When October Sky was released in February 1999, Universal had no idea how to market it, nor what it had on its hands. Director Joe Johnston had cut his teeth as a director on family films, having directed the block busters Honey, I Shrunk The Kids and Jumanji. But, he also alternated with retro family goodness that spoke to the America past. His first flop was The Rocketeer, an art deco steampunk superhero movie set in 1938 and made before everybody knew what steampunk even was. Disney had no idea what to do with it, how to market it, nor even to whom it should be marketed. Enter October Sky.
Based on a real story, October Sky was a genuinely inspirational movie about Homer Hickam (Jake Gyllenhaal) raised in rural West Virginia whose Dad wants him to follow in his footsteps, but the launching of Sputnik sends him to develop a rocket team against his father’s wishes. Though Gyllenhaal had been in bit parts before, his first lead role saw him squaring off against Chris Cooper and Laura Dern, and getting acclaim for the part. October Sky was a sentimental, but not totally saccherine, look at how kids develop their own identities apart from their parents’ pre-destined viewpoint.
Here’s the theatrical poster used to market the film. What? It has a retro vibe that screams Field of Dreams mystical saccherine sentimentality. But, how old is that figure? Is he 70? Is he 18? Is he 10? And, he’s looking at the moon…but why? Is that an oil rig behind him? Maybe it’s a coal rig. I have no idea what this movie is about, other than it’s probably about something old timey and boring. The only reason I even stepped into the theater was because I had nothing better to watch after work one day. And, the movie is great, even if it was completely mishandled.
October Sky was dropped in the February doldrums, fighting against the Kevin Costner/Paul Newman/Robin Wright Penn romance Message in the Bottle, the candy colored retro comedy Blast from the Past, and further expansions of Rushmore. And, that’s not including the flops of Office Space and Jawbreaker, both released the same weekend. It had no chance. Especially with a trailer that seemed like an eat-your-vegetables movie about times gone past.
So, Universal changed the poster for home video…by adding the giant heads of Laura Dern and Jake Gyllenhaal. Now, giant heads is a popular adaptation for home video, where they assume renters and buyers are looking for star power. But, the added faces still don’t tell me anything about this goddamn movie, other than it stars a then-unknown Jake Gyllenhaal and an extremely ecstatic Laura Dern. But, they’re happy about…what? They doubled down on their three ink color (orange, brown, black) treatment. I’m surprised anybody found this movie, despite somebody saying it’s “A Great Movie.”
And now we get to Blu-Ray, where Universal went for full on blue and orange (so close to teal and orange). But, they’re still keeping the oil rig/coal machine silhouette. I guess, by now, the key art with the giant heads has become the default memory for October Sky‘s marketing, but that marketing makes October Sky a hard sell to most people. It looks like Generic Family Movie B, and would make a great thing to put on while playing board games with the family while you’re snowed in.
But, October Sky is actually better than any of its marketing campaigns. It developed a minor cult following of boys who caught it at just the right age. Rifts between boy and father are nothing new; both characters simultaneously pull from stock situations but Cooper and Gyllenhaal are such fine actors that the roles actually become fully fleshed out humans. And, Laura Dern…well, every role she does is magic.
Later, Universal would develop a stage musical of October Sky while Homer Hickam would develop his own musical Rocket Boys (based on the same memoirs from which October Sky was adapted. Last year, Universal sued Hickam over the musical, saying he didn’t have the rights to his own story even though the movie was 17 years old at that point. Last I could find, the case was still pending.