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  • In addition to producing the film, Pharrell Williams also oversaw the composition of the film's score and the selection of songs for its soundtrack.
  • The film reunites Octavia Spencer and Kevin Costner, who previously starred together in Black and White (2014).
  • Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monáe previously starred together in Moonlight (2016). Both films were nominated for Best Picture at the 89th Academy Awards, with Moonlight (2016) ultimately winning the award.
  • There is a scene in the film where John Glenn asks Katherine Johnson to double-check all the numbers on his mission, and if she confirms that the numbers are correct, then he will fly. Such a moment was in fact, only Glenn asked for a check of the numbers a few weeks before the launch, and not just before the launch at Cape Canaveral.
  • When Taraji P. Henson was cast in the lead role, she went to meet the real-life Katherine Johnson, then 98, to discuss the character Henson was to play. From their conversation, Henson found out that Johnson graduated from high school at 14 and college at 18. And despite her advanced age, she was able to maintain an amazing clarity of mind. Subsequently, when Johnson saw the film, she expressed her sincere approval of the way Henson portrayed her, and besides, she was very surprised that anyone would even want to make a film about her life.
  • Katherine Johnson hasn't really experienced any problems with the restrooms personally. This situation was not with Johnson, but with Mary Jackson. She described her outrage at the situation to a colleague, and as a result she was transferred to the wind tunnel team. Johnson initially did not even know that the east wing had whites-only toilets. She simply used the unmarked restrooms, and this went on for many years until complaints began to come in.
  • One of the discriminations Catherine experienced was that her colleagues asked her to use a separate coffee pot. When a table with a coffee pot is shown in the film, the name of coffee is clearly visible - Chock Full o "Nuts. The use of this brand in the context of segregation is historically correct. In 1957, Chock Full o" Nuts became one of the first large New York companies that made a black company vice president. The man they hired for the position was Jackie Robinson, a former legendary baseball player who is also famous for being the first black player in Major League Baseball.
  • To create a certain mood in various scenes, work was carried out with color. Everything in the NASA premises was done in cold colors - white, gray, silver, while in the office of Al Harrison and in the houses of the main characters, on the contrary, the colors were made warm.
  • The scenes at Dorothy Vaughn's house, where the women play cards and dance, were filmed at a historic location in Atlanta, at the home where civil rights activists Ralph Abernathy and Martin Luther King met.
  • In the scene in which Paul (Jim Parsons) talks to NASA engineers about the need for very accurate calculations to return an astronaut from orbit, among the engineers is Mark Armstrong, the son of astronaut Neil Armstrong - the first man to walk on the moon during the expedition of the Apollo mission. eleven". Actor Ken Strunk invited Mark Armstrong to make a cameo appearance in the scene.
  • Several control panels in the mission control center were taken from props from the movie Apollo 13 (1995). These same panels have been modified for use in films such as The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part I (2014) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. Part II" (2015).
  • At the 89th Academy Awards, 98-year-old Katherine Johnson was invited to the stage by Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe before the announcement of the winner for Best Documentary. The whole hall gave her a standing ovation.
  • The characters of Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons) and Vivienne Mitchell (Kirsten Dunst) were not based on real people. They are collective images that convey the dismissive attitude towards people with a different skin color, which was typical for part of NASA employees at that time.
  • Katherine Johnson did have children at the time of her marriage to Jim Johnson, only they were already in their teens then.
  • In reality, John Glenn was much older at launch than he is shown in the film. The launch took place in January 1962, when Glenn was almost 41 years old. The actor who played him, Glen Powell, was 27 at the time of filming.
  • This is the second time that Taraji P. Henson and Mahershala Ali have played two lovers. This was first seen in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).
  • Screenwriter Allison Schroeder grew up near Cape Canaveral. Her grandparents worked at NASA, and she herself, when she was still a teenager, trained at NASA.
  • Octavia Spencer previously starred with Jim Parsons in episode 5 of season 2 of The Big Bang Theory (2007) (the episode was titled "Euclid's Alternative"). Spencer played an employee of the Department of Motor Transport.
  • Octavia Spencer and Kirsten Dunst have a lot of scenes together in this film. Both actresses previously starred in Spider-Man (2002), but there they did not have common scenes, and Spencer played only a cameo role.
  • Ted Melfi was one of the contenders to direct Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), but eventually pulled out to direct Hidden Figures (2016).
  • Oprah Winfrey and Viola Davis were considered for the lead roles.
  • This is Kirsten Dunst's most successful US box office project since the Spider-Man franchise.
  • This is the third film by Kevin Costner to deal with the Kennedy administration in one way or another. The first two were John F. Kennedy: Shots in Dallas (1991) and Thirteen Days (2000).
  • This is the third time that Octavia Spencer has starred in a film with one of the actresses from the Spider-Man movie franchise. In The Help (2011), she played with Bryce Dallas Howard and Emma Stone. Both actresses played the role of Gwen Stacy: Howard in Spider-Man 3: The Enemy in Reflection (2007), and Stone in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man: High Voltage (2014) . In Hidden Figures (2016), Spencer played opposite Kirsten Dunst, who played Mary Jane Watson in the original Spider-Man trilogy.

    • Mistakes in the movie

  • When on television they talk about the orbital flight of Yuri Gagarin, the flight time is announced in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). This standard was invented only in 1961, and then it had not yet received the name UTC.
  • In some scenes in Langley, a modern satellite dish is clearly visible on the roof.
  • When a 1957 Chevrolet won't start, Dorothy takes a screwdriver and shorts something on top of the engine, presumably the battery. A screwdriver was indeed used to close the contacts and start the starter, but they were not located at the top of the engine on this car, but on the lower right.
  • While Mary (Janelle Monáe) is watching John Glenn fly, the sign of the Cream ice cream shop can be seen on the screen in the shop window behind her. Such stores appeared only in 2012.
  • In those days, tobacco use was common in engineering offices and meetings. However, this is not shown in the film.
  • A patrolman arrives to escort the women into town in a 1964 Ford Galaxie. However, these events take place in 1961.
  • On the instructions for the IBM 7090 computer, the company logo is inappropriate for that time. So the IBM logo appeared only in 1972.
  • On the cars in the film, you can see the plates of the state of Virginia that do not correspond to that time. On the numbers of this state in 1961, the letters were black and angular, and the number itself usually consisted of 6 digits, separated by a dash in the middle. In the film, the license plates are in blue fonts, which began to be used only in the early 1990s.
  • In a scene at the beginning of the film, Katherine Johnson is at school doing a mental multiplication problem. Then the teacher will check her results on an electronic calculator. Electronic calculators began to be sold only in the mid-1970s.
  • One scene, set in 1961, shows IBM equipment stacked on pallets wrapped in stretch film. Such a film began to be used for these purposes only in the 1970s.
  • In one scene, the characters in the film use an IBM Selectric typewriter, which was first introduced only in July 1961.
  • Several cars in the NASA parking scenes do not change their position despite the fact that weeks and even months pass in the story.
  • In the original version of the film, Paul uses the expression "spot on" several times. However, this expression was not common in the 1960s. A more appropriate term for that time was "right on".
  • Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center footage shows the access road to Launch Complex 39 (LC 39). In fact, the construction of this complex began only in 1962, so neither the road nor the vertical assembly building could have been during the events described in the film.
  • All Sims who wear glasses will notice at certain angles that the lenses take on a light purple tint. This is a sign that there is an anti-reflective coating on the glasses, which in 1961 was not yet applied to the lenses of glasses.
  • A four-door dark blue 1962 Chevrolet can be seen in the NASA parking lot and at the church picnic, but the events of the film in these moments take place in 1961.
  • The phone wire that John Glenn uses is a reinforced, vandal-resistant cable that didn't exist in 1961.
  • In the scenes when Katherine attends the demonstration, posters with the names of both Nixon and Kennedy are visible, although the elections were held in 1960, and Kennedy had already become president.
  • In Al Harrison's office, there are two aircraft models on a shelf, a C-130 and a C-5 Galaxy. The C-130 was already in production at the time, but it did not have a similar livery, and the C-5 Galaxy was only designed in 1964.
  • A black and white 1959 Plymouth appears in some scenes in the film. It has very large rims, low profile tires and disc brakes that are used in modern restomods.
  • In a scene in 1961 in a NASA parking lot, you can see a 1962 Chevrolet Impala, a 1962 Chevrolet Nova, a green 1963 Mercury Comet, and even a Mercedes-Benz 280 from 1968 to 1973.
  • Among the new TVs in the store window, you can see the Muntz model of 1951-1952, which came out 10 years before the events described in the film.
  • In one of the scenes of the film, a man approaches the printer, and at that moment the sound of a dot-matrix printer is heard. However, the frame shows the IBM 716 printer, which sounds completely different.
  • With the exception of Kevin Costner's character, most of the men's haircuts do not correspond to the time in which the events of the film unfold.
  • When Katherine's hands are shown for a few seconds as she is typing the report, a wedding ring can be seen, however, in the story, she and Jim did not get engaged until several months after this scene.
  • Punched cards that are being prepared for the IBM 7090 computer are not pierced. But when they start uploading, it's already fixed.
  • At a meeting at the Pentagon, Katherine writes down the calculations on the blackboard. At one point, she starts writing the number 530 as 350, notices this and immediately makes changes. In the following shots, when she moves away from the board, all the numbers are correct, but there is no sign of her making corrections.
  • When Katherine finds her daughters fighting in the bedroom, she calms them down. Then they crawl across the beds, and one of the daughters' pajamas changes position when the frame changes - she either sits straight or is shifted to her side.
  • In one scene, when Katherine is talking to her three daughters in bed, the position of their hands changes dramatically as the shot changes.
  • Near the end of the film, when Katherine is talking to Al Harrison in the control room, her necklace is seen alternately being worn over and under her clothes in various shots.
  • On the map of Africa in the main hall, the Republic of Mozambique is marked with a black icon, as a city, not as a country.
  • In one scene, the IBM 7090 computer is said to be capable of 24,000 operations per second. In fact, this computer could perform 100,000 floating point operations per second.
  • When the heroines' car breaks down, Dorothy says the starter is broken. However, with the engine running, a broken starter would not stop the car. Then she says that you just need to bypass the starter, closes something under the hood, after which the engine starts. However, this is not possible. With a faulty starter, the car would have to be pushed to start the engine.
  • The film says that Glenn was supposed to complete seven complete orbits, but due to problems with the heat shield, the number of complete revolutions was reduced to three. In reality, only three full revolutions were originally planned. In addition, changing the flight plan would nullify all preliminary calculations, and the landing zone would also change, but nothing is said about all this in the film.
  • John Glenn's ship is orbiting nose first when it was actually moving heat shield forward.
  • At the beginning of the film, a Soviet rocket is shown that delivers the dog Laika into space. The Vostok capsule is visible at the top of the rocket. In fact, Laika flew in the Sputnik capsule. The Vostok capsule was used only for manned flights.
  • As John Glenn is being driven to the launch pad, he is escorted by two police cars. A patrol car with a Virginia sign is driving ahead, it's the same car that was in the first scene of the movie, but the launch pad is in Florida.
  • The scene with the failed launch clearly used footage of the Challenger shuttle explosion.
  • During the flights, Alan Shepard and Gus Grissom are shown a global map that tracks their movement. However, none of them moved away from the cape at a distance exceeding 320 kilometers.
  • In scenes that show the IBM 7090 running, the small round lights on the vertical panel do not light up. The flickering of these lights is an indicator that the computer is working.
  • When Alan Shepard is shown flying through space, a small receding Earth is visible in the background. In reality, Shepard was on a suborbital flight, and his spacecraft had never traveled that far from Earth.
  • In the opening scene of the film, when the police arrive by car to investigate the missing vehicle, it is implied that they are arriving in a Virginia state patrol car. However, this state's police cars have never been black and white. They were blue and grey. In addition, the uniforms of the police officers do not match the uniforms of the Virginia police at the time.
  • In one scene, the computer model is referred to as "seventy-ninety". In fact, the IBM 7090 was called "seven-zero-ninety" because it was a transistorized version of the 709.
  • Mahershala Ali's character is a colonel in the National Guard, which means that he served in the army for about 15-17 years. Despite this, only his rank and crossed field artillery cannons are marked on his uniform. Also there should be icons with his name and division. Also missing are any qualification badges, including the Combat Infantry Badge and Advanced Training Badge.
  • When John Glenn prepares to fly, he appears in the "white room" without a helmet and asks for an update on the calculations. During the time of the Mercury space program, the astronauts once put on a space suit with a helmet in hangar 14, then the suit was checked for leaks, and after that the astronaut did not take off the helmet and in the "white hall" he had to be in it.
  • During the launch of the ship with John Glenn, the cutoff of the main engine is mentioned, while footage of the disconnection of the starting engines is shown.
  • In one of the scenes, Mary Jackson says that the judge graduated from George Mason University, but this university did not begin its work until 1965. Based on his accent, the judge is from eastern Virginia and is more likely to have attended schools such as the University of Virginia or the College of William and Mary.
  • In the middle of the film, a TV reporter says that this is an important historical moment for Cape Canaveral and in the original version of the film says the phrase "Freedom 7 will be launched into space at an altitude of about 116 miles an hour" (The Freedom 7 spacecraft will rise at space to an altitude of about 116 miles per hour). Obviously, the actor made a reservation and it was only about height, and speed was not meant.
  • During the scene in the church, Colonel Jim Johnson wears a private's cap. Since he is a field officer, his cap should look different, with a gold chinstrap and other distinctive features.
  • When the IBM computer is delivered, it turns out that it won't fit through the door. Then the workers begin to break down the walls, while the computer is standing nearby in the corridor. In fact, no one would break down the walls next to a new computer, since the dust from the plaster would render it unusable.
  • It can be seen from the position of the gear lever that Dorothy is actually standing when she is shown driving her 1957 Chevrolet. And in some shots, when she is driving at full speed, the lever is in the second gear position.
  • In Virginia, cars always had license plates on the front and back. In the film, the heroines have license plates only on the back.
  • A 110V socket can be seen on the back of the IBM 7090 computer. The presence of this outlet suggests that the computer was probably taken from the Computer History Museum, where it was added to power the displays.

    • The picture tells how, on the eve of the triumph of Soviet competitors, workers in the American space industry feverishly tried to catch up and overtake the Soviets, rushing forward and upward. But, as one extremely popular Russian pop singer once sang, something is not right, but it is not clear what.

    This, however, is not at all surprising: taking into account the general intellectual level of the agency’s employees, who are under the leadership of the fair, but also close-minded Al Harrison (Kevin Costner), they cannot be trusted to launch not only rockets into space - a tram along a two-stop route. This is especially illustrated by the character of Jim Parsons - a researcher who mostly sits with the air as if he is waiting for the usual off-screen laughter, and the rest of the time he just blunts or frowns intently.

    But, as they say, everything changes when they come - three lively black women (Taraji P. Henson, Janelle Monae, Octavia Spencer), occupying modest technical positions. Only this cheerful, energetic and very, very smart trinity is able to save the unfortunate sharashka from a complete fiasco. They will calculate the required number at the speed of a calculator, and they will get along with the latest complex supercomputer (having stolen the necessary textbook from the library - they don’t just give out books to black women, even very, very smart and working at NASA), and in general the whole stellar project that has come to a standstill on its own fragile backs will be pulled out.

    They, most likely, would have been able to jump over the USSR - but racism, multiplied by chauvinism, prevented it. Judge for yourself - well, what is the championship in space, when the only employee in the department who is able to think has to run to the toilet on the other side of the city to cheerful music? That's it.

    To match the film's caricature of the very dark theme of segregation in the United States - and its climax. It becomes the solemn destruction of the "racist" sign on the toilet door, which was the result of Harrison's sudden realization that the efficiency of one black employee is higher than the productivity of all his white subordinates combined. And the chief wielding a crowbar at this moment looks - and clearly feels like - Abraham Lincoln, no more, no less. All this is done with such a deadly serious face that the comic effect is instantly tripled.

    The film, as stated, is based on real events, and disclaimers before the end credits serve as confirmation of this. It is clear that there is no smoke without fire, and the contribution of talented, but oppressed by an unjust society, ladies to the development of American astronautics is certainly worthy of universal admiration. And the shameful page of history for the United States (which has not been completely turned over), no doubt, requires a comprehensive study.

    Only the "progressive public", headlong

    Throughout almost the entire history of mankind, women have been dissuaded, dissuaded, and even forbidden to engage in scientific activities, and especially mathematics. However, some stubbornly continued to engage in self-education in defiance of tradition.

    The world-changing accomplishments of these 15 famous female mathematicians gave us cleaner and more efficient hospitals, statistical graphs, the foundations of computer programming, and the preparation of the first space flight.

    Hypatia of Alexandria was the first woman known to us to teach mathematics. Her father Theon of Alexandria was a famous mathematician in Alexandria, he is known for commenting on the works of Euclid and Ptolemy. Theon first taught mathematics and astronomy to his daughter himself, and then sent her to Athens to study the works of Plato and Aristotle. Hypatia collaborated with her father, writing her own commentaries and lecturing on mathematics, astronomy and philosophy.

    Emilie du Chatelet (1706-1749)

    Emilie du Chatelet was born in Paris. The mother thought that her daughter's interest in mathematics was indecent, while her father supported her daughter's love for science. The girl initially used her mathematical skills and talents to play cards for money, which she then spent on buying books on mathematics and laboratory equipment.

    Her husband traveled frequently, which gave Emily plenty of time to study mathematics and write scientific papers (and to have an affair with Voltaire). From 1745 until her death, du Chatelet worked on translating the works of Isaac Newton. She even added her own comments to them.

    Sophie Germain (1776-1831)

    She was only 13 when she developed an active interest in mathematics; the French Revolution can be blamed for this. As fighting raged around her house, Germaine was unable to explore the streets of Paris, instead exploring her father's library, studying Latin and Greek on her own, as well as reading respected mathematical works.

    Since educational opportunities for women were limited, Germaine secretly studied at the Ecole Polytechnique using the name of a registered student. This worked until the teachers noticed an inexplicable improvement in the student's math skills.

    Germain is best known for her work on Fermat's Last Theorem, which was considered at the time to be one of the most difficult mathematical problems.

    Mary Somerville (1780-1872)

    When, at the age of 16, Mary Somerville encountered an algebraic symbol in a random puzzle, she began to rave about mathematics and began to study it on her own. Her parents were terribly worried about their daughter's inclinations, because at that time there was a popular theory that the study of complex subjects could damage the mental health of a woman. But Somerville continued to study.

    She corresponded with William Wallace, professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh, and solved mathematical problems in various competitions, winning a silver prize in 1811. Her translation and commentary on Astronomical Mechanics made her an honorary member of the Royal Astronomical Society.

    Ada Lovelace (1815-1852)

    Lovelace was born during the brief marriage of the poet George Gordon Byron and Anabella Wentworth. Her mother did not want the girl to grow up as a poet like her father, and encouraged her interest in mathematics and music. As a teenager, Ada began corresponding with Charles Babbage, a professor of mathematics at Cambridge. At the time, Babbage was working on his ideas for the computing machine, the forerunner of the computer.

    Ada Lovelace's notes and advice include an algorithm for computing the sequence of numbers that forms the basis for the operation of the modern computer. It was the first algorithm created exclusively for a machine. That is why Lovelace is considered to be the world's first programmer.

    Florence Nightingale (1820-1910)

    Florence Nightingale is best known as a nurse and social reformer, but her lesser known contributions to science continue to save lives. In an effort to study and improve patient survival rates in hospitals and military hospitals, Nightingale became a statistician.

    The numbers and readings she collected demonstrated that the lack of sanitation was the main cause of the high death rate. Appropriate measures have been taken and hospitals have become safer.

    Florence Nightingale also designed charts that presented collected statistics in a simple and accessible way. The work of Florence Nightingale has helped to outline the area of ​​possible use for applied statistics.

    Mary Cartwright (1900-1998)

    She was the first woman to receive the Sylvester Medal for mathematical research and was the first woman to become president of the London Mathematical Society.

    In 1919, she was one of five women studying mathematics at Oxford University. Cartwright later received her PhD in philosophy and published her research in the Mathematical Journal.

    Dorothy Johnson Vaughn (1910-2008)

    The possibility of space flight was explored at NASA by a group of mathematically gifted women who were called "computers in skirts." Dorothy Johnson Vaughn was one of them.

    After working as a mathematics teacher, Vaughn took a job at NASA in 1943. In 1949, she received a promotion and became the head of a special group working in the field of computer computing. This group consisted entirely of black women - outstanding mathematicians.

    Marjorie Lee Brown (1914-1979)

    She became one of the first black women to receive a doctorate in philosophy and mathematics. On the way to the title of a respected teacher and an outstanding mathematician, Brown more than once overcame racial and gender discrimination of the twentieth century.

    Brown taught mathematics at the College of North Carolina, where she was appointed dean of the mathematics department in 1951. Thanks in part to her work, the college became the home of the National Science Foundation Institute for Secondary Mathematical Education.

    Julia Robinson (1919-1985)

    Robinson graduated with honors from high school and went to Berkeley, where she married an assistant professor named Raphael Robinson.

    Her illness made it impossible for her to have children, and she devoted her life to mathematics, earning her doctorate in 1948. In 1975, Robinson became the first female mathematician to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences. She also became the first female president of the American Mathematical Society.

    Katherine Johnson (b. 1918)

    When Katherine Johnson wanted to study mathematics, she faced a big hurdle. The city of White Sulfur Springs in West Virginia, where she lived, did not allow black students to receive an education after the eighth grade of school. Her father moved his family 120 miles so she could attend high school in another city. Uniquely gifted, Johnson graduated from high school at the age of 14.

    She took a job at NASA and became one of the "computers in skirts". Her knowledge of analytical geometry led to her being assigned to an all-male group, where she helped calculate the trajectory of Alan Shepard's first space flight.

    Mary Jackson (1921-2005)

    Mary Jackson graduated with honors from high school and received a degree in mathematics and physics from the Hampton Institute. She was accepted by NASA as a mathematician and eventually landed a job as a space engineer specializing in aerodynamics.

    She worked with NASA flight engineers and received multiple promotions. After three decades at NASA, Jackson reached the rank of chief engineer. After that, she made the decision to focus on efforts to advance the careers of women and minorities.

    Christine Darden (b. 1942)

    Christine Darden is a mathematician, analyst and aeronautical engineer with a 25-year career with NASA. Darden has been researching sonic booms and their associated shock waves.

    She became one of the first women to receive the title of space engineer at Langley. Darden is the author of a computer program that measures the strength of sonic booms. After completing her PhD in mechanical engineering, she became the leader of the Sonic Boom Group at NASA.

    Maryam Mirzakhani (b. 1977)

    Maryam is a highly respected mathematician. In 2014, she became the first woman to receive the prestigious Fields Medal and Prize, and the first recipient from Iran. She specializes in symplectic geometry, a non-Euclidean geometry that used to explore the concepts of space and time. Maryam Mirzakhani currently teaches mathematics at Stanford University.

    On December 25, Hidden Figures, a drama about a team of female mathematicians preparing to launch the first US space mission, is released. Life spoke with Janelle Monae, who plays mathematician Mary Jackson.

    - I heard, that you really asked to be given the role of Mary Jackson and that you deeply excited about this job?

    This is my first job with a big studio, but I didn't ask for anything. Apparently, my work in the cinema speaks for itself. When I read the Hidden Figures script, I immediately saw myself in that role. Mary Jackson fights with great inspiration for her rights and for justice. She seeks respect and the right to realize her dreams, a right that all people have. When I read the script, I immediately sympathized with her both as a woman and as a member of the minority ... She is me.

    - Tell us about Mary Jackson - what is she like?

    Mary is a caring person. She is a realist, but she is not ready to put up with injustice. She knows her worth and will not settle for less, and she is determined to seek justice for herself, for women, for her family and for minorities.

    Who was your role model, when you were little? And who do you aspire to imitate now?

    Now I aspire to imitate these three wonderful women - Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson. I didn't know anything about them before. I don't understand how this could happen. When I studied history in school, the history of blacks in America, their names were never mentioned. These women literally changed the world. If not for their intelligence, if not for their work, the history of America would have been different. When I read the script, I was delighted that after the release of this film, many more people would know about them.

    - Mary must have been incredibly single minded, since she was able to get a master's degree.I think, we will see it in the movie. What persistence and perseverancepossesseda?!

    She is fearless. She became the first female engineer at NASA, and that's not counting the fact that she was black. At that time in Virginia it was very difficult for blacks to get an education. It was unheard of for a black woman to go to school with white people. And yet she kept moving forward. One day, Mr. Zelinsky, based on the results of the test, told her that she had the data of an engineer, that she should not look for a job, but study to be an engineer. He told her that her abilities were too good to be neglected.

    She had to overcome many obstacles. Her husband was against her getting an education. At that time, women did not earn more than their husbands. They stayed at home, cooked, raised children. She had to overcome the resistance of her husband, who told her that she would never become an engineer, that it was impossible. He urged her to stop being irrational, he did it out of love for her, out of good intentions. But she decided to listen to her heart. I personally think that she may have inherited this fearlessness from her ancestors.

    In addition, she was part of the protest movement, in which, in particular, the Black Panthers also participated. They fought for their civil rights, which were supposed to be adequate with the rights of whites. And Mary was burning with the desire to change the usual state of affairs. And she achieved it. She went to court and eventually got her permission to study, but on the condition that she only attend evening classes. And so she became an engineer. She worked for NASA for 30 years, where she, among other things, was able to create a more equal playing field for women and minorities. She asked her superiors childish questions: "I see that this woman is paid less than the others. I would like to know why?" She really did everything in her power to help women and minorities.

    - Woman, which you are playing, genius. How did you prepare for this, to play this role?

    Do you think I'm not a genius? (laughs). Women like Mary still exist today. But our heroines were like that, despite the very difficult conditions in which they lived. They tried to denigrate women, representatives of minorities, invented conspiracy theories about African Americans. I think that today we still have incredibly smart mathematicians, engineers, etc., but we just don't talk about them, just like we didn't talk about these three women. In addition, there were other women besides Katherine, Mary and Dorothy who were called computers at the time. The "computers" were white and black, with white women and African American women not working together. I say this because all these women were smart, but blacks were treated like robots.

    - How did you prepare for filming?

    I don't consider myself a stupid person, so whenever I'm preparing for a shoot, I try to find something in common between me and the character. What did she fight for? How does this apply to my life? What am I fighting for? It came easy to me. I tell you, in 1961 I would have been Mary, I wouldn't have let anyone tell me that I wasn't smart enough to be an engineer, that I couldn't go to white school. I would achieve my goal by any means, I would fight. That's exactly what I do when it comes to music, about my art. So I prepared for the role.

    - Undoubtedly, you are very talented and strong-willed, but were you always sure that, are you on the right track?

    Oh sure. The more obstacles I encountered along the way, the more determined I became. My grandmother lived in Mississippi. When I think about what she had to deal with in the 30s, 40s, and then compare with my problems, then I understand that I have no choice but to overcome everything that is in my path. My grandmother's generation paved the way for me, they opened doors for me, and I stand on their shoulders, and I feel their spirit in me and go forward. Even now in the film industry, women are paid less than men. Whether we like to discuss it or not, we are still considered a minority and the majority looks askance at us, and I am not given the opportunities that are open to the representatives of the majority, so my lineage obliges me to continue the fight and keep the door open, as my predecessors did .

    Mary has a big responsibility, because she isrepresentedclientnewthgenerationsI, called bring people together different nationalities and skin colors. What do you think about it?

    This is absolutely true. Mary respects Dorothy, respects Katherine, but she will not accept what these women agreed to in their time, to which they have already become accustomed. She is a participant in the revolution, and her husband is a freedom fighter who takes part in street demonstrations. She really has a big responsibility, because she belongs to the generation that came to replace Katherine and Dorothy. It was this generation that changed things, as we already know.

    - Whatmeans to youthis film and work with other wonderfulAfrican American actresses?

    This is amazing. I love Taraji, I love Octavia, we have a sisterly relationship. That's why I love the film - it has good family relationships. These three amazing women care for each other, consult with each other and protect each other. They are real living people, not just "computers" working for NASA. What do you live when you return home? Katherine is a widow, and her friends cheered her up when she hesitated to go on a date. Dorothy has six children, and friends supported her when she and her husband had problems with children. My heroine and her husband periodically had a confrontation, and friendship also rescued her. In a word, this is a real sisterly relationship. In real life, we love each other too. They are amazing actresses and we have a wonderful time in our free time. We are very comfortable together, we are a real trinity.

    - Mary is a real firework. Maybe, do you enjoy playing it?

    Yes. This is true. She is me. When I talked to Ted and he said that I am the essence of this character, I thought that I myself felt it when I read the script, but it's great when the director points it out. I love him very much, he trusts us. He listens to us and approves of our decisions on how to play this or that scene. And this is not surprising - we ourselves are black women, so what we play is not some kind of abstraction for us: we understand how people like us think and what they experience.

    - In film, maybe, a lot of humor?

    Yes, of course, because the main characters of the film are very funny and funny. Each in its own way. They solve problems in different ways, but they have a great sense of humor. So it's no surprise that there are a lot of funny moments in the movie.

    - I heard, you love music60s?

    Yes, I love this music. The social and political climate was oppressive, but the music was amazing. I like Miles Davis and other jazz musicians. For Mary, the music was like medicine.

    - Tell me about it, how did your character dress?

    Mary loves to experiment with her appearance, so I had the opportunity to play with fashion, but within the budget, because Mary herself was on a budget. Luckily, I worked with a great design team. When they suggested that I try on a new outfit, it turned out that it fits me so well that I didn’t have to change anything. This is a high level of professionalism!

    - What impact can this film have on thosewho are looking for a role model?

    These women have changed the world and I think they will be an inspiration to many, especially those who aspire to be engineers, scientists and explore space. I think it's very important that more women work in these areas, especially from minorities. This is a story in which everyone will find support for themselves.

    Katherine Johnson is a brilliant NASA mathematician who has been working on the space program since its early days, going back to the 1950s. Many of NASA's early missions were only made possible by Johnson's intrepid and unparalleled calculations.

    Katherine still lives in Hampton, Virginia, where she will be celebrating her 98th birthday later this month. Let's find out the true story of her incredible life.

    Family atmosphere

    Johnson has repeatedly said in interviews that she loved to count as a child. Her father set up an education bonus and insisted that all four children in the family go to college, working overtime to pay for it. Johnson says that this atmosphere in the family was critical to her success. She was always surrounded by people who wanted to learn something. And she also liked to study.

    Studies

    Katherine graduated from high school at 14 and college at 18. Her high school principal planted the first seeds for her future career in space by walking her home after school and showing her the constellations in the sky. Already in college, the teacher, who was a friend of the family and knew the girl's ability in mathematics, invited Catherine to study in her class. She was later mentored by Dr. William Schifflin Claytor, who encouraged her to try becoming a research mathematician. He began teaching the classes he knew Katherine needed to succeed, including one where Katherine was the only student. Throughout her education, the girl was able to achieve success because she liked to ask questions, even when teachers tried to ignore her.

    After graduating, Johnson began teaching mathematics and later married and had children. She returned to teaching when her husband fell ill. A few years later he died of cancer, and in 1959 she remarried. But back to science.

    Beginning of cooperation with NASA

    Johnson began working with NASA in 1963. At that time, this organization was called the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, since there was no space program yet. Johnson fell to work at the Langley Research Center in Virginia. It was an aircraft research center and can be called the forerunner of the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

    At the time, the agency hired talented mathematicians to do the calculations and power the work of more prestigious engineers. Johnson worked mostly by hand, filling out large spreadsheets with complex calculations.
    Her first assignment was to process black box data from crashed planes. “We had a mission, and we worked on its implementation. It was very important for us to get the job done right,” she said in a 2011 interview.

    The reason for starting work on rockets was her endless curiosity and talent. She was accepted into the men's team to work on research flights on a temporary basis. However, Johnson was so good at it that they decided not to send her back.

    By way of exception

    When the space program was launched, Johnson had just started working with the guys, and then they had to go through briefings. Katherine also asked permission to go. And although women were usually not allowed to attend such meetings, an exception was made for her sake.

    Johnson had some computing experience before joining NASA, so she was prepared to use the technology. At that time, NASA could not fully rely on electronic calculators, in particular, when calculations were needed regarding life and death, when they began to build a space program. Before Johnson was to be trusted, she showed her talent in working with machinery, as well as the accuracy of manually checking data.

    Features of work

    During World War II, NASA and the rest of the defense industry were forced to hire African Americans, so there were black and white women mathematicians working in the agency as a separate group. Johnson says her team was the best.
    Male engineers preferred to work with black female mathematicians, as they believed that their abilities were better than those of whites. On the one hand, they were all in college, says Johnson, while few black girls had that opportunity.

    Although women with unique mathematical abilities did not receive the same respect as male engineers at the time, this never bothered Johnson. “Girls can do everything that men can do.
    But sometimes they show a lot more fantasy than the stronger sex, Johnson said in her 2011 interview. - Men do not pay attention to small details. They are not interested in how you do your job. The main thing is to provide them with the necessary information in time.”
    Johnson worked closely with Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, who were extraordinary scientists in their field.

    Dorothy Vaughan was a mathematician and head of the Computing Unit for ten years. She later became a programmer. As for Johnson, her work has underpinned many of NASA's most important projects.

    space programs

    In 1961, based on the work of Johnson, Alan Shepard was able to go into space and became the first American to do so. Johnson calculated the trajectory of his capsule from launch to landing. If she was wrong, at best, NASA would not know where to pick it up.

    Early on, when NASA began planning to drop the capsule at a specific location, it was necessary to figure out when to start that mission. Johnson volunteered to make these calculations. She was told where it was to land on Earth and was able to determine where the mission was to begin. Calculations like this were Johnson's forte.

    At that time, the Mercury mission was in development, during which John Glen was supposed to be the first person to orbit the Earth. NASA had already started using electronic calculators, but everyone was still suspicious of the new technology. Therefore, Glen insisted that Jones check all the calculations made by the calculator. "If she says the calculations are correct, I will accept them," he told the agency.

    Mission "Apollo"

    Johnson also used her unusual talent to calculate the moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. “Everyone was worried about whether the astronauts would be able to get there,” Johnson said in an interview. “And everyone was also concerned about their return.”

    There were an incredible number of factors to consider: the rotation of the Earth, the location of the satellite, the time when the astronauts would reach the moon, when they could land on it. All this was very confusing, but possible. The mission went according to plan.

    She didn't just make calculations to make sure everything was going according to plan. When things went wrong in the mission, Johnson also intervened. In 1970, Apollo 13, which was sent to the moon, suffered from the explosions of two oxygen tanks.
    Johnson was one of the mathematicians who helped figure out a safe route back to Earth. This work became the basis of a system that requires only one observation of a star, matching an astronaut's onboard star chart, to determine an exact location.

    Resignation

    Johnson retired in 1986, but her huge contribution to the space program has only gained public attention in the past few years. She was the first to recognize that science is a joint venture. "We've always worked as a team, and we never saw it as an individual achievement," she said in an interview.

    Last year, President Obama presented Johnson with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the most prestigious award available to civilians.

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