Multi Academy Award nominee Tom Cruise will narrate the first-ever IMAX 3D space film, SPACE STATION it was announced Monday by IMAX Corporation. The giant-screen film documents one of the most challenging engineering feats and important accomplishments by the National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) since landing a man on the moon: the construction of the International Space Station. Scheduled for release in spring 2002, the film is produced by IMAX Corporation, and presented by Lockheed Martin Corporation, in co-operation with NASA.

Still image from IMAX video shows Discovery undocking from the International Space Station on the STS-92 mission in October 2000. Credit: IMAX/NASA/Lockheed Martin

"The minute I saw the amazing 3D footage shot by the astronauts in space, I knew I had to be involved with this very special film, " Cruise said. "My family and I have enjoyed IMAX movies for many years - particularly the ones about the NASA space programs, and I'm honored to participate with the SPACE STATION team in this historic project that documents space pioneers from 16 nations working together to help build the International Space Station."

Twenty-five astronauts and cosmonauts who were trained as filmmakers used specially-designed IMAX 3D space cameras to shoot more than 66,000 feet, (or 12 miles) of 65mm film in space between December 1998 and July 2001. This IMAX adventure takes audiences on an incredible cinematic journey of discovery from the Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station orbiting at the speed of 17,500 mph, some 220 miles above Earth.

"We're thrilled that Tom Cruise has agreed to lend his passion for flight and space, as well as his talents, to this historic film," said Greg Foster, IMAX's President of Filmed Entertainment. "He brings a special dimension to this exciting project which takes the IMAX 3D experience to even more spectacular heights. This film will transport audiences worldwide directly to the Space Station, the first major international outpost in space, where they will literally feel like they are in space with the astronauts and cosmonauts, in a way that only IMAX films can accomplish."

Paula Cleggett, NASA's Deputy Associate Administrator for Public Affairs added: "On behalf of NASA and the men and women who have been working, and continue to work, so very hard in bringing the International Space Station to life, I welcome Tom Cruise to the SPACE STATION team. His remarkable talent will add tremendously to this film that will undoubtedly entertain and educate audiences around the world for many years to come."

"We're excited Tom Cruise has agreed to be part of this first-ever IMAX 3D space film which continues Lockheed Martin's long-standing partnership with IMAX and NASA," said Dennis Boxx, Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications, Lockheed Martin Corporation. "This film, along with the four other space films Lockheed Martin, NASA and IMAX have partnered on, will help to educate audiences around the world on both the importance of space to our planet's future and the joy of living and working in space."

One of the world's true movie stars, Tom Cruise has acted and/or produced over 30 films including: Risky Business, Top Gun, The Color of Money and Rain Man. He received his first Oscar nomination for Born on the Fourth of July and has gone on to star in A Few Good Men, The Firm, The Mission: Impossible series, and Jerry Maguire, for which he received his second nomination. After working on Stanley Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut, he earned his third nomination for his work in Magnolia. He next stars for Cameron Crowe in Vanilla Sky and then teams with Steven Spielberg in Minority Report.

About the IMAX 3D SPACE STATION film
Early in 1997, IMAX Corporation, in association with Lockheed Martin Corporation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), began a program to develop new IMAX 3D cameras to fly in space initially for use in connection with a film about the construction of the International Space Station.

"This is the first time that audiences will have the all encompassing view that only astronauts and cosmonauts are privileged to experience. The camera actually puts you right there, with them, moving around and floating in space," said SPACE STATION producer Toni Myers. "The IMAX 3D footage captures the excitement and magnitude of this amazing project being built in outer space in a way that no other medium can."

SPACE STATION stars astronauts and cosmonauts from the United States, Canada, Japan, Russia and Europe, who collectively have spent thousands of hours in space. The IMAX cameras captured seven Space Shuttle crews and two resident station crews, as they transformed the International Space Station into a permanently inhabited scientific research station.

About IMAX Corporation
IMAX Corporation and its subsidiaries comprise one of the world's leading entertainment technology companies, with particular emphasis on film and digital imaging technologies, including giant-screen images, 3D presentations, digital post-production and digital projection. As of June 2001, there were more than 225 IMAX theatres operating in 30 countries around the world. IMAX Corporation is a publicly traded company listed on both the Toronto and Nasdaq stock exchanges. IMAX is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.

About Lockheed Martin Corporation
Through its various business programs and services, Lockheed Martin and its heritage companies have supported America's space program from its inception. From the earliest days of rocketry to the recent and continuing missions to service the Hubble Space Telescope and International Space Station, to continued interplanetary exploration, Lockheed Martin's team of scientists, engineers and support personnel are committed to furthering our knowledge of this planet and beyond.

Lockheed Martin Corporation, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland is a global enterprise principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture and integration of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation's core business areas are: Systems Integration, Space Systems, Aeronautical Systems, Technology Services and Global Telecommunications. Employing approximately 130,000 people worldwide, Lockheed Martin had 2000 sales surpassing $25.3 billion.