The Terminal - wikipedia The Terminal For other uses, see Terminal ( disambiguation ). The Terminal Theatrical release poster Directed by Steven Spielberg Produced by Steven Spielberg Walter F. Parkes Laurie MacDonald Screenplay by Sacha Gervasi Jeff Nathanson Story by Andrew Niccol Sacha Gervasi Starring Tom Hanks Catherine Zeta - Jones Stanley Tucci Chi McBride Diego Luna Music by John Williams Cinematography Janusz Kamiński Edited by Michael Kahn Production company Amblin Entertainment Parkes / MacDonald Productions Distributed by DreamWorks Pictures Release date June 18, 2004 ( 2004 - 06 - 18 ) Running time 128 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $60 million Box office $219.4 million The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy - drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta - Jones. The film is about a man who becomes stuck in New York 's John F. Kennedy Airport terminal when he is denied entry into the United States and at the same time can not return to his native country because of a military coup. The film is partially inspired by the 18 - year stay of Mehran Karimi Nasseri in Terminal 1 of Paris - Charles de Gaulle Airport, France, from 1988 to 2006. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Soundtrack 5 Reception 6 Krakozhia 7 See also 8 References 9 External links Plot Viktor Navorski, a traveler from the nation of Krakozhia, arrives at New York 's John F. Kennedy International Airport, only to find that his passport is suddenly no longer valid. The United States no longer recognizes Krakozhia as a sovereign nation after the outbreak of a civil war, and Viktor is not permitted to either enter the country or return home as he is now stateless. Because of this, US Customs and Border Protection seizes his passport and airline ticket. With no other choice, he settles in at the terminal with only his luggage and a peanut can, much to the frustration of Frank Dixon, the temporary customs director for the airport. Dixon is being considered for a promotion and becomes obsessed with getting rid of Viktor. Meanwhile, Viktor befriends and helps airport employees and travelers. Among them, a flight attendant named Amelia Warren, whom he sees periodically and tries to woo, presenting himself as a building contractor who is frequently traveling. Viktor had been hired by an airport contractor and paid under the table after he impulsively remodeled a wall at a gate that was scheduled for future renovation. One day, Dixon pulls Amelia aside and questions whether she knows Viktor 's true situation. Amelia confronts Viktor at his makeshift home, where he shows her that the peanut can contains a copy of the `` A Great Day in Harlem '' photograph. His late father was a jazz enthusiast who had discovered the famous portrait in a Hungarian newspaper in 1958, and vowed to collect the autographs of all 57 of the musicians featured on it. He died before he could get the last one, from tenor saxophonist Benny Golson. Viktor has come to New York to do so. After hearing the story, Amelia kisses Viktor. After nine months, his friends wake Viktor with the news that the war in Krakozhia has ended. Amelia also asked her `` friend '' -- actually a married government official with whom she had been having an affair -- to get Viktor a one - day emergency visa to fulfill his dream, but Viktor is disappointed to learn she has renewed her relationship with the man during this process. Moreover, Viktor finds out that Dixon must sign the visa. Seizing the opportunity, Dixon threatens to cause trouble for Viktor 's friends, most seriously by deporting janitor Gupta back to India. Unwilling to let this happen, Viktor finally agrees to go home to Krakozhia. When Gupta learns of this, however, he runs in front of the plane as it taxies to the terminal, resulting in his deportation, effectively taking the burden off Viktor. The delay gives Viktor enough time to go into the city. Dixon, watching Viktor leave the airport, decides not to pursue him. Viktor arrives in New York at the hotel where Benny Golson is performing and finally collects the last autograph. Then he gets in a taxi, telling the driver, `` I am going home. '' Cast Tom Hanks as Viktor Navorski Catherine Zeta - Jones as Amelia Warren Stanley Tucci as Frank Dixon Chi McBride as Joe Mulroy Diego Luna as Enrique Cruz Barry Shabaka Henley as Thurman Kumar Pallana as Gupta Rajan Zoë Saldana as Dolores Torres Eddie Jones as Richard Salchak Jude Ciccolella as Karl Iverson Corey Reynolds as Waylin, a security officer Guillermo Diaz as Bobby Alima Rini Bell as Nadia Valery Nikolaev as Milodragovich Michael Nouri as Max Benny Golson as himself Production The gigantic airport set built for the film. Some have noted that the film appears to be inspired by the story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian refugee who lived in Terminal One of the Charles de Gaulle airport, Paris from 1988 when his refugee papers were stolen until 2006 when he was hospitalized for unspecified ailments. In September 2003, The New York Times noted that Spielberg bought the rights to Nasseri 's life story as the basis for the film ; and in September 2004 The Guardian noted Nasseri received thousands of dollars from the filmmakers. However, none of the studio 's publicity materials mention Nasseri 's story as an inspiration for the film. Steven Spielberg traveled around the world to find an actual airport that would let him film for the length of the production, but could not find one. The Terminal set was built in a massive hangar at the LA / Palmdale Regional Airport. The hangar, part of the U.S. Air Force Plant 42 complex was used to build the Rockwell International B - 1B bomber. The set was built to full earthquake construction codes and was based on Düsseldorf Airport. The shape of both the actual terminal and the set viewed sideways is a cross section of an aircraft wing. The design of the set for The Terminal, as noted by Roger Ebert in his reviews and attested by Spielberg himself in a feature by Empire magazine, was greatly inspired by Jacques Tati 's classic film PlayTime. Hanks based his characterization of Viktor Navorsky on his father - in - law Allan Wilson, a Bulgarian immigrant, who according to Hanks can speak `` Russian, Turkish, Polish, Greek, little bit of Italian, little bit of French '', in addition to his native Bulgarian. Hanks also had some help from a Bulgarian translator named Peter Budevski. Everything functioned in the set as in real life. There were real food, ice cream, and coffee in the appropriate outlets. The escalators were purchased from a department store that had gone bankrupt. Each of the outlets featured in the concourse building was actually sponsored by the real company. Many stores are seen and Viktor seeks a job at the Brookstone, La Perla and Discovery Channel stores, eats at the Burger King, buys his New York City guide book at Borders and buys his suit at Hugo Boss. Enrique proposes to Dolores at Sbarro. Most exterior shots and those featuring actual aircraft were shot at Montréal -- Mirabel International Airport : additional interior shots were also done there including the mezzanine overlooking the immigration desks and the baggage carousels directly behind them, the jetways showing Aéroports de Montréal signs, and many Air Transat planes in the background : New York is not one of their regular destinations. Additional pre-production shooting was done at Los Angeles International Airport and at Spielberg 's offices at DreamWorks. Montreal is also mentioned on the loudspeaker at the beginning of the film, around the point where the customs officer tells Viktor to wait in a special line. The 747 was provided by United Airlines. The Star Alliance was a major sponsor and provided uniforms, equipment, and actors in addition to those cast. In spite of the heavy presence of the Star Alliance airlines, a Delta Air Lines pilot passes Viktor in a scene during the last five minutes of the film. Soundtrack The Terminal : Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Film score by John Williams Released June 15, 2004 Studio Sony Pictures Studios Genre Soundtrack Label Decca Producer John Williams John Williams chronology Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ( 2004 ) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004 The Terminal ( 2004 ) Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith ( 2005 ) Star Wars Episode III : Revenge of the Sith 2005 Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic Empire Filmtracks Movie Wave SoundtrackNet The clarinet piece, `` Viktor 's Tale '', also composed by John Williams, is taken from the movie 's soundtrack. Reception Rotten Tomatoes reported that 61 % of 198 sampled critics gave the film positive reviews and that it got a rating average of 6.2 out of 10. The website 's critical consensus reads, `` The Terminal transcends its flaws through the sheer virtue of its crowd - pleasing message and a typically solid star turn from Tom Hanks. '' At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 55 based on 41 reviews. Michael Wilmington from the Chicago Tribune said `` ( the film ) takes Spielberg into realms he 's rarely traveled before. '' A.O. Scott of The New York Times said Hanks ' performance brought a lot to the film. The film grossed $77,872,883 in North America and $141,544,372 in other territories, totaling $219,417,255 worldwide. Krakozhia Krakozhia ( Кракозия or Кракожия ) is a fictional country, created for the film, that closely resembles a former Soviet Republic or Eastern Bloc state. The exact location of Krakozhia is kept intentionally vague in the film, keeping with the idea of Viktor being simply Eastern European or from a former Soviet Republic. However, in one of the scenes, a map of Krakozhia is briefly displayed on one of the airport 's television screens during a news report on the ongoing conflict and its borders are those of the Republic of Macedonia, but in another scene the protagonist shows his driving license, which happens to be a Belarusian license issued to a woman. The film presents a reasonably accurate picture of the process of naturalistic second - language acquisition, according to professional linguist Martha Young - Scholten. John Williams, the film 's composer, also wrote a national anthem for Krakozhia. See also Film in the United States portal 2000s portal Aviation portal Stateless person Hiroshi Nohara Zahra Kamalfar Sanjay Shah List of people who have lived at airports References ^ Jump up to : The Terminal at Box Office Mojo ^ Jump up to : Gilsdorf, Ethan ( June 21, 2004 ). `` Behind ' The Terminal, ' a true story ''. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved December 5, 2010. Jump up ^ Duncan Walker, `` Life in the lounge '', BBC News Online Magazine, August 17, 2004 Jump up ^ Matthew Rose, `` Waiting For Spielberg '', The New York Times, September 21, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008. Jump up ^ Berczeller, Paul ( September 6, 2004 ). `` The man who lost his past ''. The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2007. Jump up ^ `` Season 12 Episode 9. '' Inside the Actors Studio. Bravo. 14 May 2016. Television. Jump up ^ `` Tom Hanks ' character in The Terminal speaks Bulgarian '', YouTube. Jump up ^ `` The Terminal ( 2004 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved December 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` The Terminal reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 5, 2010. Jump up ^ `` Flight of fancy '', Chicago Tribune, June 18, 2004. Retrieved January 1, 2016. Jump up ^ A.O. Scott, `` Movie review : An Émigré 's Paradise Lost and Found '', by The New York Times, June 18, 2004. Retrieved January 1, 2016. Jump up ^ Young - Scholten, Martha. `` Hollywood : smarter than you think ? Maybe ''. Retrieved December 25, 2007. Abstract for talk given at the University of Leeds Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, April 26, 2006. Jump up ^ The Terminal soundtrack review at Filmtracks.com External links The Terminal on IMDb The Terminal at AllMovie The Terminal at Box Office Mojo The Terminal at Metacritic The Terminal at Rotten Tomatoes Steven Spielberg Filmography Awards and nominations Films directed Firelight ( 1964 ) Slipstream ( 1967 ) Amblin ' ( 1968 ) Night Gallery ( `` Eyes '' segment, 1969 ) L.A. 2017 ( 1971 ) Duel ( 1971 ) Something Evil ( 1972 ) Savage ( 1973 ) The Sugarland Express ( 1974, also wrote ) Jaws ( 1975 ) Close Encounters of the Third Kind ( 1977, also wrote ) 1941 ( 1979 ) Raiders of the Lost Ark ( 1981 ) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ( 1982 ) Twilight Zone : The Movie ( `` Kick the Can '' segment, 1983 ) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ( 1984 ) The Color Purple ( 1985 ) Empire of the Sun ( 1987 ) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ( 1989 ) Always ( 1989 ) Hook ( 1991 ) Jurassic Park ( 1993 ) Schindler 's List ( 1993 ) The Lost World : Jurassic Park ( 1997 ) Amistad ( 1997 ) Saving Private Ryan ( 1998 ) A.I. Artificial Intelligence ( 2001, also wrote ) Minority Report ( 2002 ) Catch Me If You Can ( 2002 ) The Terminal ( 2004 ) War of the Worlds ( 2005 ) Munich ( 2005 ) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ( 2008 ) The Adventures of Tintin ( 2011 ) War Horse ( 2011 ) Lincoln ( 2012 ) Bridge of Spies ( 2015 ) The BFG ( 2016 ) The Post ( 2017 ) Ready Player One ( 2018 ) Films written Ace Eli and Rodger of the Skies ( 1973 ) Poltergeist ( 1982, also produced ) The Goonies ( 1985 ) Films produced An American Tail : Fievel Goes West ( 1991 ) Memoirs of a Geisha ( 2005 ) Flags of Our Fathers ( 2006 ) Letters from Iwo Jima ( 2006 ) Super 8 ( 2011 ) The Hundred - Foot Journey ( 2014 ) Television Amazing Stories ( 1985 -- 87 ) High Incident ( 1996 -- 97 ) Invasion America ( 1998 ) See also Steven Spielberg bibliography Amblin Partners Amblin Entertainment Amblin Television DreamWorks Television Amblimation DreamWorks USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education Andrew Niccol filmography Director / writer Gattaca ( 1997 ) Simone ( 2002 ) Lord of War ( 2005 ) In Time ( 2011 ) The Host ( 2013 ) Good Kill ( 2014 ) Anon ( 2017 ) Writer only The Truman Show ( 1998 ) The Terminal ( 2004 ) VIAF : 242822591 GND : 7852151 - 8 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Terminal&oldid=802631503 '' Categories : 2004 films English - language films 2000s comedy - drama films 2000s romance films American films American aviation films American comedy - drama films American romance films French - language films Russian - language films Bulgarian - language films Film scores by John Williams Films directed by Steven Spielberg Films produced by Steven Spielberg Films set in New York City Films shot in Montreal Films set in airports Amblin Entertainment films DreamWorks Pictures films Films about language and translation Star Alliance Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2013 Articles with hAudio microformats Album infoboxes lacking a cover Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Azərbaycanca Български Català Čeština Cymraeg Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Кыргызча Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Slovenčina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 September 2017, at 12 : 43. 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Question: where is tom hanks from in the terminal
Answer: New York