Armageddon, the 1998 movie features famous New York City locations including the Flatiron Building, Grand Central Station and the Chrysler Building, which is an important part of the iconic NYC skyline. In Armageddon, the Chrysler Building was demolished by a meteor but don’t worry about it too much because it is not the first or the last time this building has been used as a target of destruction in movies and television. The Chrysler Building also takes a beating in Deep Impact, Godzilla, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Steven Spielberg’s AI: Artificial Intelligence.
Armageddon is considered to be one of the classic blockbuster films of the 90’s. It was also an international hit and the top grossing movie of 1998. The movie was directed by Michael Bay who is also known for his directing involvement in the Transformers franchise, Bad Boys, and Pearl Harbor.
Michael Bay knew if he used the same patriotic theme of the movie Top Gun and the sheer success of the Top Gun film as a recruitment tool, NASA would be more willing to open up their regularly restricted space agency. He was right! He also knew how to recruit an amazing ensemble cast which included Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Billy Bob Thornton, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson, Will Patton, Peter Stormare, Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.
Bruce Willis stars in the film as Harry Stamper. A deep-sea oil driller who is considered to be the best of the best. His team of rough necks are hired by the United States Government to stop the asteroid that will cause global destruction. Bruce is no stranger to playing the heroic lead character. You can find him saving the day in other television and movies roles like The Fifth Element, Die Hard, Moonlighting, and many more.
Bruce is Joined by Ben Affleck, who has also starred in movies like Daredevil, Reindeer Games, and Goodwill Hunting. Ben plays A.J. Frost, the ideal romantic lead who has fallen in love with Harry Stamper’s daughter, Grace Stamper (Liv Tyler). Liv’s Father in real life is rock star Steven Tyler from the band Aerosmith. Aerosmith also performed the love theme for the movie, titled “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” and this song was nominated for an Academy Award. Armageddon was also nominated for a Grammy, Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture, MTV Movie Award Best Female Performance Liv Tyler and an Oscar for Best Effects and Sound Effects Editing.
While many critics had a poor opinion of the movie and many mocked its impossible events and storyline, Armageddon was made for the enjoyment of the audience and defiantly not for its scientific accuracy. Regarding the film’s premise, Ben Affleck asked director Michael Bay, “Wouldn’t it be easier for NASA to train astronauts how to drill rather than training drillers to be astronauts?” Bay told Affleck to shut up.
To see some New York City landmarks like the ones featured in Armageddon hop on a TV & movie tour from On Location Tours.
* In an effort to stay current, we are constantly updating our tours with new locations and cannot guarantee the presence of locations mentioned on our site. If you have a particular interest in locations from a specific TV show or movie, please let your tour guide know and we will do our best to accommodate your request.