The Dish
Encyclopedia
The Dish is a 2000 Australian film
that tells the story of how the Parkes Observatory
was used to relay the live television of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11
mission in 1969. It was the top grossing film in Australia
in 2000.
at Parkes
, New South Wales
, Australia
, was used by NASA
throughout the Apollo program to receive signals in the Southern Hemisphere
, along with the NASA Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
near Canberra
.
The film tells a somewhat fictionalised story of three Australian scientists/engineers (Neill
, Harrington, Long
) and their American NASA representative (Warburton
). It had been decided quite late in the planning for Apollo 11
to include a television camera to broadcast the first steps on the Moon. Due to the timing of this, Australia would be the prime receiving station. The film tells of the three dealing with a variety of problems, from a power outage wiping their computer memory, to high winds that could cause the whole telescope to collapse. After the 11 crew decide to walk immediately after landing on the Moon, Parkes thinks they have lost their chance to be the prime receiving station. However, due to delays on the Moon and problems with Goldstone they achieve the distinction at the last minute.
Although based on true events, the film uses fictional characters and alters historical details for dramatic effect. NASA's Honeysuckle Creek and Goldstone
stations both had the signal first, but Parkes' signal was used from soon after the beginning of the moon-walk. No power failure occurred, there was no friction with the NASA representatives (of whom there were several, not just one), and Prime Minister John Gorton
visited Honeysuckle Creek, not Parkes. They did however operate in very high winds at 60 degrees inclination, risking damage to the dish and even injury to themselves to keep the antenna pointed at the moon during the moonwalk.
Much of the film was shot on location; the "cricket match" and "hayride" scenes were shot on the real dish and researchers often postponed experiments to position the dish for photography. The set reconstructing the 1969 control room was extremely accurate, even down to small details like ashtrays. Some of the "props" were in fact original NASA equipment used during the Apollo 11 landing, left behind in Australia as they were too heavy to ship back. Staff from that era expressed amazement at seeing the set; they said it was like walking into a time warp.
The Dish was written by Santo Cilauro
, Tom Gleisner
, Jane Kennedy
and Rob Sitch
and directed by Sitch.
Apart from the radio telescope scenes, the majority of the movie was actually filmed in the small town of Forbes 33 km south of Parkes because of its old historic buildings, and also in Old Parliament House
in Canberra, and Crawford Studios
in Melbourne.
in 2009 dollars.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
that tells the story of how the Parkes Observatory
Parkes Observatory
The Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
was used to relay the live television of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
mission in 1969. It was the top grossing film in Australia
Cinema of Australia
Cinema of Australia, more commonly referred to as the Australian film industry, refers to the system of production, distribution, and exhibition of films in Australia. Film production commenced in Australia in 1906 with the production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, the earliest feature film made...
in 2000.
Plot
The radio telescopeRadio telescope
A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...
at Parkes
Parkes, New South Wales
- Transport :Parkes has a local bus service provided by Western Road Liners, which acquired Harris Bus Lines in March 2006. The Indian Pacific also stops twice a week, as well as the Broken Hill Outback Xplorer service, run by CountryLink, which heads to Broken Hill on Mondays and Sydney on...
, New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, was used by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
throughout the Apollo program to receive signals in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
, along with the NASA Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station
Honeysuckle Creek was a NASA tracking station near Canberra, Australia, which played an important role in supporting Project Apollo. The station was opened in 1967 and closed in 1981....
near Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
.
The film tells a somewhat fictionalised story of three Australian scientists/engineers (Neill
Sam Neill
Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
, Harrington, Long
Tom Long (actor)
-Early life:Long was born on 3 August 1968 in the United States when his Australian parents were there at the time, and grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria...
) and their American NASA representative (Warburton
Patrick Warburton
Patrick John Warburton is an American actor of television, film, and voice. He is best known for his several TV roles, including the title role of The Tick, David Puddy on Seinfeld, the evil Johnny Johnson on NewsRadio, and anchorman Jeb Denton on Less Than Perfect...
). It had been decided quite late in the planning for Apollo 11
Apollo 11
In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
to include a television camera to broadcast the first steps on the Moon. Due to the timing of this, Australia would be the prime receiving station. The film tells of the three dealing with a variety of problems, from a power outage wiping their computer memory, to high winds that could cause the whole telescope to collapse. After the 11 crew decide to walk immediately after landing on the Moon, Parkes thinks they have lost their chance to be the prime receiving station. However, due to delays on the Moon and problems with Goldstone they achieve the distinction at the last minute.
Production
Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex
The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex — commonly called the Goldstone Observatory — is located in California's Mojave Desert. Operated by ITT Corporation for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, its main purpose is to track and communicate with space missions. It includes the Pioneer...
stations both had the signal first, but Parkes' signal was used from soon after the beginning of the moon-walk. No power failure occurred, there was no friction with the NASA representatives (of whom there were several, not just one), and Prime Minister John Gorton
John Gorton
Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
visited Honeysuckle Creek, not Parkes. They did however operate in very high winds at 60 degrees inclination, risking damage to the dish and even injury to themselves to keep the antenna pointed at the moon during the moonwalk.
Much of the film was shot on location; the "cricket match" and "hayride" scenes were shot on the real dish and researchers often postponed experiments to position the dish for photography. The set reconstructing the 1969 control room was extremely accurate, even down to small details like ashtrays. Some of the "props" were in fact original NASA equipment used during the Apollo 11 landing, left behind in Australia as they were too heavy to ship back. Staff from that era expressed amazement at seeing the set; they said it was like walking into a time warp.
The Dish was written by Santo Cilauro
Santo Cilauro
Santo Cilauro is an Australian television and feature film producer, screenwriter, actor, author, comedian and cameraman, a co-founder of The D-Generation...
, Tom Gleisner
Tom Gleisner
Tom Gleisner is an Australian director, producer, writer, comedian, occasional actor and author. He was educated at Xavier College in Melbourne, Australia.-Television, radio and film:...
, Jane Kennedy
Jane Kennedy (actor)
Jane Kennedy is an Australian actress, comedian, radio presenter, and television producer best known for her work with the Working Dog Productions – a tight-knit group of performers responsible for a variety of television and films....
and Rob Sitch
Rob Sitch
Robert Ian Sitch , is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter, actor and comedian.-Early life:Sitch attended St Kevin's College and graduated with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery from the University of Melbourne, where he resided at Trinity College. He worked at the Royal Womans Hospital...
and directed by Sitch.
Apart from the radio telescope scenes, the majority of the movie was actually filmed in the small town of Forbes 33 km south of Parkes because of its old historic buildings, and also in Old Parliament House
Old Parliament House, Canberra
Old Parliament House, known formerly as the Provisional Parliament House, was the house of the Parliament of Australia from 1927 to 1988. The building began operation on 9 May 1927 as a temporary base for the Commonwealth Parliament after its relocation from Melbourne to the new capital, Canberra,...
in Canberra, and Crawford Studios
Crawford Productions
Crawford Productions is an Australian television production company founded by Hector Crawford; the present incarnation of the company, Crawfords Australia, is now a subsidiary of the WIN television corporation.-History:...
in Melbourne.
Cast
- Sam NeillSam NeillNigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE is a New Zealand actor. He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III....
as Cliff Buxton - Patrick WarburtonPatrick WarburtonPatrick John Warburton is an American actor of television, film, and voice. He is best known for his several TV roles, including the title role of The Tick, David Puddy on Seinfeld, the evil Johnny Johnson on NewsRadio, and anchorman Jeb Denton on Less Than Perfect...
as Al Burnett - Tom LongTom Long (actor)-Early life:Long was born on 3 August 1968 in the United States when his Australian parents were there at the time, and grew up on a farm near Benalla, Victoria...
as Glenn Latham - Kevin Harrington as Ross "Mitch" Mitchell
- Roy BillingRoy BillingRoy Billing is a New Zealand television actor, now based in Sydney, Australia.-Career:Billing has starred in many television shows and had main roles on Bad Cop, Bad Cop, Dossa and Joe and Hell Has Harbour Views...
as Bob McIntyre - Eliza SzonertEliza SzonertEliza Szonert is an Australian actress.Szonert is best known for playing Danni Stark in Australia's long-running soap opera, Neighbours, from 1993 to 1996. Szonert reprised the role in 2005 for the show's 20th anniversary....
as Janine Kellerman - Tayler KaneTayler KaneTayler Kane is an Australian actor.A one-time model, he made his television debut playing Andrew Stevens in the soap opera, Families. He subsequently was a regular cast member on the series, Fire....
as Rudi Kellerman - Billy Mitchell as Cameron
- Roz HammondRoz HammondRosalind Hammond was born in Western Australia, often credited as Ros or Roz, is an Australian comic actress and writer.Her television appearances include 3 series of The Micallef Programme...
as Miss Nolan - Christopher-Robin Street as Damien
- Luke Keltie as Graeme
- Naomi Wright as Melanie
- Ben Wright-Smith as Nicholas
- Beverley DunnBeverley DunnBeverley Dunn is an Australian actress.She has appeared in numerous films including The Dish and Shine , and was a regular cast member on the television series The Flying Doctors as Claire Bryant....
as Secretary v/o - Grant Thompson as Mr. Callen
- Bille BrownBille BrownBille Brown, AM is an Australian Shakespearean actor and acclaimed writer of plays.Brown was born in Biloela, Queensland and studied drama at the University of Queensland where he received and Honorary Doctorate of Letters...
as Prime Minister (unnamed, the PM at the time was John GortonJohn GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
) - Bernard CurryBernard CurryBernard Curry is a Sydney-based Australian actor, best known for his role in soap operas Neighbours and Home and Away.-Career:...
as the newspaper reporter
Box Office
The Dish grossed $17,999,473 at the box office in Australia, which is equivalent to $23,579,310in 2009 dollars.
External links
- The Apollo 11 Story on the Parkes ObservatoryParkes ObservatoryThe Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
website - "The Dish": Fact versus Fiction — a quick comparison
- Top five Australian feature films each year, and gross Australian box office earned that year, 1988–2005
- The Truth about The Dish
- The dish and the great beyond (vodcast)