1 00:00:09,301 --> 00:00:12,262 30 years after his screen debut in Hollywood, 2 00:00:12,387 --> 00:00:16,057 Harrison Ford is a bona fide global superstar. 3 00:00:16,057 --> 00:00:17,600 Get down! 4 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:18,977 Typically, for the actor 5 00:00:18,977 --> 00:00:20,562 who cherished choice from day one, 6 00:00:20,562 --> 00:00:23,189 by the mid 90s, he was extending his range 7 00:00:23,189 --> 00:00:24,941 with varied results. 8 00:00:25,066 --> 00:00:26,818 There was a bit of a lull in his career. 9 00:00:26,943 --> 00:00:27,986 You think that's funny? 10 00:00:27,986 --> 00:00:29,112 But then one day-- 11 00:00:29,237 --> 00:00:30,739 I had this crazy idea, 12 00:00:30,739 --> 00:00:32,657 the President as an action hero. 13 00:00:34,117 --> 00:00:35,744 This is the story behind 14 00:00:35,744 --> 00:00:38,955 one of the 1990s biggest box office triumphs. 15 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:40,832 I came here tonight to be congratulated. 16 00:00:40,957 --> 00:00:42,626 And a role 17 00:00:42,626 --> 00:00:44,919 that nearly slipped out of Harrison Ford's hands. 18 00:00:44,919 --> 00:00:46,796 Harrison Ford playing the president of the United States? 19 00:00:46,796 --> 00:00:48,298 It would be politically impossible. 20 00:00:48,298 --> 00:00:50,133 I'm on the phone with Kevin Costner. 21 00:00:50,258 --> 00:00:52,719 They gave it to somebody else. 22 00:00:52,719 --> 00:00:54,679 Along with acting misfortunes. 23 00:00:54,804 --> 00:00:56,348 He broke my fucking rib. 24 00:00:56,348 --> 00:00:58,725 Jumbo jet-sized personalities. 25 00:00:58,725 --> 00:01:01,811 Here comes Harrison, taxis right up by Air Force One. 26 00:01:01,811 --> 00:01:03,813 And the intriguing story 27 00:01:03,813 --> 00:01:06,024 of how those four words... 28 00:01:06,024 --> 00:01:08,068 Get off my plane. 29 00:01:08,068 --> 00:01:10,820 ...almost became the producer's undoing. 30 00:01:10,820 --> 00:01:12,989 I said, "Harrison, this is gonna break the bank. 31 00:01:12,989 --> 00:01:14,658 It's not gonna work." 32 00:01:14,783 --> 00:01:16,159 So how did "Air Force One" 33 00:01:16,159 --> 00:01:17,869 even get off the ground? 34 00:01:17,994 --> 00:01:19,204 Is the president secure? 35 00:01:19,329 --> 00:01:21,039 I'm so nervous. 36 00:01:21,164 --> 00:01:23,041 And I looked at her, I said, "You're Glenn Close." 37 00:01:23,041 --> 00:01:25,001 And who were the people 38 00:01:25,126 --> 00:01:28,213 who stopped Harrison Ford's 34th movie from blowing up? 39 00:01:29,339 --> 00:01:31,049 I always had this theory 40 00:01:31,049 --> 00:01:32,175 that you never really succeed in this town, 41 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:33,343 you just fail at higher levels. 42 00:01:33,343 --> 00:01:36,596 You can't afford to lose big. 43 00:01:36,596 --> 00:01:37,639 Ran out of time. 44 00:02:14,009 --> 00:02:16,052 After a long run of hit movies, 45 00:02:16,177 --> 00:02:20,056 Harrison Ford's 1995 rom-com, "Sabrina," 46 00:02:20,056 --> 00:02:23,226 wasn't enjoyed by critics or the box office. 47 00:02:23,351 --> 00:02:25,729 {\an8}Which didn't quite have the audience 48 00:02:25,729 --> 00:02:27,772 {\an8}I think people had hoped for. 49 00:02:27,772 --> 00:02:29,357 And despite the Brad Pitt effect. 50 00:02:29,357 --> 00:02:31,067 - He did it. - I didn't. 51 00:02:31,443 --> 00:02:34,446 {\an8}"The Devil's Own" did well at the box office, 52 00:02:34,571 --> 00:02:36,948 {\an8}but again, failed to hit a critical nerve. 53 00:02:37,073 --> 00:02:39,200 And sooner or later, someone gets a bullet. 54 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,202 It seemed making everyone happy 55 00:02:41,202 --> 00:02:43,121 might be history for Harrison. 56 00:02:43,705 --> 00:02:46,833 Change was in the air and it sounded like... 57 00:02:46,833 --> 00:02:48,251 Yippee-ki-yay. 58 00:02:48,251 --> 00:02:49,419 Well, well, well. 59 00:02:50,378 --> 00:02:51,963 You know, during the 90s 60 00:02:51,963 --> 00:02:54,758 there was this subgenre in Hollywood 61 00:02:54,758 --> 00:02:56,176 that was "'Die Hard' on a..." 62 00:02:58,637 --> 00:03:00,138 You know, so you have "Die Hard" in a building, right? 63 00:03:00,138 --> 00:03:01,306 That's "Die Hard." 64 00:03:01,431 --> 00:03:03,016 Welcome to the party, pal. 65 00:03:03,141 --> 00:03:04,851 And then you have "Die Hard" on a boat. 66 00:03:04,851 --> 00:03:06,061 I'm just a cook. 67 00:03:06,061 --> 00:03:07,729 -"Die Hard" on a... - A bus. 68 00:03:07,729 --> 00:03:08,813 How big? 69 00:03:08,813 --> 00:03:11,233 50 feet, at least. 70 00:03:11,233 --> 00:03:12,984 It seemed every actor 71 00:03:13,109 --> 00:03:16,321 in Hollywood was dying hard on something. 72 00:03:16,321 --> 00:03:18,114 But long before Harrison's-- 73 00:03:18,240 --> 00:03:19,824 "Die Hard" on a plane. 74 00:03:19,950 --> 00:03:22,077 A young Andrew Marlowe saw a film 75 00:03:22,202 --> 00:03:23,954 that would change his life. 76 00:03:25,580 --> 00:03:27,958 I was a kid of the "Star Wars" generation. 77 00:03:28,083 --> 00:03:29,960 Harrison Ford has always been for me 78 00:03:30,085 --> 00:03:32,420 the thinking man's action hero. 79 00:03:32,420 --> 00:03:34,923 Little knowing his path was going to cross 80 00:03:34,923 --> 00:03:38,927 with the handsome swashbuckler on the screen one day, 81 00:03:38,927 --> 00:03:41,429 Andrew's next step would be college. 82 00:03:41,429 --> 00:03:43,181 I came out of USC film school, 83 00:03:43,306 --> 00:03:45,475 {\an8}my thesis script won the Nicholl Fellowship 84 00:03:45,475 --> 00:03:48,353 through the academy and got me a lot of exposure. 85 00:03:48,478 --> 00:03:50,897 But my script was a small coming-of-age. 86 00:03:50,897 --> 00:03:53,817 So I was up for all these small coming-of-age movies 87 00:03:53,817 --> 00:03:55,485 and I had always loved action movies 88 00:03:55,485 --> 00:03:56,945 and smart action movies. 89 00:03:56,945 --> 00:03:59,864 And so I wanted to reinvent myself. 90 00:03:59,990 --> 00:04:02,200 Andrew set his sights high, 91 00:04:02,200 --> 00:04:07,330 35,000 feet high at the highest public office in the land. 92 00:04:07,706 --> 00:04:10,125 This is the time where Bill Clinton was running 93 00:04:10,125 --> 00:04:11,793 for re-election against Bob Dole. 94 00:04:11,793 --> 00:04:13,503 And I was looking at the presidential race 95 00:04:13,503 --> 00:04:17,841 and I had this crazy idea of casting the president 96 00:04:17,841 --> 00:04:18,883 as an action hero. 97 00:04:20,969 --> 00:04:22,846 How do you isolate somebody like that 98 00:04:22,971 --> 00:04:24,848 so it's just about them? 99 00:04:24,973 --> 00:04:27,976 I'm like, well, if you're on the president's plane 100 00:04:27,976 --> 00:04:30,770 and it's flying at 35,000 feet, 101 00:04:30,770 --> 00:04:33,315 there really is no help until the plane gets on the ground. 102 00:04:33,315 --> 00:04:36,109 So what does that experience look like? 103 00:04:36,109 --> 00:04:38,320 Probably terrifying. 104 00:04:38,320 --> 00:04:41,197 So could Andrew pick the Secret Service's brains 105 00:04:41,197 --> 00:04:45,201 for information on this purely theoretical idea? 106 00:04:45,327 --> 00:04:49,039 At the time, there was not a lot out on the plane, 107 00:04:49,164 --> 00:04:51,082 where I called the Presidential Flight Office. 108 00:04:53,168 --> 00:04:54,836 White House Switchboard, how may I direct your call? 109 00:04:54,836 --> 00:04:57,339 And ask, "Do you have any way 110 00:04:57,339 --> 00:04:59,215 to get the president off the plane?" 111 00:04:59,341 --> 00:05:00,800 And then they're like... 112 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:02,385 Trace the call. 113 00:05:02,385 --> 00:05:04,554 "...Anything we say about the plane is classified 114 00:05:04,679 --> 00:05:06,431 so we can't tell you anything about it." 115 00:05:06,556 --> 00:05:09,017 Trace the goddamn call. 116 00:05:09,017 --> 00:05:10,894 And then there was a pause 117 00:05:11,019 --> 00:05:12,354 and the person on the other end of the phone said, 118 00:05:12,354 --> 00:05:14,856 "But it makes sense that we would have a way 119 00:05:14,856 --> 00:05:18,026 to get the president off the plane if something happened." 120 00:05:19,235 --> 00:05:20,987 {\an8}And of course, you know, the great old movie 121 00:05:20,987 --> 00:05:23,531 {\an8}"Escape From New York" starts with the president 122 00:05:23,531 --> 00:05:25,408 on Air Force One. 123 00:05:25,408 --> 00:05:27,244 He gets into an escape pod. 124 00:05:27,244 --> 00:05:29,955 That pod was designed for a reason, General. 125 00:05:32,916 --> 00:05:35,210 So I thought, okay, at least I have cinematic precedent 126 00:05:35,210 --> 00:05:37,837 to put an escape pod on the plane. 127 00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:40,215 Andrew needed someone to look at his idea 128 00:05:40,215 --> 00:05:41,967 other than the FBI. 129 00:05:42,092 --> 00:05:44,844 I think there's probably a file on me in D.C. 130 00:05:44,970 --> 00:05:46,554 The writer expected a script 131 00:05:46,554 --> 00:05:48,598 to cause a Hollywood bidding war. 132 00:05:48,723 --> 00:05:51,142 You know, in a town where it feels like 133 00:05:51,268 --> 00:05:54,062 overnight successes happen all the time. 134 00:05:54,062 --> 00:05:57,315 And I have to say, I had been working for a while 135 00:05:57,315 --> 00:06:00,318 and struggling for a while. 136 00:06:00,443 --> 00:06:03,321 Until Andrew's producer friend Jon Shestack 137 00:06:03,321 --> 00:06:04,531 introduced him to... 138 00:06:04,656 --> 00:06:05,865 Beacon Pictures. 139 00:06:06,449 --> 00:06:08,243 ...Armyan Bernstein, 140 00:06:08,243 --> 00:06:10,036 a fellow movie writer and producer, 141 00:06:10,036 --> 00:06:12,455 20 years Andrew's senior. 142 00:06:12,455 --> 00:06:16,584 {\an8}Film represents the last best chance 143 00:06:16,584 --> 00:06:18,128 {\an8}for men and women 144 00:06:18,670 --> 00:06:22,132 to sit together and dream the same dream. 145 00:06:22,716 --> 00:06:25,885 And both men's dreams were about to be realized 146 00:06:25,885 --> 00:06:29,139 with the unlikely appearance of another rising star. 147 00:06:29,139 --> 00:06:31,099 Kevin Costner came to my house one day. 148 00:06:31,099 --> 00:06:33,018 He had a movie that he wanted to get made 149 00:06:33,018 --> 00:06:35,145 and he had a script that he loved 150 00:06:35,270 --> 00:06:37,647 and everyone in town had turned him down. 151 00:06:38,648 --> 00:06:41,192 I said, "Well, maybe there's a reason. Maybe... 152 00:06:41,192 --> 00:06:42,944 What is it called?" 153 00:06:43,069 --> 00:06:44,404 He said, "It's called 'Dances with Wolves.'" 154 00:06:47,324 --> 00:06:48,491 "Well, let me read it." 155 00:06:48,617 --> 00:06:50,452 And he said, "Okay." 156 00:06:50,452 --> 00:06:52,370 And what he meant was, okay, you can read it right now. 157 00:06:52,370 --> 00:06:54,956 He was having a waffle in my kitchen 158 00:06:54,956 --> 00:06:58,668 and I was like having to read it in front of him. 159 00:06:58,668 --> 00:07:01,630 And I went like, "Well, this better be good." 160 00:07:01,630 --> 00:07:03,256 I read it. 161 00:07:03,256 --> 00:07:04,341 It was the best screenplay I'd ever read. 162 00:07:04,341 --> 00:07:06,676 Everyone said no. 163 00:07:06,676 --> 00:07:08,678 And the Oscar goes to... 164 00:07:08,678 --> 00:07:09,888 "Dances with Wolves." 165 00:07:10,013 --> 00:07:12,182 "Dances with Wolves." 166 00:07:12,307 --> 00:07:13,683 Kevin Costner, 167 00:07:13,808 --> 00:07:15,602 for "Dances with Wolves." 168 00:07:15,602 --> 00:07:17,354 The film would go on to win seven Oscars 169 00:07:17,354 --> 00:07:19,981 proving Armyan's instincts for a good story. 170 00:07:19,981 --> 00:07:22,651 But he needed to get that skill set to another level. 171 00:07:22,651 --> 00:07:26,029 And I realized that as much success as I had 172 00:07:26,029 --> 00:07:28,031 in the business, that I didn't have the clout 173 00:07:28,031 --> 00:07:29,574 to actually green light movies. 174 00:07:29,699 --> 00:07:31,952 And so I decided I wanted to have my own company. 175 00:07:32,077 --> 00:07:34,996 But Beacon needed friends in... sports? 176 00:07:34,996 --> 00:07:37,415 First year I had a great hockey team. 177 00:07:37,415 --> 00:07:40,252 But what does ice hockey 178 00:07:40,377 --> 00:07:42,128 have to do with Armyan? 179 00:07:42,128 --> 00:07:43,964 Beacon Pictures merged 180 00:07:43,964 --> 00:07:45,632 with a company called Ascent Entertainment Group. 181 00:07:45,632 --> 00:07:48,301 It was run by a guy named Charlie Lyons. 182 00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:50,387 {\an8}Ascent provided pay-per-view 183 00:07:50,512 --> 00:07:54,557 {\an8}and video distribution services and was looking to expand. 184 00:07:54,557 --> 00:07:56,268 The timing was perfect 185 00:07:56,268 --> 00:07:59,271 because Armyan's biggest movie by far was waiting 186 00:07:59,396 --> 00:08:01,273 just outside his office. 187 00:08:01,398 --> 00:08:04,484 The first time I went out to pitch "Air Force One--" 188 00:08:04,484 --> 00:08:07,279 Andrew's producer friend, Jon Shestack, 189 00:08:07,404 --> 00:08:09,072 literally opened the door. 190 00:08:09,072 --> 00:08:11,449 He was there when I went in to pitch. 191 00:08:11,574 --> 00:08:13,201 In walks Jon Shestack. 192 00:08:13,326 --> 00:08:15,579 Armyan was on the phone with Kevin Costner. 193 00:08:15,704 --> 00:08:18,123 "There's a writer here and he's got a really good pitch." 194 00:08:18,248 --> 00:08:20,375 I went like, "I'm on the phone with Kevin Costner." 195 00:08:20,500 --> 00:08:21,751 He went like, "He's gonna leave." 196 00:08:21,751 --> 00:08:23,962 Costner is like, "Hey, what's going on?" 197 00:08:24,087 --> 00:08:25,213 I said, "I don't know." 198 00:08:25,213 --> 00:08:26,548 I said, "What is this about?" 199 00:08:26,548 --> 00:08:28,300 "Wait, what's the story about?" 200 00:08:28,425 --> 00:08:30,093 About the president and his plane being hijacked 201 00:08:30,385 --> 00:08:32,262 and the president is a kick-ass president 202 00:08:32,262 --> 00:08:33,597 and he fights back. 203 00:08:33,722 --> 00:08:36,433 And I went like, "I don't know. 204 00:08:36,558 --> 00:08:38,435 The president is a kick-ass president. 205 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:40,687 It's not my experience of presidents." 206 00:08:42,606 --> 00:08:47,110 ♪ Oh, Danny Boy ♪ 207 00:08:48,153 --> 00:08:49,446 Is that gonna work? 208 00:08:49,446 --> 00:08:51,323 Costner Said, "That sounds great." 209 00:08:51,448 --> 00:08:53,074 "A kick-ass president?" 210 00:08:53,199 --> 00:08:54,492 He said, "I'd like to be a kick-ass president." 211 00:08:54,492 --> 00:08:56,745 I got Kevin on the phone committing to a project 212 00:08:56,745 --> 00:08:58,580 before we've even accepted it. 213 00:08:58,580 --> 00:09:01,124 I have Kevin Costner's enthusiasm to thank. 214 00:09:01,249 --> 00:09:03,126 And Kevin said, "Well, just say yes because I'll do it." 215 00:09:03,251 --> 00:09:04,586 "Okay. Just say yes." 216 00:09:04,586 --> 00:09:06,671 They basically bought it in the room. 217 00:09:06,796 --> 00:09:08,798 At the time, this was the biggest independent film ever made 218 00:09:08,798 --> 00:09:11,176 because Beacon was their own studio. 219 00:09:11,301 --> 00:09:13,345 They were doing it a little bit like an independent movie 220 00:09:13,470 --> 00:09:15,597 where they had a distribution deal internationally, 221 00:09:15,597 --> 00:09:17,349 a distribution deal domestically. 222 00:09:17,474 --> 00:09:19,100 And they were taking that money to make the film. 223 00:09:19,100 --> 00:09:21,102 We have a deal with Sony. 224 00:09:21,102 --> 00:09:23,563 With a budget of $85 million. 225 00:09:23,563 --> 00:09:27,108 Sony would co-finance under 50/50 split 226 00:09:27,108 --> 00:09:29,444 {\an8}receiving domestic rights to distribution 227 00:09:29,569 --> 00:09:32,155 and Beacon would take international rights. 228 00:09:32,155 --> 00:09:34,616 It was a blockbuster budget for us. 229 00:09:34,616 --> 00:09:36,826 Independents, you gotta protect your downside. 230 00:09:36,826 --> 00:09:38,787 We had Kevin and I thought, okay, well I got, 231 00:09:38,787 --> 00:09:40,497 I got no downside in this one. 232 00:09:40,622 --> 00:09:42,457 With a big name and a script, 233 00:09:42,457 --> 00:09:44,751 Andrew thought he was hitting a home run, 234 00:09:44,751 --> 00:09:47,212 but the star player was already going to bat 235 00:09:47,212 --> 00:09:49,130 for another team. 236 00:09:49,130 --> 00:09:51,299 And he said, "Oh, I can't do this for about a year, 237 00:09:51,299 --> 00:09:52,717 a year and a half." 238 00:09:52,717 --> 00:09:54,135 I said, "Well, what if I just try to set it up 239 00:09:54,135 --> 00:09:55,303 with another actor?" 240 00:09:55,303 --> 00:09:57,180 And he was like, "Well, who?" 241 00:09:57,305 --> 00:10:00,308 For me, I was always writing in my head for Harrison. 242 00:10:00,308 --> 00:10:02,602 What if I could get Harrison Ford to do it? 243 00:10:08,566 --> 00:10:10,277 Kevin Costner can't play the role 244 00:10:10,277 --> 00:10:13,363 of a presint hijacked on "Air Force One" 245 00:10:13,488 --> 00:10:15,740 due to a filming commitment on "The Postman." 246 00:10:15,865 --> 00:10:17,450 I'm talking to Kevin. 247 00:10:17,450 --> 00:10:20,078 "What if I could get Harrison Ford to do it?" 248 00:10:20,203 --> 00:10:21,663 There's a long pause and he went, like, 249 00:10:21,663 --> 00:10:24,249 "If you can get Harrison Ford, do it. 250 00:10:24,249 --> 00:10:26,209 What am I gonna do, say no?" 251 00:10:26,334 --> 00:10:27,836 But Harrison's agent might, 252 00:10:27,836 --> 00:10:29,879 and she was Ford's force field. 253 00:10:29,879 --> 00:10:33,508 The way to get to Harrison was through Patricia McQueeney, 254 00:10:33,508 --> 00:10:35,260 who was his manager. 255 00:10:35,385 --> 00:10:36,678 But would the force be with Armyan 256 00:10:36,678 --> 00:10:38,555 when it came to his new script? 257 00:10:38,555 --> 00:10:40,557 After all, McQueeney was the queen 258 00:10:40,682 --> 00:10:43,226 and Armyan was more of a pawn. 259 00:10:43,351 --> 00:10:45,895 So she reads it, and she calls me back and she goes, 260 00:10:45,895 --> 00:10:47,439 "I really like this." 261 00:10:47,439 --> 00:10:49,482 So she sent it over to him. 262 00:10:49,482 --> 00:10:52,402 Now, all Armyan and Andrew's hopes and dreams 263 00:10:52,527 --> 00:10:55,530 of the big time were in the hands of Harrison Ford. 264 00:10:55,530 --> 00:10:57,657 Every great movie begins with no. 265 00:10:57,657 --> 00:11:00,368 It's always no. And anything but yes is no. 266 00:11:00,368 --> 00:11:02,579 "Well, let me think about it." No. "Maybe." No. 267 00:11:02,704 --> 00:11:04,414 "Let me get back to you on that." No. "You know..." 268 00:11:05,707 --> 00:11:08,501 No. Anything but yes is no. 269 00:11:08,627 --> 00:11:11,338 And then suddenly Armyan's phone rang. 270 00:11:11,338 --> 00:11:12,422 It was Harrison. 271 00:11:12,547 --> 00:11:14,257 He was quick to respond. 272 00:11:14,382 --> 00:11:15,800 He went like, "Yeah, I love it. Let's go do it." 273 00:11:15,925 --> 00:11:17,761 Would it really be that simple? 274 00:11:17,761 --> 00:11:21,264 Like most things in Hollywood, it's not as easy as that. 275 00:11:21,389 --> 00:11:24,643 I think he was slated to do "Six Days Seven Nights." 276 00:11:24,768 --> 00:11:26,728 Well, then, what's the bad news? 277 00:11:26,728 --> 00:11:29,773 He's exploring different roles again. Meaning-- 278 00:11:29,773 --> 00:11:33,902 The bad news is we may be here for a long time. 279 00:11:33,902 --> 00:11:36,279 Harrison's career was in a bit of a lull 280 00:11:36,279 --> 00:11:38,156 after "The Fugitive." 281 00:11:38,156 --> 00:11:40,742 He had been on the sidelines due to injury and fatigue. 282 00:11:40,742 --> 00:11:43,411 But he thought this project would be perfect 283 00:11:43,411 --> 00:11:46,414 to jump-start the next phase of his career. 284 00:11:46,414 --> 00:11:49,417 Costner said, "If you go to Harrison Ford, I'll bow out. 285 00:11:49,417 --> 00:11:51,169 If not, I want you to wait for me." 286 00:11:51,294 --> 00:11:52,837 They said, "Okay look, let me see 287 00:11:52,963 --> 00:11:54,464 if I can get Harrison. If not, I'll wait for you." 288 00:11:54,756 --> 00:11:56,675 Despite Harrison's adventures 289 00:11:56,800 --> 00:11:58,635 in light entertainment, 290 00:11:58,760 --> 00:12:01,596 it was clear the scene was set for his return to thrillers. 291 00:12:01,596 --> 00:12:03,848 And I think that he saw an opportunity in this character 292 00:12:03,974 --> 00:12:06,601 to reconnect with the audience in a particular way. 293 00:12:06,726 --> 00:12:09,229 And the particular way was, well-- 294 00:12:10,730 --> 00:12:13,566 Armyan desperately needed some Harrison action. 295 00:12:13,566 --> 00:12:16,278 So he called "Six Days Seven Nights" producer 296 00:12:16,278 --> 00:12:17,654 and friend Joe Roth. 297 00:12:17,779 --> 00:12:20,198 "Could we get you to move your movie 298 00:12:20,323 --> 00:12:24,869 if we gave you the international rights to 'Air Force One?'" 299 00:12:24,869 --> 00:12:27,497 And he was like, "What about the whole world?" 300 00:12:27,622 --> 00:12:30,292 I said, "I can't do that 'cause we have a deal with Sony." 301 00:12:30,292 --> 00:12:33,795 Sony wasn't happy but Joe was happy enough 302 00:12:33,795 --> 00:12:35,839 and they moved the movie. 303 00:12:35,839 --> 00:12:37,716 And while international distribution rights 304 00:12:37,716 --> 00:12:39,301 went to Joe Roth, 305 00:12:39,301 --> 00:12:40,719 Armyan got Harrison Ford. 306 00:12:40,844 --> 00:12:42,470 Well, now it's public. 307 00:12:42,595 --> 00:12:45,432 I was just so thrilled when he came on board. 308 00:12:45,432 --> 00:12:48,226 This actor could move movies. 309 00:12:48,351 --> 00:12:51,896 Now who would direct his return to a more traditional role? 310 00:12:51,896 --> 00:12:53,481 All the directors we went to, 311 00:12:53,607 --> 00:12:55,984 they really felt that we needed a lot of money, 312 00:12:55,984 --> 00:12:58,737 a lot more than we had. I got a little discouraged 313 00:12:58,862 --> 00:13:00,697 and went like, wow, the top guys, 314 00:13:00,697 --> 00:13:02,574 which I think Harrison would've liked, we can't afford them. 315 00:13:02,574 --> 00:13:04,701 "Air Force One" could lose altitude 316 00:13:04,826 --> 00:13:06,995 if Harrison didn't like his director. 317 00:13:06,995 --> 00:13:10,582 But after multiple inquiries, one name would surface. 318 00:13:10,707 --> 00:13:13,376 I knew there was a director named Wolfgang Petersen. 319 00:13:13,376 --> 00:13:15,754 Who directed the World War II submarine epic, 320 00:13:15,879 --> 00:13:17,631 "Das Boot." 321 00:13:17,631 --> 00:13:19,883 Could Wolfgang be convinced to captain the ship? 322 00:13:20,008 --> 00:13:24,387 {\an8}You look at a bunch of people trapped in a tube underwater 323 00:13:24,387 --> 00:13:26,014 and "Air Force One," a bunch of people, 324 00:13:26,014 --> 00:13:28,058 desperate people trapped in a tube in the air. 325 00:13:28,058 --> 00:13:30,518 {\an8}You want to get a director who can direct actors in a tube. 326 00:13:30,518 --> 00:13:31,770 {\an8}Because you're shooting on a tube. 327 00:13:31,895 --> 00:13:33,396 {\an8}A whole movie on a tube. 328 00:13:33,521 --> 00:13:35,440 He was the natural guy to make that movie. 329 00:13:35,565 --> 00:13:38,818 And Wolfgang had come off of "In The Line Of Fire." 330 00:13:38,818 --> 00:13:40,612 I wanna be assigned to the president. 331 00:13:40,737 --> 00:13:43,531 Great experience dealing with the iconography 332 00:13:43,531 --> 00:13:45,784 of the president in Washington D.C. 333 00:13:45,909 --> 00:13:49,079 He felt like just a slam dunk choice. 334 00:13:49,204 --> 00:13:51,373 Now the delicate subject of pay 335 00:13:51,373 --> 00:13:52,791 would have to be addressed 336 00:13:52,916 --> 00:13:54,668 before Wolfgang's final boarding call. 337 00:13:54,668 --> 00:13:57,629 And I said, "How much money would you need 338 00:13:57,754 --> 00:13:59,464 to do 'Air Force One'? 339 00:13:59,589 --> 00:14:01,549 'Cause it's like a submarine, only it's a plane." 340 00:14:01,549 --> 00:14:03,301 You know, we went back and forth, you know, 341 00:14:03,301 --> 00:14:04,803 and he had like a bit of a thick German accent 342 00:14:04,803 --> 00:14:06,721 and he went like, "How much money do you have? 343 00:14:06,721 --> 00:14:08,556 How much?" 344 00:14:08,556 --> 00:14:09,808 And I said, "Wolfgang I'm gonna be honest with you, 345 00:14:09,933 --> 00:14:11,059 we have this much money." 346 00:14:11,184 --> 00:14:13,770 And he was like, "Let's go. 347 00:14:13,770 --> 00:14:15,105 What are you talking about? 348 00:14:15,105 --> 00:14:17,315 This is like-- Let's start tomorrow." 349 00:14:17,440 --> 00:14:19,067 In the past, 350 00:14:19,067 --> 00:14:20,986 Harrison had difficult relationships with directors. 351 00:14:20,986 --> 00:14:22,612 Phillip Noyce, our director, 352 00:14:22,737 --> 00:14:24,656 {\an8}Harrison might have called him lurch. 353 00:14:24,781 --> 00:14:28,368 {\an8}Ridley, a lot of angry exchanges. 354 00:14:28,368 --> 00:14:30,996 But Wolfgang had something extra. 355 00:14:31,121 --> 00:14:34,457 Wolfgang, he came up as an actor. 356 00:14:34,583 --> 00:14:39,462 {\an8}So his relationship to all the actors was really very easy. 357 00:14:39,879 --> 00:14:41,881 He's there for you in a way-- 358 00:14:41,881 --> 00:14:43,883 This is a very, very unique talent 359 00:14:43,883 --> 00:14:46,511 that all the great directors have. 360 00:14:46,636 --> 00:14:48,555 But because Harrison was going to be a-- 361 00:14:48,555 --> 00:14:50,557 Kick-ass president and he fights back. 362 00:14:50,557 --> 00:14:52,934 He'd need a kick-ass bad guy. 363 00:14:52,934 --> 00:14:54,936 It's so nice to finally meet you in person. 364 00:14:54,936 --> 00:14:56,521 You get Gary Oldman because-- 365 00:14:56,646 --> 00:14:58,440 He can do mythological. 366 00:14:59,441 --> 00:15:00,984 He can do historical. 367 00:15:00,984 --> 00:15:02,611 Lee Harvey Oswald. 368 00:15:02,611 --> 00:15:04,613 Terrorist was a treat 369 00:15:04,613 --> 00:15:06,823 Oldman had never tasted before. 370 00:15:06,823 --> 00:15:08,491 Getting Gary Oldman is like 371 00:15:08,617 --> 00:15:10,076 getting one of the greatest actors ever. 372 00:15:10,493 --> 00:15:12,454 You think I'm a monster? 373 00:15:12,454 --> 00:15:15,373 Gary is so fantastic at channeling, 374 00:15:15,373 --> 00:15:16,833 you know, what I call bad guy energy. 375 00:15:16,833 --> 00:15:19,461 You are a monster. 376 00:15:19,461 --> 00:15:22,505 - In this movie, he's charming. - Hello. 377 00:15:22,505 --> 00:15:24,549 - Funny. - Thanks for the water. 378 00:15:24,674 --> 00:15:26,635 - Scary. - Then you must know that. 379 00:15:26,635 --> 00:15:28,845 - Crazy. - Now! 380 00:15:28,845 --> 00:15:30,889 He plays a lot of colors really well. 381 00:15:31,014 --> 00:15:32,891 But if Gary could be evil, 382 00:15:32,891 --> 00:15:36,853 his Secret Service co-conspirator would need to be evil, 383 00:15:36,978 --> 00:15:38,730 treacherous and patient. 384 00:15:38,855 --> 00:15:40,523 {\an8}And I'd met with Wolfgang. 385 00:15:40,523 --> 00:15:42,859 {\an8}And Wolfgang and I hit it off right off the bat. 386 00:15:42,859 --> 00:15:44,486 From all accounts, gotten the part. 387 00:15:44,486 --> 00:15:46,696 They gave it to somebody else. 388 00:15:46,696 --> 00:15:49,074 Like really, it's not happening? 389 00:15:49,074 --> 00:15:51,451 They went with somebody else? Hmm. 390 00:15:51,451 --> 00:15:53,703 - He can't do that. - He must have no choice. 391 00:15:53,828 --> 00:15:56,539 While the casting of First Lady Wendy Crewson 392 00:15:56,665 --> 00:15:59,709 and screen daughter, Liesel Matthews, was straightforward, 393 00:15:59,834 --> 00:16:02,087 Chief of Staff, Paul Guilfoyle's audition 394 00:16:02,212 --> 00:16:05,757 with Wolfgang was as confusing as Xander Berkeley's. 395 00:16:05,757 --> 00:16:07,717 He said, "Oh no." 396 00:16:07,842 --> 00:16:10,095 You know, he had a German accent. I won't do his accent. 397 00:16:10,220 --> 00:16:12,055 But he said, "No, I know you can act. 398 00:16:12,055 --> 00:16:14,140 You know, there's no problem with that, I know you can act. 399 00:16:14,266 --> 00:16:16,643 I just wanted to see if you're a good guy." 400 00:16:17,727 --> 00:16:20,605 - What's he doing? - That's not the speech. 401 00:16:20,730 --> 00:16:23,191 Wolfgang thought Paul was such a good guy he-- 402 00:16:23,191 --> 00:16:25,110 Offered me two parts 403 00:16:25,110 --> 00:16:27,779 and I said, "Wolfgang, the movie is about being on a plane, 404 00:16:27,779 --> 00:16:29,739 isn't it, I mean, 405 00:16:29,739 --> 00:16:31,616 I'd rather play the part, the guy who's on the plane." 406 00:16:31,741 --> 00:16:32,784 The other role? 407 00:16:32,784 --> 00:16:34,035 I'm the Secretary of Defense. 408 00:16:34,160 --> 00:16:35,870 Dean Stockwell played it actually. 409 00:16:35,870 --> 00:16:38,415 - The buck stops here. - And very well. 410 00:16:38,540 --> 00:16:40,542 But the all-important VP? 411 00:16:40,542 --> 00:16:42,919 That vacancy was still unfilled. 412 00:16:42,919 --> 00:16:45,255 When I wrote the script, 413 00:16:45,255 --> 00:16:46,965 it was important to me to try 414 00:16:46,965 --> 00:16:48,925 and move the cultural conversation forward. 415 00:16:49,050 --> 00:16:52,220 So when we were looking at the vice presidential character, 416 00:16:52,220 --> 00:16:54,889 I always wanted that character to be a woman. 417 00:16:54,889 --> 00:16:56,766 Harrison agreed 418 00:16:56,766 --> 00:16:59,144 and said as much on a phone call from a birthday party 419 00:16:59,269 --> 00:17:01,896 he was attending with some very big celebrities. 420 00:17:01,896 --> 00:17:03,106 He was with Bill Clinton. 421 00:17:04,024 --> 00:17:05,775 And Bill Clinton was saying, 422 00:17:05,901 --> 00:17:07,944 "I love this movie, you know. Who are we casting 423 00:17:07,944 --> 00:17:09,654 as the vice president?" I said, "I don't know." 424 00:17:09,779 --> 00:17:12,198 He said, "Would you cast a woman?" I said, "Yeah." 425 00:17:12,198 --> 00:17:15,035 And he said, "Would you cast, I don't know, Glenn Close?" 426 00:17:15,035 --> 00:17:16,911 He's not asking. 427 00:17:16,911 --> 00:17:19,122 And I knew I was being set up at that moment. 428 00:17:19,122 --> 00:17:21,625 I knew that Harrison and Bill 429 00:17:21,750 --> 00:17:23,251 and Glenn Close were literally together. 430 00:17:23,251 --> 00:17:24,669 Do it. 431 00:17:24,669 --> 00:17:26,504 I said, "I love Glenn Close" 432 00:17:26,630 --> 00:17:28,632 "Well, she's very happy that you would just cast her 433 00:17:28,757 --> 00:17:29,924 in the part, you know." 434 00:17:29,924 --> 00:17:32,010 And so it was like we had our cast. 435 00:17:32,010 --> 00:17:33,803 Everything was going beautifully 436 00:17:33,803 --> 00:17:37,015 until Harrison told Armyan about his little hobby. 437 00:17:37,015 --> 00:17:38,642 I don't suppose you know how to fly. 438 00:17:38,767 --> 00:17:39,809 Harrison decided that he wanted 439 00:17:39,935 --> 00:17:41,519 to actually learn how to fly. 440 00:17:41,645 --> 00:17:43,980 Little planes never jets. 441 00:17:43,980 --> 00:17:45,565 While acting alongside 442 00:17:45,565 --> 00:17:47,901 a typical neurotic William Macy, 443 00:17:47,901 --> 00:17:51,029 the real Harrison had not only bought a light aircraft, 444 00:17:51,154 --> 00:17:52,614 he was learning to fly it. 445 00:17:52,739 --> 00:17:54,032 He said, "What do you mean? 446 00:17:54,157 --> 00:17:55,700 You don't think I'm a capable pilot?" 447 00:17:55,825 --> 00:17:57,661 I said, "No, no, you're a beginning pilot" 448 00:17:57,661 --> 00:17:59,788 How do I get it off autopilot? 449 00:18:01,623 --> 00:18:02,999 "I'm nervous, aren't you?" 450 00:18:02,999 --> 00:18:04,584 It's like riding a bike. 451 00:18:04,584 --> 00:18:06,002 "I don't want you to learn how to fly." 452 00:18:06,127 --> 00:18:07,671 He said, "I have to learn how to fly. 453 00:18:07,671 --> 00:18:09,589 I fly the plane and the thing I got to know." 454 00:18:09,589 --> 00:18:11,841 I said, "Couldn't you just learn a little?" And he goes, "No." 455 00:18:11,841 --> 00:18:13,134 I'm gonna have to 456 00:18:13,134 --> 00:18:14,928 maneuver this thing. 457 00:18:15,053 --> 00:18:16,846 I think what happened is that Harrison actually bought 458 00:18:16,846 --> 00:18:18,682 the insurance himself. 459 00:18:18,807 --> 00:18:20,684 Armyan was having to watch every penny. 460 00:18:20,809 --> 00:18:23,853 And when it came to the most expensive prop in the movie, 461 00:18:23,853 --> 00:18:25,897 Bill Sandell had to do likewise. 462 00:18:25,897 --> 00:18:27,565 {\an8}I'm pretty well scrutinized 463 00:18:27,565 --> 00:18:29,192 {\an8}in the art department, budget-wise. 464 00:18:29,192 --> 00:18:31,278 {\an8}You're spending millions of their money. 465 00:18:31,278 --> 00:18:34,030 When you're an independently financed film company, 466 00:18:34,155 --> 00:18:37,367 you can't afford to lose big. 467 00:18:37,367 --> 00:18:40,704 It would be like how are we going to dig out of that hole? 468 00:18:40,829 --> 00:18:42,914 Invariably the studios like, why do you need this? 469 00:18:42,914 --> 00:18:45,083 And you have to explain to them why you need it. 470 00:18:45,208 --> 00:18:48,211 There was no CGI-ing in their way out of this one 471 00:18:48,211 --> 00:18:51,923 and no prop department had one of these on their back lot. 472 00:18:52,048 --> 00:18:53,633 Can't get anything off the shelf. 473 00:18:53,633 --> 00:18:55,218 {\an8}And you could rent them. 474 00:18:55,218 --> 00:18:57,262 What does it take to get what we are hoping for? 475 00:18:57,387 --> 00:18:59,806 And it costs a million or two to rent the plane. 476 00:19:00,390 --> 00:19:01,975 Um-- 477 00:19:02,434 --> 00:19:06,104 Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and a 747. 478 00:19:06,104 --> 00:19:09,983 How far could Armyan stretch his $85 million budget... 479 00:19:09,983 --> 00:19:12,694 Air Force One is severely crippled. 480 00:19:12,694 --> 00:19:15,071 ...when VFX demands we're still very much 481 00:19:15,196 --> 00:19:16,364 a moving target. 482 00:19:16,364 --> 00:19:17,866 It's not cost effective to crash 483 00:19:17,866 --> 00:19:19,826 a real 747 into the ocean. 484 00:19:25,248 --> 00:19:27,125 "Air Force One" had everything. 485 00:19:27,250 --> 00:19:29,377 - President. - Y know who I am. 486 00:19:29,377 --> 00:19:30,712 Chief of Staff. 487 00:19:30,712 --> 00:19:32,255 I'm afraid it might be me. 488 00:19:32,255 --> 00:19:34,299 {\an8}Right away, that gives you a sense of relief. 489 00:19:34,424 --> 00:19:36,176 National Security advisor. 490 00:19:37,218 --> 00:19:39,804 First Lady, villain, producer, 491 00:19:39,930 --> 00:19:42,265 writer, director, VP. 492 00:19:42,265 --> 00:19:43,933 But they didn't have-- 493 00:19:44,059 --> 00:19:46,311 The president's plane, Air Force One. 494 00:19:46,478 --> 00:19:48,813 {\an8}You can't get anything off the shelf. 495 00:19:48,939 --> 00:19:51,274 But Bill Sandell's art department would have a... 496 00:19:51,399 --> 00:19:53,860 Big heavy 747. 497 00:19:53,860 --> 00:19:55,779 ...size job on its hands. 498 00:19:55,779 --> 00:19:59,991 The movie would need CGI planes, model planes, 499 00:20:00,116 --> 00:20:02,827 a real plane and the inside of a plane. 500 00:20:02,827 --> 00:20:04,788 That's a lot of plane to throw 501 00:20:04,913 --> 00:20:06,957 at an already buckling budget, but-- 502 00:20:07,082 --> 00:20:09,125 There are no blueprints for Air Force One. 503 00:20:09,250 --> 00:20:12,212 Nobody really knows what Air Force One looks like inside. 504 00:20:12,337 --> 00:20:15,715 {\an8}But I did find this documentary on Air Force One 505 00:20:15,715 --> 00:20:17,300 {\an8}that was on VHS. 506 00:20:17,425 --> 00:20:20,345 And there's this one moment where they do a push in 507 00:20:20,470 --> 00:20:22,097 on a cutout of the plane. 508 00:20:22,222 --> 00:20:24,933 So I was like pushing pause, 509 00:20:25,642 --> 00:20:27,727 just trying to get to the right moment. 510 00:20:27,727 --> 00:20:28,853 Like I finally got it 511 00:20:28,853 --> 00:20:30,313 and I did this little sketch 512 00:20:30,313 --> 00:20:32,107 so I could lay out some of the action. 513 00:20:32,107 --> 00:20:33,775 But would a low res 514 00:20:33,775 --> 00:20:36,695 VHS freeze frame give up enough detail? 515 00:20:36,695 --> 00:20:39,864 I talked to technical advisors, ex-Secret Service people, 516 00:20:39,990 --> 00:20:41,825 ex-press people that had been on the plane. 517 00:20:41,825 --> 00:20:43,159 But it's not much help. 518 00:20:43,159 --> 00:20:44,995 It's a pretty secretive airplane. 519 00:20:45,120 --> 00:20:47,163 A lot of planes features are classified. 520 00:20:47,163 --> 00:20:48,957 Bill realized this would have to be 521 00:20:48,957 --> 00:20:50,709 an inside job. 522 00:20:50,834 --> 00:20:52,419 You think someone on the plane helped them? 523 00:20:52,544 --> 00:20:54,254 What if somebody did and they're still on the plane? 524 00:20:54,254 --> 00:20:56,965 Another Bill came to the rescue 525 00:20:56,965 --> 00:20:58,967 courtesy of his high flying friend, Harrison. 526 00:20:59,092 --> 00:21:00,719 Bill Clinton, Harrison knew him 527 00:21:00,719 --> 00:21:02,304 {\an8}and Bill Clinton was like, "I love this movie." 528 00:21:02,304 --> 00:21:04,222 {\an8}And he said, "Whatever you need." 529 00:21:04,222 --> 00:21:06,308 If you'd like, I think we have time for a quick tour. 530 00:21:06,308 --> 00:21:08,727 So sure enough, Saturday morning, 531 00:21:08,852 --> 00:21:11,229 myself, the first assistant, Wolfgang, 532 00:21:11,354 --> 00:21:13,315 and Michael Ballhaus, the cinematographer, 533 00:21:13,315 --> 00:21:15,233 heading for Jackson, Wyoming. 534 00:21:15,358 --> 00:21:17,444 We land our corporate jet 535 00:21:17,444 --> 00:21:20,030 right there and there's Air Force One. 536 00:21:20,030 --> 00:21:22,824 Here comes Harrison in his own plane. 537 00:21:22,824 --> 00:21:26,077 In any other universe, a big gunship would've come out 538 00:21:26,202 --> 00:21:27,954 and shot that plane right out of the air. 539 00:21:27,954 --> 00:21:30,081 But no, he's right up by Air Force One. 540 00:21:30,206 --> 00:21:32,208 Only he could get away with that. 541 00:21:32,334 --> 00:21:34,669 But I guess Harrison had arranged something with his buddy, 542 00:21:34,794 --> 00:21:37,005 the president of the United States. 543 00:21:37,005 --> 00:21:39,799 What of the alleged escape capabilities? 544 00:21:39,924 --> 00:21:42,010 The only thing we wanted to know. Was there a pod? 545 00:21:42,135 --> 00:21:43,887 And they said no. And we went... 546 00:21:44,888 --> 00:21:47,057 "Wrong answer." 547 00:21:47,057 --> 00:21:48,183 Wolfgang says, "What's back there?" 548 00:21:48,183 --> 00:21:50,060 "We can't take you back there." 549 00:21:50,060 --> 00:21:53,104 Wolfgang goes, "There's a pod back there, Bill." 550 00:21:53,104 --> 00:21:54,397 I said, "I think so, Wolfgang." 551 00:21:54,397 --> 00:21:56,399 We found the escape pod. 552 00:21:56,524 --> 00:21:58,235 Why wouldn't they have a pod? 553 00:21:58,235 --> 00:22:00,111 Harrison's friend was not forthcoming 554 00:22:00,111 --> 00:22:02,739 on the alleged escape capabilities. 555 00:22:02,864 --> 00:22:04,950 The question is, does it fit one person? 556 00:22:04,950 --> 00:22:06,117 Where's my family? 557 00:22:06,117 --> 00:22:07,744 Get in the pod, sir. Get in. 558 00:22:07,869 --> 00:22:08,912 Why wouldn't it be like three people? 559 00:22:09,037 --> 00:22:10,497 Where is my husband? 560 00:22:13,124 --> 00:22:15,251 Sorry, honey. 561 00:22:15,251 --> 00:22:16,503 He has fled. 562 00:22:17,963 --> 00:22:19,381 I'm serving the people, you know. 563 00:22:19,506 --> 00:22:21,091 Artistic license would be applied 564 00:22:21,091 --> 00:22:23,051 to Air Force One's interior. 565 00:22:23,051 --> 00:22:24,511 But the outside. 566 00:22:24,511 --> 00:22:26,805 That took a lot of looking to find a 747. 567 00:22:26,930 --> 00:22:29,099 Finally found one in Ohio. 568 00:22:29,224 --> 00:22:31,977 It was actually owned by Connie Kalitta, the race car driver. 569 00:22:32,102 --> 00:22:34,813 But once we found a plane that was a whole other... 570 00:22:36,439 --> 00:22:38,066 ...whole other issue. 571 00:22:38,191 --> 00:22:39,943 This rental would need a repaint. 572 00:22:39,943 --> 00:22:42,195 But dry summer days were long gone. 573 00:22:42,195 --> 00:22:44,948 We flew that plane all across the United States 574 00:22:45,782 --> 00:22:48,410 trying to find the right weather so we could paint it. 575 00:22:48,410 --> 00:22:50,245 But we can't do it, we can't get it done. 576 00:22:50,245 --> 00:22:52,163 Fly it back across the country. 577 00:22:52,163 --> 00:22:54,749 Finally we found someplace in Texas. 578 00:22:54,874 --> 00:22:56,793 Oh, I was so happy to see that plane land. 579 00:22:56,793 --> 00:22:58,962 And the cost of painting the president's ride? 580 00:22:59,087 --> 00:23:00,380 Ka-ching, ka-ching, ka-ching. 581 00:23:00,380 --> 00:23:03,425 $300,000 officially. 582 00:23:03,425 --> 00:23:05,260 It costs a lot to paint an airplane. 583 00:23:05,260 --> 00:23:07,095 I found out the hard way. 584 00:23:07,095 --> 00:23:09,014 We could run the whole country from here 585 00:23:09,014 --> 00:23:10,265 or even a war if we had to. 586 00:23:10,265 --> 00:23:12,267 And we added some things. 587 00:23:12,267 --> 00:23:15,937 For instance, there aren't guns stored readily available. 588 00:23:15,937 --> 00:23:17,897 There's no way to get weapons aboard Air Force One. 589 00:23:17,897 --> 00:23:19,024 It's impossible. 590 00:23:19,024 --> 00:23:20,817 Which is pivotal to the plot. 591 00:23:20,942 --> 00:23:22,485 How would they get the weapons on board the plane? 592 00:23:22,485 --> 00:23:24,863 And those are all accommodations for script. 593 00:23:24,863 --> 00:23:26,364 Bending authenticity 594 00:23:26,364 --> 00:23:28,199 could only be taken so far. 595 00:23:28,325 --> 00:23:31,119 Harrison tried on a presidential fashion, 596 00:23:31,119 --> 00:23:33,038 not seen since Teddy Roosevelt. 597 00:23:33,038 --> 00:23:35,498 Harrison wanted to wear a mustache. 598 00:23:35,624 --> 00:23:38,168 I said, "Harrison, don't. Please don't." 599 00:23:38,168 --> 00:23:39,961 And he said, "No, I gotta have this." 600 00:23:39,961 --> 00:23:41,379 And I told Wolfgang. 601 00:23:41,504 --> 00:23:43,048 Who was clean shaven. 602 00:23:43,173 --> 00:23:45,300 He went like, "What? No." 603 00:23:45,425 --> 00:23:47,052 And Harrison opened the door 604 00:23:47,052 --> 00:23:49,262 and Wolfgang said, "Get rid of your mustache. 605 00:23:49,262 --> 00:23:51,139 You look like an idiot. Stop it." 606 00:23:51,139 --> 00:23:53,308 And Harrison went, "All right." 607 00:23:53,308 --> 00:23:55,393 "All right"? Really? 608 00:23:55,518 --> 00:23:57,228 Filming for "Air Force One" 609 00:23:57,228 --> 00:24:00,148 kicked off in September, 1996 610 00:24:00,148 --> 00:24:02,317 with Xander Berkeley still out of the picture. 611 00:24:02,317 --> 00:24:04,569 They gave it to somebody else. 612 00:24:04,569 --> 00:24:06,988 That somebody else is this man 613 00:24:06,988 --> 00:24:08,323 doing Xander's part. 614 00:24:08,448 --> 00:24:10,367 Welcome to Air Force One. 615 00:24:10,367 --> 00:24:11,493 One of the things you learn 616 00:24:11,493 --> 00:24:14,204 {\an8}as an actor is to depersonalize 617 00:24:14,329 --> 00:24:15,997 {\an8}when they go with somebody else. 618 00:24:15,997 --> 00:24:17,499 But the Xander impostor 619 00:24:17,499 --> 00:24:20,001 didn't get to be Secret Service Agent Gibbs. 620 00:24:20,001 --> 00:24:22,879 He was just Secret agent generic. 621 00:24:22,879 --> 00:24:25,215 They shot one night with that guy 622 00:24:25,215 --> 00:24:27,217 and they kept his scene in. 623 00:24:27,217 --> 00:24:29,260 I haven't seen him in a while, but a good guy. 624 00:24:29,386 --> 00:24:31,471 This plane carries the president of the United States, 625 00:24:31,471 --> 00:24:33,181 - although we-- - I understand. 626 00:24:33,181 --> 00:24:34,891 So it looked like he was the guy in charge. 627 00:24:35,016 --> 00:24:35,892 And then when they got on the plane, 628 00:24:35,892 --> 00:24:37,268 I was the guy in charge. 629 00:24:37,394 --> 00:24:38,436 They should all take their seats. 630 00:24:39,062 --> 00:24:40,438 Right away. 631 00:24:40,438 --> 00:24:42,482 Aerial scenes shot with real planes 632 00:24:42,607 --> 00:24:47,112 allowed still rudimentary CGI to take a back seat. 633 00:24:47,112 --> 00:24:49,239 But the weather would have different ideas. 634 00:24:49,239 --> 00:24:51,241 {\an8}It had to be shot early in the morning 635 00:24:51,241 --> 00:24:53,076 {\an8}before the sun came out. 636 00:24:53,076 --> 00:24:55,537 {\an8}So we had to be in position with these aircraft 637 00:24:55,537 --> 00:24:58,248 ready to shoot 15 minutes, that was it. 638 00:24:58,373 --> 00:25:00,458 At this point we have to be realistic. 639 00:25:00,458 --> 00:25:02,127 It's going to take more time. 640 00:25:02,252 --> 00:25:04,337 It ended up taking us seven flights 641 00:25:04,337 --> 00:25:07,674 that ended up being six and a half days of every morning, 642 00:25:07,799 --> 00:25:10,176 every evening shooting this thing to get it done. 643 00:25:10,302 --> 00:25:12,220 The time we have, messy. 644 00:25:12,220 --> 00:25:15,015 While all was clear in the air 645 00:25:15,015 --> 00:25:17,559 official clearance confusion commenced on the ground 646 00:25:17,559 --> 00:25:20,270 during scene shot at LA's airport. 647 00:25:20,270 --> 00:25:22,647 That was kind of a situation when we kept landing 648 00:25:22,772 --> 00:25:25,317 our Air Force One at LAX 649 00:25:25,317 --> 00:25:26,985 because everybody didn't know 650 00:25:26,985 --> 00:25:28,695 and everybody didn't get the memo. 651 00:25:28,695 --> 00:25:30,905 Air Force One landing runway zero-nine. 652 00:25:31,031 --> 00:25:32,657 I repeat runway zero-nine. 653 00:25:32,657 --> 00:25:37,329 Here we come with our painted 747 Air Force One landing. 654 00:25:37,329 --> 00:25:38,496 Air Force One, acknowledge. 655 00:25:38,496 --> 00:25:40,123 We are scrambling our fighters. 656 00:25:40,248 --> 00:25:41,541 Emergency equipment will be standing by. 657 00:25:41,666 --> 00:25:43,501 Absolute pandemonium. 658 00:25:49,215 --> 00:25:51,259 Returning to LAX every day 659 00:25:51,384 --> 00:25:53,678 in the Air Force One replica had authorities 660 00:25:53,678 --> 00:25:55,472 outside the fence wondering 661 00:25:55,597 --> 00:25:58,683 why real planes were doing unreal things. 662 00:25:58,683 --> 00:26:00,101 "No one's alerted. 663 00:26:00,101 --> 00:26:01,686 {\an8}How is Air Force One landing?" 664 00:26:01,811 --> 00:26:03,480 {\an8}And we had gun ships. 665 00:26:06,232 --> 00:26:08,235 You know, that fly with the Air Force Ones. 666 00:26:08,235 --> 00:26:09,653 {\an8}"Something's going wrong in the tower--" 667 00:26:09,653 --> 00:26:11,071 {\an8}"No, no, no, it's fine. 668 00:26:11,071 --> 00:26:13,031 {\an8}It's a movie, don't worry about it." 669 00:26:13,031 --> 00:26:14,282 With its own film office 670 00:26:14,407 --> 00:26:16,159 to handle movie projects, 671 00:26:16,159 --> 00:26:19,162 legal hurdles were non-existent at LAX. 672 00:26:19,162 --> 00:26:21,539 For interiors, Air Force One packed up 673 00:26:21,539 --> 00:26:24,292 and moved across town to Sony Picture Studios. 674 00:26:24,292 --> 00:26:26,211 {\an8}It was like "The Wizard of Oz" set. 675 00:26:26,211 --> 00:26:28,421 {\an8}So it was the biggest soundstage in Hollywood. 676 00:26:28,421 --> 00:26:29,506 {\an8}Huge, huge. 677 00:26:29,506 --> 00:26:31,508 747s are about 230 feet. 678 00:26:31,633 --> 00:26:33,510 And so we built 200 feet of it. 679 00:26:33,635 --> 00:26:37,180 But Bill forgot the old "measure twice cut once" 680 00:26:37,180 --> 00:26:39,474 building fundamental on one detail, 681 00:26:39,474 --> 00:26:41,559 which former carpenter Harrison spotted 682 00:26:41,685 --> 00:26:44,270 before it became an expensive problem. 683 00:26:44,396 --> 00:26:47,482 One day I was in my golf cart driving through Sony 684 00:26:47,607 --> 00:26:49,234 and I was getting rammed behind me 685 00:26:49,234 --> 00:26:51,278 by somebody in a golf cart and it's Harrison. 686 00:26:51,403 --> 00:26:53,738 He said, "Can you get the footprints of the plane 687 00:26:53,738 --> 00:26:55,198 and bring it over to my trailer?" 688 00:26:55,198 --> 00:26:57,117 I said, "Sure." He'd seen a problem 689 00:26:57,117 --> 00:26:59,035 where he's supposed to hide down below. 690 00:26:59,035 --> 00:27:02,497 'Cause he said, "I think you need to widen that hatch." 691 00:27:02,497 --> 00:27:04,207 And he's right. 692 00:27:04,332 --> 00:27:05,667 But now the challenge was making 693 00:27:05,792 --> 00:27:08,211 the onscreen effect of plane movement real. 694 00:27:08,336 --> 00:27:09,546 When they're flying this plane, 695 00:27:09,671 --> 00:27:12,090 they're doing this, you know. 696 00:27:14,467 --> 00:27:16,219 And Wolfgang wanted that actual movement. 697 00:27:16,344 --> 00:27:18,179 So it's not like the old "Star Trek" days 698 00:27:18,179 --> 00:27:19,347 when everybody leans left. 699 00:27:19,347 --> 00:27:20,473 Holding orbit, sir. 700 00:27:21,308 --> 00:27:22,392 Lean right. 701 00:27:22,392 --> 00:27:23,476 Stay on top of it, Mr. Sulu. 702 00:27:23,602 --> 00:27:25,103 You really want people's 703 00:27:26,438 --> 00:27:29,691 things to slide off the table and move. 704 00:27:29,691 --> 00:27:32,277 And did that table move, resulting in a scene 705 00:27:32,402 --> 00:27:34,821 Xander Berkeley will never forget? 706 00:27:34,821 --> 00:27:36,114 {\an8}Literally like-- 707 00:27:38,116 --> 00:27:40,410 All that would happen is we'd get knocked off our feet. 708 00:27:40,410 --> 00:27:42,537 Because we were all like holy shit. 709 00:27:42,537 --> 00:27:44,122 And movie making is dangerous. 710 00:27:44,122 --> 00:27:47,417 I've almost been killed at least a dozen times. 711 00:27:47,542 --> 00:27:49,294 But there was the possibility 712 00:27:49,294 --> 00:27:51,463 that the actors might die of boredom. 713 00:27:51,463 --> 00:27:53,089 And if you die in that plane, 714 00:27:53,089 --> 00:27:54,215 does it end there? 715 00:27:54,215 --> 00:27:55,759 It's very claustrophobic. 716 00:27:55,884 --> 00:27:57,636 And it wasn't like where every day you get to go out 717 00:27:57,636 --> 00:27:58,803 to a new location 718 00:27:58,803 --> 00:28:00,472 and it's kind of a new vibe. 719 00:28:00,472 --> 00:28:02,390 - Trapped in a tube. - Was in a tube. 720 00:28:02,390 --> 00:28:04,100 Shooting on a tube. 721 00:28:04,225 --> 00:28:05,435 It was up to Director Wolfgang 722 00:28:05,560 --> 00:28:07,187 to calm the cabin during turbulence. 723 00:28:07,187 --> 00:28:09,314 He knows how to just put people at ease. 724 00:28:09,439 --> 00:28:13,068 You know, he is got this wonderful folksy German accent. 725 00:28:13,193 --> 00:28:15,320 {\an8}Now I get these calls late at night 726 00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,239 {\an8}and he'd be like, "Andrew, I've been thinking." 727 00:28:18,239 --> 00:28:21,618 And now remember to say, "Good morning, Uncle Wolfie. 728 00:28:21,618 --> 00:28:24,663 He said, "You know, this scene, it might require 729 00:28:25,664 --> 00:28:27,666 almost no acting at all." 730 00:28:27,666 --> 00:28:29,417 "In this particular sequence, 731 00:28:29,417 --> 00:28:31,628 you are all very small in the frame 732 00:28:31,753 --> 00:28:34,714 so it will not require such very good acting." 733 00:28:34,839 --> 00:28:37,676 "Und we must get it before lunch or there will be no lunch!" 734 00:28:37,676 --> 00:28:39,594 And he turns and walks away. 735 00:28:39,594 --> 00:28:41,221 You have to buy us some more time. 736 00:28:41,346 --> 00:28:42,639 And then he would say, 737 00:28:42,764 --> 00:28:46,142 "Saturday work is looming." 738 00:28:46,142 --> 00:28:47,519 Knowing that it wasn't a set 739 00:28:47,644 --> 00:28:49,187 that provided the kind of stimulus 740 00:28:49,187 --> 00:28:51,398 that some locations and sets do, 741 00:28:51,523 --> 00:28:53,191 he created the ambiance 742 00:28:53,191 --> 00:28:56,611 and the atmosphere of camaraderie, good humor. 743 00:28:56,611 --> 00:28:58,572 Spencer Garrett would quickly find himself 744 00:28:58,572 --> 00:28:59,656 in on the action. 745 00:28:59,781 --> 00:29:01,700 {\an8}I did a bunch of TV 746 00:29:01,825 --> 00:29:04,369 {\an8}and a couple of little indie films that nobody's ever seen. 747 00:29:04,494 --> 00:29:06,204 Just thrilling for a young actor. 748 00:29:06,204 --> 00:29:07,747 We don't need more dramatics, we need options. 749 00:29:07,872 --> 00:29:10,375 There's a lot of scenes with Glenn and Dean Stockwell 750 00:29:10,500 --> 00:29:12,836 and all of a sudden you see my little head pop up 751 00:29:12,961 --> 00:29:14,796 in between them. 752 00:29:14,796 --> 00:29:16,840 And I was just trying to find the lens wherever I could. 753 00:29:19,718 --> 00:29:21,594 By God, I was gonna find that lens. 754 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:23,471 And they better be damn good and they better work. 755 00:29:23,471 --> 00:29:25,557 And I did. 756 00:29:28,810 --> 00:29:30,145 I thought if this is my only invitation 757 00:29:30,145 --> 00:29:31,730 to the big boy grownups' table. 758 00:29:31,730 --> 00:29:33,148 Yeah, I was just, 759 00:29:33,148 --> 00:29:34,733 I was just finding that lens. 760 00:29:34,733 --> 00:29:36,484 Didn't they teach you that at Yale? 761 00:29:36,610 --> 00:29:38,903 And then it was time for Close's closeup. 762 00:29:38,903 --> 00:29:42,240 Sweating through that silk blouse of yours. 763 00:29:42,240 --> 00:29:43,700 And Wolfgang says, 764 00:29:43,825 --> 00:29:45,410 "This is the scene where you're gonna cry 765 00:29:45,410 --> 00:29:47,704 and we're gonna be right super tight on you." 766 00:29:48,913 --> 00:29:50,832 And she said, "Which eye?" 767 00:29:50,832 --> 00:29:52,417 "Which eye do you want me to cry out of?" 768 00:29:52,542 --> 00:29:53,877 And I thought, goddamn. 769 00:29:54,002 --> 00:29:56,755 Left for Glenn, right for us. 770 00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:58,381 That's, I mean that's, 771 00:29:58,506 --> 00:29:59,549 that's iconic. 772 00:29:59,674 --> 00:30:01,551 But in this scene, 773 00:30:01,676 --> 00:30:04,596 Harrison Ford was also tearing up... Andrew Marlowe's script. 774 00:30:04,721 --> 00:30:07,474 I had a, kind of a little mini monologue for him 775 00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:09,726 when he was going up against Gary Oldman's character. 776 00:30:09,726 --> 00:30:11,561 You've been very busy downstairs. 777 00:30:11,686 --> 00:30:14,230 And he said "Great monologue. 778 00:30:14,230 --> 00:30:16,399 Really great monologue, kid, I'm not gonna do it." 779 00:30:16,524 --> 00:30:18,401 No. 780 00:30:18,401 --> 00:30:19,486 "Wait, what do you mean you're not gonna do it?" 781 00:30:19,486 --> 00:30:21,488 No. 782 00:30:21,488 --> 00:30:23,907 "I can do it in a look and it's gonna be more powerful." 783 00:30:24,908 --> 00:30:26,243 And he did. 784 00:30:28,328 --> 00:30:31,831 That fight between Gary Oldman and Harrison. 785 00:30:33,375 --> 00:30:36,211 They were really banging each other around. 786 00:30:36,211 --> 00:30:37,462 They're both professionals 787 00:30:37,462 --> 00:30:38,755 and they knew how to do it. 788 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,674 You whack me in the ear, okay? 789 00:30:40,799 --> 00:30:43,718 I was like hovering around the corner 790 00:30:43,843 --> 00:30:45,971 of the set watching this. 791 00:30:46,096 --> 00:30:48,390 Harrison was playing the kick-ass president 792 00:30:48,390 --> 00:30:49,557 like a pro 793 00:30:49,557 --> 00:30:51,393 and even at the age of 54 794 00:30:51,393 --> 00:30:53,979 seemed to possess remarkable energy. 795 00:30:53,979 --> 00:30:58,441 He's humble, he's very smart, he's thoughtful, 796 00:30:58,441 --> 00:31:00,402 incredibly professional. 797 00:31:00,402 --> 00:31:02,904 He had the best marijuana in the world. 798 00:31:02,904 --> 00:31:04,864 I'll never forget him coming out of his trailer 799 00:31:04,990 --> 00:31:06,950 and just the waft of chronic. 800 00:31:06,950 --> 00:31:09,577 Going, "Wow, that's strong." 801 00:31:09,703 --> 00:31:12,622 Equally hazy was why Xander's screen character 802 00:31:12,622 --> 00:31:14,624 would betray his chief. 803 00:31:14,624 --> 00:31:17,752 Andrew Marlowe, I asked him every day that I came to work. 804 00:31:17,752 --> 00:31:21,840 "So why is Agent Gibbs doing this?" 805 00:31:21,965 --> 00:31:23,842 So I had a mini monologue for him 806 00:31:23,842 --> 00:31:27,304 where the character really explained 807 00:31:27,304 --> 00:31:28,638 what his motivation was. 808 00:31:28,638 --> 00:31:30,432 I trusted you with my life. 809 00:31:30,432 --> 00:31:32,934 We're about a week away from shooting it. 810 00:31:32,934 --> 00:31:35,812 And Wolfgang came to me and said, 811 00:31:35,812 --> 00:31:37,689 "We're trying to get the president off the plane. 812 00:31:37,689 --> 00:31:42,527 We can't stop the movie to explain why this guy did it." 813 00:31:42,527 --> 00:31:44,446 And he and Wolfgang would keep putting me off. 814 00:31:44,446 --> 00:31:45,697 "We haven't decided yet." 815 00:31:45,697 --> 00:31:46,823 "Is it for the money?" 816 00:31:46,823 --> 00:31:48,533 "We aren't sure yet." 817 00:31:48,533 --> 00:31:49,951 "Is he a deep mole of the Communist Party?" 818 00:31:49,951 --> 00:31:51,620 "We'll keep our options open." 819 00:31:51,745 --> 00:31:52,871 We ended up dropping that 820 00:31:52,996 --> 00:31:54,748 so we didn't get the explanation. 821 00:31:54,873 --> 00:31:57,334 It was you? 822 00:31:57,459 --> 00:31:59,794 I had to remain a blank slate 823 00:31:59,920 --> 00:32:01,379 feeling a bit of a fraud, 824 00:32:01,504 --> 00:32:03,381 not knowing what my motivation was. 825 00:32:03,381 --> 00:32:05,425 I've been approached on the street back then. 826 00:32:05,425 --> 00:32:07,594 They go, "What the hell did you do that for, man?" 827 00:32:07,594 --> 00:32:08,887 "I don't know. 828 00:32:08,887 --> 00:32:10,472 Sorry, they never told me." 829 00:32:10,472 --> 00:32:11,681 Xander can laugh now, 830 00:32:11,681 --> 00:32:13,558 but he was about to get the smile 831 00:32:13,558 --> 00:32:16,811 or rather the grimace wiped off his treacherous face. 832 00:32:16,937 --> 00:32:19,356 I went down like a sack of potatoes 'cause I got his, 833 00:32:19,481 --> 00:32:21,942 I think it was his left hook. 834 00:32:24,361 --> 00:32:27,906 As the birds and stars are circling he goes, 835 00:32:28,823 --> 00:32:31,868 "Ah, are you okay?" 836 00:32:31,868 --> 00:32:35,538 I had to recover before we could complete the sequence. 837 00:32:35,664 --> 00:32:39,751 Movies that you see me in before "Air Force One" and after. 838 00:32:39,751 --> 00:32:41,419 This way it looks all right, 839 00:32:41,544 --> 00:32:43,380 but this way... 840 00:32:44,172 --> 00:32:46,508 Just a little bit of a... 841 00:32:46,508 --> 00:32:48,426 Now "Air Force One" had to create 842 00:32:48,426 --> 00:32:50,512 another nose dive, 843 00:32:50,512 --> 00:32:53,598 a crunching VFX budget and time constraints 844 00:32:53,598 --> 00:32:55,058 in the post-production phase. 845 00:33:02,983 --> 00:33:06,361 Boss Film Studios would be given the VFX job 846 00:33:06,361 --> 00:33:07,862 for "Air Force One." 847 00:33:07,862 --> 00:33:09,864 {\an8}We had a good relationship with Wolfgang. 848 00:33:09,864 --> 00:33:11,449 {\an8}Founded by a veteran 849 00:33:11,449 --> 00:33:13,660 {\an8}who worked on two Ford blockbusters. 850 00:33:13,660 --> 00:33:14,953 She's got it where it counts, kid. 851 00:33:14,953 --> 00:33:16,538 And... 852 00:33:17,789 --> 00:33:18,999 {\an8}We had a certain budget. 853 00:33:18,999 --> 00:33:20,709 {\an8}I think they could do it for that. 854 00:33:20,709 --> 00:33:22,585 With CGI still in its infancy 855 00:33:22,711 --> 00:33:24,546 and a restricted budget, 856 00:33:24,546 --> 00:33:25,922 Boss recycled a scale model 857 00:33:26,047 --> 00:33:27,841 from the previous movie. 858 00:33:27,966 --> 00:33:31,469 We had an Air Force One model that had a 21-foot wingspan. 859 00:33:31,594 --> 00:33:34,639 It could pitch 45 degrees either way. 860 00:33:34,764 --> 00:33:36,141 Used in the movie "Turbulence" 861 00:33:36,141 --> 00:33:37,767 released only months earlier. 862 00:33:42,105 --> 00:33:44,107 I think it's a Ford. 863 00:33:44,107 --> 00:33:46,651 Richard's model for that film would be perfect 864 00:33:46,776 --> 00:33:48,028 but not quite perfect. 865 00:33:48,153 --> 00:33:50,030 It has the wrong jets, 866 00:33:50,155 --> 00:33:52,407 it doesn't have the Rolls-Royce jets. 867 00:33:52,407 --> 00:33:53,533 A little problem here. 868 00:33:53,533 --> 00:33:54,868 Nobody busted us for that. 869 00:33:54,993 --> 00:33:56,119 We're clear. 870 00:33:56,620 --> 00:33:58,997 But one classic effects trick 871 00:33:58,997 --> 00:34:00,957 would do a lot of heavy lifting when Harrison had to fly. 872 00:34:01,082 --> 00:34:03,793 It was the most green screen set 873 00:34:03,793 --> 00:34:05,503 that ever was done. 874 00:34:05,503 --> 00:34:07,714 That was a complicated stunt. 875 00:34:07,714 --> 00:34:09,591 Conditions were perfect 876 00:34:09,591 --> 00:34:12,636 for a practical joke on the biggest star in Hollywood. 877 00:34:12,636 --> 00:34:14,512 It was at the end of the day, 878 00:34:14,512 --> 00:34:17,182 had Harrison up in a harness, somebody had an idea like, 879 00:34:17,182 --> 00:34:19,059 let's just leave him hanging up there 880 00:34:19,184 --> 00:34:20,477 and just say goodnight as if we forgot about him. 881 00:34:20,602 --> 00:34:22,479 And we all walk off. 882 00:34:22,479 --> 00:34:24,689 Except for a few of us who were just hiding in the shadows 883 00:34:24,814 --> 00:34:25,857 and we're waiting for Harrison to go, 884 00:34:25,857 --> 00:34:27,067 "Hey, what's happening?" Right? 885 00:34:27,067 --> 00:34:28,818 Or, "What are you doing?" 886 00:34:28,818 --> 00:34:31,488 All you hear after like five minutes, he goes, 887 00:34:31,488 --> 00:34:32,781 "I can outwait you, 888 00:34:32,781 --> 00:34:35,033 I got all day, all night." 889 00:34:35,158 --> 00:34:36,493 Then I was like, 890 00:34:36,618 --> 00:34:37,702 Damn, we couldn't, we-- 891 00:34:37,702 --> 00:34:39,120 There was no practical joke. 892 00:34:39,245 --> 00:34:40,997 He was just like, "Nah, it's not gonna happen." 893 00:34:40,997 --> 00:34:42,499 But the biggest challenge 894 00:34:42,499 --> 00:34:44,626 for the VFX team was no joke. 895 00:34:44,751 --> 00:34:46,670 {\an8}Air Force One hitting the water. 896 00:34:46,795 --> 00:34:49,839 Richard couldn't go practical for a very simple reason. 897 00:34:49,965 --> 00:34:51,216 It's not cost effective 898 00:34:51,216 --> 00:34:53,635 to crash a real 747 into the ocean. 899 00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:55,428 No take twos on that one. 900 00:34:55,553 --> 00:34:57,430 "Air Force One" needed groundbreaking 901 00:34:57,430 --> 00:35:00,433 or water-breaking visual effects. 902 00:35:02,018 --> 00:35:03,561 It's all downhill from there, right? 903 00:35:03,561 --> 00:35:04,938 To make the digital plane 904 00:35:04,938 --> 00:35:06,648 match the genuine article. 905 00:35:06,648 --> 00:35:08,817 Wolfgang is a pretty straightforward guy 906 00:35:08,942 --> 00:35:10,777 and he knows what he wants 907 00:35:10,777 --> 00:35:13,113 and we were able to give it to him. 908 00:35:13,113 --> 00:35:15,115 Except for the last shot. 909 00:35:15,115 --> 00:35:17,450 {\an8}Visual effects at the end of the film I think are 910 00:35:17,576 --> 00:35:18,910 {\an8}a bit of a controversy. 911 00:35:18,910 --> 00:35:21,121 It looked a bit cartoonish. 912 00:35:21,246 --> 00:35:23,123 No! 913 00:35:23,123 --> 00:35:25,750 The technology for water was just not there, you know? 914 00:35:25,750 --> 00:35:27,210 Adding to the challenge, 915 00:35:27,335 --> 00:35:29,587 the DP would insist on morning light. 916 00:35:29,587 --> 00:35:32,173 Which made the shot infinitely more difficult. 917 00:35:32,299 --> 00:35:34,175 You know darkness is your friend. 918 00:35:34,175 --> 00:35:36,052 Light makes it much more difficult. 919 00:35:36,052 --> 00:35:38,179 I think everybody wanted a second shot at that. 920 00:35:38,179 --> 00:35:42,726 We didn't have that ability yet at Boss for that shot. 921 00:35:42,726 --> 00:35:44,769 We ran out of time, basically. 922 00:35:44,769 --> 00:35:47,230 The "Air Force One" visual effects didn't seem 923 00:35:47,230 --> 00:35:50,942 that bad until another water-based blockbuster 924 00:35:50,942 --> 00:35:53,111 that was being made at the same time 925 00:35:53,111 --> 00:35:55,822 showed what was really possible. 926 00:35:55,822 --> 00:35:59,159 Armyan was also worried about his company's future, 927 00:35:59,159 --> 00:36:01,870 which seemed hung on four famous words written 928 00:36:01,870 --> 00:36:03,204 as a placeholder. 929 00:36:03,204 --> 00:36:05,123 I had a line that I thought, 930 00:36:05,248 --> 00:36:08,209 this is just a kind of a throwaway line. 931 00:36:08,335 --> 00:36:10,253 I need something in there. 932 00:36:10,253 --> 00:36:13,548 I didn't want there to be the line, "Get off my plane." 933 00:36:13,548 --> 00:36:15,050 I was afraid of it 934 00:36:15,050 --> 00:36:16,509 because I felt that the audience would think 935 00:36:16,509 --> 00:36:18,011 that it was sort of jokey. 936 00:36:18,136 --> 00:36:19,721 But I should think of something better. 937 00:36:19,721 --> 00:36:22,098 Remember Armyan was a writer too. 938 00:36:22,223 --> 00:36:23,642 Would he have any ideas? 939 00:36:23,642 --> 00:36:24,976 Stop bothering me. 940 00:36:25,101 --> 00:36:26,227 I get... 941 00:36:26,227 --> 00:36:27,979 You're hurting my feelings. 942 00:36:29,147 --> 00:36:30,732 Get behind it. Let's get to work. 943 00:36:30,857 --> 00:36:31,858 We get this plane on the ground. 944 00:36:31,983 --> 00:36:32,984 We get these people off. 945 00:36:32,984 --> 00:36:34,986 - Get the door. - Get me ops. 946 00:36:35,111 --> 00:36:36,196 Get them off my tail. 947 00:36:36,321 --> 00:36:38,156 No, that's not better. 948 00:36:38,156 --> 00:36:39,866 And I couldn't think of anything better. 949 00:36:39,991 --> 00:36:41,910 I'm certain it's not gonna work. 950 00:36:41,910 --> 00:36:43,954 By now as a veteran of cinema, 951 00:36:43,954 --> 00:36:45,830 Harrison disagreed. 952 00:36:45,956 --> 00:36:47,290 And Harrison said, "No, no, no, they'll like it." 953 00:36:47,290 --> 00:36:49,584 I'm like, "I don't think so." 954 00:36:49,584 --> 00:36:50,961 "Why don't we just test it?" 955 00:36:50,961 --> 00:36:52,671 I said, "Well, we're gonna test it. 956 00:36:52,671 --> 00:36:54,089 But, Harrison, this is gonna break the bank. 957 00:36:54,214 --> 00:36:55,924 I am certain it's not gonna work." 958 00:36:55,924 --> 00:36:57,634 Do it. 959 00:36:57,634 --> 00:36:59,094 A re-shoot would break the bank. 960 00:36:59,219 --> 00:37:01,930 So Richard's edit team would work furiously 961 00:37:02,055 --> 00:37:04,224 on the final mix to make deadline. 962 00:37:04,224 --> 00:37:05,809 And the music was being recorded 963 00:37:05,809 --> 00:37:08,103 on the scoring stage next door. 964 00:37:08,103 --> 00:37:09,854 We had to wait 965 00:37:09,854 --> 00:37:11,189 till they'd finished recording it. 966 00:37:11,356 --> 00:37:12,691 We got a job to do 967 00:37:12,691 --> 00:37:14,150 whatever the cost. 968 00:37:14,150 --> 00:37:15,819 And then it came across and we edit it. 969 00:37:15,944 --> 00:37:17,696 We could finally finish the film. 970 00:37:19,823 --> 00:37:21,950 I've never actually worked on a film 971 00:37:21,950 --> 00:37:23,785 when it's-- You have to stop mixing 972 00:37:23,910 --> 00:37:25,704 because you don't have the score. 973 00:37:25,829 --> 00:37:28,039 So that's how tight it got at the end. 974 00:37:28,039 --> 00:37:29,582 It won't end there. 975 00:37:29,582 --> 00:37:30,959 It was full steam ahead 976 00:37:30,959 --> 00:37:33,795 towards the release in July of 1997. 977 00:37:33,795 --> 00:37:37,048 But remember that film with the amazing water effects? 978 00:37:37,173 --> 00:37:39,551 It was on a similar collision course. 979 00:37:39,551 --> 00:37:41,177 "Titanic" landed on our date. 980 00:37:41,303 --> 00:37:43,013 Iceberg right ahead. 981 00:37:43,013 --> 00:37:44,097 This is bad, right? 982 00:37:44,097 --> 00:37:45,932 Bad politics. 983 00:37:46,057 --> 00:37:48,018 And they said, "Who can call the other studio?" 984 00:37:48,018 --> 00:37:50,854 We need to strategize, move some things out politically. 985 00:37:50,979 --> 00:37:53,231 The two studios knew they had quite something 986 00:37:53,231 --> 00:37:54,858 to show the world. 987 00:37:54,858 --> 00:37:56,902 A world they'd have to share. 988 00:37:56,902 --> 00:37:59,821 Let's have Harrison call. 989 00:38:03,366 --> 00:38:04,868 What's the goddamn number? 990 00:38:09,789 --> 00:38:11,099 All right, listen. Listen carefully. 991 00:38:11,100 --> 00:38:13,043 So he did. 992 00:38:13,168 --> 00:38:14,753 He moved "Titanic"? 993 00:38:14,753 --> 00:38:16,254 Yeah and they moved "Titanic." 994 00:38:16,254 --> 00:38:17,631 And James Cameron? 995 00:38:17,756 --> 00:38:18,798 That was pretty cool. 996 00:38:18,798 --> 00:38:20,258 Unlike Titanic, 997 00:38:20,383 --> 00:38:21,968 Beacon and partners, Ascent, weren't out 998 00:38:21,968 --> 00:38:23,887 of the ice fields yet. 999 00:38:24,012 --> 00:38:26,264 Their investment in "Air Force One" couldn't sink. 1000 00:38:26,264 --> 00:38:29,267 Come on, come on. 1001 00:38:29,392 --> 00:38:34,230 Ascent Entertainment had purchased Beacon. 1002 00:38:34,356 --> 00:38:37,234 They also ran the Colorado Avalanche. 1003 00:38:37,234 --> 00:38:38,693 Whose star player, 1004 00:38:38,818 --> 00:38:41,780 Joe Sakic, needed a top up in pay. 1005 00:38:41,780 --> 00:38:45,867 $15 million upfront signing bonus. 1006 00:38:45,867 --> 00:38:49,913 And whether or not "Air Force One" performed was key 1007 00:38:49,913 --> 00:38:52,290 to whether they kept their great hockey player 1008 00:38:52,290 --> 00:38:53,100 or whether he went to New York. 1009 00:38:54,125 --> 00:38:56,294 We couldn't afford to match the salary. 1010 00:38:56,419 --> 00:38:58,713 The only way the Rangers could get their hands 1011 00:38:58,713 --> 00:39:02,384 on Sakic was if "Air Force One" crashed. 1012 00:39:02,384 --> 00:39:04,094 Don't go to see the movie 1013 00:39:04,094 --> 00:39:05,679 'cause if he went to see the movie, 1014 00:39:05,679 --> 00:39:07,806 we could afford to keep our best player. 1015 00:39:07,806 --> 00:39:11,935 And so they took out ads, "Don't go see 'Air Force One.'" 1016 00:39:11,935 --> 00:39:13,478 "Don't go see 'Air Force One.'" 1017 00:39:19,943 --> 00:39:21,278 With "Titanic" delayed 1018 00:39:21,403 --> 00:39:23,863 to accommodate Air Force One's release 1019 00:39:23,989 --> 00:39:27,325 {\an8}and industry sabotage to force the sale of a hockey star... 1020 00:39:27,325 --> 00:39:29,286 {\an8}And so they took out ads, 1021 00:39:29,286 --> 00:39:31,079 "Don't go see 'Air Force One.'" 1022 00:39:31,204 --> 00:39:34,124 ...and Beacon Pictures' future on the line... 1023 00:39:34,124 --> 00:39:38,295 {\an8}You can't afford to actually lose big. 1024 00:39:38,420 --> 00:39:40,797 Harrison Ford's presidential adventure 1025 00:39:40,797 --> 00:39:42,757 had a lot riding on it. 1026 00:39:42,757 --> 00:39:44,759 {\an8}Also, just coming off of "Sabrina." 1027 00:39:44,759 --> 00:39:46,928 {\an8}There was a bit of a lull in his career. 1028 00:39:47,053 --> 00:39:49,806 Feeling his reputation hanging by a thread 1029 00:39:49,806 --> 00:39:52,183 at the preview, Armyan sat with Harrison 1030 00:39:52,183 --> 00:39:54,352 and his parents waiting for the reaction 1031 00:39:54,519 --> 00:39:56,479 to the one thing that was troubling him. 1032 00:39:56,479 --> 00:39:58,315 But here comes the line 1033 00:39:58,481 --> 00:40:00,358 and I'm sitting there and I'm like slinking down in my seat 1034 00:40:00,358 --> 00:40:03,028 and all of a sudden Harrison says... 1035 00:40:03,028 --> 00:40:05,113 Get off my plane. 1036 00:40:05,238 --> 00:40:09,075 The theater leaps to their feet in a preview. 1037 00:40:09,075 --> 00:40:10,911 They're cheering. 1038 00:40:11,036 --> 00:40:12,871 Yeah. Yeah. 1039 00:40:12,871 --> 00:40:14,456 They're hugging each other. 1040 00:40:14,456 --> 00:40:17,292 And Harrison starts to toss his popcorn on me. 1041 00:40:17,292 --> 00:40:18,460 It's really great. 1042 00:40:18,460 --> 00:40:19,711 Everyone loves it. 1043 00:40:19,711 --> 00:40:21,463 {\an8}Get off my plane. 1044 00:40:23,048 --> 00:40:24,716 Who talks like that? 1045 00:40:24,716 --> 00:40:26,176 "Air Force One" was released 1046 00:40:26,176 --> 00:40:29,304 on July 25th, 1997. 1047 00:40:29,304 --> 00:40:31,973 Harrison's friend Bill loved it, 1048 00:40:31,973 --> 00:40:34,100 but would the American public? 1049 00:40:34,100 --> 00:40:36,811 All Armyan could do was wait for the call. 1050 00:40:36,811 --> 00:40:38,772 Jeff Blake, who's the head of marketing 1051 00:40:38,897 --> 00:40:41,816 and distribution for all of Sony says, 1052 00:40:41,942 --> 00:40:44,402 "Look, I think it could do 1053 00:40:44,402 --> 00:40:46,279 'Fugitive' numbers, maybe." 1054 00:40:46,404 --> 00:40:47,906 I said, "What's that?" 1055 00:40:47,906 --> 00:40:49,282 He said like, "21, 23 million maybe." 1056 00:40:49,282 --> 00:40:52,077 I said, "Really? Wow, are you kidding?" 1057 00:40:52,077 --> 00:40:53,870 He was like, "I don't want to get you excited 1058 00:40:53,870 --> 00:40:55,288 and then have you be disappointed." 1059 00:40:55,413 --> 00:40:56,748 "I'm gonna call you every 15 minutes." 1060 00:40:58,208 --> 00:41:00,335 And he calls and he says, 1061 00:41:00,335 --> 00:41:03,171 "I was wrong about 'Fugitive.' 1062 00:41:03,296 --> 00:41:04,881 You're not gonna get that number." 1063 00:41:05,006 --> 00:41:06,216 "Where do you think we're gonna land?" 1064 00:41:06,216 --> 00:41:09,094 He said, "I think it's gonna be 1065 00:41:09,094 --> 00:41:12,013 37 and a half million dollars." 1066 00:41:14,933 --> 00:41:17,060 Harrison and Pat McQueeney, 1067 00:41:17,185 --> 00:41:18,895 everyone's looking at me going, "What does he say?" 1068 00:41:18,895 --> 00:41:21,439 I say, "It's not good. It's not good." 1069 00:41:24,317 --> 00:41:28,780 I said, "It's the largest opening in film history." 1070 00:41:28,905 --> 00:41:30,282 We all cried. 1071 00:41:30,407 --> 00:41:32,117 Why not? 1072 00:41:32,117 --> 00:41:35,078 I could cry now thinking about it, it's like so sweet. 1073 00:41:35,203 --> 00:41:37,414 It's like you won the Super Bowl, that's great. 1074 00:41:37,539 --> 00:41:39,958 Against its $85 million budget 1075 00:41:39,958 --> 00:41:42,127 "Air Force One" would go on to earn 1076 00:41:42,127 --> 00:41:45,380 over $315 million worldwide 1077 00:41:45,505 --> 00:41:49,009 as the fifth highest grossing film of 1997 1078 00:41:49,134 --> 00:41:50,510 and the best of all... 1079 00:41:50,510 --> 00:41:51,970 And we can afford to keep our best player. 1080 00:41:51,970 --> 00:41:53,847 It's like that's kind of cool. 1081 00:41:53,972 --> 00:41:55,890 Earnings would help retain Joe Sakic 1082 00:41:56,016 --> 00:41:57,976 for the Colorado Avalanche 1083 00:41:57,976 --> 00:41:59,978 and provide Beacon Pictures 1084 00:42:00,103 --> 00:42:04,065 the capital to produce 30 more films over the next 20 years. 1085 00:42:04,065 --> 00:42:08,236 "Air Force One" was what defined us. 1086 00:42:08,361 --> 00:42:10,113 And it would only further enhance 1087 00:42:10,113 --> 00:42:11,906 Ford's bankability. 1088 00:42:11,906 --> 00:42:13,575 If he can sell, "Get off my plane," 1089 00:42:13,575 --> 00:42:15,368 he can sell anything. 1090 00:42:15,493 --> 00:42:17,329 At the start of his career, 1091 00:42:17,329 --> 00:42:20,123 Harrison swung hammers to supplement his income 1092 00:42:20,123 --> 00:42:22,334 so he could choose his films. 1093 00:42:22,334 --> 00:42:24,836 But in the 90s, he'd pick up a shovel 1094 00:42:24,836 --> 00:42:27,964 to dig his way out of career doldrums 1095 00:42:27,964 --> 00:42:31,509 and "Air Force One" was the vehicle to power Harrison Ford 1096 00:42:31,509 --> 00:42:35,347 through the next 30 years of on-screen magic. 1097 00:42:37,098 --> 00:42:41,436 {\an8}He's gotten to play some unbelievably iconic roles. 1098 00:42:42,646 --> 00:42:45,190 That are pivotal to me growing up. 1099 00:42:45,315 --> 00:42:46,358 Junior? 1100 00:42:46,358 --> 00:42:48,360 Don't call me that, please. 1101 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,112 {\an8}One of the most professional actors I ever worked with. 1102 00:42:51,112 --> 00:42:53,031 I did not sign up for this. 1103 00:42:53,031 --> 00:42:54,950 {\an8}There are things that Harrison Ford, 1104 00:42:54,950 --> 00:42:56,243 {\an8}only Harrison Ford can do. 1105 00:42:56,368 --> 00:42:58,870 He stops and he looks... 1106 00:42:58,995 --> 00:43:01,456 {\an8}Absolutely down the line, down to earth. 1107 00:43:01,456 --> 00:43:02,582 What do you want? 1108 00:43:02,582 --> 00:43:04,584 Some things never change. 1109 00:43:04,584 --> 00:43:06,962 You still drive me crazy. 1110 00:43:06,962 --> 00:43:10,173 {\an8}He certainly seems to be enjoying still working. 1111 00:43:10,298 --> 00:43:11,466 He's effortless. 1112 00:43:11,591 --> 00:43:13,218 He doesn't look like he's trying. 1113 00:43:13,218 --> 00:43:14,261 {\an8}If Harrison was here and the red light went on, 1114 00:43:14,386 --> 00:43:16,179 {\an8}he wouldn't even blink. 1115 00:43:17,514 --> 00:43:18,932 Like that. 1116 00:43:19,057 --> 00:43:20,100 He was like made for the movies. 1117 00:43:21,101 --> 00:43:23,061 That's why he's a movie star. 1118 00:43:23,061 --> 00:43:24,938 Harrison Ford is Harrison Ford. 1119 00:43:25,730 --> 00:43:27,315 And he is, he's Harrison Ford. 1120 00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:30,110 It's like, he's that guy. 1121 00:43:30,235 --> 00:43:33,154 I mean, the guy remains an icon 1122 00:43:33,154 --> 00:43:34,990 and he's shown us that he can do it all.