Tom Cruise to Narrate 'Space Station 3D'

Written by: Reuters
Date: November 5, 2001

TORONTO (Reuters) - Hollywood star Tom Cruise will narrate Imax Corp.'s new film, shot by 25 astronauts and cosmonauts on the International Space Station (news - web sites) and scheduled to debut early next spring.

Money-losing Imax, which makes and leases its movie systems to more than 220 theaters in 30 countries, has pegged its hopes for 2002 to a slate of about a dozen high-profile films, which it says represent the best subject matter in its 34-year existence.

Other films include Disney's Jan. 1, 2002, release of ''Beauty and the Beast'' for the giant Imax screens.

``Space Station'' was shot by specially designed 3D space cameras between December 1998 and July 2001 and takes viewers on a cinematic journey from the Kennedy Space Center (news - web sites) in Florida to the International Space Station, orbiting at 17,500 miles per hour, some 220 miles above the Earth.

``Tom Cruise brings a special dimension to this exciting project, which takes the Imax 3D experience to even more spectacular heights,'' said Greg Foster, president of filmed entertainment for Imax, the big screen movie maker known for its massive screen systems -- some of then 80 feet (24 metres) high.