Original subtitles

30 years after his screen debut in Hollywood,

Harrison Ford is a bona fide global superstar.

Get down!

Typically, for the actor

who cherished choice from day one,

by the mid 90s, he was extending his range

with varied results.

There was a bit of a lull in his career.

You think that's funny?

But then one day--

I had this crazy idea,

the President as an action hero.

This is the story behind

one of the 1990s biggest box office triumphs.

I came here tonight to be congratulated.

And a role

that nearly slipped out of Harrison Ford's hands.

Harrison Ford playing the president of the United States?

It would be politically impossible.

I'm on the phone with Kevin Costner.

They gave it to somebody else.

Along with acting misfortunes.

He broke my fucking rib.

Jumbo jet-sized personalities.

Here comes Harrison, taxis right up by Air Force One.

And the intriguing story

of how those four words...

Get off my plane.

...almost became the producer's undoing.

I said, "Harrison, this is gonna break the bank.

It's not gonna work."

So how did "Air Force One"

even get off the ground?

Is the president secure?

I'm so nervous.

And I looked at her, I said, "You're Glenn Close."

And who were the people

who stopped Harrison Ford's 34th movie from blowing up?

I always had this theory

that you never really succeed in this town,

you just fail at higher levels.

You can't afford to lose big.

Ran out of time.

After a long run of hit movies,

Harrison Ford's 1995 rom-com, "Sabrina,"

wasn't enjoyed by critics or the box office.

Which didn't quite have the audience

I think people had hoped for.

And despite the Brad Pitt effect.

- He did it. - I didn't.

"The Devil's Own" did well at the box office,

but again, failed to hit a critical nerve.

And sooner or later, someone gets a bullet.

It seemed making everyone happy

might be history for Harrison.

Change was in the air and it sounded like...

Yippee-ki-yay.

Well, well, well.

You know, during the 90s

there was this subgenre in Hollywood

that was "'Die Hard' on a..."

You know, so you have "Die Hard" in a building, right?

That's "Die Hard."

Welcome to the party, pal.

And then you have "Die Hard" on a boat.

I'm just a cook.

-"Die Hard" on a... - A bus.

How big?

50 feet, at least.

It seemed every actor

in Hollywood was dying hard on something.

But long before Harrison's--

"Die Hard" on a plane.

A young Andrew Marlowe saw a film

that would change his life.

I was a kid of the "Star Wars" generation.

Harrison Ford has always been for me

the thinking man's action hero.

Little knowing his path was going to cross

with the handsome swashbuckler on the screen one day,

Andrew's next step would be college.

I came out of USC film school,

my thesis script won the Nicholl Fellowship

through the academy and got me a lot of exposure.

But my script was a small coming-of-age.

So I was up for all these small coming-of-age movies

and I had always loved action movies

and smart action movies.

And so I wanted to reinvent myself.

Andrew set his sights high,

35,000 feet high at the highest public office in the land.

This is the time where Bill Clinton was running

for re-election against Bob Dole.

And I was looking at the presidential race

and I had this crazy idea of casting the president

as an action hero.

How do you isolate somebody like that

so it's just about them?

I'm like, well, if you're on the president's plane

and it's flying at 35,000 feet,

there really is no help until the plane gets on the ground.

So what does that experience look like?

Probably terrifying.

So could Andrew pick the Secret Service's brains

for information on this purely theoretical idea?

At the time, there was not a lot out on the plane,

where I called the Presidential Flight Office.

White House Switchboard, how may I direct your call?

And ask, "Do you have any way

to get the president off the plane?"

And then they're like...

Trace the call.

"...Anything we say about the plane is classified

so we can't tell you anything about it."

Trace the goddamn call.

And then there was a pause

and the person on the other end of the phone said,

"But it makes sense that we would have a way

to get the president off the plane if something happened."

And of course, you know, the great old movie

"Escape From New York" starts with the president

on Air Force One.

He gets into an escape pod.

That pod was designed for a reason, General.

So I thought, okay, at least I have cinematic precedent

to put an escape pod on the plane.

Andrew needed someone to look at his idea

other than the FBI.

I think there's probably a file on me in D.C.

The writer expected a script

to cause a Hollywood bidding war.

You know, in a town where it feels like

overnight successes happen all the time.

And I have to say, I had been working for a while

and struggling for a while.

Until Andrew's producer friend Jon Shestack

introduced him to...

Beacon Pictures.

...Armyan Bernstein,

a fellow movie writer and producer,

20 years Andrew's senior.

Film represents the last best chance

for men and women

to sit together and dream the same dream.

And both men's dreams were about to be realized

with the unlikely appearance of another rising star.

Kevin Costner came to my house one day.

He had a movie that he wanted to get made

and he had a script that he loved

and everyone in town had turned him down.

I said, "Well, maybe there's a reason. Maybe...

What is it called?"

He said, "It's called 'Dances with Wolves.'"

"Well, let me read it."

And he said, "Okay."

And what he meant was, okay, you can read it right now.

He was having a waffle in my kitchen

and I was like having to read it in front of him.

And I went like, "Well, this better be good."

I read it.

It was the best screenplay I'd ever read.

Everyone said no.

And the Oscar goes to...

"Dances with Wolves."

"Dances with Wolves."

Kevin Costner,

for "Dances with Wolves."

The film would go on to win seven Oscars

proving Armyan's instincts for a good story.

But he needed to get that skill set to another level.

And I realized that as much success as I had

in the business, that I didn't have the clout

to actually green light movies.

And so I decided I wanted to have my own company.

But Beacon needed friends in... sports?

First year I had a great hockey team.

But what does ice hockey

have to do with Armyan?

Beacon Pictures merged

with a company called Ascent Entertainment Group.

It was run by a guy named Charlie Lyons.

Ascent provided pay-per-view

and video distribution services and was looking to expand.

The timing was perfect

because Armyan's biggest movie by far was waiting

just outside his office.

The first time I went out to pitch "Air Force One--"

Andrew's producer friend, Jon Shestack,

literally opened the door.

He was there when I went in to pitch.

In walks Jon Shestack.

Armyan was on the phone with Kevin Costner.

"There's a writer here and he's got a really good pitch."

I went like, "I'm on the phone with Kevin Costner."

He went like, "He's gonna leave."

Costner is like, "Hey, what's going on?"

I said, "I don't know."

I said, "What is this about?"

"Wait, what's the story about?"

About the president and his plane being hijacked

and the president is a kick-ass president

and he fights back.

And I went like, "I don't know.

The president is a kick-ass president.

It's not my experience of presidents."

♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪

Is that gonna work?

Costner Said, "That sounds great."

"A kick-ass president?"

He said, "I'd like to be a kick-ass president."

I got Kevin on the phone committing to a project

before we've even accepted it.

I have Kevin Costner's enthusiasm to thank.

And Kevin said, "Well, just say yes because I'll do it."

"Okay. Just say yes."

They basically bought it in the room.

At the time, this was the biggest independent film ever made

because Beacon was their own studio.

They were doing it a little bit like an independent movie

where they had a distribution deal internationally,

a distribution deal domestically.

And they were taking that money to make the film.

We have a deal with Sony.

With a budget of $85 million.

Sony would co-finance under 50/50 split

receiving domestic rights to distribution

and Beacon would take international rights.

It was a blockbuster budget for us.

Independents, you gotta protect your downside.

We had Kevin and I thought, okay, well I got,

I got no downside in this one.

With a big name and a script,

Andrew thought he was hitting a home run,

but the star player was already going to bat

for another team.

And he said, "Oh, I can't do this for about a year,

a year and a half."

I said, "Well, what if I just try to set it up

with another actor?"

And he was like, "Well, who?"

For me, I was always writing in my head for Harrison.

What if I could get Harrison Ford to do it?

Kevin Costner can't play the role

of a presint hijacked on "Air Force One"

due to a filming commitment on "The Postman."

I'm talking to Kevin.

"What if I could get Harrison Ford to do it?"

There's a long pause and he went, like,

"If you can get Harrison Ford, do it.

What am I gonna do, say no?"

But Harrison's agent might,

and she was Ford's force field.

The way to get to Harrison was through Patricia McQueeney,

who was his manager.

But would the force be with Armyan

when it came to his new script?

After all, McQueeney was the queen

and Armyan was more of a pawn.

So she reads it, and she calls me back and she goes,

"I really like this."

So she sent it over to him.

Now, all Armyan and Andrew's hopes and dreams

of the big time were in the hands of Harrison Ford.

Every great movie begins with no.

It's always no. And anything but yes is no.

"Well, let me think about it." No. "Maybe." No.

"Let me get back to you on that." No. "You know..."

No. Anything but yes is no.

And then suddenly Armyan's phone rang.

It was Harrison.

He was quick to respond.

He went like, "Yeah, I love it. Let's go do it."

Would it really be that simple?

Like most things in Hollywood, it's not as easy as that.

I think he was slated to do "Six Days Seven Nights."

Well, then, what's the bad news?

He's exploring different roles again. Meaning--

The bad news is we may be here for a long time.

Harrison's career was in a bit of a lull

after "The Fugitive."

He had been on the sidelines due to injury and fatigue.

But he thought this project would be perfect

to jump-start the next phase of his career.

Costner said, "If you go to Harrison Ford, I'll bow out.

If not, I want you to wait for me."

They said, "Okay look, let me see

if I can get Harrison. If not, I'll wait for you."

Despite Harrison's adventures

in light entertainment,

it was clear the scene was set for his return to thrillers.

And I think that he saw an opportunity in this character

to reconnect with the audience in a particular way.

And the particular way was, well--

Armyan desperately needed some Harrison action.

So he called "Six Days Seven Nights" producer

and friend Joe Roth.

"Could we get you to move your movie

if we gave you the international rights to 'Air Force One?'"

And he was like, "What about the whole world?"

I said, "I can't do that 'cause we have a deal with Sony."

Sony wasn't happy but Joe was happy enough

and they moved the movie.

And while international distribution rights

went to Joe Roth,

Armyan got Harrison Ford.

Well, now it's public.

I was just so thrilled when he came on board.

This actor could move movies.

Now who would direct his return to a more traditional role?

All the directors we went to,

they really felt that we needed a lot of money,

a lot more than we had. I got a little discouraged

and went like, wow, the top guys,

which I think Harrison would've liked, we can't afford them.

"Air Force One" could lose altitude

if Harrison didn't like his director.

But after multiple inquiries, one name would surface.

I knew there was a director named Wolfgang Petersen.

Who directed the World War II submarine epic,

"Das Boot."

Could Wolfgang be convinced to captain the ship?

You look at a bunch of people trapped in a tube underwater

and "Air Force One," a bunch of people,

desperate people trapped in a tube in the air.

You want to get a director who can direct actors in a tube.

Because you're shooting on a tube.

A whole movie on a tube.

He was the natural guy to make that movie.

And Wolfgang had come off of "In The Line Of Fire."

I wanna be assigned to the president.

Great experience dealing with the iconography

of the president in Washington D.C.

He felt like just a slam dunk choice.

Now the delicate subject of pay

would have to be addressed

before Wolfgang's final boarding call.

And I said, "How much money would you need

to do 'Air Force One'?

'Cause it's like a submarine, only it's a plane."

You know, we went back and forth, you know,

and he had like a bit of a thick German accent

and he went like, "How much money do you have?

How much?"

And I said, "Wolfgang I'm gonna be honest with you,

we have this much money."

And he was like, "Let's go.

What are you talking about?

This is like-- Let's start tomorrow."

In the past,

Harrison had difficult relationships with directors.

Phillip Noyce, our director,

Harrison might have called him lurch.

Ridley, a lot of angry exchanges.

But Wolfgang had something extra.

Wolfgang, he came up as an actor.

So his relationship to all the actors was really very easy.

He's there for you in a way--

This is a very, very unique talent

that all the great directors have.

But because Harrison was going to be a--

Kick-ass president and he fights back.

He'd need a kick-ass bad guy.

It's so nice to finally meet you in person.

You get Gary Oldman because--

He can do mythological.

He can do historical.

Lee Harvey Oswald.

Terrorist was a treat

Oldman had never tasted before.

Getting Gary Oldman is like

getting one of the greatest actors ever.

You think I'm a monster?

Gary is so fantastic at channeling,

you know, what I call bad guy energy.

You are a monster.

- In this movie, he's charming. - Hello.

- Funny. - Thanks for the water.

- Scary. - Then you must know that.

- Crazy. - Now!

He plays a lot of colors really well.

But if Gary could be evil,

his Secret Service co-conspirator would need to be evil,

treacherous and patient.

And I'd met with Wolfgang.

And Wolfgang and I hit it off right off the bat.

From all accounts, gotten the part.

They gave it to somebody else.

Like really, it's not happening?

They went with somebody else? Hmm.

- He can't do that. - He must have no choice.

While the casting of First Lady Wendy Crewson

and screen daughter, Liesel Matthews, was straightforward,

Chief of Staff, Paul Guilfoyle's audition

with Wolfgang was as confusing as Xander Berkeley's.

He said, "Oh no."

You know, he had a German accent. I won't do his accent.

But he said, "No, I know you can act.

You know, there's no problem with that, I know you can act.

I just wanted to see if you're a good guy."

- What's he doing? - That's not the speech.

Wolfgang thought Paul was such a good guy he--

Offered me two parts

and I said, "Wolfgang, the movie is about being on a plane,

isn't it, I mean,

I'd rather play the part, the guy who's on the plane."

The other role?

I'm the Secretary of Defense.

Dean Stockwell played it actually.

- The buck stops here. - And very well.

But the all-important VP?

That vacancy was still unfilled.

When I wrote the script,

it was important to me to try

and move the cultural conversation forward.

So when we were looking at the vice presidential character,

I always wanted that character to be a woman.

Harrison agreed

and said as much on a phone call from a birthday party

he was attending with some very big celebrities.

He was with Bill Clinton.

And Bill Clinton was saying,

"I love this movie, you know. Who are we casting

as the vice president?" I said, "I don't know."

He said, "Would you cast a woman?" I said, "Yeah."

And he said, "Would you cast, I don't know, Glenn Close?"

He's not asking.

And I knew I was being set up at that moment.

I knew that Harrison and Bill

and Glenn Close were literally together.

Do it.

I said, "I love Glenn Close"

"Well, she's very happy that you would just cast her

in the part, you know."

And so it was like we had our cast.

Everything was going beautifully

until Harrison told Armyan about his little hobby.

I don't suppose you know how to fly.

Harrison decided that he wanted

to actually learn how to fly.

Little planes never jets.

While acting alongside

a typical neurotic William Macy,

the real Harrison had not only bought a light aircraft,

he was learning to fly it.

He said, "What do you mean?

You don't think I'm a capable pilot?"

I said, "No, no, you're a beginning pilot"

How do I get it off autopilot?

"I'm nervous, aren't you?"

It's like riding a bike.

"I don't want you to learn how to fly."

He said, "I have to learn how to fly.

I fly the plane and the thing I got to know."

I said, "Couldn't you just learn a little?" And he goes, "No."

I'm gonna have to

maneuver this thing.

I think what happened is that Harrison actually bought

the insurance himself.

Armyan was having to watch every penny.

And when it came to the most expensive prop in the movie,

Bill Sandell had to do likewise.

I'm pretty well scrutinized

in the art department, budget-wise.

You're spending millions of their money.

When you're an independently financed film company,

you can't afford to lose big.

It would be like how are we going to dig out of that hole?

Invariably the studios like, why do you need this?

And you have to explain to them why you need it.

There was no CGI-ing in their way out of this one

and no prop department had one of these on their back lot.

Can't get anything off the shelf.

And you could rent them.

What does it take to get what we are hoping for?

And it costs a million or two to rent the plane.

Um--

Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and a 747.

How far could Armyan stretch his $85 million budget...

Air Force One is severely crippled.

...when VFX demands we're still very much

a moving target.

It's not cost effective to crash

a real 747 into the ocean.

"Air Force One" had everything.

- President. - Y know who I am.

Chief of Staff.

I'm afraid it might be me.

Right away, that gives you a sense of relief.

National Security advisor.

First Lady, villain, producer,

writer, director, VP.

But they didn't have--

The president's plane, Air Force One.

You can't get anything off the shelf.

But Bill Sandell's art department would have a...

Big heavy 747.

...size job on its hands.

The movie would need CGI planes, model planes,

a real plane and the inside of a plane.

That's a lot of plane to throw

at an already buckling budget, but--

There are no blueprints for Air Force One.

Nobody really knows what Air Force One looks like inside.

But I did find this documentary on Air Force One

that was on VHS.

And there's this one moment where they do a push in

on a cutout of the plane.

So I was like pushing pause,

just trying to get to the right moment.

Like I finally got it

and I did this little sketch

so I could lay out some of the action.

But would a low res

VHS freeze frame give up enough detail?

I talked to technical advisors, ex-Secret Service people,

ex-press people that had been on the plane.

But it's not much help.

It's a pretty secretive airplane.

A lot of planes features are classified.

Bill realized this would have to be

an inside job.

You think someone on the plane helped them?

What if somebody did and they're still on the plane?

Another Bill came to the rescue

courtesy of his high flying friend, Harrison.

Bill Clinton, Harrison knew him

and Bill Clinton was like, "I love this movie."

And he said, "Whatever you need."

If you'd like, I think we have time for a quick tour.

So sure enough, Saturday morning,

myself, the first assistant, Wolfgang,

and Michael Ballhaus, the cinematographer,

heading for Jackson, Wyoming.

We land our corporate jet

right there and there's Air Force One.

Here comes Harrison in his own plane.

In any other universe, a big gunship would've come out

and shot that plane right out of the air.

But no, he's right up by Air Force One.

Only he could get away with that.

But I guess Harrison had arranged something with his buddy,

the president of the United States.

What of the alleged escape capabilities?

The only thing we wanted to know. Was there a pod?

And they said no. And we went...

"Wrong answer."

Wolfgang says, "What's back there?"

"We can't take you back there."

Wolfgang goes, "There's a pod back there, Bill."

I said, "I think so, Wolfgang."

We found the escape pod.

Why wouldn't they have a pod?

Harrison's friend was not forthcoming

on the alleged escape capabilities.

The question is, does it fit one person?

Where's my family?

Get in the pod, sir. Get in.

Why wouldn't it be like three people?

Where is my husband?

Sorry, honey.

He has fled.

I'm serving the people, you know.

Artistic license would be applied

to Air Force One's interior.

But the outside.

That took a lot of looking to find a 747.

Finally found one in Ohio.

It was actually owned by Connie Kalitta, the race car driver.

But once we found a plane that was a whole other...

...whole other issue.

This rental would need a repaint.

But dry summer days were long gone.

We flew that plane all across the United States

trying to find the right weather so we could paint it.

But we can't do it, we can't get it done.

Fly it back across the country.

Finally we found someplace in Texas.

Oh, I was so happy to see that plane land.

And the cost of painting the president's ride?

Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching.

$300,000 officially.

It costs a lot to paint an airplane.

I found out the hard way.

We could run the whole country from here

or even a war if we had to.

And we added some things.

For instance, there aren't guns stored readily available.

There's no way to get weapons aboard Air Force One.

It's impossible.

Which is pivotal to the plot.

How would they get the weapons on board the plane?

And those are all accommodations for script.

Bending authenticity

could only be taken so far.

Harrison tried on a presidential fashion,

not seen since Teddy Roosevelt.

Harrison wanted to wear a mustache.

I said, "Harrison, don't. Please don't."

And he said, "No, I gotta have this."

And I told Wolfgang.

Who was clean shaven.

He went like, "What? No."

And Harrison opened the door

and Wolfgang said, "Get rid of your mustache.

You look like an idiot. Stop it."

And Harrison went, "All right."

"All right"? Really?

Filming for "Air Force One"

kicked off in September, 1996

with Xander Berkeley still out of the picture.

They gave it to somebody else.

That somebody else is this man

doing Xander's part.

Welcome to Air Force One.

One of the things you learn

as an actor is to depersonalize

when they go with somebody else.

But the Xander impostor

didn't get to be Secret Service Agent Gibbs.

He was just Secret agent generic.

They shot one night with that guy

and they kept his scene in.

I haven't seen him in a while, but a good guy.

This plane carries the president of the United States,

- although we-- - I understand.

So it looked like he was the guy in charge.

And then when they got on the plane,

I was the guy in charge.

They should all take their seats.

Right away.

Aerial scenes shot with real planes

allowed still rudimentary CGI to take a back seat.

But the weather would have different ideas.

It had to be shot early in the morning

before the sun came out.

So we had to be in position with these aircraft

ready to shoot 15 minutes, that was it.

At this point we have to be realistic.

It's going to take more time.

It ended up taking us seven flights

that ended up being six and a half days of every morning,

every evening shooting this thing to get it done.

The time we have, messy.

While all was clear in the air

official clearance confusion commenced on the ground

during scene shot at LA's airport.

That was kind of a situation when we kept landing

our Air Force One at LAX

because everybody didn't know

and everybody didn't get the memo.

Air Force One landing runway zero-nine.

I repeat runway zero-nine.

Here we come with our painted 747 Air Force One landing.

Air Force One, acknowledge.

We are scrambling our fighters.

Emergency equipment will be standing by.

Absolute pandemonium.

Returning to LAX every day

in the Air Force One replica had authorities

outside the fence wondering

why real planes were doing unreal things.

"No one's alerted.

How is Air Force One landing?"

And we had gun ships.

You know, that fly with the Air Force Ones.

"Something's going wrong in the tower--"

"No, no, no, it's fine.

It's a movie, don't worry about it."

With its own film office

to handle movie projects,

legal hurdles were non-existent at LAX.

For interiors, Air Force One packed up

and moved across town to Sony Picture Studios.

It was like "The Wizard of Oz" set.

So it was the biggest soundstage in Hollywood.

Huge, huge.

747s are about 230 feet.

And so we built 200 feet of it.

But Bill forgot the old "measure twice cut once"

building fundamental on one detail,

which former carpenter Harrison spotted

before it became an expensive problem.

One day I was in my golf cart driving through Sony

and I was getting rammed behind me

by somebody in a golf cart and it's Harrison.

He said, "Can you get the footprints of the plane

and bring it over to my trailer?"

I said, "Sure." He'd seen a problem

where he's supposed to hide down below.

'Cause he said, "I think you need to widen that hatch."

And he's right.

But now the challenge was making

the onscreen effect of plane movement real.

When they're flying this plane,

they're doing this, you know.

And Wolfgang wanted that actual movement.

So it's not like the old "Star Trek" days

when everybody leans left.

Holding orbit, sir.

Lean right.

Stay on top of it, Mr. Sulu.

You really want people's

things to slide off the table and move.

And did that table move, resulting in a scene

Xander Berkeley will never forget?

Literally like--

All that would happen is we'd get knocked off our feet.

Because we were all like holy shit.

And movie making is dangerous.

I've almost been killed at least a dozen times.

But there was the possibility

that the actors might die of boredom.

And if you die in that plane,

does it end there?

It's very claustrophobic.

And it wasn't like where every day you get to go out

to a new location

and it's kind of a new vibe.

- Trapped in a tube. - Was in a tube.

Shooting on a tube.

It was up to Director Wolfgang

to calm the cabin during turbulence.

He knows how to just put people at ease.

You know, he is got this wonderful folksy German accent.

Now I get these calls late at night

and he'd be like, "Andrew, I've been thinking."

And now remember to say, "Good morning, Uncle Wolfie.

He said, "You know, this scene, it might require

almost no acting at all."

"In this particular sequence,

you are all very small in the frame

so it will not require such very good acting."

"Und we must get it before lunch or there will be no lunch!"

And he turns and walks away.

You have to buy us some more time.

And then he would say,

"Saturday work is looming."

Knowing that it wasn't a set

that provided the kind of stimulus

that some locations and sets do,

he created the ambiance

and the atmosphere of camaraderie, good humor.

Spencer Garrett would quickly find himself

in on the action.

I did a bunch of TV

and a couple of little indie films that nobody's ever seen.

Just thrilling for a young actor.

We don't need more dramatics, we need options.

There's a lot of scenes with Glenn and Dean Stockwell

and all of a sudden you see my little head pop up

in between them.

And I was just trying to find the lens wherever I could.

By God, I was gonna find that lens.

And they better be damn good and they better work.

And I did.

I thought if this is my only invitation

to the big boy grownups' table.

Yeah, I was just,

I was just finding that lens.

Didn't they teach you that at Yale?

And then it was time for Close's closeup.

Sweating through that silk blouse of yours.

And Wolfgang says,

"This is the scene where you're gonna cry

and we're gonna be right super tight on you."

And she said, "Which eye?"

"Which eye do you want me to cry out of?"

And I thought, goddamn.

Left for Glenn, right for us.

That's, I mean that's,

that's iconic.

But in this scene,

Harrison Ford was also tearing up... Andrew Marlowe's script.

I had a, kind of a little mini monologue for him

when he was going up against Gary Oldman's character.

You've been very busy downstairs.

And he said "Great monologue.

Really great monologue, kid, I'm not gonna do it."

No.

"Wait, what do you mean you're not gonna do it?"

No.

"I can do it in a look and it's gonna be more powerful."

And he did.

That fight between Gary Oldman and Harrison.

They were really banging each other around.

They're both professionals

and they knew how to do it.

You whack me in the ear, okay?

I was like hovering around the corner

of the set watching this.

Harrison was playing the kick-ass president

like a pro

and even at the age of 54

seemed to possess remarkable energy.

He's humble, he's very smart, he's thoughtful,

incredibly professional.

He had the best marijuana in the world.

I'll never forget him coming out of his trailer

and just the waft of chronic.

Going, "Wow, that's strong."

Equally hazy was why Xander's screen character

would betray his chief.

Andrew Marlowe, I asked him every day that I came to work.

"So why is Agent Gibbs doing this?"

So I had a mini monologue for him

where the character really explained

what his motivation was.

I trusted you with my life.

We're about a week away from shooting it.

And Wolfgang came to me and said,

"We're trying to get the president off the plane.

We can't stop the movie to explain why this guy did it."

And he and Wolfgang would keep putting me off.

"We haven't decided yet."

"Is it for the money?"

"We aren't sure yet."

"Is he a deep mole of the Communist Party?"

"We'll keep our options open."

We ended up dropping that

so we didn't get the explanation.

It was you?

I had to remain a blank slate

feeling a bit of a fraud,

not knowing what my motivation was.

I've been approached on the street back then.

They go, "What the hell did you do that for, man?"

"I don't know.

Sorry, they never told me."

Xander can laugh now,

but he was about to get the smile

or rather the grimace wiped off his treacherous face.

I went down like a sack of potatoes 'cause I got his,

I think it was his left hook.

As the birds and stars are circling he goes,

"Ah, are you okay?"

I had to recover before we could complete the sequence.

Movies that you see me in before "Air Force One" and after.

This way it looks all right,

but this way...

Just a little bit of a...

Now "Air Force One" had to create

another nose dive,

a crunching VFX budget and time constraints

in the post-production phase.

Boss Film Studios would be given the VFX job

for "Air Force One."

We had a good relationship with Wolfgang.

Founded by a veteran

who worked on two Ford blockbusters.

She's got it where it counts, kid.

And...

We had a certain budget.

I think they could do it for that.

With CGI still in its infancy

and a restricted budget,

Boss recycled a scale model

from the previous movie.

We had an Air Force One model that had a 21-foot wingspan.

It could pitch 45 degrees either way.

Used in the movie "Turbulence"

released only months earlier.

I think it's a Ford.

Richard's model for that film would be perfect

but not quite perfect.

It has the wrong jets,

it doesn't have the Rolls-Royce jets.

A little problem here.

Nobody busted us for that.

We're clear.

But one classic effects trick

would do a lot of heavy lifting when Harrison had to fly.

It was the most green screen set

that ever was done.

That was a complicated stunt.

Conditions were perfect

for a practical joke on the biggest star in Hollywood.

It was at the end of the day,

had Harrison up in a harness, somebody had an idea like,

let's just leave him hanging up there

and just say goodnight as if we forgot about him.

And we all walk off.

Except for a few of us who were just hiding in the shadows

and we're waiting for Harrison to go,

"Hey, what's happening?" Right?

Or, "What are you doing?"

All you hear after like five minutes, he goes,

"I can outwait you,

I got all day, all night."

Then I was like,

Damn, we couldn't, we--

There was no practical joke.

He was just like, "Nah, it's not gonna happen."

But the biggest challenge

for the VFX team was no joke.

Air Force One hitting the water.

Richard couldn't go practical for a very simple reason.

It's not cost effective

to crash a real 747 into the ocean.

No take twos on that one.

"Air Force One" needed groundbreaking

or water-breaking visual effects.

It's all downhill from there, right?

To make the digital plane

match the genuine article.

Wolfgang is a pretty straightforward guy

and he knows what he wants

and we were able to give it to him.

Except for the last shot.

Visual effects at the end of the film I think are

a bit of a controversy.

It looked a bit cartoonish.

No!

The technology for water was just not there, you know?

Adding to the challenge,

the DP would insist on morning light.

Which made the shot infinitely more difficult.

You know darkness is your friend.

Light makes it much more difficult.

I think everybody wanted a second shot at that.

We didn't have that ability yet at Boss for that shot.

We ran out of time, basically.

The "Air Force One" visual effects didn't seem

that bad until another water-based blockbuster

that was being made at the same time

showed what was really possible.

Armyan was also worried about his company's future,

which seemed hung on four famous words written

as a placeholder.

I had a line that I thought,

this is just a kind of a throwaway line.

I need something in there.

I didn't want there to be the line, "Get off my plane."

I was afraid of it

because I felt that the audience would think

that it was sort of jokey.

But I should think of something better.

Remember Armyan was a writer too.

Would he have any ideas?

Stop bothering me.

I get...

You're hurting my feelings.

Get behind it. Let's get to work.

We get this plane on the ground.

We get these people off.

- Get the door. - Get me ops.

Get them off my tail.

No, that's not better.

And I couldn't think of anything better.

I'm certain it's not gonna work.

By now as a veteran of cinema,

Harrison disagreed.

And Harrison said, "No, no, no, they'll like it."

I'm like, "I don't think so."

"Why don't we just test it?"

I said, "Well, we're gonna test it.

But, Harrison, this is gonna break the bank.

I am certain it's not gonna work."

Do it.

A re-shoot would break the bank.

So Richard's edit team would work furiously

on the final mix to make deadline.

And the music was being recorded

on the scoring stage next door.

We had to wait

till they'd finished recording it.

We got a job to do

whatever the cost.

And then it came across and we edit it.

We could finally finish the film.

I've never actually worked on a film

when it's-- You have to stop mixing

because you don't have the score.

So that's how tight it got at the end.

It won't end there.

It was full steam ahead

towards the release in July of 1997.

But remember that film with the amazing water effects?

It was on a similar collision course.

"Titanic" landed on our date.

Iceberg right ahead.

This is bad, right?

Bad politics.

And they said, "Who can call the other studio?"

We need to strategize, move some things out politically.

The two studios knew they had quite something

to show the world.

A world they'd have to share.

Let's have Harrison call.

What's the goddamn number?

All right, listen. Listen carefully.

So he did.

He moved "Titanic"?

Yeah and they moved "Titanic."

And James Cameron?

That was pretty cool.

Unlike Titanic,

Beacon and partners, Ascent, weren't out

of the ice fields yet.

Their investment in "Air Force One" couldn't sink.

Come on, come on.

Ascent Entertainment had purchased Beacon.

They also ran the Colorado Avalanche.

Whose star player,

Joe Sakic, needed a top up in pay.

$15 million upfront signing bonus.

And whether or not "Air Force One" performed was key

to whether they kept their great hockey player

or whether he went to New York.

We couldn't afford to match the salary.

The only way the Rangers could get their hands

on Sakic was if "Air Force One" crashed.

Don't go to see the movie

'cause if he went to see the movie,

we could afford to keep our best player.

And so they took out ads, "Don't go see 'Air Force One.'"

"Don't go see 'Air Force One.'"

With "Titanic" delayed

to accommodate Air Force One's release

and industry sabotage to force the sale of a hockey star...

And so they took out ads,

"Don't go see 'Air Force One.'"

...and Beacon Pictures' future on the line...

You can't afford to actually lose big.

Harrison Ford's presidential adventure

had a lot riding on it.

Also, just coming off of "Sabrina."

There was a bit of a lull in his career.

Feeling his reputation hanging by a thread

at the preview, Armyan sat with Harrison

and his parents waiting for the reaction

to the one thing that was troubling him.

But here comes the line

and I'm sitting there and I'm like slinking down in my seat

and all of a sudden Harrison says...

Get off my plane.

The theater leaps to their feet in a preview.

They're cheering.

Yeah. Yeah.

They're hugging each other.

And Harrison starts to toss his popcorn on me.

It's really great.

Everyone loves it.

Get off my plane.

Who talks like that?

"Air Force One" was released

on July 25th, 1997.

Harrison's friend Bill loved it,

but would the American public?

All Armyan could do was wait for the call.

Jeff Blake, who's the head of marketing

and distribution for all of Sony says,

"Look, I think it could do

'Fugitive' numbers, maybe."

I said, "What's that?"

He said like, "21, 23 million maybe."

I said, "Really? Wow, are you kidding?"

He was like, "I don't want to get you excited

and then have you be disappointed."

"I'm gonna call you every 15 minutes."

And he calls and he says,

"I was wrong about 'Fugitive.'

You're not gonna get that number."

"Where do you think we're gonna land?"

He said, "I think it's gonna be

37 and a half million dollars."

Harrison and Pat McQueeney,

everyone's looking at me going, "What does he say?"

I say, "It's not good. It's not good."

I said, "It's the largest opening in film history."

We all cried.

Why not?

I could cry now thinking about it, it's like so sweet.

It's like you won the Super Bowl, that's great.

Against its $85 million budget

"Air Force One" would go on to earn

over $315 million worldwide

as the fifth highest grossing film of 1997

and the best of all...

And we can afford to keep our best player.

It's like that's kind of cool.

Earnings would help retain Joe Sakic

for the Colorado Avalanche

and provide Beacon Pictures

the capital to produce 30 more films over the next 20 years.

"Air Force One" was what defined us.

And it would only further enhance

Ford's bankability.

If he can sell, "Get off my plane,"

he can sell anything.

At the start of his career,

Harrison swung hammers to supplement his income

so he could choose his films.

But in the 90s, he'd pick up a shovel

to dig his way out of career doldrums

and "Air Force One" was the vehicle to power Harrison Ford

through the next 30 years of on-screen magic.

He's gotten to play some unbelievably iconic roles.

That are pivotal to me growing up.

Junior?

Don't call me that, please.

One of the most professional actors I ever worked with.

I did not sign up for this.

There are things that Harrison Ford,

only Harrison Ford can do.

He stops and he looks...

Absolutely down the line, down to earth.

What do you want?

Some things never change.

You still drive me crazy.

He certainly seems to be enjoying still working.

He's effortless.

He doesn't look like he's trying.

If Harrison was here and the red light went on,

he wouldn't even blink.

Like that.

He was like made for the movies.

That's why he's a movie star.

Harrison Ford is Harrison Ford.

And he is, he's Harrison Ford.

It's like, he's that guy.

I mean, the guy remains an icon

and he's shown us that he can do it all.