On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, the comedy "Hot American Summer" returned to US cinemas
The comedy *Wet Hot American Summer*, which turned 25, was remembered at an anniversary screening in Los Angeles not only as a cult classic about summer camp, but also as a film featuring the story of the Skylab space station’s reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. According to Space.com, the film returned to select theaters from August 14 to 21.
David Wayne and Michael Shovalter’s debut feature film tells the story of events at Camp Firewood in the summer of 1981. The film stars Elizabeth Banks, Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Amy Poehler, and other actors. The comedy was not a box office success, but it later achieved cult status.
The film’s space-related plotline centers on astrophysicist Professor Henry Newman, played by David Hyde Pierce. The character is vacationing in a cabin near the camp and later helps the science-loving kids build a homemade device to track Skylab. They learn that a piece of debris from the first American space station is heading toward the camp and is set to crash during the talent show on the last night of the session.
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In the story, the children, together with the professor, try to deflect the debris’s trajectory using a device that requires random numbers from one to 20 to operate. In the finale, a piece of the station does fall onto the camp grounds, but it narrowly misses the talent show venue, and no one is injured. After the session ends, the campers walk past a large piece of Skylab debris sticking out of the ground.
This plot detail is based on reality: Skylab did indeed re-enter Earth’s atmosphere in 1979. Approximately 26 metric tons of material fell to Earth, and some of the debris reached Western Australia. As Space.com notes, there were no reports of injuries or property damage from this reentry.
A discussion featuring David Wayne, Elizabeth Banks, Joe Lo Trullo, and Marguerite Moreau took place before the anniversary screening. The participants shared that during filming, the actors had their photos taken next to a model of Skylab.
