LOS ANGELES TIMES, July 27, 1980 (an original vintage newspaper leaf from the Calendar section)  This offering consists of four complete pages (two double-sided sheets on one single leaf), serving as a rare piece of cinematic ephemera, highlighted by an original vintage print advertisement announcing the opening day premiere of  "THE FINAL COUNTDOWN" starring Kirk Douglas & Martin Sheen on one of the pages. (see images).
In addition to the featured movie ad, which captures the era's distinct theatrical promotional graphics and classic key art, the surrounding pages provide a fascinating snapshot of late 20th-century entertainment and pop culture. Printed on authentic newsprint with genuine vintage toning, this original leaf is not a modern reprint, making it an ideal piece for custom framing, film history display, or inclusion in a dedicated cinema memorabilia collection.

Own a rare slice of cinema history straight from the home of the entertainment industry

Background: Period reporting surrounding the 1980 release of The Final Countdown is particularly notable and rare because it documents an unprecedented level of real-world military access: the U.S. Navy granted producer Peter Douglas and director Don Taylor full operational clearance to film aboard the active, nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68). Contemporary news coverage, behind-the-scenes press kits, and archival trade reviews from 1980 emphasize the sheer rarity of capturing live-action naval maneuvers and actual dogfights between WWII-era Mitsubishi Zeros and modern F-14 Tomcats without CGI—a production spectacle that earned the film widespread media intrigue despite lukewarm critical reactions to its time-travel resolution. Furthermore, contemporary press coverage is prized by military history and film archivists because it preserves rare interviews with actual VF-84 Jolly Rogers Navy aviators who performed the dangerous low-altitude stunt flying, including a real-life near-disaster where a Zero pilot was caught in an F-14's jet blast.