The Dish is also the common name for the radio telescope in the hills above Stanford University. The Dish is a Radio telescope in the Stanford Foothills It was built in 1966 by the Stanford Research Institute. Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly known as Stanford University or simply Stanford, is a private Research university located in

The Dish
Directed by	Rob Sitch
Produced by	Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Michael Hirsh, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch
Written by	Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy, Rob Sitch
Starring	Sam Neill, Kevin Harrington, Tom Long, Patrick Warburton
Music by	Edmund Choi
Editing by	Jill Bilcock
Distributed by	Roadshow Entertainment (Australia) Warner Bros. Pictures (U.S.)
Release date(s)	September 15, 2000[1] October 19, 2000[2]
Running time	101 mins
Country	Australia
Language	English
IMDb profile

The Dish is a 2000 Australian film that tells the story of how the Parkes Observatory was used to relay the live television of man's first steps on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Robert Ian Sitch (born March 17 1962) is an Australian director producer screenwriter and actor Santo Cilauro (born in 1962 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Television and Feature film producer Screenwriter Tom Gleisner (born 1962 is an Australian director producer writer occasional actor and author Michael Hirsh (born 1948 was one of the three men who helped found Canada 's Nelvana studio in 1971 Jane Kennedy is an Australian TV actor producer and director perhaps best known for her role as Brooke Vandenberg in the award winning series Frontline, and the Australia hit sitcom Robert Ian Sitch (born March 17 1962) is an Australian director producer screenwriter and actor Santo Cilauro (born in 1962 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Television and Feature film producer Screenwriter Tom Gleisner (born 1962 is an Australian director producer writer occasional actor and author Jane Kennedy is an Australian TV actor producer and director perhaps best known for her role as Brooke Vandenberg in the award winning series Frontline, and the Australia hit sitcom Robert Ian Sitch (born March 17 1962) is an Australian director producer screenwriter and actor Sam Neill, DCNZM, OBE (born 14 September 1947 is a New Zealand film and television actor Kevin Harrington (born 4 September 1955 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Actor who is perhaps best known for his Tom Long is an Australian actor Long was born on 3rd August 1968 in the United States (his Australian parents were there Patrick John Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American Television Actor and Voice actor. Jill Bilcock (b 1948 Melbourne Victoria Australia is a film editor Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian media company with interests in cinema, Theme parks film production and distribution For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 668 - Eastern Roman Emperor Constans II is assassinated in his bath at Syracuse Italy. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The Parkes Observatory is a Radio telescope observatory 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was the top grossing film in Australia in 2000.

Tagline: The first step on the moon nearly stumbled on Earth.

Plot

The radio telescope at Parkes, New South Wales, Australia, was used by NASA throughout the Apollo program to receive signals in the Southern Hemisphere, along with the NASA Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station near Canberra. A radio telescope is a form of directional Radio antenna used in Radio astronomy and in tracking and collecting data from Satellites Parkes is a town in New South Wales, Australia. It has a population of approximately 11700 ( As of 2006) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program Southern Hemisphere is the half of a Planet that is South of the Equator —the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' Honeysuckle Creek was a NASA Tracking station near Canberra, Australia, which played an important role in supporting Project Apollo Canberra ( is the capital city of Australia With a population of over 340000 it is Australia's largest inland City.

The film tells a somewhat fictionalised story of three Australian technicians (Neill, Harrington, Long) and their American NASA representative (Warburton). Sam Neill, DCNZM, OBE (born 14 September 1947 is a New Zealand film and television actor Kevin Harrington (born 4 September 1955 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Actor who is perhaps best known for his Tom Long is an Australian actor Long was born on 3rd August 1968 in the United States (his Australian parents were there Patrick John Warburton (born November 14, 1964) is an American Television Actor and Voice actor. It had been decided quite late in the planning for Apollo 11 to include a television camera to broadcast the first steps on the Moon. Due to the timing of this, Australia would be the prime receiving station. The film tells of the three dealing with a variety of problems, from a power outage wiping their computer memory, to high winds that could cause the whole telescope to collapse. After the 11 crew decide to walk immediately after landing on the Moon, Parkes thinks they have lost their chance to be the prime receiving station. But due to delays on the Moon and problems with Goldstone they achieve the distinction at the last minute.

Production

Although based on true events, the film uses fictional characters and alters historical details for dramatic effect. NASA's Honeysuckle Creek and Goldstone stations both had the signal, but Parkes' signal was far superior and was used from soon after the beginning of the moon-walk. Honeysuckle Creek was a NASA Tracking station near Canberra, Australia, which played an important role in supporting Project Apollo The Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex ( GDSCC) &mdashcommonly called the Goldstone Observatory &mdash is located in California 's Mojave Desert No power failure occurred, there was no friction with the NASA representatives (there were several, not just one), and Prime Minister John Gorton visited Honeysuckle Creek, not Parkes. Sir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH (9 September 191119 May 2002 Australian politician was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia. They did however operate in very high winds, risking damage to the dish and even injury to themselves to keep the antenna pointed at the moon during the moonwalk.

Much of the film was shot on location; the "cricket match" and "hayride" scenes were indeed shot on the real dish. Researchers often postponed experiments to position the dish for photography. The set reconstructing the 1969 control room was extremely accurate, even down to small details like ashtrays. Some of the "props" were in fact original NASA equipment used during the Apollo 11 landing, left behind in Australia as too heavy to ship back. Staffers from that era expressed amazement at seeing the set; they said it was like walking into a time warp.

The Dish was written by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner, Jane Kennedy and Rob Sitch and directed by Sitch. Santo Cilauro (born in 1962 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Television and Feature film producer Screenwriter Tom Gleisner (born 1962 is an Australian director producer writer occasional actor and author Jane Kennedy is an Australian TV actor producer and director perhaps best known for her role as Brooke Vandenberg in the award winning series Frontline, and the Australia hit sitcom Robert Ian Sitch (born March 17 1962) is an Australian director producer screenwriter and actor

Apart from the radio telescope scenes, the majority of the movie The Dish was actually filmed in the small town of Forbes 33km South of Parkes because of its old historic buildings, as well as filming in Old Parliament House in Canberra, and Crawford Studios in Melbourne.

The Parkes 64 metre radio telescope at the Parkes Observatory in New South Wales, Australia (the bigger of the two) Picture credit: CSIRO

Cast

(in order of appearance)

External links

• The Dish Official Warner Bros. Website
• The Dish at the Internet Movie Database
• The Apollo 11 Story on the Parkes Observatory website
• "The Dish": Fact versus Fiction — a quick comparison
• Top five Australian feature films each year, and gross Australian box office earned that year, 1988–2005
• The Truth about The Dish

Notes

1. ^ Premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. The Parkes Observatory is a Radio telescope observatory 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. The Toronto International Film Festival ( TIFF) is a publicly-attended Film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
   
2. ^ Theatrical release in Australia.