Editing The Terminal (section)

== Production ==
[[File:Airportset2w.jpg|right|thumb|The gigantic airport set built for the film.]]
The idea for the film may have originated from the story of [[Mehran Karimi Nasseri]], also known as Sir Alfred, an [[Iran]]ian [[refugee]] who lived in Terminal One of the [[Charles de Gaulle Airport]], Paris from 1988 until 2006.<ref name=CSM062104 /><ref>Duncan Walker, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3570850.stm "Life in the lounge"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221065812/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3570850.stm |date=2009-02-21 }}, BBC News Online Magazine, August 17, 2004.</ref> In September 2003, ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that Steven Spielberg bought the rights to Nasseri's life story as the basis for the film; and in September 2004 ''[[The Guardian]]'' noted Nasseri received thousands of dollars from the filmmakers.<ref name=NYT092103>Matthew Rose, [https://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/magazine/magazinespecial/MFMERHANT.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5007&en=360b6f8f63635c6a&ex=1379476800 "Waiting For Spielberg"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208234718/http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/magazine/magazinespecial/MFMERHANT.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5007&en=360b6f8f63635c6a&ex=1379476800 |date=2009-02-08 }}, ''The New York Times'', September 21, 2003. Retrieved June 12, 2008.</ref><ref name=Berczeller>{{cite news|access-date=May 5, 2007|url=http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1298104,00.html|title=The man who lost his past|first=Paul|last=Berczeller|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=September 6, 2004|archive-date=May 9, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070509031001/http://film.guardian.co.uk/features/featurepages/0,4120,1298104,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> However, none of the studio's publicity materials mention Nasseri's story as an inspiration for the film, and the storyline bears no resemblance to Nasseri's experiences. The 1993 French film ''[[Lost in Transit]]'' was already based on the same story. In deciding to make the film, Spielberg stated that after directing ''[[Catch Me If You Can]]'', "I wanted to do another movie that could make us laugh and cry and feel good about the world.&nbsp;... This is a time when we need to smile more and Hollywood movies are supposed to do that for people in difficult times."<ref>{{cite web|author1=Total Film|author-link=Total Film|title=The Total Film Interview – Steven Spielberg|url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-total-film-interview-steven-spielberg/|website=GamesRadar+|publisher=Future|access-date=March 16, 2018|date=September 1, 2004|archive-date=March 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316153404/https://www.gamesradar.com/the-total-film-interview-steven-spielberg/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Spielberg traveled around the world to find an actual airport that would let him film for the length of the production but could not find one. ''The Terminal'' set was built in a massive hangar at the [[LA/Palmdale Regional Airport]]. The hangar, part of the [[United States Air Force|U.S. Air Force]] [[Plant 42]] complex, was used to build the [[Rockwell International]] [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer|B-1B bomber]]. The set was built to full earthquake construction codes and was based on [[Düsseldorf Airport]]. The shape of both the actual terminal and the set viewed sideways is a cross-section of an aircraft wing. Because of this design, the film was one of the first to use the [[Spidercam]]. The camera, most often used for televised sports, allowed Spielberg the ability to create sweeping shots across the set. The design of the set for ''The Terminal'', as noted by [[Roger Ebert]] in his reviews and attested by Spielberg himself in a feature by ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine, was greatly inspired by [[Jacques Tati]]'s classic film ''[[PlayTime]]''.<ref name=Ebert/>

Tom Hanks based his characterization of Viktor Navorski on his father-in-law Allan Wilson, a Bulgarian immigrant who speaks "[[Russian language|Russian]], [[Turkish language|Turkish]], [[Polish language|Polish]], [[Greek language|Greek]], little bit of [[Italian language|Italian]], little bit of [[French language|French]]", in addition to his native [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]].<ref>"Season 12 Episode 9". ''Inside the Actors Studio''. Bravo. 14 May 2016. Television.</ref> Hanks also had some help from a Bulgarian translator.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFN6bdVWqIk "Tom Hanks' character in The Terminal speaks Bulgarian"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313235148/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFN6bdVWqIk |date=2021-03-13 }}, ''YouTube''.</ref>

=== Krakozhia ===
'''Krakozhia''' (''Кракожия'') is a fictional country, created for the film, that closely resembles a former [[Republics of the Soviet Union|Soviet Republic]] or an [[Eastern Bloc]] state.

The exact location of Krakozhia is kept intentionally vague in the film. However, in one scene, a map of Krakozhia is briefly displayed on one of the airport's television screens during a news report on the ongoing conflict. Its borders are those of present-day [[North Macedonia]] (known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia at the time of the film's production). However, in another scene, Viktor shows his driver's license, which is a [[Belarus]]ian license issued to a woman bearing an [[Uzbek language|Uzbek]] name.

[[John Williams]], the film's composer, also wrote a national anthem for Krakozhia.<ref>Clemmensen, Christian (June 10, 2004). [http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/terminal.html ''The Terminal'']. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725053045/https://www.filmtracks.com/titles/terminal.html|date=2021-07-25}} soundtrack review at [[Filmtracks.com]]</ref>

Hanks' character speaks mostly [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] as his native Krakozhian. However in one scene, in which he helps a Russian-speaking passenger with a customs-related issue, he speaks a [[Constructed language|constructed]] [[Slavic languages|Slavic language]] resembling Bulgarian and Russian.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn Bulgarian with Tom Hanks | date=16 February 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dHO3naOgMc |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/5dHO3naOgMc |archive-date=2021-12-22 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=plot explanation – What does Viktor Navorski say to Milodragovich in Bulgarian? |url=https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/31778/what-does-viktor-navorski-say-to-milodragovich-in-bulgarian |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105014920/https://movies.stackexchange.com/questions/31778/what-does-viktor-navorski-say-to-milodragovich-in-bulgarian |archive-date=2021-11-05 |access-date=2021-01-27 |website=Movies & TV Stack Exchange}}</ref> When Viktor buys a guide book of New York both in English and in his mother tongue to compare the two versions and improve his English, the book he studies is written in Russian.

The film presents a reasonably accurate picture of the process of naturalistic [[second-language acquisition]], according to linguist [[Martha Young-Scholten]].<ref name="sla">{{cite web |last=Young-Scholten |first=Martha |title=Hollywood: smarter than you think? Maybe |url=http://www.modern.lang.leeds.ac.uk/talks/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=35&func=details&did=98 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727111217/http://www.modern.lang.leeds.ac.uk/talks/index.php?option=com_eventlist&Itemid=35&func=details&did=98 |archive-date=July 27, 2011 |access-date=December 25, 2007}} Abstract for talk given at the [[University of Leeds]] Department of Linguistics and Phonetics, April 26, 2006.</ref>