FILM

Silent Running (1972) was Douglas Trumbull's first directing experience. The box office success of the low budget Easy Rider, induced Universal to hand one million dollars to five "unsupervised" film projects, Silent Running was one of them.

The interiors were shot on board the Valley Forge aircraft carrier. Doorways were cut and minimal set dressing was applied. A number of corporations donated parts and materials to the production (many of their logos can be seen on the cargo modules). Particularly, Dow Chemical donated lots of sheet plastic that was vacuumformed into everything from the cargo modules to the drones. The cargo bay was actually the hanger on the carrier.

Photos:

Images from collections of Tom Seiler, Lee Gotcher, Mark Dowman