The manufacturing of the 1999 movie October Sky, a biographical drama about Homer Hickam Jr., utilized a number of areas to recreate the setting of Coalwood, West Virginia. Principal images occurred primarily in rural areas of Tennessee.
The choice to movie in Tennessee was largely pushed by the state’s visible similarities to West Virginia, coupled with logistical and financial benefits. Particular cities inside Tennessee, corresponding to Oliver Springs, Petros, and Wartburg, supplied the required landscapes and architectural types to precisely depict the Appalachian mining neighborhood of the late Fifties. Coal mines, small-town major streets, and mountainous terrain have been all obtainable inside the state, providing a complete and cost-effective filming atmosphere.