History Trivia / TheRightStuff

* ExectiveMeddling: The military insisted that swearing be removed from the movie so that it would get a lower rating, becuase they wanted teens to watch it and join the army.

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome / WhatCouldHaveBeen: In both real life and discussed in the film, Chuck Yeager was passed over for the space program. Despite being someone who is now considered to be one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation, NASA was looking for college graduates. Yeager never attended college, nor West Point or Annapolis, but instead was an enlisted man recruited as a pilot and therefore field-commissioned after the US entered the war. Could anybody imagine how utterly awesome it would've been had Chuck Yeager become an astronaut?[[note]]Hopefully he wouldn't have been one of the ones in the Apollo 1 fire, though.[[/note]]

* AbilityOverAppearance: Several of the main actors top 6 feet (183 cm) (Creator/DennisQuaid and Scott Glenn in particular). However, none of the actual astronauts were over 5'11" (180 cm), as that was the maximum height allowed by the cramped ''Mercury'' capsu--er, [[InsistentTerminology spacecraft]]. Gus Grissom, who was 5'5" (165 cm) in real life, was portrayed by the 5'10" (178 cm) Fred Ward.
** The 5'10" Wally Schirra was portrayed by the 5'10" LanceHenriksen.

* CaliforniaDoubling: Averted. Location managers are not likely to find a place more desolate than Edwards AFB.
** The road ''to'' Edwards AFB?
*** Tell me about it.
** Although the "Australia" in the film looked a ''lot'' like some of the more desolate places on the base...

*** They probably changed it because RealityIsUnrealistic, and the producers likely thought the audience would perceive such a reality as {{Anvilicious}} for what was essentially a PeriodPiece.

* AbilityOverAppearance: Several of the main actors top 6 feet (183 cm) (Dennis Quaid and Scott Glenn in particular). However, none of the actual astronauts were over 5'11" (180 cm), as that was the maximum height allowed by the cramped ''Mercury'' capsu--er, [[InsistentTerminology spacecraft]]. Gus Grissom, who was 5'5" (165 cm) in real life, was portrayed by the 5'10" (178 cm) Fred Ward.

* HeyItsThatGuy:
** Only applies to Cincinnati Bengals fans. Gonzalez is played by Anthony Munoz, who was an All-Pro offensive lineman at the time.
** John Glenn would later [[Film/TheAbyss beat his wife]] [[WorstAid back to life]].
*** [[Film/{{Apollo 13}} And return to the space program]].
*** [[HeyItsThatVoice And then]] [[Film/{{Gravity}} again]]!
** [[Crwator/JeffGoldblum One of the recruiters]] would later [[Film/IndependenceDay help save the world]].
** Al Shepard would later become a [[Film/TheHuntForRedOctober sub commander]].
** Gordon Cooper would once again, just like in this movie, move on into [[Film/{{Innerspace}} a non-air experimental piloting program]].

*** They probably changed it because RealityIsUnrealistic, and the producers likely thought the [[ViewersAreMorons audience]] would perceive such a reality as {{Anvilicious}} for what was essentially a PeriodPiece.

** Gordon Cooper would once again move on into [[Film/{{Innerspace}} a non-air experimental piloting program]].

*** They probably changed it because RealityIsUnrealistic, and the producers likely thought the [[ViewersAreMorons audience]] would perceive such a reality as Anvilicious for what was essentially a PeriodPiece.

** Towards the end of the movie, Alan Shepard tells his wife Louise, in a "one of these days..." manner, "I'm going to the moon...". Shepard would be the only one of the Mercury Seven who would go to the moon, on Apollo 14 [[note]]He was stated to be on the first Gemini mission, but got grounded due to an inner ear condition. After the docs cleared him, Shepard was initially assigned to Apollo 13, NASA execs moved him to Apollo 14 to give his crew more time to train[[/note]].

* HeyItsThatGuy: Only applies to Cincinnati Bengals fans. Gonzalez is played by Anthony Munoz, who was an All-Pro offensive lineman at the time.
** John Glenn would later [[TheAbyss beat his wife]] [[WorstAid back to life]].

** [[JeffGoldblum One of the recruiters]] would later [[Film/IndependenceDay help save the world]].

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome / WhatCouldHaveBeen: In both real life and discussed in the film, Chuck Yeager was passed over for the space program. Despite being someone who is now considered to be one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation, NASA was looking for college graduates. Yeager never attended college, nor West Point or Annapolis, but instead was an enlisted man recruited as a pilot and therefore field-commissioned after the US entered the war. Could anybody imagine how utterly awesome it would've been had Chuck Yeager become an astronaut?[[note]]Hopefully he wouldn't have been one of the ones in the Apollo 1 fire, though.[[/note]]

** [[JeffGoldblum one of the recruiters]] would later [[Film/IndependenceDay help save the world]].

* NegatedMomentOfAwesome / WhatCouldHaveBeen: In both real life and discussed in the film, Chuck Yeager was passed over for the space program. Despite being someone who is now considered to be one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation, NASA was looking for college graduates. Yeager never attended college, nor West Point or Annapolis, but instead was an enlisted man recruited as a pilot and therefore field-commissioned after the US entered the war. Could anybody imagine how utterly awesome it would've been had Chuck Yeager become an astronaut?

* CreatorKiller: Along with ''WesternAnimation/TwiceUponATime'' and ''Film/OnceUponATimeInAmerica'', this film's box office failure was credited for bringing down the company of famed Hollywood executive Alan Ladd, Jr.

* MissedMomentOfAwesome: In both real life and discussed in the film, Chuck Yeager was passed over for the space program. Despite being someone who is now considered to be one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation, NASA was looking for college graduates. Yeager never attended college, nor West Point or Annapolis, but instead was an enlisted man recruited as a pilot and therefore field-commissioned after the US entered the war.

* MissedMomentOfAwesome: In both real life and discussed in the film, Chuck Yeager was passed over for the space program. Despite being someone who is now considered to be one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation, NASA was looking for college graduates. Yeager never attended college, nor West Point or Annapolis, but instead was an enlisted man recruited as a pilot after the US entered the war.

* MissedMomentOfAwesome: In both real life and discussed in the film, Chuck Yeager was passed over for he space program. Despite being someone who is now considered to be one of the greatest pilots in the history of aviation, NASA was looking for college graduates. Yeager never attended college, nor West Point or Annapolis, but instead was an enlisted man recruited as a pilot after the US entered the war.

* FatalMethodActing: The stuntman portraying Chuck Yeager's bailout of the crashing F-104. His helmet filled with smoke, and he didn't get his parachute deployed. Also a strange bit of TruthInTelevision, as Yeager actually collided with his seat after ejecting, and his helmet filled with liquid explosive materials, similarly filling his helmet with smoke and burning his face to a cinder. The aftermath is portrayed in the OutOfTheInferno shot listed on the main page.