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October Sky

1999 film by Joe Johnston
Movie film Q1141420
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Summary

October Sky is a film[1]. It ranks in the top 2% of film entities by monthly Wikipedia readership (11,726 views/month).[2]

Key Facts

  • Award received: Writers Guild of America Award[3], Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film[4]
  • Director: Joe Johnston[5]
  • Screenwriter: Lewis Colick[6], Homer Hickam[7]
  • Composer: Mark Isham[8]
  • Genre: biographical film[9], teen film[10], coming-of-age film[11], children's film[12], drama film[13], family film[14]
  • Named after: Rocket Boys[15]
  • Based on: Rocket Boys[16]
  • Cast member: Jake Gyllenhaal[17], Chris Cooper[18], Laura Dern[19], Chris Owen[20], William Lee Scott[21], Chad Lindberg[22], Elya Baskin[23], Natalie Canerday[24], O. Winston Link[25], Andrew Stahl[26], Frank Hoyt Taylor[27], Chris Ellis (actor)[28], Terry Loughlin[29]
  • Producer: Larry J. Franco[30], Charles Gordon[31]
  • Production company: Universal Pictures[32]
  • Director of photography: Mark Isham[33], Fred Murphy[34]
  • Original language of film or TV show: English[35]
  • Commons category: October Sky[36]
  • Distribution format: video on demand[37]
  • Review score: 7.6/10[38], 90%[39], 71/100[40]
  • Color: color[41]
  • Country of origin: United States[42]
  • Publication date: February 19, 1999[43]
  • Distributed by: Universal Pictures[44], Netflix[45]
  • Narrative location: Coalwood[46]
  • Filming location: Oliver Springs[47], Harriman[48], Kingston[49]
  • Main subject: rocket science[50], Cold War[51], coal industry[52], Coalwood[53], space race[54], Homer Hickam[55]
  • Film editor: Robert Dalva[56]
  • Nominated for: Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie - Drama[57], Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film[58], Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay[59]
  • Title: October Sky[60]

Body

Adaptations and Inspiration

October Sky's after a work by is recorded as Homer Hickam[61].

Why It Matters

October Sky has Wikipedia articles in 23 language editions, a strong signal of global cultural recognition.[62] It is known by 26 alternative names across languages and contexts.[63]

FAQs

What awards did October Sky receive?

Honors received include Writers Guild of America Award[3] and Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Family Film[4].

Related Entities

Chris Cooper film Jake Gyllenhaal Joe Johnston Laura Dern Netflix United States

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

  1. [5] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  2. [6] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  3. [7] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  4. [8] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  5. [9] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  6. [10] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  7. [11] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  8. [12] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  9. [13] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  10. [14] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  11. [15] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  12. [16] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  13. [17] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  14. [18] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  15. [19] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  16. [20] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  17. [21] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  18. [22] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  19. [23] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  20. [24] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  21. [25] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  22. [26] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  23. [27] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  24. [28] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  25. [29] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  26. [30] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  27. [31] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  28. [3] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  29. [4] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  30. [32] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  31. [33] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  32. [34] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  33. [35] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  34. [36] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  35. [37] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  36. [38] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  37. [39] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  38. [40] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  39. [41] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  40. [42] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  41. [43] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  42. [44] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  43. [45] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  44. [46] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  45. [47] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  46. [48] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  47. [49] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  48. [50] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  49. [51] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  50. [52] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  51. [53] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  52. [54] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  53. [55] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  54. [56] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  55. [57] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  56. [58] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  57. [59] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  58. [60] ↑ . wikidata.org.
  59. [61] ↑ . wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

  1. [1] ↑ . Wikidata. wikidata.org.

Aggregate / graph-position facts

  1. [2] ↑ . Wikimedia Foundation. dumps.wikimedia.org.
  2. [62] ↑ . Wikidata sitelinks. wikidata.org.
  3. [63] ↑ . Wikidata aliases. wikidata.org.

📑 Cite this page

Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). October Sky. Retrieved October 14, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/october-sky
MLA “October Sky.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 14 Oct. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/october-sky.
BibTeX @misc{4ortxyz_october-sky_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{October Sky}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/october-sky}, note = {Accessed: 2026-10-14}}
LLM prompt According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): October Sky — https://4ort.xyz/entity/october-sky (retrieved 2026-10-14)

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Edit History

Rolling log of changes to this entity's Wikidata record. Values shown reflect the current state of each edited property — follow the history link to see the precise diff for any edit.

  1. 6w ago · MsMorale · 2026-08-31 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14821 → 132477
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ P14821: 132477, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/269901|batch #269901]]"
  2. 7w ago · Jindřich Rubeš · 2026-08-22 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Filmová databáze film id → 24264
    "/* wbcreateclaim-create:1| */ Filmová databáze film id: 24264, [[:toollabs:quickstatements/#/batch/269266|batch #269266]]"
  3. 15w ago · Yirba · 2026-06-25 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    P14440 → amzn1.dv.gti.a6a9f74b-3dcb-8251-4869-4fd6203ba440
    P14449 → 2501
    "/* wbeditentity-update:0| */ QuickStatements 3.0 [[:toollabs:qs-dev/batch/38225|batch #38225]]: MovieLens IDs (part 1)"
  4. 17w ago · ~2026-35052-24 · 2026-06-15 view diff on Wikidata ↗
    Box office → {'amount': '+34698753'}
    Fsk film rating → FSK 6
    Set in period → 1950s
    Based on → Rocket Boys
    + 40 other properties edited (see Wikidata diff for full list)
    "/* wbsetclaim-create:2||1 */ Amazon prime video id: amzn1.dv.gti.a6a9f74b-3dcb-8251-4869-4fd6203ba440"
Live feed via Wikidata EventStreams. New edits appear within minutes of being made on Wikidata.