Skyscrapers in film
Encyclopedia
Skyscraper
s are frequently featured in film
s for their impressive appearance and potent symbol
ism. They convey an impression of power – an old movie and TV cliché
starts with the outside view of a skyscraper with a voice-over
conversation, continuing inside the luxurious office of a tycoon or crime boss.
Skyscrapers' tight security and isolation from the rest of the city makes them ideal for dramatic crisis and trap situations including hostage-taking, heists and fire. Skyscrapers and other large landmarks also feature prominently in disaster film
s, where they are destroyed as a show of the power of nature or invaders.
s.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s are frequently featured in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s for their impressive appearance and potent symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
ism. They convey an impression of power – an old movie and TV cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
starts with the outside view of a skyscraper with a voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
conversation, continuing inside the luxurious office of a tycoon or crime boss.
Skyscrapers' tight security and isolation from the rest of the city makes them ideal for dramatic crisis and trap situations including hostage-taking, heists and fire. Skyscrapers and other large landmarks also feature prominently in disaster film
Disaster film
A disaster film is a film genre that has an impending or ongoing disaster as its subject...
s, where they are destroyed as a show of the power of nature or invaders.
Real skyscrapers
This is a list of actual skyscrapers that have a noticeable role as themselves in films, sorted by chronological building order. (See also: list of skyscrapers.)- Empire State BuildingEmpire State BuildingThe Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
(New York City 1931) - famously climbed by the giant ape King Kong in the eponymous movieKing KongKing Kong is a fictional character, a giant movie monster resembling a gorilla, that has appeared in several movies since 1933. These include the groundbreaking 1933 movie, the film remakes of 1976 and 2005, as well as various sequels of the first two films...
(1933). Destroyed by an alien ship in Independence DayIndependence Day (film)Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
(1996). The Empire State Building is also seen in James and the Giant PeachJames and the Giant Peach (film)James and the Giant Peach is a 1996 musical fantasy film directed by Henry Selick, based on the 1961 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl. It was produced by Tim Burton and Denise Di Novi. The film is a combination of live action and stop-motion animation....
. The Empire State Building's observation deck features prominently in Sleepless in SeattleSleepless in SeattleThe film was originally to have been scored by John Barry, but when he was given a list of 20 songs he had to put in the film, he quit.#As Time Goes By - Jimmy Durante #A Kiss to Build a Dream on - Louis Armstrong #Stardust - Nat King Cole...
. Stars in the movie Empire (1964 film)Empire (1964 film)Empire is a silent, black-and-white film made by Andy Warhol. It consists of eight hours and five minutes of continuous slow motion footage of the Empire State Building in New York City. Abridged showings of the film were never allowed, and supposedly the very unwatchability of the film was an...
, where it is seen in a continuous eight hour, five minute shot of the building at night.
- World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
(New York City 1973) - Used prominently in the 1973 film version of GodspellGodspellGodspell is a musical by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak. It opened off Broadway on May 17, 1971, and has played in various touring companies and revivals many times since, including a 2011 revival now playing on Broadway...
during the song "All For the Best." Climbed by King Kong in the 1976 remake of King KongKing Kong (1976 film)King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
. Exploded and collapsed after being hit by a fragment of the MeteorMeteor (film)Meteor is a 1979 science fiction Technicolor disaster film in which scientists detect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth and struggle with international, cold war politics in their efforts to prevent disaster. The movie starred Sean Connery and Natalie Wood.It was directed by Ronald Neame...
(1979). Used as a makeshift runwayRunwayAccording to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
by Snake Plissken in Escape from New YorkEscape from New YorkEscape from New York is a 1981 American science fiction action film directed and scored by John Carpenter. He co-wrote the screenplay with Nick Castle. The film is set in the near future in a crime-ridden United States that has converted Manhattan Island in New York City into a maximum security...
(1981). In the film Home Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 2: Lost in New YorkHome Alone 2: Lost in New York is a 1992 American Christmas comedy film written and produced by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus. It is the second film in the Home Alone series and the direct sequel to Home Alone. The film stars Macaulay Culkin in the lead role as Kevin McCallister, while...
(1992) Kevin Mcallister stops at the building while sightseeing. Severely damaged by meteor shower in Armageddon (1998) and severely damaged by an ocean wave (from comet impact) in Deep ImpactDeep Impact (film)Deep Impact is a 1998 science-fiction disaster-drama film released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. The film was directed by Mimi Leder and stars Robert Duvall, Elijah Wood, Téa Leoni, and Morgan Freeman...
. Leaped onto from a failing helicopter in Read or DieRead or Dieis a series of light novels authored by Hideyuki Kurata, published under Shueisha's Super Dash Bunko imprint. Read or Die follows Yomiko Readman, codename "The Paper", an agent for the Special Operations Division of the British Library. There are currently 11 Read or Die novels. In volume 11, a...
(May 2001). The roof of the World Trade Center was also the original scene of the final climax in the film Men in Black IIMen in Black IIMen in Black II is a 2002 science fiction action comedy starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. The film also stars Lara Flynn Boyle, Johnny Knoxville, Rosario Dawson and Rip Torn...
(2002), but after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the producers chose to reshoot the scene with an "ordinary" roof in New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In Steven SpielbergSteven SpielbergSteven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
's movie MunichMunich (film)Munich is a 2005 historical fiction film about the Israeli government's secret retaliation attacks after the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Black September terrorist group during the 1972 Summer Olympics. The film stars Eric Bana and was produced and directed by Steven Spielberg...
(2005), there is a scene in the last minutes of the film where two men are walking with the New York City skylineSkylineA skyline is the overall or partial view of a city's tall buildings and structures consisting of many skyscrapers in front of the sky in the background. It can also be described as the artificial horizon that a city's overall structure creates. Skylines serve as a kind of fingerprint of a city, as...
in the background. Because the scene takes place before the World Trade Center fell, a digital version of the World Trade Center was added to the New York skyline. In the 2006 film World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center (film)World Trade Center is a 2006 American disaster-drama film directed by Oliver Stone and based on the September 11 attacks at the World Trade Center. It stars Nicolas Cage, Maria Bello, Michael Peña, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Shannon. The film was shot from October 19, 2005 - February 10, 2006...
, the World Trade Center is seen, but is animated (or created with pictures from the time before 9/11). The building was the setting of 2008's Academy Award-winning documentary, Man on WireMan on WireMan on Wire is a 2008 British documentary film directed by James Marsh. The film chronicles Philippe Petit's 1974 high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of New York's World Trade Center. It is based on Philippe Petit's book, To Reach the Clouds, recently released in paperback with the new title...
, about tightrope walker Philippe PetitPhilippe PetitPhilippe Petit is a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, New York, on 7 August 1974...
's daring 1974 walk between the towers.
- Chrysler BuildingChrysler BuildingThe Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
(New York City 1930) - lair of the winged serpent Quetzalcoatl in QQ (film)Q is a 1982 horror film written and directed by Larry Cohen and starring Michael Moriarty, Candy Clark, David Carradine, and Richard Roundtree.-Plot:...
(1982), prominently featured in The Caveman's ValentineThe Caveman's ValentineThe Caveman's Valentine is a 2001 American mystery-drama film directed by Kasi Lemmons and starring Samuel L. Jackson based on George Dawes Green's novel of the same name. The film was released by Universal Focus, a subsidiary of Universal Studios and Focus Features.-Plot:A former family man and...
, accidentally destroyed by U.S. military forces in GodzillaGodzilla (1998 film)Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
(1998); destroyed by a meteorite in Armageddon (1998); flown through by the Silver SurferSilver SurferThe Silver Surfer is a Marvel Comics superhero created by Jack Kirby. The character first appears in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue arc that fans call "The Galactus Trilogy"....
in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver SurferFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a 2007 American superhero film, and the sequel to the 2005 film Fantastic Four. Both films are based on the Fantastic Four comic book and were directed by Tim Story...
(2007).
- MetLife BuildingMetLife BuildingThe MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
-destroyed first by GodzillaGodzillais a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
when he walked through the building leaving a massive gap in it in the film GodzillaGodzilla (1998 film)Godzilla is a 1998 science fiction monster disaster film film co-written and directed by Roland Emmerich. It is a loose remake of the 1954 giant monster classic Godzilla. The storyline was conceived from a screenplay written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The film relates a tale of a nuclear incident...
(1998). It was later destroyed in KnowingKnowing (film)Knowing is a 2009 American-British science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage. The project was originally attached to a number of directors under Columbia Pictures, but it was placed in turnaround and eventually picked up by Escape Artists. Production was financially...
(2009) when a solar flare anhilates all of earth.
- Capitol Records BuildingCapitol Records BuildingThe Capitol Records Building, also known as the Capitol Records Tower, Hollywood Boulevard Commercial and Entertainment District, located in Hollywood, Los Angeles is a thirteen story tower designed by Welton Becket – and one of the city's landmarks...
(Los Angeles 1956) - A distinctive Hollywood landmark, frequently destroyed in blockbuster films including EarthquakeEarthquake (film)Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
, Independence DayIndependence Day (film)Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
, and The Day After TomorrowThe Day After TomorrowThe Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
.
- Sunset Vine Tower (Los Angeles 1966) - Damaged by fire in 2001, the tower was recently remodeled and converted into condominiumCondominiumA condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s. The Sunset Vine Tower was prominently featured in 1974'sEarthquakeEarthquake (film)Earthquake is a 1974 American disaster film that achieved huge box-office success, continuing the disaster film genre of the 1970s where recognizable all-star casts attempt to survive life or death situations...
, earning it the affectionate moniker "The Earthquake Tower" by Angelinos.
- Tour MontparnasseTour MontparnasseTour Maine-Montparnasse , also commonly named Tour Montparnasse, is a tall office skyscraper located in Paris, France, in the area of Montparnasse. Constructed from 1969 to 1972, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2011, when it was surpassed in height by the Tour First...
(Paris 1973) - taken over by terrorists in the French Die Hard parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
La Tour Montparnasse InfernaleLa Tour Montparnasse InfernaleLa Tour Montparnasse Infernale is a 2000 French comedy film directed by Charles Nemes and written by Kader Aoun, Ramzy Bedia, Eric Judor and Xavier Matthieu...
(2001). The title is a spoof on The Towering Inferno (see "Glass Tower" in next section).
- Two International Finance Centre (Hong Kong 2003) - featured in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of LifeLara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life is a 2003 action film directed by Jan de Bont, and starring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft. It is a sequel to the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider...
(2003) & in The Dark KnightThe Dark Knight (film)The Dark Knight is a 2008 superhero film directed, produced and co-written by Christopher Nolan. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, the film is part of Nolan's Batman film series and a sequel to 2005's Batman Begins...
(2008).
- Petronas Twin TowersPetronas Twin TowersThe Petronas Towers are skyscrapers and twin towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia...
(Kuala Lumpur 1998) - setting of a spectacular heistRobberyRobbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
in the film EntrapmentEntrapment (film)Entrapment is a 1999 American caper film directed by Jon Amiel and starring Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones.-Plot:Virginia "Gin" Baker is an investigator for Waverly Insurance. Robert "Mac" MacDougal is an international art thief. A priceless Rembrandt painting is stolen from an office one...
(1999).
- Taipei 101Taipei 101Taipei 101 , formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The building ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010...
(Taipei 2004) - while not yet featured in a major international film as of 2004, in local productions it is fast becoming an Eiffel TowerEiffel TowerThe Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
-like cliché that the view from every Taipei apartment includes Taipei 101.
- Terminal TowerTerminal TowerThe Terminal Tower is a landmark skyscraper located on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. It was built during the skyscraper boom of the 1920s and 1930s, and was the second-tallest building in the world when it was completed. The Terminal Tower stood as the tallest building in North America...
Cleveland-Was featured in Major LeagueMajor League (film)Major League is a 1989 American satire comedy film written and directed by David S. Ward, starring Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes, James Gammon, and Corbin Bernsen. Made for US$11 million, Major League grossed nearly US$50 million in domestic release...
, The Fortune CookieThe Fortune CookieThe Fortune Cookie is a 1966 film starring Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon in their first on-screen collaboration, and directed by Billy Wilder.- Plot :...
1966, Proximity, and The Deer HunterThe Deer HunterThe Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
1978, also a Christmas Story 1983. The Terminal was featured in Antwone FisherAntwone FisherAntwone Quenton Fisher is an American director, screenwriter, author and film producer. His 2001 autobiographical book Finding Fish is a New York Times Best Seller...
story.
- BP TowerBP Tower200 Public Square is the third-tallest skyscraper in Cleveland, Ohio...
Cleveland-Was featured and shot for the 2004 movie Oh in Ohio with Parker Posey, Posey's character had her office based in the BP Tower. In the scene you could also see the Key TowerKey TowerKey Tower is a skyscraper on Public Square in downtown Cleveland, Ohio designed by architect César Pelli. It is the tallest building in both the city of Cleveland and the state of Ohio, the 18th tallest building in the United States, and the 70th tallest building in the world...
and Cleveland Browns StadiumCleveland Browns Stadium-See also:* List of current National Football League stadiums* Chronology of home stadiums for current National Football League teams* List of American football stadiums by capacity* List of U.S. stadiums by capacity* List of North American stadiums by capacity...
in the background.
- U.S. Bank TowerU.S. Bank TowerU.S. Bank Tower, formerly Library Tower and First Interstate Bank World Center, is a skyscraper at 633 West Fifth Street in downtown Los Angeles, California. It is the tallest building in California, the tenth-tallest in the United States, the tallest west of the Mississippi River, and as of...
(Los Angeles 1990) - the first building destroyed by the alien ships in the film Independence DayIndependence Day (film)Independence Day is a 1996 science fiction film about an alien invasion of Earth, focusing on a disparate group of individuals and families as they converge in the Nevada desert and, along with the rest of the human population, participate in a last-chance counterattack on July 4 – the same...
(1996); in the The Day After TomorrowThe Day After TomorrowThe Day After Tomorrow is a 2004 American science-fiction disaster film that depicts the catastrophic effects of global warming in a series of extreme weather events that usher in global cooling which leads to a new ice age. The film did well at the box office, grossing $542,771,772 internationally...
by a Category F-5 TornadoFujita scaleThe Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based primarily on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
(2004) and in 20122012 (film)2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
(2009) the city including the U.S. Bank Tower gets destroyed due to Magnitude 10+ earthquakes.
- Rialto Tower (Melbourne 1986) - featured in Ghost RiderGhost Rider (film)Ghost Rider is a 2007 superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the character of the same name which appeared in Marvel Comics, the film stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to the Devil and transforms into thevigilante Ghost...
(2007). The Ghost Rider is seen riding vertically up the tower to elude the authorities.
- Sydney TowerSydney TowerSydney Tower Eye is Sydney's tallest free-standing structure, and the second tallest in Australia...
(Sydney 1981) - destroyed by the monster ZillaZilla, also known as the American Godzilla, is a movie monster that first appeared as the title character in the 1998 Roland Emmerich film Godzilla. The design by Patrick Tatopoulos is that of a hunched bent-over marine iguana...
in the Japanese film Godzilla: Final WarsGodzilla: Final Warsis a 2004 Japanese science fiction-kaiju film directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, written by Wataru Mimura and Isao Kiriyama and produced by Shogo Tomiyama. It is the twenty-eighth film in the Godzilla film series, and the sixth in terms of the series' Millennium era...
. Also destroyed by meteors in the Hallmark film Supernova, which was released in 2005.
Fictional skyscrapers
This is a list of named fictional skyscrapers that have a noticeable role in films (including notable science-fiction and fantasy), sorted by chronological filming order. In some cases, an actual building stands for the fictional one; in others, they are created using elaborate miniature modelScale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
s.
- New Tower of BabelTower of BabelThe Tower of Babel , according to the Book of Genesis, was an enormous tower built in the plain of Shinar .According to the biblical account, a united humanity of the generations following the Great Flood, speaking a single language and migrating from the east, came to the land of Shinar, where...
(Metropolis) - chief among the gothicGothic architectureGothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
skyscrapers of Fritz Lang's Metropolis (1927). The cityscape of Metropolis was inspired from Lang's trip to ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and was, in turn, an inspiration for several dystopian science-fiction films including Blade Runner and Dark City.
- Seacoast National Bank Building (New York City) - this 100-story, Empire State Building-inspired tower is the center of a power struggle in Skyscraper SoulsSkyscraper SoulsSkyscraper Souls is a Pre-Code 1932 drama film starring Warren William and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film was directed by Edgar Selwyn and is based upon the novel Skyscraper by Faith Baldwin.-Plot:...
(1932), as ruthless banker David Dwight attempts to gain full control of the skyscraper.
- Wynand Building (New York City) - the creation of the uncompromising, objectivist architect Howard Roark, it features in the film adaptation of Ayn Rand's The FountainheadThe FountainheadThe Fountainhead is a 1943 novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and brought her fame and financial success. More than 6.5 million copies of the book have been sold worldwide....
(1949). The world's tallest, it is the culmination of Roark's ambition, "the will of man made visible."
- Glass Tower and Peerless Building(San Francisco) - this 138-story office/residential tower, the new "tallest building in the world", is the setting of The Towering InfernoThe Towering InfernoThe Towering Inferno is a 1974 American action disaster film produced by Irwin Allen featuring an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.A co-production between Twentieth Century-Fox and Warner Bros...
(1974). In the film, the guests of the top-floor opening ceremony are trapped by a fire that broke out due to faulty wiring. The idea of the "world's tallest" was featured in both novels on which the film was based, and was inspired, ironically, by New York's World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
which was completed the year before the movie's release. Filmed prior to the widespread use of Digital CGI, the Glass Tower was actually a series of half inch and inch scale models. The miniatures cost $1,110,000 and the tallest of these was 70 feet high and was guyed off in all four directions and filmed against a blue screen on the concrete floor of Sersen Lake at the Twentieth Century Fox Ranch in Malibu, California. Similarly, five floors of the building were built in full scale at the same facility for close up shooting of action scenes.
- Tyrell Corporation Headquarters (Los Angeles) - the immense truncated pyramid-shaped structure, flanked by inwardly-slanted towers, dominates the cityscape of Ridley Scott's Blade RunnerBlade RunnerBlade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
(1982). The futuristic city has been described as a place where the height of the World Trade Center had become the norm, filled with buildings hundreds of stories tall, with Tyrell's pyramid being six or seven times the height of the WTC and at least a hundred times more massive http://www.faqs.org/faqs/movies/bladerunner-faq/. Main protagonist Deckard himself lives on the 97th floor of a generic building. - Nakatomi Plaza (Los Angeles) - taken over by terrorists in the classic action film Die HardDie HardDie Hard is a 1988 American action film and the first in the Die Hard film series. The film was directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza. It is based on a 1979 novel by Roderick Thorp titled Nothing Lasts Forever, itself a sequel to the book The Detective, which...
(1988). The building is actually Fox PlazaFox PlazaFox Plaza is a -high skyscraper with 35 floors in Century City, Los Angeles, California, a local landmark. Completed in 1987, the architects behind its design were Scott Johnson, Bill Fain and William L. Pereira...
, 20th Century Fox20th Century FoxTwentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
's Los Angeles headquarters. The JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
name of this and other fictional buildings (such as Nakamoto Tower in 1993's Rising SunRising Sun (novel)Rising Sun is a 1992 internationally best-selling novel by Michael Crichton about a murder in the Los Angeles headquarters of Nakamoto, a fictional Japanese corporation. The book was published by Alfred A...
) provides an interesting window on the 1980s mindset that Japanese corporations would take over the world's economy and real estate, especially after the real-life acquisition of Rockefeller CenterRockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
by a MitsubishiMitsubishiThe Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...
subsidiary (completed in 1989). In fact there have been relatively few such takeovers, and few if any U.S. skyscrapers were ever actually named after Japanese corporations.
- Art Land's Galaxy Hotel - A fictional futuristic hotel/casino in Las Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas, NevadaLas Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
from the 1996 film Mars Attacks!Mars Attacks!Mars Attacks! is a 1996 American science fiction film directed by Tim Burton and based on the cult trading card series of the same name. The film uses elements of black comedy, surreal humour, and political satire, and claims to be also a parody of multiple science fiction B movies...
The hotel was destroyed by a UFO during a martian invasion. In reality the building was the Landmark Hotel and Casino which was imploded in 1995.
- Galactic Senate Building (CoruscantCoruscantCoruscant is a planet in the fictional Star Wars universe. It first appeared onscreen in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, but was first mentioned in Timothy Zahn's 1991 novel Heir to the Empire...
) - one of the innumerable towers covering the fictional city-planet of Coruscant from the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
universe, first seen on film in the Special Edition of Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the JediStar Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
(1997), then in the Star Wars prequels. On Coruscant, buildings are used as the foundations for new buildings that actually pierce the cloud layer. The fifty lower levels form a dangerous underworld where ordinary citizens never go. The city-planet was inspired by TrantorTrantorTrantor is a fictional planet in Isaac Asimov's Foundation Series and Empire Series of science fiction novels.Trantor was first described in a short story by Asimov appearing in Early Asimov Volume 1. Later Trantor gained prominence when the 1940s Foundation Series first appeared in print . Asimov...
in Isaac Asimov's FoundationThe Foundation SeriesThe Foundation Series is a science fiction series by Isaac Asimov. There are seven volumes in the Foundation Series proper, which in its in-universe chronological order are: Prelude to Foundation, Forward the Foundation, Foundation, Foundation and Empire, Second Foundation, Foundation's Edge, and...
saga.
- Scolex Industries is the corporate headquarters of the main villain Sanford Scolex (Dr. Claw) in the 1999 film, Inspector GadgetInspector Gadget (film)Inspector Gadget is a 1999 American live-action comedy film loosely based on the 1983 animated cartoon series Inspector Gadget. It starred Matthew Broderick as the title character, along with Rupert Everett as Dr. Claw, Michelle Trachtenberg as Penny, and Dabney Coleman as Chief Quimby...
. In reality, the building is the PPG PlacePPG PlacePPG Place is a complex in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, consisting of six buildings within three city blocks and five and a half acres. Named for its anchor tenant, PPG Industries, who initiated the project for its headquarters, the buildings are all of matching glass design consisting of...
in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
- MNU Building (JohannesburgJohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
) - A building used in the 2009 film (District 9District 9District 9 is a 2009 South African science fiction thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. It was written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and David James...
).
- Clamp Centre, the building that Gremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New BatchGremlins 2: The New Batch is a 1990 American horror comedy film, and the sequel to Gremlins . It was directed by Joe Dante and written by Charles S. Haas, with creature designs by Rick Baker...
takes place in.
- The Zitex building, the titular tower of the film SkyscraperSkyscraper (film)Skyscraper is a 1996 direct-to-video movie starring Anna Nicole Smith. It was directed by Raymond Martino and written by William Applegate Jr. and John Larrabee. The movie's plot borrows heavily from the film Die Hard with Smith taking the lead role....
.