Warbird Information Exchange

Hi all from the Flypast site some interesting posts on new films up and coming and perhaps not - have a read and see what you think. Some of these will be bad some less so but it will all help publicise older aircraft and our interests -


From Corasir 166

"Well, looks like we have 3 new aviation movies coming out before Christmas....first off is 'Sky Pirate and the World of Tomorrow', about to hit the screens here...the hero flies a P-40 against an invading force of giant robots in NYC, filmed in a very 1930's atmosphere...

Next, and just saw the previews on this one on 'Entertainment Tonight', is the remake of 'Flight of the Phoenix' with Dennis Quaid...I think we all know the premise for this one...plane crashes in desert, crew pieces together plane again and flies out of danger.

Last, Leo DiCaprio stars as Howard Hughes in 'The Aviator', about the life and times of Howard Hughes and his obsession with aircraft, definitely the Big Budget aviation pic of the year...Gwen Stefani of 'No Doubt' fame stars as Jean Harlow..


SOOoOoooo...let the jokes start flying and comments rolling...and let's avoid the INEVITABLE bad acting comments against Tom Cruise as Billy Fiske in 'The Few' even though not FRAME ONE of that film has been shot yet..."


"Mark

Hmm, only the latter one sounds remotely worth watching.

Has anyone heard anything more about the film being made about Russian woman pilots in WWII? It is going to feature all the Brietling team pilots. I'm curious to know more, especially where it will be made and what aircraft will be involved. That one sounds like it will be worth paying to see.

And what has happened with the pre-production of Tom Cruise's film The Few. It was listed in the past on his IMDb page as in pre-production - now it has been removed. Did all the objections to it ensure that the production was canned?
Dave Homewood"

And from Me
"Hi all

On this subject whilst I was in Wanaka this year there were newspaper reports that Mr Hobbit (Peter Jackson) himself was going to do a film based upon the women USSR fighter Pilots of the second world war and I thought this was a magic Idea - given that the population of authentic aircraft is there and I am sure he would do a GOOD and SYMPATHETIC job based on his work so far and his love of aircraft/Warbirds. But I have not heard a lot since then - anybody heard more. I would love this one to happen!!

Also
At one stage that NZ/Aussie Icon Mr M Gibson was to make a "Computer enhanced" (Pearl Harbour style aircraft ) version of the Dambusters - anybody know what happened to that?

Lastly

I have seen a script in approval stage (a long way off production yet) for a movie based on the 75 Sqn Defence of PNG with P40s to be filmed here in Cairns Queensland and PNG an starring some big name Australian
s and Kiwis. I will let you know once it comes out of approval. I was asked to comment and it does "look the business" at this stage in terms of accuracy and content - about as close as it can be. "

Regards
John Parker

_________________
Air Vice Marshall
Sunshine State Air Farce

John--

My, my, my. The story of the female Soviet fighter regiments has been on my Great Unmade Flying Flicks list for years, along with treatments of Spencer Dunmore's novel "Ace" (a kind of WWII "Blue Max"), the Caidin novels "Whip" and "The Last Dogfight" (the latter of which actually was slated to become a film at one point), the Tuskegee Airmen story (crossed off the list in 1995 courtesy quite a good cable-TV film by HBO Studios), and a film on the 1949 Cleveland air races (complete, natch, with new-built F2G and P-51C racers).

Anyway...Peter Jackson! Helmsman of three of the most atmospheric "quasi-historical" blockbusters of recent years. The screen inside my head is now full of Yaks with smashing-looking women at the controls (this is, after all, a film!), snarling along over the misty steppes, hunting for FlugWerk Fw190s. Worth paying to see? Er, yep...There surely cannot have been a previous (pardon the expression) "chick flick" before that was also packed with Warbirds...I earnestly hope this one's true, and can't wait for the release date if it is.

BTW on a related topic, went to the waterfront airshow at Toronto this past Monday; a B-1B from Dyess AFB was doing passes, the commentary went "live from the cockpit"...and a woman's voice trumpeted over the PA. 'Twas a woman in the lefthand seat. Cool. "I never argue with a lady with a Lancer"...

Cheers

S.