Production History (Outland) Outland

Hyams conceived the project as a Western and moved it to space after Alien

Peter Hyams conceived the project as a straightforward Western. The original script was set in a frontier period, but Hyams changed the setting to outer space after being influenced by the success of Alien (1979). He saw an opportunity to make a film about frontier life — the isolation, the lawlessness, the expendability of workers — using science fiction as the vehicle.

The film's working title was simply "Io", after Jupiter's moon where the story is set. This was changed because too many people misread it as the number 10 or the letters "Lo."

Alan Ladd Jr.'s production company financed the film through Warner Bros.

Outland was produced by The Ladd Company, the production company founded by Alan Ladd Jr. after he left 20th Century Fox. The Ladd Company had a distribution deal with Warner Bros. and was responsible for several notable early-80s films including Chariots of Fire, Blade Runner, The Right Stuff, and Once Upon a Time in America.

Richard A. Roth served as producer.

Principal photography ran from June 1980 at Pinewood Studios

Location: Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England

Production Schedule:

  • May 1980: Miniature model photography begins
  • June 1980: Principal photography with actors starts
  • February 1981: Post-production completed

The film went over schedule, which had consequences — most notably, Sean Connery lost a major extended cameo role in Chariots of Fire due to the overrun.

Hyams hired a cinematographer he never meant to use

See also: Introvision Technology

Peter Hyams wanted to serve as his own cinematographer, as he would do on all his films from 2010 (1984) onward. He hired Stephen Goldblatt — at the time a relative newcomer with only one feature credit — but never intended to let him shoot the picture. Goldblatt put it bluntly: "Peter hired me to fire me." (asc)

The reality was that Hyams handled the dramatic scenes with actors while Goldblatt was assigned the technically risky Introvision front-projection work. Goldblatt knew the stakes: "I realized if I didn't learn about front projection, rear projection, semi-silver mirrors and all that stuff, I would be fired." He credits visual-effects supervisor William Mesa with an intensive three-week course that kept him on the picture. (asc)

It remains the only film whose wrap party Goldblatt refused to attend. He would go on to a distinguished career, earning Oscar nominations for The Cotton Club and Batman Forever.

Stuart Baird edited the film before becoming one of Hollywood's top cutters

The film was edited by Stuart Baird, who would become one of Hollywood's most sought-after editors, later cutting Superman: The Movie, Lethal Weapon, and several Mission: Impossible films. He also directed Executive Decision and Star Trek: Nemesis.

The sound design earned an Oscar nomination and used the rare Megasound system

Outland featured advanced sound design for its era:

  • Dolby Stereo in 35mm prints
  • Six-track stereo in 70mm prints
  • One of only four Warner Bros. films to use the Megasound theater system, which added extra bass channels for enhanced low-frequency effects

The film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Sound.

Sources