Taglines: Get ready to fly.
Con Air movie storyline. Cameron Poe, a highly decorated United States Army Ranger, came home to Alabama to his wife, Tricia, only to run into a few drunken regulars where Tricia works. Cameron unknowingly kills one of the drunks and is sent to a federal penitentiary for involuntary manslaughter for seven years. Cameron becomes eligible for parole and can now go home to his wife and daughter.
Unfortunately, Cameron has to share a prison airplane with some of the country’s most dangerous criminals, who took control of the plane and are now planning to escape the country. Cameron has to find a way to stop them while playing along. Meanwhile, United States Marshal Vincent Larkin is trying to help Cameron get free and stop the criminals, including Cyrus “The Virus” Grissom.
Con Air is a 1997 American action film directed by Simon West, written by Scott Rosenberg, and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of The Rock. The film stars Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, and John Malkovich alongside Steve Buscemi, Colm Meaney, Mykelti Williamson, Ving Rhames, Nick Chinlund, Jesse Borrego, Jose Zuniga, and Monica Potter.
It was released theatrically on June 6, 1997 by Touchstone Pictures and was a box office success, grossing over $224 million against a production budget of $75 million. Despite this, the film received mixed reviews from critics, but praising Cage and the cast performances as well as its action sequences, stunts and the villain portrayed by Malkovich. The film also borrows its title from the nickname of the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System.
About the Production
With second-unit work beginning on June 24, 1996, principal photography began shortly after at Salt Lake City, on July 1, 1996 and continued until October 29, 1996, at a number of locations. While most of the interiors of the Fairchild C-123 Provider transport aircraft were filmed in Hollywood Center Studios soundstage #7, Wendover Airport in Utah, as the stand in for the fictional Lerner Airfield, was used for the C-123 flying and taxi scenes.
Director Simon West chose the barren and remote Wendover area “because it looked like the surface of the moon … My idea was that it was perfect for the convicts who had been locked up for 10, 20, 30 years in little cells.” The old wartime bomber base was also used for the aircraft boneyard scenes while the original swimming pool at the base was used in a scene where Garland Greene was talking to a young girl.
On August 29, 1996, Phillip Swartz, a welder employed by Special Effects Unlimited, a Los Angeles-based firm, was crushed to death at Wendover when a static model of the C-123 used in the film, fell on him. The film credits end with “In Memory of Phil Swartz”.[7] After filming, the filmmakers donated the Jailbird movie model used for the taxi scenes to the Historic Wendover Airfield Foundation and is currently on display at the ramp as an attraction for visitors.[6]
Other filming locations included Ogden Airport where the exchange of prisoners is seen. The scene where the aircraft’s left wing hits the Fender Stratocaster sign of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, the place where its premiere was held, was filmed using a remodeled guitar of the hotel and a Jailbird miniature model. The crash site was filmed in the Sands Hotel before its demolition on November 26, 1996.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer found the right spot for the climactic finale, originally planned for a crash at the White House, but Las Vegas was more in keeping with the dichotomy of convicts “cashing in.” “We got very lucky … The Sands was going to be demolished anyway. They blew up the tower on their own. We arranged to blow up the front of the building.” The 2nd Street Tunnel in Los Angeles was also used for the tunnel chase scene near the end of the film.
Con Air (1997)
Directed by: Simon West
Starring: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Steve Buscemi, Ving Rhames, Colm Meaney, Mykelti Williamson, Rachel Ticotin, Steve Eastin, Danny Trejo, Monica Potter
Screenplay by: Scott Rosenberg
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: David Tattersall
Film Editing by: Chris Lebenzon, Steve Mirkovich, Glen Scantlebury
Costume Design by: Bobbie Read
Set Decoration by: Debra Echard
Music by: Mark Mancina, Trevor Rabin
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and language.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: June 6, 1997
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