One day in 1996, Jonathan, a producer at the Lighthouse Company, sat in his office, worrisome over a pile of rambling scripts.
"Fight and kill, fight and kill, blow up the building, and blow up the building, can't you be a little creative?!"
In the 90s, when action films were prevalent, with "Die Hard", "True Lies", "Mission Impossible", "Brave to The Island" in front of these pearls, major film companies are attacking the action theme.
Too many moments of crisis, too many bombing cars, blowing up buildings...
There are too many classics to surpass.
Those secret agent plots and bridge sections have been used to the extreme, and the audience is a little tired, and Jonathan needs a script for one to vibrate.
The door was knocked on three times.
A fledgling screenwriter, Andrew W. Marlowe, came with his script to contribute.
Jonathan's eyes lit up when he saw the words "air force one" on the cover of the script, which was exactly the masterpiece he was looking for.
"Air Force One" translates to Chinese "Air Force One," which is a plane specially used by the President of the United States.
Air Force One was modified from a Boeing airliner that, although it did not have any missile equipment, had the world's top jammer equipment.
In other words, no missile can hit or hit Air Force One.
It has a flight duration of 12 hours and can fly 11,000 kilometers.
If refueled in the air, the flight length could be extended to 72 hours, which is enough to take the aircraft anywhere in the world.
In 1991, the two Air Force One aircraft actually delivered to the White House cost as much as $410 million.
This is the safest aircraft in the world.
But this movie "Air Force One" tells such an interesting story -
What if the President of the United States sat on Air Force One and was hijacked by terrorists?
After reading the script, Josanna bought the script with a big stroke of the pen.
"Who is your ideal candidate for the lead role?" Jossena asked the screenwriter.
Screenwriter Andrew W. Marlowe firmly said that this play, he was tailor-made specifically for Kevin Costner.
Unfortunately, Kevin Costner was busy shooting "The Ultimate Miracle" and couldn't find time, so he recommended the script to 54-year-old Harrison Ford.
In terms of directing, I hired German director Wolfgang Petersen.
He directed a 1981 film called "Attack from the Bottom of the Sea," which tells the story of the crew of a submarine born and died during World War II.
Wolfgang Petersen excels at controlling tension and sublimating themes in novel and interesting ways.
Having had experience in naval combat shooting with such a large pattern, replacing submarines with aircraft can naturally be controlled.
In September 1996, after receiving an investment of 50 million yuan, "Air Force One" was officially filmed.
To make a movie of this genre, you must find a way to understand what the real "Air Force One" looks like and what the internal structure is.
The White House must be notified of this.
Originally, the Officials of the White House had no interest in these entertainment circles, and planned to read the script a few times and did not do anything perfunctory.
But after reading a few pages, everyone can't sit still, this story is too valuable.
Why?
The story portrays U.S. President James as a Hero of the Vietnam War, a powerful faction capable of writing and fighting.
When confronted with terrorists hijacking the plane, he single-handedly maneuvered with the terrorists on the plane, killing the bad guys and saving his family and colleagues.
The PRESIDENT JAMES IN THE PLAY SAVED NOT THE UNITED STATES, NOT THE WORLD, BUT HIS FAMILY.
It seems to be a small pattern, but there are big articles, and only small families have big countries.
And the lead actor is Harrison Ford, this kind of film will definitely make the National People's goodwill index for the "President of the United States" rise after the release.
The film "Air Force One" was filmed with the help of the U.S. authorities.
During the U.S. president's vacation to Wyoming, the lead actor Harrison Ford and the art director were allowed to visit the real Air Force One.
The film crew rented a Boeing 747-146 airliner and spent $300,000 in paint to transform it into a high-quality "Air Force One."
U.S. officials allowed producers to use air bases for filming.
The top military aircraft that appear in the film include—
Six F-15 fighters, an MC-130e special operations transport aircraft, a C-5A transport aircraft, a C-141 transport aircraft, two Black Hawk helicopters and two C-130 transport aircraft.
These devices require only 250 people to maintain and operate.
Director Petersen recalled: "It was the hardest scene I ever shot, except for a Boeing 747 dressed as Air Force One and six escort F-15s, we had to try to use dozens of helicopters and a lot of troops and vehicles at the same time, and everything was moving." ”
The film was filmed with the help of various departments of the U.S. military and the Ohio and California National Guards, and the technical advice and equipment provided by the military effectively enhanced the credibility of the film's plot.
In addition, there are some interesting tidbits in the film.
a. The terrorist leader in the film is locked up in a prison.
The prison was filmed at the Mansfield State Correctional Office in Ohio, where the movie The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.
The Russian soldiers guarding the prison in the film grow beards, but in reality, the Russian army prohibits soldiers from growing beards.
b. When the hijacker checks his personal information with his fingerprint in the film, the information shows that his birthday is March 21, 1958.
It was also the birthday of Gary Oldman, the hijacker actor.
While filming the fight scene, Harrison Ford asked Gary Oldman to really do something to him.
Gary Oldman's brilliant performance earned him the nickname "Scary Gary" during filming.
C. There is a line in the film where the ground controller says that Air Force One does not have an automatic landing system.
In fact, it is impossible, all Boeing aircraft have automatic landing systems, advanced and automatic take-off systems, not to mention "Air Force One".
In the film, Harrison Ford shows a sentence in Russian, in which he tricks a Russian hijacker into saying, "He's dead, help me." ”
In fact, his accent was terrible enough to fool anyone who spoke Russian.
On July 29, 1997, Air Force One was released.
The $50 million film eventually grossed $315 million worldwide.
It cleverly avoids the traditional action movie where the hero saves the beautiful woman, allowing the head of state at the top of the power to transform into an action hero and save the family.
It is a surprisingly winning Hollywood blockbuster that subverts tradition.
In the blink of an eye, it is already a movie from 23 years ago, but it has left a deep impression in the hearts of many fans.
When I relive it, my blood is still boiling.