'Constellation' movie showcases Huntsville

updated 8:12 p.m. ET Feb. 14, 2007

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - It's fitting that a movie titled "Constellation" was filmed in a city that boasts the country's only vertically erect Saturn V rocket, a white beacon that stretches 363 feet into the sky.

The fearless can take a mission to the red planet that suddenly turns into a ride on a Martian roller coaster, or head back in time by visiting historic homes, living history museums, a cemetery where slaves are buried and an exhibit about Buffalo Soldiers.

Visitors can find these and many other attractions in Huntsville, where the first moon rockets were built and where the down-to-earth film, "Constellation," was shot. The film, starring Billy Dee Williams, Gabrielle Union and Zoe Saldana, was filmed in Huntsville in 2004, and had its premiere here Jan. 27. It opened nationwide on Feb. 2.

Tourism officials are offering self-guided "Constellation Tour" maps that point visitors to sites that are shown in the movie, which prominently displays many of the locations like a big-screen brochure.

Only a few of the locations in the film are the product of movie magic. Some film viewers, upon seeing the majestic exterior of the seven-gallery Huntsville Museum of Art, thought the building was actually a set, "Constellation" director Jordan Walker-Pearlman said.

Walker-Pearlman said the film, about an interracial family coming to terms with their past and present problems, needed to be in a Southern city with old-world charm and modern-day advancements. But, he said, he didn't know at first "if such a place existed."

"Most everywhere I went, I could not find my small shining city in the hills in the South," said Walker-Pearlman, who is a native New Yorker with a home in Los Angeles. He says he has since made Huntsville his third home.

"There is almost a European-like energy here where everyone was not just friendly, but engaged. I suddenly had this revelation that what I had put on page actually existed and it was Huntsville, Alabama."

One of the biggest draws to the North Alabama city is the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, where there are several flight simulators, dozens of rockets and military equipment on display and a rock-climbing wall for the athletically inclined.

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An exhilarating ride can be had on the Space Shot, which zooms adventurers 140 feet into the air with four Gs (four times the force of gravity) for a spectacular view of the city and a few seconds of weightlessness.

The Rocket Center is also home to one of the city's most interesting attractions, which will take you virtually beyond Earth's orbit (emphasis on virtually) - all the way to outer space via a silver shuttle and computer screen.

The research mission suddenly turns into a surprisingly rousing roller coaster where riders learn that Martians listen to country music.

State tourism director Lee Sentell said Huntsville is a draw not only for tourists but also permanent residents partly because of its growing job market.

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