Hidden Figures (2016)

The story of a team of female African-American mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the U.S. space program.

Director:

Theodore Melfi

Writers:

Allison Schroeder (screenplay by), Theodore Melfi (screenplay by)

Stars:

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 37 wins & 85 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Taraji P. Henson	...	Katherine G. Johnson
Octavia Spencer	...	Dorothy Vaughan
Janelle Monáe	...	Mary Jackson
Kevin Costner	...	Al Harrison
Kirsten Dunst	...	Vivian Mitchell
Jim Parsons	...	Paul Stafford
Mahershala Ali	...	Colonel Jim Johnson
Aldis Hodge	...	Levi Jackson
Glen Powell	...	John Glenn
Kimberly Quinn	...	Ruth
Olek Krupa	...	Karl Zielinski
Kurt Krause	...	Sam Turner
Ken Strunk	...	Jim Webb
Lidya Jewett	...	Young Katherine Coleman
Donna Biscoe	...	Mrs. Joylette Coleman

Storyline

As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, NASA found untapped talent in a group of African-American female mathematicians that served as the brains behind one of the greatest operations in U.S. history. Based on the unbelievably true life stories of three of these women, known as "human computers", we follow these women as they quickly rose the ranks of NASA alongside many of history's greatest minds specifically tasked with calculating the momentous launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit, and guaranteeing his safe return. Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Gobels Johnson crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and desire to dream big, beyond anything ever accomplished before by the human race, firmly cemented them in U.S. history as true American heroes.

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Plot Keywords:

1960s | nasa | space program | segregation | african american | 

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Taglines:

They wanted a chance to change their lives, but they got a chance to change history.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements and some language

Did You Know?

Trivia

This marks the third time Octavia Spencer has starred alongside one of the actresses from a Spider-Man film. She starred in The Help (2011) with Bryce Dallas Howard and Emma Stone, both of whom have played Gwen Stacey. Dallas Howard starred as Gwen Stacey in Spider-Man 3 (2007), while Stone played the role in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). As well as this, Spencer had a cameo in Spider-Man (2002), which starred Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson.

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Goofs

When the IBM calculations fail and John Glenn asks Al Harrison to have the smart girl verify the data, Al tells Sam to go find Katherine Goble. Sam actually takes the data to her without being asked, instead of finding and bringing her.

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Quotes

Dorothy Vaughan: [At a church picnic, speaking about Colonel Jim Johnson while fixing plates at the food table] I hear he's planning on staying in the area.
Katherine Johnson: Well... Well, that's good for him.
Mary Jackson: [Looking at Colonel Johnson, who is talking with a group of men] Katherine, go find your way over there. That Colonel Jim is a tall glass of water.
Dorothy Vaughan: That he is. Tall, strong, commanding.
Katherine Johnson: Oh...
Mary Jackson: And I bet he's like that day and night.
Katherine Johnson: Mary, it's Sunday.
[Mary scoffs]
Katherine Johnson: Please have some shame.
Mary Jackson: I will not.
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Breakfast: Episode dated 27 February 2017 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Runnin'
Written and Performed by Pharrell Williams
Produced by Pharrell Williams
Mixed by Mick Guzauski
Pharrell Williams performs courtesy of i am OTHER Entertainment/Columbia Records

User Reviews

Tedious and disappointing

Tedious and not enough time spent on the space technology. Implausible in places, like when Dorothy "fixes" the computer, it would not be possible without knowing the machine architecture. The men, apart from Harrison, were made to look stupid. IBM would not send incompetent technicians to such a high profile client like NASA. Too much of a political agenda for my liking, I thought it would be a lot better, rather disappointing.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 January 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hidden Figures

Filming Locations:

Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$515,499, 25 December 2016

Gross USA:

$169,607,287

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$235,956,898

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox 2000 Pictures, Chernin Entertainment, Levantine Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS (DTS: X) Auro 11.1 SDDS

Color:

Color Black and White (some sequences)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1