Air America (film) - Wikipedia

Air America is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. as Air America pilots flying ... AirAmerica(film) FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia Jumptonavigation Jumptosearch 1990filmbyRogerSpottiswoode AirAmericaTheatricalreleaseposterDirectedbyRogerSpottiswoodeScreenplayby JohnEskow RichardRush BasedonAirAmericabyChristopherRobbinsProducedbyDanielMelnickMarioKassarStarring MelGibson RobertDowneyJr. NancyTravis DavidMarshallGrant LaneSmith CinematographyRogerDeakinsEditedbyJohnBloomLoisFreeman-FoxMusicbyCharlesGrossProductioncompaniesCarolcoPicturesIndieProdCompanyDistributedbyTri-StarPicturesReleasedate August 10, 1990 (1990-08-10) Runningtime113minutesCountryUnitedStatesLanguageEnglishBudget$30–35million[1]Boxoffice$57.7million AirAmericaisa1990AmericanactioncomedyfilmdirectedbyRogerSpottiswoodeandstarringMelGibsonandRobertDowneyJr.asAirAmericapilotsflyingmissionsinLaosduringtheVietnamWar.[2]Whentheprotagonistsdiscovertheiraircraftisbeingusedbygovernmentagentstosmuggleheroin,theymustavoidbeingframedasthedrug-smugglers. TheplotofthefilmisadaptedfromChristopherRobbins'1979non-fictionbook,chroniclingtheCIA-financedairlinetotransportweaponsandsuppliesinCambodia,LaosandSouthVietnamduringtheVietnamWar.[3] Thepublicityforthefilm,advertisedasalightheartedbuddymovie,impliedatonethatdiffersgreatlyfromtheactualfilm,whichincludessuchseriousthemesasananti-warmessage,focusontheopiumtrade,andanegativeportrayalofRoyalLaotianGeneralVangPao(playedbyactorBurtKwoukas"GeneralLuSoong").[4] Contents 1Plot 2Cast 3Production 3.1Development 3.2Filming 4Soundtrack 5Reception 5.1Boxoffice 6References 7Bibliography 8Externallinks Plot[edit] Thisarticle'splotsummarymaybetoolongorexcessivelydetailed.Pleasehelpimproveitbyremovingunnecessarydetailsandmakingitmoreconcise.(June2021)(Learnhowandwhentoremovethistemplatemessage) Inlate1969,BillyCovington(RobertDowneyJr.)worksasahelicoptertrafficpilotforaLosAngelesradiostation.Whenhebreaksseveralsafetyregulationsbyflyingtoolow,theU.S.FederalAviationAdministrationsuspendshispilot'slicense.However,hispilotingskills,braveryanddisregardforthelawarenoticedbyamysteriousgovernmentagent,whotellsBillythathecangethislicensebackifheacceptsajobinLaos,workingfora"strictlycivilian"companycalledAirAmerica.ItisreadilyapparentthatAirAmericaisafrontforCIAoperationsinLaos. Unemployedandunabletofindwork,Billytakesthejob.InLaos,heisintroducedtoAirAmerica'sunorthodoxpilotsandaircraft,beingtakenunderthewingofGeneRyack(MelGibson),acynicalandeccentricpilotandanarmsdealerwhousesofficialflightstobuyblackmarketweaponsforhisprivatecache.Hisdream,whichhereferstoashis"retirementplan,"istomakeasalebigenoughsothathecanaffordtoquithisjobatAirAmerica. Thenextday,SenatorDavenport(LaneSmith)arrivesinLaosona"fact-findingmission,"toinvestigaterumorsaboutAirAmericatransportingdrugsonbehalfofLaotianforces.MajorLemond(KenJenkins)andRobDiehl(DavidMarshallGrant),CIAleadersofAirAmerica,showtheSenatoraroundrefugeecamps,shrines,temples,andmajorcitiesinacarefuldeceptiontohidefromhimthatAirAmericaisindeedtransportingdrugs. WhileairdroppinglivestockintoruralvillagesintheirC-123cargoaircraft,BillyandJackNeely(ArtLaFleur)areshotdown.ThePilatusPC-6ofGeneralSoong(BurtKwouk)arrivesatthecrashsiteandhissoldiersloadbagsofopiumonboard,butleaveBillyandJackbehindwithCommunistforcesmovingin.Geneandanotherpilotarriveandrescuethem;BillyboardsGene'shelicopterwhiletherestofthecrewescapeinanotheraircraft. BillyandGene'shelicopterisshotdownonthewayback,andtheyarecapturedbyaruraltribe.Genenoticesthatthetribeisusingobsoleteandunreliablegunsandstrikesadealtosupplythemwithbetterweapons.Allowedtogofree,BillyandGeneretreattoGene'shouse,whereBillyissurprisedtodiscoverthatGenehasawifeandchildren.AlreadydisillusionedwithU.S.actionsinLaos,GeneconvincesBillytoquithisjobwithAirAmerica,butBillywantstogetevenwithGeneralSoongforbetrayinghimwhenhecrashed. Meanwhile,SenatorDavenportislosingpatiencewithLemondandDiehl,anddemandstoknowwhoissmugglingheroin.Soonaftertheirreturntobase,thepilotslearnthatduringhissearchforBillyandGene,JackwaskilledandLemondandDiehlclaimthathewastheringleaderbehindthedrugtrafficking.Enraged,Billypurchasesgrenadesontheblackmarketandusesthemtoblowuptheheroinfactory,butguardsseehimrunningaway.Davenportisstillunsatisfied,anddemandsmoreconcreteevidence. Thenextday,Genefindsabuyerforhisarsenal,allowinghimtoleavegunrunning,quitAirAmerica,andtakehisfamilyoutofthecountry.Meanwhile,Billyacceptsonemoreflightbeforeheactuallyquits.Withco-pilotBabo(TimThomerson),heisassignedtotransportflourtoarefugeecampbuttheyareinstructedtodiverttoanearbyairstripfor"routineinspection."Billyimmediatelysuspectsasetup,andasearchrevealsseveralkilosofheroinhiddenintheflour-sacks.Withhisfuelgaugetamperedwith,BaboandBillydecidetocrash-landonthesameairstripwhereBillycrashedafewdaysearlier,andusethewreckageofthepreviouscrashtohidethesmalleraircraft. Gene,onhiswaytomakehisfinal,largestweaponsdelivery,fliesintorescueBaboandBillyafterwonderingwhyBillycan'tseemtokeepanythingintheair.BillyconvinceshimtorespondtoadistresscallfromarefugeecampcaughtinthecrossfirebetweenGeneralSoong'smenandlocalrebels.GenetriestorescuetheUnitedStatesAgencyforInternationalDevelopmentofficial(NancyTravis)inchargeofthecamp;however,sherefusestoleavewithouttherefugees.Aftersomeinitialresistance,Genedumpstheweaponstomakeroomfortherefugees,blowinguptheweaponscachetocovertheirescape. Intheair,GeneandBillycomeupwithaschemetoselltheaircrafttogiveGenehismoneyback.SenatorDavenportrecognizesthesetupforwhatitwas,andtheSenatorthreatenstorevealLemondandDiehl'soperationtoWashington. Cast[edit] MelGibsonasGeneRyack RobertDowneyJr.asBillyCovington NancyTravisasCorinneLandreaux KenJenkinsasMajorDonaldLemond(BasedonRichardSecord) DavidMarshallGrantasRobertDiehl(BasedonJerryDaniels) LaneSmithasSenatorDavenport(BasedonSenatorStuartSymington) ArtLaFleurasJackNeely NedEisenbergasNickPirelli MarshallBellasO.V. DavidBoweasSaunders BurtKwoukasGeneralLuSoong(BasedonGeneralVangPao) TimThomersonasBabo HarveyJasonasNino Production[edit] Development[edit] DirectorRichardRushtriedtodevelopthefilmin1985,asthefirstcomedyaboutVietnam.CarolcoPicturesboughttheprojectasRushwroteascriptandfoundlocations.SeanConnerywasattachedtoplaytheolderpilot,GeneRyack,andtheyoungerflierBillyCovingtonwasatdifferenttimestobeplayedbyBillMurray,[5]JamesBelushiandKevinCostner.TheprojectwassoldtoproducerDanielMelnickafterConneryandCostnerbecametooexpensive.MelnickhiredscreenwriterJohnEskowtowriteanewscript;andfirsthireddirectorBobRafelsontoworkwithRush,buteventuallyhiringdirectorRogerSpottiswoode.[6]MelGibsonwascastforareported$7million,fortheroleofRyack,andRobertDowneyJr.tookontheroleofCovington.NancyTraviswascastasCorinneLandroaux,replacingAllySheedy,andMichaelDudikoffwascastasGeneralLee.[7] Filming[edit] ThebudgetofAirAmericaincreasedto$35millionastheproductioninvolveda500-membercrewshootingin49differentlocationsbetweenThailand,London,andLosAngeles;operatingbetweeneightand15camerasatatime.PrincipalphotographybeganonOctober3,1989,andcontinueduntilFebruary10,1990.[6]Theproductionwasplaguedbytwoearthquakesandatyphoon.Theproducersrented26aircraftfromtheThaimilitary,althoughsomeofthestuntflyersrefusedtoperformsomeofthestunts,with60-year-oldveteransbeingdraftedforthemoredemandingturns.PepsiCowantedthefilmmakerstouseafictionalsodaratherthanshowopiumbeingrefinedattheirabandonedfactory.Therefore,theproducersaddedalineaboutwonderingifPepsiknewwhatwasgoingon.Afterpreviewingthefilm,sixmonthsafterproduction,Gibsonandotherprincipalswerecalledbacktofilmanewending.[8] Soundtrack[edit] AirAmerica(soundtrack)SoundtrackalbumbyVariousartistsReleased1990Recorded1990GenreRockLength33:45LabelMCARecordsProducerBeckyMancuso,TimSexton,MagstripeEntertainment ProfessionalratingsReviewscoresSourceRatingAllMusic[9] No.TitleWriter(s)PerformedbyLength1."LoveMeTwoTimes"JohnDensmore,RobbyKrieger,RayManzarek,JimMorrisonAerosmith3:222."RightPlace,WrongTime"MacRebennackB.B.KingandBonnieRaitt3:373."LongCoolWomaninaBlackDress"RogerCook,AllanClarke,RogerGreenawayCharlieSexton4:154."DoItAgain"DonaldFagen,WalterBeckerSteelyDan5:015."FreeRide"DanHartmanEdgarWinterandRickDerringer3:236."CaliforniaDreamin'"JohnPhillips,MichelleGilliamTheMamas&thePapas2:387."Baby,INeedYourLovin'"BrianHolland,LamontDozier,EdwardHollandJr.FourTops2:448."GetReady"William"Smokey"RobinsonTheTemptations2:389."RescueMe"FontellaBass,RaynardMiner,CarlWilliamSmithFontellaBass2:5310."Pushin'TooHard"SkySaxonTheSeeds2:35 Reception[edit] RobertDowneyJr.andMelGibsonattendingthefilm's1990premiereatGrauman'sChineseTheatreinLosAngeles. OnreviewaggregatorwebsiteRottenTomatoes,thefilmholdsanapprovalratingof13%basedon15reviews,withanaverageratingof3.39/10.[10]Metacriticreportsaweightedaveragescoreof33outof100,basedon13critics,indicating"generallyunfavorablereviews".[11]AudiencespolledbyCinemaScoregavethefilmanaveragegradeof"B"onanA+toFscale.[12] Uponitsrelease,AirAmericawasembroiledincontroversyoveritstreatmentofthe"secretCIAairlineservice."[4]AfterthePersianGulfWarbeganonJanuary15,1991,thefilmwaswithdrawnfromdistributioninover100cinemasthroughoutGermany.[6]AirAmericareceivedmostlynegativereviewsfromcritics.ThefilmreviewinTheNewYorkTimesbyCarynJames,sawthefilmasaflawed"starvehicle"."ThismuddledfilmaboutasecretC.I.A.projectinLaosin1969failsoneverypossiblelevel:asactionfilm,asbuddyfilm,asscenictravelogueandeven,sadtosay,asawaytoflauntMelGibson'sappeal."[13]FilmhistorianAlunEvansinBrassey'sGuidetoWarFilms,inhiscommentary,wasbriefbutpointedincharacterizingAirAmericaasa"...tawdry,unfunnywarcomedy."[14] Somecriticismwaslevelledattheinaccuraciesprevalentintheproduction.ThereviewofAirAmericaintheSt.PaulPioneerPressnoted:"...thecomedyadventuredoesn'tfeatureanyrealheroesofthatwar,menliketheHmongpilotLeeLue."[15]ChristopherRobbinssaidthemoviedistortedhisbook'spresentationoftheAirAmericastory,andhistorianWilliamLearynoted"TheexploitsofCAT/AirAmericaformauniquechapterinthehistoryofairtransport,onethatdeservesbetterthanamisleading,mediocremovie."[16] BritishfilmcriticAndyWebbopinedthatAirAmericaworkedasanaviationfilm."...onasmallpositivesomeoftheflyingstunts,andthereareplentyofthem,areprettyspectacular.Inamoviewhichalmostfloatsthesemomentsofaeronauticacrobats(they)giveaninjectionofadrenalinalthoughbynomeansenoughtosaveit."[17] AlexanderCockburnwroteintheLosAngelesTimesthatAirAmericareceivedabusefor"dar[ing]tosaytheunsayable,andcommitstheaddedoffenseofjokingaboutit...ItinjectsintomassculturetruthonamatterthatofficialAmericahasbeenlyingaboutforthreedecades,namelytheconfluencebetweenU.S.covertoperationsandcriminality,whetherinLaos,AfghanistanorCentralAmerica".[18] Boxoffice[edit] AirAmericadebutedatnumberthreebehindFlatlinersandYoungGunsII.[19]Thefilmendedupgrossing$31,053,601intheUSand$3,243,404inothercountriesforaworldwidetotalof$36,297,005. References[edit] ^"THEMOVIES :ThefineartofMAKINGTHEDEAL".27May1990. ^Curry2004,p.158. ^Hamilton-Merritt1999,p.8. ^abKevinGilvear(October10,2004)."AirAmerica".DVDVideoReview.RetrievedJanuary4,2015. ^Klady,Leonard.|"GhostlyMovie."LosAngelesTimes,May17,1987.Retrieved:January4,2015. ^abc"Miscellaneousnotes:AirAmerica(1990)."TurnerClassicMovies.Retrieved:January4,2015. ^Clarkson2004,p.225. ^Carrick1998,p.145. ^AirAmericaatAllMusic ^"AirAmerica(1990)".RottenTomatoes.Flixster.RetrievedNovember30,2020. ^"AirAmericaReviews".Metacritic.CBSInteractive.RetrievedNovember30,2020. ^"FindCinemaScore"(Type"AirAmerica"inthesearchbox).CinemaScore.RetrievedNovember30,2020. ^James,Caryn."AirAmerica(1990);Review:Film,GibsonasC.I.A.pilot."TheNewYorkTimes,August10,1990. ^Evans2000,p.8. ^"NewVietnamfilmoverlooksreveredHmongpilotLue."St.PaulPioneerPress,August10,1990,p.1A.Retrieved:January5,2015. ^Leary,WilliamM.(2014)."Supportingthe"SecretWar":CIAAirOperationsinLaos1955-1974".air-america.org.ArchivedfromtheoriginalonApril12,2017.RetrievedApril11,2017. ^Webb,Andy."Downey'sWaronDrugs"TheMovieScene.Retrieved:January5,2015. ^Cockburn,Andrew(20September1990)."FuryWon'tMakeTruthGoAway :"AirAmerica"revivesoldbutwell-documentedchargesofCIAcomplicityindrug-running".LosAngelesTimes.Retrieved29January2022. ^Broeske,PatH."TheTwoJakesfailstodoland-officebusiness."LosAngelesTimes,August13,1990.Retrieved:November23,2010. Bibliography[edit] Carrrick,Peter.MelGibson.London:RobertHale,1998.ISBN 978-0-70906-088-8. Clarkson,Wensley.MelGibson:ManonaMission.London:JohnBlake,2004.ISBN 978-1-85782-577-0. Curry,Robert.WhisperingDeath,"TuagNcoNtsoov":OurJourneywiththeHmongintheSecretWarforLaos.Bloomington,Indiana:IUniverseInc.,2004.ISBN 978-0-59576-639-0. Evans,Alun.Brassey'sGuidetoWarFilms.Dulles,Virginia:PotomacBooks,2000.ISBN 1-57488-263-5. Hamilton-Merritt,Jane.TragicMountains:TheHmong,theAmericans,andtheSecretWarsforLaos,1942-1992.Bloomington,Indiana:IndianaUniversityPress,1999.ISBN 978-0-25320-756-2. Robbins,Christopher.AirAmerica.CassellMilitary2012.ISBN 978-1908059017. Externallinks[edit] WikimediaCommonshasmediarelatedtoAirAmerica(film). AirAmericaatIMDb AirAmericaatAllMovie AirAmericaattheTCMMovieDatabase AirAmericaatRottenTomatoes AirAmericaAssociationwebsite AirAmericaatBoxOfficeMojo vteFilmsdirectedbyRogerSpottiswoode TerrorTrain(1980) ThePursuitofD.B.Cooper(1981) UnderFire(1983) TheBestofTimes(1986) TheLastInnocentMan(1987) ShoottoKill(1988) ThirdDegreeBurn(1989) Turner&Hooch(1989) AirAmerica(1990) Stop!OrMyMomWillShoot(1992) AndtheBandPlayedOn(1993) Mesmer(1994) Hiroshima(1995) MurderLive!(1997) TomorrowNeverDies(1997) Noriega:God'sFavorite(2000) The6thDay(2000) TheMatthewShepardStory(2002) IceBound:AWoman'sSurvivalattheSouthPole(2003) SpinningBoris(2003) RipleyUnderGround(2005) ShakeHandswiththeDevil(2007) TheChildrenofHuangShi(2008) BeyondRightandWrong(2012) TheJourneyHome(2014) AStreetCatNamedBob(2016) TheBeachHouse(2018) vteRichardRushFilmdirected TooSoontoLove(1960) OfLoveandDesire(1963) AManCalledDagger(1967) ThunderAlley(1967) HellsAngelsonWheels(1967) TheFickleFingerofFate(1967) Psych-Out(1968) TheSavageSeven(1968) GettingStraight(1970) FreebieandtheBean(1974) TheStuntMan(1980) ColorofNight(1994) TheSinisterSagaofMaking"TheStuntMan"(2000) Screenplays AirAmerica(1990,co-writer) Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Air_America_(film)&oldid=1079604263" Categories:1990filmsEnglish-languagefilms1990sactioncomedyfilms1990sadventurecomedyfilms1990sbuddycomedyfilmsAmericanactioncomedyfilmsAmericanadventurecomedyfilmsAmericanaviationfilmsAmericanbuddycomedyfilmsAmericanfilmsCarolcoPicturesfilms1990sEnglish-languagefilmsFilmsbasedonmilitarynovelsFilmsdirectedbyRogerSpottiswoodeFilmssetin1969FilmssetinLaosFilmsshotinThailandFilmsshotatPinewoodStudiosStudioCanalfilmsThai-languagefilmsTriStarPicturesfilmsVietnamese-languagefilmsVietnamWaraviationfilmsWaradventurefilms1990comedyfilmsFilmsbasedonnon-fictionbooksHiddencategories:ArticleswithshortdescriptionShortdescriptionmatchesWikidataTemplatefilmdatewith1releasedateWikipediaarticleswithplotsummaryneedingattentionfromJune2021AllWikipediaarticleswithplotsummaryneedingattentionArticleswithhAudiomicroformatsAlbuminfoboxeslackingacoverAlbumarticleslackingalttextforcoversCommonscategorylinkisonWikidata Navigationmenu Personaltools NotloggedinTalkContributionsCreateaccountLogin Namespaces ArticleTalk English Views ReadEditViewhistory More Search Navigation MainpageContentsCurrenteventsRandomarticleAboutWikipediaContactusDonate Contribute HelpLearntoeditCommunityportalRecentchangesUploadfile Tools WhatlinkshereRelatedchangesUploadfileSpecialpagesPermanentlinkPageinformationCitethispageWikidataitem Print/export DownloadasPDFPrintableversion Inotherprojects WikimediaCommons Languages БългарскиČeštinaDeutschEspañolEuskaraفارسیFijiHindiFrançais한국어BahasaIndonesiaItalianoМакедонскиNederlands日本語PolskiPortuguêsРусскийSuomiSvenskaTürkçeУкраїнська Editlinks