including Battleship (2012), Gravity (2013), Elysium (2013), Interstellar ( 2014 ), Mad Max: Fury Road ( 2015 ), The Martian ( 2015 ), Arrival ( 2016 ), Passengers (2016), and Blade Runner 2049 ( 2017 ). Many of these films have gained widespread accolades, including several Academy Award wins and nominations. These films have addressed recent matters of scientific interest, including space travel, climate change, and artificial intelligence. Alongside these original films, many adaptations were produced, especially within
18624-509: The United States . The design was influenced by Rockefeller Center manager John Todd's desire for the building to use its air rights to their maximum potential. 30 Rockefeller Plaza rises to a flat roof, unlike some of the other skyscrapers built in New York City around the same time. These included the Chrysler Building , 70 Pine Street , and 40 Wall Street , which used spires to reach their maximum heights. Hartley Burr Alexander ,
18816-403: The United States for decades, though it was closed during much of the 1940s. The most recent version of the restaurant opened in 2014 after a restoration by Gabellini Sheppard Associates. The Rainbow Room occupies the eastern part of 30 Rockefeller Plaza's 65th floor, which covers 13,500 square feet (1,250 m ). The central part of the floor has elevator banks, restrooms, a gallery , and
19008-697: The World (1934), Mad Love (1935), Trans-Atlantic Tunnel (1935), The Devil-Doll (1936), The Invisible Ray (1936), The Man Who Changed His Mind (1936), The Walking Dead (1936), Non-Stop New York (1937), and The Return of Doctor X (1939). The 1940s brought us Before I Hang (1940), Black Friday (1940), Dr. Cyclops (1940), The Devil Commands (1941), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941), Man Made Monster (1941), It Happened Tomorrow (1944), It Happens Every Spring (1949), and The Perfect Woman (1949). The release of Destination Moon (1950) and Rocketship X-M (1950) brought us to what many people consider "the golden age of
19200-704: The Worlds (1953), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), This Island Earth (1955), Forbidden Planet (1956), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956), The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and On the Beach (1959). There is often a close connection between films in the science fiction genre and the so-called " monster movie ". Examples of this are Them! (1954), The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) and The Blob (1958). During
19392-523: The advent of smartphone A.I. while a working cloaking device / material is the main goal of stealth technology . Autonomous cars (e.g. KITT from the Knight Rider series) and quantum computers , like in the movie Stealth and Transcendence , also will be available eventually. Furthermore, although Clarke's laws do not classify "sufficiently advanced" technologies , the Kardashev scale measures
19584-558: The background to create a futuristic setting (e.g., Back to the Future Part II (1989), Total Recall (2012), RoboCop (2014)). As well, robots have been formidable movie villains or monsters (e.g., the robot Box in the film Logan's Run (1976), HAL 9000 in 2001: A Space Odyssey , ARIIA in Eagle Eye , robot Sentinels in X-Men: Days of Future Past , the battle droids in
19776-672: The ball shaped creature in Dark Star , microbial-like creatures in The Invasion , shape-shifting creatures in Evolution ). Recent trends in films involve building-size alien creatures like in the movie Pacific Rim where the CGI has tremendously improved over the previous decades as compared in previous films such as Godzilla . A frequent theme among science fiction films is that of impending or actual disaster on an epic scale. These often address
19968-690: The big screen for the first time. It was also in this period that the Walt Disney Company released many science fiction films for family audiences such as The Black Hole , Flight of the Navigator , and Honey, I Shrunk the Kids . The sequels to Star Wars , The Empire Strikes Back ( 1980 ) and Return of the Jedi ( 1983 ), also saw worldwide box office success. Ridley Scott 's films, such as Alien ( 1979 ) and Blade Runner ( 1982 ), along with James Cameron 's The Terminator ( 1984 ), presented
20160-535: The building faces 1221 Avenue of the Americas to the southwest, 1251 Avenue of the Americas to the west, and 1271 Avenue of the Americas to the northwest. Radio City Music Hall , 1270 Avenue of the Americas , and 50 Rockefeller Plaza are directly to the north. Across Rockefeller Plaza are the International Building to the northeast, La Maison Francaise and the British Empire Building to
20352-537: The building; Rockefeller Center purchased the Maxwell family's lease in 1970. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed by the Associated Architects of Rockefeller Center, composed of the firms of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray ; Hood, Godley & Fouilhoux ; and Reinhard & Hofmeister . Raymond Hood was the complex's lead architect. The Associated Architects designed all of Rockefeller Center's buildings in
20544-476: The buildings' exterior walls away from the streets. The base of the building could only rise to 120 feet (37 m) before it had to taper to a tower covering 25 percent of the site. The eastern tower appeared to violate this principle since it measured 103 by 327 feet (31 by 100 m), but the base measured only 200 by 535 feet (61 by 163 m). The base does not occupy its entire plot, which measures 200 by 670 feet (61 by 204 m). The tower section
20736-435: The ceiling immediately above. The lobby continues north and south from the information desk. Stairways at either end lead up to the mezzanine, while stairs and escalators lead downstairs to the basement. Extending west from either end are two corridors, which flank five north–south elevator banks. The elevator doors are made of bronze, and there are bronze and glass storefronts on the outer walls of these corridors. The floor
20928-422: The central structure of Rockefeller Center, both physically and symbolically. The land lot is nearly rectangular and covers 107,766 sq ft (10,011.8 m ), bounded by Sixth Avenue (officially Avenue of the Americas ) to the west, 50th Street to the north, Rockefeller Plaza to the east, and 49th Street to the south. The site has a frontage of 545 ft (166 m) on 49th and 50th Streets and
21120-584: The character of Norris was changed from a real-estate salesman, as in Philip K. Dick 's short story , to an up-and-coming U.S. Congressman. Media Rights Capital funded the film and then auctioned it to distributors, with Universal Studios putting in the winning bid of $ 62 million. Variety reported Damon's involvement on February 24, 2009, and Blunt's on July 14. Writer/director George Nolfi worked with John Toll as his cinematographer. Shots were planned with storyboards, but changed often during shooting to fit
21312-425: The city, state, and national levels. Visitors to Room 5600 have included Frank Sinatra , Shirley MacLaine , Nelson Mandela , Richard Gere , and Bono . Even in the late 1980s, when Room 5600 had downsized to 175 people, it still managed $ 900 million of Rockefeller family wealth. The family moved out during 2014. The 65th floor of the building is an event room and restaurant named the Rainbow Room . The space
21504-520: The commission for bas-reliefs on the Sixth Avenue entrance in September 1932. The same month, Hood and the complex's manager John Todd traveled to Europe to interview five artists for the lobby. Frank Brangwyn, Josep Maria Sert, and Diego Rivera were hired the following month, despite John Rockefeller Jr.'s hesitance to hire Rivera, a prominent communist. Henri Matisse had been reluctant to commission
21696-496: The completion of principal photography. According to Nolfi, the ending that had originally been shot featured "the Chairman": [I]nitially I was going to show the Chairman. The Chairman was going to be in female form, too. Ultimately, while making the movie, I realized how important it was going to be for people to put their own beliefs in the end and not foreclose that. I don’t think the scene would have foreclosed [people's] beliefs, but
21888-426: The concepts of free will and predestination , and elements from the descent to the underworld (a mytheme dating back at least to the story of Eurydice and Orpheus ). Cathleen Falsani said that the Chairman represents God , while his caseworkers are angels . The director of the film, George Nolfi, stated that the "intention of this film is to raise questions." The Adjustment Bureau had its world premiere at
22080-484: The conditions of the day. The visual plan for the film was to use a dolly or crane to keep camera movements smooth and employ a more formal style when the Adjustment Bureau is in full control, and to use hand-held cameras and allow things to become more loose when the Bureau is losing control. The climactic scene on the " Top of the Rock " rooftop observation deck of 30 Rockefeller Plaza was filmed four months after
22272-477: The construction of the 69th floor; it was part of a publicity stunt promoting the RCA Building. The building was topped out on September 26, 1932, when an American flag was hoisted to the top of the primary 66-story tower on Rockefeller Plaza. The Indiana limestone cladding had been erected to the 15th floor on the Rockefeller Plaza wing, and the facade of the Sixth Avenue wing had been completed. The stone
22464-406: The early years of silent cinema , when Georges Méliès ' A Trip to the Moon (1902) employed trick photography effects. The next major example (first in feature-length in the genre) was the film Metropolis (1927). From the 1930s to the 1950s, the genre consisted mainly of low-budget B movies . After Stanley Kubrick 's landmark 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), the science fiction film genre
22656-419: The east, a windowless section at the center, and a 16-story annex to the west. The building's design conforms with the 1916 Zoning Resolution ; it is shaped mostly as a slab with setbacks primarily for aesthetic value. The facade is made of limestone , with granite at the base, as well as about 6,000 windows separated by aluminum spandrels . In addition to its offices and studios, 30 Rockefeller Plaza contains
22848-419: The east, and 1 Rockefeller Plaza and 608 Fifth Avenue to the southeast. In addition, 10 Rockefeller Plaza is to the south. The site was previously part of the campus of Columbia University , which retained ownership of most of the land well after the complex was built. The northwest and southwest corners of 30 Rockefeller Plaza were built around two holdout structures on Sixth Avenue. The owners of
23040-399: The elevator-bank walls contain murals. The ceilings of the corridors are carried by rows of piers. West of the elevator banks, two north–south corridors extend to side entrances on 49th and 50th Streets, which each contain two bronze sets of revolving doors. The corridors continue west to the Sixth Avenue entrance. Just west of the elevators, a staircase leads down to the basement and up to
23232-514: The elevators only ran to the 55th floor. It had taken only 102 workdays to install the 212,000 cubic feet (6,000 m ) of stonework. Rockefeller Plaza was added to the city's official street map in January 1933, and the RCA Building gained the address 30 Rockefeller Plaza. The next month, John D. Rockefeller III honored 27 mechanics for their work on the RCA Building. At the time, The New York Times reported that 1,600 workers were busy completing
23424-517: The entrance are entitled The Conquest of Space and Gifts of Earth to Mankind ; these respectively depict aspiration and life, two qualities that Lachaise believed were most important to humanity. The two panels in the center are known as Genius Seizing the Light of the Sun (also known as Invention Seizing the Light of the Sun ) and The Spirit of Progress . The panels are placed at the third story because, at
23616-506: The facade. 30 Rockefeller Plaza also had 6,045 windows upon its completion, with 19,700 panes between them, covering 168,340 square feet (15,639 m ) in total. Thirty-six of the windows measured 9 by 16 feet (2.7 by 4.9 m) and were storefront windows. Those on the mezzanine level were composed of 9-by-12-foot (2.7 by 3.7 m) panels flanked by smaller sidelights. Another 165 were casement windows , which had panes measuring 6 by 18 inches (150 by 460 mm); most of these were above
23808-576: The fact that the themes were stenciled onto the murals. By contrast, Stern said: "Sert at least allowed the meaning of his paintings to fall into happy obscurity." After the building had opened, Sert was commissioned to paint the mural American Progress at the center of the lobby, measuring 50 by 17 feet (15.2 by 5.2 m). The mural was installed in 1937. It depicts a vast allegorical scene of men constructing modern America and contains figures of Abraham Lincoln , Mahatma Gandhi , and Ralph Waldo Emerson . The space occupied by American Progress
24000-458: The film carries a profound message - that the evolution of a species toward technological perfection (in this case exemplified by the disappeared alien civilization called the "Krell") does not ensure the loss of primitive and dangerous urges. In the film, this part of the primitive mind manifests itself as monstrous destructive force emanating from the Freudian subconscious, or "Id". Some films blur
24192-599: The films were often well-photographed in colour ... and their dismal dialogue was delivered in well-designed and well-lit sets." With the Space Race between the USSR and the US going on, documentaries and illustrations of actual events, pioneers and technology were plenty. Any movie featuring realistic space travel was at risk of being obsolete at its time of release, rather fossil than fiction. There were relatively few science fiction films in
24384-572: The first half of the twentieth century. Thompson tells David that being with Elise will keep him from his fate of becoming President of the United States , and being with David will keep Elise from becoming a world-famous dancer and choreographer . To prove he is serious, Thompson causes Elise to sprain her ankle, and David abandons her at the hospital to avoid ruining their futures. Eleven months later, Charlie, David's campaign manager and lifelong best friend, alerts David to Elise's imminent wedding. Harry surreptitiously arranges to meet with David when it
24576-440: The first science fiction film, and a film that used early trick photography to depict a spacecraft's journey to the Moon. Several early films merged the science fiction and horror genres. Examples of this are Frankenstein ( 1910 ), a film adaptation of Mary Shelley 's novel, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920), based on the psychological tale by Robert Louis Stevenson . Taking a more adventurous tack, 20,000 Leagues Under
24768-435: The floors below the observation deck were planned as a restaurant, solarium, game room, and ballroom, which would later become the Rainbow Room . The Rainbow Room opened on October 3, 1934. A revolving beacon was installed atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1935, the first such beacon to be installed in Manhattan. That September, the ground-floor retail space was fully leased. The New York Museum of Science and Industry leased
24960-880: The future as dark, dirty and chaotic, and depicted aliens and androids as hostile and dangerous. In contrast, Steven Spielberg 's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ( 1982 ), one of the most successful films of the 1980s, presented aliens as benign and friendly, a theme already present in Spielberg's own Close Encounters of the Third Kind . James Bond also entered the science fiction genre in 1979 with Moonraker . The big budget adaptations of Frank Herbert 's Dune and Alex Raymond 's Flash Gordon , as well as Peter Hyams 's sequel to 2001 , 2010: The Year We Make Contact (based on 2001 author Arthur C. Clarke 's sequel novel 2010: Odyssey Two ), were box office failures that dissuaded producers from investing in science fiction literary properties. Disney's Tron ( 1982 ) turned out to be
25152-425: The garden included thirteen nation-specific gardens, whose layouts were inspired by gardens in the respective countries they represented. Each of the different gardens were separated by barriers. The "International Garden", a rock garden in the center of the themed gardens, featured a meandering stream and 2,000 plant varieties. The Garden of the Nations also contained a children's garden, a modern-style garden, and
25344-421: The genre. In the monster films of the 1950s, the scientist often played a heroic role as the only person who could provide a technological fix for some impending doom. Reflecting the distrust of government that began in the 1960s in the United States, the brilliant but rebellious scientist became a common theme, often serving a Cassandra -like role during an impending disaster. Biotechnology (e.g., cloning )
25536-400: The headquarters is sometimes called 30 Rock , a nickname that inspired the NBC sitcom of the same name . The tallest structure in Rockefeller Center, the building is the 28th tallest in New York City and the 65th tallest in the United States , and was the third tallest building in the world when it opened. 30 Rockefeller Plaza's massing consists of three parts: the main 66-story tower to
25728-458: The idea of reprogrammable reality and memory. The idea that a human could be entirely represented as a program in a computer was a core element of the film Tron . This would be further explored in the film version of The Lawnmower Man , Transcendence , and Ready Player One and the idea reversed in Virtuosity as computer programs sought to become real persons. In The Matrix series,
25920-412: The interior work. According to the main contractors, the laborers, plasterers, and metal lathers involved in the project would need to be compensated the equivalent of 25,000 eight-hour workdays. The building would require 26,900 short tons (24,000 long tons; 24,400 t) of plasterwork, covering about 650,000 square yards (540,000 m ). By April 6, 1933, there were 1,400 mechanics working to complete
26112-403: The large number of tenants, Rockefeller Center was only 59 percent rented by the end of 1933. Shortly after the RCA Building's opening, there were plans to use the building above the 64th floor as a public "amusement center". That section of the building had several terraces, which could be used as a dance floor, observation deck and landscaped terrace gardens. On the 65th floor, there was also
26304-399: The line between the genres, such as films where the protagonist gains the extraordinary powers of the superhero . These films usually employ quasi-plausible reason for the hero gaining these powers. Not all science fiction themes are equally suitable for movies. Science fiction horror is most common. Often enough, these films could just as well pass as Westerns or World War II films if
26496-487: The lobby is the complex's shopping concourse, connected to the lobby via escalators. The building has a direct entrance to the New York City Subway 's 47th–50th Streets–Rockefeller Center station via the concourse. Until 1950, the building's concourse had also contained Rockefeller Center's post office. The mezzanine contains balconies overlooking the lobby. The floors of the mezzanine are black terrazzo, while
26688-593: The majority of the Tri-State area , transmitted from atop the building and remained there until 2014. Due to interference with a U.S. Coast Guard radio channel, the transmitter was eventually relocated atop the MetLife Building . The weather radar station was used as Doppler 4000 during WNBC-TV 's local newscasts. It was operational until February 1, 2017, when StormTracker 4, an S-band weather radar at Rutgers University's Cook Campus , started operating. Top of
26880-431: The more I could hint at it and the less explicit I could be about it, it wasn’t enough to hint about it in the dialog and have an actual person there acting it. I just had to not show the Chairman, so I ended up not going that way. The chairman was later revealed to have been portrayed by actress Shohreh Aghdashloo , who, in her 2013 memoir The Alley of Love and Yellow Jasmines , said Nolfi told her that Universal Pictures
27072-458: The much higher-budget Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015). Science fiction films are often speculative in nature, and often include key supporting elements of science and technology. However, as often as not the "science" in a Hollywood science fiction movie can be considered pseudo-science, relying primarily on atmosphere and quasi-scientific artistic fancy than facts and conventional scientific theory. The definition can also vary depending on
27264-471: The mural, which was covered in stretched canvas and left incomplete. Brangwyn's murals were also incomplete at the time of the building's opening. Rivera's mural remained covered until February 1934, when workmen peeled the mural off the wall. Columbia University originally owned most of Rockefeller Center's land as well as the complex's buildings, including the RCA Building. However, Columbia received no rental income; Rockefeller Center's managers collected
27456-459: The next Senate election. A month later, Harry Mitchell receives an assignment from a man named Richardson at Madison Square Park , which is near David's home. He is supposed to spill coffee on David's shirt by 7:05 a.m., forcing David to go home to change, but he falls asleep, so David catches his intended bus to his new job and meets Elise again. Before she gets off the bus, David gets her name and phone number. David arrives at work before he
27648-449: The north, south, and east elevations. Hood also created a guideline that all of the office space in the complex would be no more than 27 ft (8.2 m) from a window, which was the maximum distance that sunlight could permeate the windows of a building at New York City's latitude. The setbacks on the northern and southern sides of 30 Rockefeller Plaza allow the building to comply with Hood's guideline. The setbacks correspond to
27840-399: The parcel on Sixth Avenue and 49th Street, at the southwest corner of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, had demanded an exorbitant price for their property upon learning of the planned skyscraper. The holdout building had contained Hurley's restaurant, which had opened around the 1890s and subsequently became a popular meeting place for NBC performers and executives. The restaurant was later connected by
28032-410: The perimeter of the deck; it dates to the 2005 renovation. The deck originally had dimensions of 190 by 21 feet (57.9 by 6.4 m) and was decorated in the style of an ocean liner, with furnishings such as slatted chairs. The observation deck was closed in 1986 because a renovation of the Rainbow Room had cut off the deck's only access point. The observation deck has been known since 2005 as Top of
28224-625: The platform, as well as several banquet rooms on the 64th floor. Above the dance floor hang several concentric "rings" that recess into the ceiling. The roof of the building's central section contained a 0.75-acre (0.30 ha) "Garden of the Nations" (alternatively "Gardens of the Nations" ), which opened in April 1935 on the 11th floor. The garden used 3,000 short tons (2,700 long tons) of soil; 100 short tons (89 long tons) of rock from as far as England; 100,000 bricks; 2,000 trees and shrubs; 4,000 small plants; and 20,000 bulbs for flowers. Originally,
28416-469: The release of Transformers (2007) and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009), both of which resulted in worldwide box office success. In 2009, James Cameron 's Avatar garnered worldwide box office success, and would later become the highest-grossing movie of all time. This movie was also an example of political commentary. It depicted humans destroying the environment on another planet by mining for
28608-670: The rent and owned the land under the western part of the complex, including a section of the RCA Building West. The RCA offices moved to the RCA Building's 52nd and 53rd floors in June 1933. The Rockefeller family took up space throughout the building to give potential tenants the impression of occupancy. Their Rockefeller Foundation , as well as the General Education Board and the Spelman Fund of New York, had leased space, and
28800-568: The repetitions of the Korova Milkbar make the alien decor seem more familiar. As well, familiar images become alien, as in the films Repo Man and Liquid Sky . For example, in Dr. Strangelove , the distortion of the humans make the familiar images seem more alien. Finally, alien images are juxtaposed with the familiar, as in The Deadly Mantis , when a giant praying mantis is shown climbing
28992-431: The roof of the eastern tower contained neon letters spelling "RCA". The letters each measured 22 feet (6.7 m) wide by 24 feet (7.3 m) tall; at the time of the building's completion, the letters were the world's highest neon signs. These were replaced by "GE" letters in 1988. The letters were replaced again with the new united Comcast/NBC logo, rendered in longer-lasting LED lighting . The new signs consist of
29184-403: The science fiction film". In the 1950s, public interest in space travel and new technologies was great. While many 1950s science fiction films were low-budget B movies , there were several successful films with larger budgets and impressive special effects. These include The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Thing from Another World (1951), When Worlds Collide (1951), The War of
29376-429: The science fiction props were removed. Common motifs also include voyages and expeditions to other planets, and dystopias , while utopias are rare. Film theorist Vivian Sobchack argues that science fiction films differ from fantasy films in that while science fiction film seeks to achieve our belief in the images we are viewing, fantasy film instead attempts to suspend our disbelief. The science fiction film displays
29568-460: The scientist has varied considerably in the science fiction film genre, depending on the public perception of science and advanced technology. Starting with Dr. Frankenstein , the mad scientist became a stock character who posed a dire threat to society and perhaps even civilization. Certain portrayals of the "mad scientist", such as Peter Sellers 's performance in Dr. Strangelove , have become iconic to
29760-437: The side of empiricism, and happy films and sad films on the side of transcendentalism. However, there are numerous well-known examples of science fiction horror films, epitomized by such pictures as Frankenstein and Alien . The visual style of science fiction film is characterized by a clash between alien and familiar images. This clash is implemented when alien images become familiar, as in A Clockwork Orange , when
29952-486: The sides, measuring 27 feet (8.2 m) high by 13 feet (4.0 m) wide. Lee Lawrie designed the sculptural group Wisdom, A Voice from the Clouds , for the lintels of the three arches. Lawrie's carved rendering of Wisdom is above the center arch, flanked by Sound on the left and Light on the right. The Wisdom frieze above the entrance is accompanied by an inscription reading "Wisdom and Knowledge shall be
30144-493: The sixties and seventies including A Clockwork Orange and The Manchurian Candidate coincided with secret real-life government experimentation during Project MKULTRA . Voluntary erasure of memory is further explored as themes of the films Paycheck and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind . Some films like Limitless explore the concept of mind enhancement. The anime series Serial Experiments Lain also explores
30336-417: The stability of thy times", from Isaiah 33:6 (KJV). The sculptural groups are accompanied by polychrome decorations created by Léon-Victor Solon . Lawrie's three renderings are complemented by two limestone bas-reliefs by Leo Friedlander : one of Production on the north elevation and one of Radio on the south elevation. 1230 Avenue of the Americas, the annex building to 30 Rockefeller Plaza, contains
30528-443: The steel structure of the RCA Building started in March 1932. Several artists were hired to design artwork for the RCA Building. Lee Lawrie was hired to design the RCA Building's eastern entrance in June 1932, at which point the sunken plaza in front of the building was also announced. The next month, Barry Faulkner was commissioned to create a large glass mosaic on the western entrance facing Sixth Avenue. Gaston Lachaise received
30720-613: The studios were suspended from the superstructure, insulating the studios. In addition, there were double- and triple-height spaces for exhibitions, plays, and other events. NBC, ABC , and CBS (collectively the Big Three TV Networks ) had offices on Sixth Avenue and studios in Midtown during the mid-20th century. The first television shows at the NBC Studios were broadcast from studio 3H in 1935, and more TV studios were added after World War II as television gained popularity. During
30912-399: The themes that were represented. Rockefeller Center's managers had asked Brangwyn to omit a depiction of Jesus Christ from one of the panels; the artist ultimately depicted Jesus with his back turned. Brangwyn's and Sert's corridor murals measure 17 by 25 feet (5.2 by 7.6 m) each. Architectural writer Robert A. M. Stern described Brangwyn's murals as "insipid", a quality worsened by
31104-408: The time of the building's construction, they could be seen from the elevated rail line above Sixth Avenue. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was designed with about 2,100,000 square feet (200,000 m ) of rentable space in total. The eastern tower contains the Rainbow Room restaurant on the 65th floor, while the Rockefeller family office occupied the tower's 54th through 56th floors until 2014. The tower
31296-640: The title monster attacking Tokyo, gained immense popularity, spawned multiple sequels, led to other kaiju films like Rodan , and created one of the most recognizable monsters in cinema history. Japanese science fiction films, particularly the tokusatsu and kaiju genres, were known for their extensive use of special effects , and gained worldwide popularity in the 1950s. Kaiju and tokusatsu films, notably Warning from Space (1956), sparked Stanley Kubrick 's interest in science fiction films and influenced 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). According to his biographer John Baxter , despite their "clumsy model sequences,
31488-426: The top floors, Westinghouse installed eight express elevators in the RCA Building. They moved at an average speed of 1,200 ft/min (370 m/min) and were so expensive that they constituted 13 percent of the building's entire construction cost. One elevator reached a top speed of 1,400 ft/min (430 m/min) and was dubbed "the fastest passenger elevator ride on record". These elevators cost about $ 17,000
31680-547: The tops of the elevator banks inside; this arrangement is repeated on the facade of the International Building. Similarly, 30 Rockefeller Plaza also contains notches at its corners. The eastern elevation's setbacks were included exclusively for aesthetic purposes. By contrast, the layout and massing of Rockefeller Center's other buildings were intended to maximize rental profit. 30 Rockefeller Plaza's limestone facade includes spandrels with quadruple-leaf motifs in
31872-649: The transmission of sound or maneuvers employing wings, yet the soundtrack is filled with inappropriate flying noises and changes in flight path resembling an aircraft banking. The filmmakers, unfamiliar with the specifics of space travel , focus instead on providing acoustical atmosphere and the more familiar maneuvers of the aircraft. Similar instances of ignoring science in favor of art can be seen when movies present environmental effects as portrayed in Star Wars and Star Trek . Entire planets are destroyed in titanic explosions requiring mere seconds, whereas an actual event of this nature takes many hours. The role of
32064-454: The two best human Jeopardy (game show) players in 2011 and a NOVA documentary film, Smartest Machine on Earth , was released in the same year. Building-size robots are also becoming a popular theme in movies as featured in Pacific Rim . Future live action films may include an adaptation of popular television series like Voltron and Robotech . The CGI robots of Pacific Rim and
32256-535: The unfamiliar and alien in the context of the familiar. Despite the alien nature of the scenes and science fictional elements of the setting, the imagery of the film is related back to humankind and how we relate to our surroundings. While the science fiction film strives to push the boundaries of the human experience, they remain bound to the conditions and understanding of the audience and thereby contain prosaic aspects, rather than being completely alien or abstract. Genre films such as westerns or war movies are bound to
32448-444: The viewpoint of the observer. Many science fiction films include elements of mysticism, occult , magic, or the supernatural , considered by some to be more properly elements of fantasy or the occult (or religious) film. This transforms the movie genre into a science fantasy with a religious or quasi-religious philosophy serving as the driving motivation. The movie Forbidden Planet employs many common science fiction elements, but
32640-399: The walls are made of marble and plaster separated by a bronze molding. Offices from the outer walls open onto the mezzanine balconies. There are staircases from the lobby to both the concourse and mezzanine, west of the lobby's elevator banks. When the building opened, it contained a rotunda at the mezzanine level, measuring 67 feet (20 m) across with a photomural surrounding it. The mural
32832-563: The windowless center section of the building, which would have otherwise been used as an unprofitable office space. The central part of the building could also use fewer columns, which was suitable for large broadcast studios but not for the bases of skyscrapers. Over 1,500 mi (2,400 km) of utility wires stretched through this part of the building, which was powered by direct current . Two floors were reserved for future TV studios, and five more stories were reserved for audience members and guests. The floor, wall, and ceiling surfaces of
33024-426: Was also broadcast from 30 Rockefeller Plaza until 1994, when it moved to 10 Rockefeller Plaza. The Rockefeller family's office, Room 5600, occupied the entire 56th floor. The family's Rockefeller Foundation rented the entire floor below, and two other organizations supported by the Rockefellers also moved into the building. Daniel Okrent , author of the book Great Fortune: The Epic of Rockefeller Center , said
33216-467: Was completed (although it was later continued, but at the time it was not intended to be) with the darkly themed Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith . Science-fiction also returned as a tool for political commentary in films such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence , Minority Report , Sunshine , District 9 , Children of Men , Serenity , Sleep Dealer , and Pandorum . The 2000s also saw
33408-408: Was constructing Rockefeller Center, relocated to the RCA Building on April 22, 1933, becoming the first tenants. The RCA Building was slated to officially open on May 1, 1933. Its opening was delayed until mid-May because of a controversy over Rivera's Man at the Crossroads , which in large part stemmed from the communist motifs of the mural. On May 10, 1933, Rivera was ordered to stop all work on
33600-402: Was designed by Wallace K. Harrison of Associated Architects. Interior designer Elena Bachman Schmidt , a one-time apprentice of Elsie de Wolfe , contributed to the design of the interior decor, such as the furniture, curtains, and elevator doors. Vincente Minnelli was assigned to help Schmidt select the colors of the walls. The restaurant opened in 1934, and was the highest restaurant in
33792-464: Was designed in the Art Deco style by Raymond Hood , Rockefeller Center's lead architect. 30 Rockefeller Plaza was known for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA), from its opening in 1933 until 1988 and then for General Electric until 2015, when it was renamed for its current owner, Comcast . The building also houses the headquarters and New York studios of television network NBC ;
33984-446: Was developed as part of the construction of Rockefeller Center , and work on its superstructure started in March 1932. The first tenant moved into the building on April 22, 1933, but its official opening was delayed due to controversy over Man at the Crossroads . The Rainbow Room and the observation deck opened in the mid-1930s, and retail space was added to the ground floor in the 1950s. The building remained almost fully occupied through
34176-469: Was fabricated at four factories in New York state and then shipped to New York City. Two traveling cranes lifted the stone from the ground to two hoists 70 feet (21 m) high, which then raised the stone to the upper floors. The stonework of the primary tower was completed on December 7, 1932, without fanfare. Officials said at the time that they did not host a ceremony for the stonework's completion because
34368-457: Was not supposed to see Elise a second time, so he destroys the card with her phone number on it, and then he releases David, warning him that his memory and personality will be erased if he tells anyone about what he has learned. Three years later, David spots Elise on the street. He gets off the bus and invites her to lunch, but Charlie (David's campaign manager), after an adjustment initiated by Richardson, interrupts them with reminders that David
34560-506: Was originally hired to paint four murals in the northern lobby corridor: Time ; Spirit of Dance ; Man's Triumph in Communication ; Conquest of Disease ; Abolition of Bondage ; Fraternity of Men ; and Contest-1940 , depicting different aspects of the world and mankind. Frank Brangwyn painted four murals on the southern corridor, all of which symbolize humans' relationship with spirituality; he complemented these murals with stencils of
34752-410: Was originally taken up by Diego Rivera 's Man at the Crossroads mural, which was controversial because of its communist imagery and was destroyed in 1934. Rockefeller officials commissioned a sixth mural from Sert, representing the past, present, and future, which they installed in the lobby in 1941. The mural measures 100 by 50 feet (30 by 15 m) and is installed on the ceiling. Below
34944-406: Was recessed so far into the block that it could have risen without any setbacks. Hood decided to include setbacks anyway, as they represented "a sense of future, a sense of energy, a sense of purpose", according to architecture expert Alan Balfour . Above the lowest stories, the north and south elevations rise straight up for 33 stories before setting back gradually. There are three setbacks each on
35136-400: Was supposed to and finds his coworkers frozen and being examined by unfamiliar men, Richardson among them. He attempts to escape, but is incapacitated and taken to a warehouse. After some debate about what to do, Richardson reveals to David the existence of the "Adjustment Bureau", an organization that ensures people's lives proceed according to "the Plan" created by "the Chairman". He says David
35328-424: Was taken apart in the 1950s and the rotunda itself was demolished in the 1970s. A new rotunda was constructed from 2014 to 2015, accessed from the ground floor by a 16-foot-wide (4.9 m) staircase; the rotunda contains two LED displays, each measuring 60 feet (18 m) wide and 5 feet (1.5 m) tall. From 1960 to October 1993, the building's mezzanine level housed the New York City weather forecast office of
35520-694: Was taken by the Greek consulate, the Chinese consulate, the National Health Council , and a branch of the Chase National Bank . A double-height space at the center of the ground story, which had been difficult to rent, opened as the Municipal Art Exhibition in February 1934. The space, referred to as the Forum, had contained a large stairway leading up to a second-story balcony with exhibition rooms. Despite
35712-663: Was taken more seriously. In the late 1970s, big-budget science fiction films filled with special effects became popular with audiences after the success of Star Wars (1977) and paved the way for the blockbuster hits of subsequent decades. Screenwriter and scholar Eric R. Williams identifies science fiction films as one of eleven super-genres in his screenwriters’ taxonomy , stating that all feature-length narrative films can be classified by these super-genres. The other ten super-genres are action , crime , fantasy , horror , romance , slice of life , sports , thriller , war , and western . According to Vivian Sobchack ,
35904-456: Was the only one of the Big Three that retained studios in Midtown by the mid-1980s. Studio 8H , which hosts Saturday Night Live , is the largest of the studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, with a capacity of 1,200 or 1,400 guests. Studio 8H was once the largest radio studio in the world and was originally home to the NBC Symphony Orchestra before being converted into a television studio in 1950. Another major studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza
36096-601: Was the top selling release the first week it was for sale. The Adjustment Bureau made $ 20.9 million from 2,840 theaters in its opening weekend, finishing second at the box office behind Rango ($ 38 million). The film ultimately grossed $ 62.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 65.3 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $ 127.8 million. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 72% of 264 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "First-time writer/director George Nolfi struggles to maintain
36288-436: Was then renovated in 1941. As part of the project, an overpass at mezzanine level was removed, the lighting was brightened, and another mural by Jose Maria Sert was installed. An air-raid siren was installed atop 30 Rockefeller Plaza in 1942 during World War II. The Rainbow Room and Grill atop the RCA Building was closed at the end of that December because of staffing shortages. In 1943, Rockefeller Center's managers purchased
36480-428: Was to blame for the change to the ending. She said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times : I loved that role. As actors, we all know we're at the mercy of the editing table, but not to this extent, never had I experienced it. The director, George Nolfi, decided I should play God. Everything went great until I got a call from the director who was asking to have lunch with me. He was on the verge of crying. He said,
36672-403: Was used to produce more complicated effects. It also enabled filmmakers to enhance the visual quality of animation, resulting in films such as Ghost in the Shell (1995) from Japan, and The Iron Giant (1999) from the United States. During the first decade of the 2000s, superhero films abounded, as did earthbound science fiction such as the Matrix trilogy. In 2005 , the Star Wars saga
36864-408: Was very different from the original film, falling more into the action/science fiction genre, it was both a critical and commercial success and Sigourney Weaver was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Academy Awards . The Japanese cyberpunk anime film Akira ( 1988 ) also had a big influence outside Japan when released. In the 1990s, the emergence of the World Wide Web and
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