Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel, Up in the Air , written by Walter Kirn.
Plot summary
George Clooney plays Ryan Bingham, a man who travels around the country to terminate corporate employees. Walter Kirn stated in the film's press notes: "Ryan is like a masseur who comes in and sort of rubs your shoulders while rolling your desk chair into the elevator." On occasion he delivers motivational speeches about the virtue of a relationship-free life. He relishes the comfort of being anonymous during his perpetual travels. He does not have a personal life and he numbs himself with sex, booze and drugs. His company chooses to ground him and keep him at the corporate headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. According to Reitman, "The movie is about the examination of a philosophy—what if you decided to live hub to hub, with nothing, with nobody?"
Production
Development
Kirn wrote the book in rural Montana during a snowbound winter on a ranch while thinking about airports, airplanes and about a particular conversation he had with another passenger in a first class cabin. That passenger stated that he used to have an apartment in Atlanta but never used it. He got a storage locker instead, since he stayed in hotels and was on the road 300 days a year. He considered the flight crew to be like family, and indicated he knew the flight attendant by name and knew her kids' names.
Kirn wrote a script to this book which he admits to be terrible. The studio dropped the option to film the script. He never expected the film would be made.
Reitman started writing Up in the Air back in 2002. At that time no one would make Thank You for Smoking , so he started looking for something else to write and direct. He found the book at a local bookstore, fell in love with it, and started writing it. The screenplay for Up in the Air was delayed when unexpectedly, one of the creators of PayPal decided he wanted to make movies, and financed Thank You for Smoking . After Reitman completed Thank You for Smoking he continued to write Up in the Air until he was given the screenplay for Juno . After completing Juno he continued working on the screenplay for Up in the Air in collaboration with Sheldon Turner.
Over the course of writing Up in the Air Reitman became a professional director, bought a home, got married, and became a father. He stated that he started the screenplay as a cynical guy in his 20s who's really just a satirist and over the six years became a bit more sophisticated as a writer, but also realized that this was important in his own life and that really changed Ryan's journey as he completed the screenplay.
Kirn was initially skeptical when Reitman contacted him about making the book into a film. He became convinced when they started to cast the film. He read the script and thought it was a good script. He saw the film at Reitman's house and thought it was a great film. He stated that sometimes miracles happen and this was one of them.
Kirn stated, "I completely recognize my own impulse in writing it but when I sat down to see it, I was not only honored and delighted but surprised by the transformations that had taken place in my own material and some of the potentials that I left untapped and, you know, here are two characters , one of whom is sort of in the book and one of whom is not at all in the book. There's an Alex of a sort and there is no Natalie."
Reitman stated, "I'm a flyer. I fly a lot. The reason I love that book is because I am loyal to one airline. I fly it religiously. I'd rather have a connecting flight than fly nonstop on another airline. I have a very specific way that I pack. I have a specific way that I go through security. I choreographed how George packs and how he goes through security on this film. I was very detail oriented on this. I love flying. There's a great line in the book and it's true for me, 'Everything you hate about travel is why I love it.'"
Writing
Up in the Air is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel, Up in the Air , written by Walter Kirn. Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner wrote the screenplay. Reitman previously wrote Thank You for Smoking . He indicated that the film is a more deeply personal effort than his previous two films and is only loosely based on Kirn's novel. Reitman stated that one of his inspirations was Shampoo that ends on a similarly ambiguous image of terminal aloneness.
After the press showing held during the Toronto International Film Festival, Jason Reitman introduced his father, Ivan Reitman, and many of the producers associated with the film. Jason Reitman stated that his father wrote the best line in the film.
Cast
- George Clooney as Ryan Bingham, a career transition counselor
- Vera Farmiga as Alex Goran
- Anna Kendrick as Natalie Keener
- Jason Bateman as Craig Gregory, owner of Integrated Strategic Management
- Danny McBride as Jim Miller
- Melanie Lynskey as Julie Bingham, Ryan Bingham's younger sister
- Amy Morton as Kara Bingham, Ryan Bingham's older sister
- Sam Elliott as Maynard Finch, Chief Pilot
- J.K. Simmons as Bob, a fired employee
- Zach Galifianakis as Steve, a fired employee
- Tamala Jones as Suicidal employee fired by Natalie Keener
- Chris Lowell as Kevin
- Adam Rose as David
- Dave Engfer as Software Dude
- James Anthony as The Businessman
Reitman wrote the parts specifically for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynskey, Amy Morton, Sam Elliott and Zach Galifianakis.
Reitman stated: "It's easier for me to write when I know who I'm actually writing for. That's often how I identify the voice of the character. I had met Vera before and I'd seen many of her films. I knew the things that she was able to do that no other actresses is capable of doing. It was because she was able to walk that very fine line of being aggressive and feminine at the same time that I was able to write balance for what I did. It was because I saw Anna in Rocket Science and knew the sparkle and brilliance of her mind and how fast she is that I was able to write Natalie the way I did. If you're going to make a movie about a guy who fires people for a living and you still want to like him, that actor better be damn charming and I don't think there’s a more charming actor alive than George Clooney. I was very lucky he said yes."
Approximately 4,600 people signed up for the chance to be an extra in the film during the open call on January 24, 2009 and January 25, 2009 at Crestwood Court in St. Louis, Missouri. Up in the Air cast 2,000 extras with 15 to 25 Missouri actors in minor speaking roles. TalentPlus was responsible for casting in St. Louis. Competing talent agencies in the area complained they were excluded from the casting of the film.
About 250 extras were used from the Omaha, Nebraska area. They were used for filming inside and outside the terminal at Eppley Airfield, while Clooney shot most of his scenes inside the terminal.
While shooting the film in St. Louis and Detroit, Reitman placed an ad in the paper asking if people who recently lost their job wanted to be in a documentary about job loss. He specified documentary in the ad so actors who wanted to be in the production would not answer the ad. They received a startling amount of responses with 100 responses, 60 people on camera and 22 who made it into the film. They interviewed them for about ten minutes on what it is like to lose their job in this kind of economy and after that they would actually fire them on camera and ask them to either respond the way they did the day they lost their job or if they preferred the way they wished they had responded.
Filming
The film was directed by Jason Reitman and filmed mostly in the St. Louis area. Several scenes were also filmed at the Berry and McNamara Terminals at Detroit Metro Airport in late February 2009, in Omaha, Nebraska, in Las Vegas, Nevada and in Miami, Florida.
Missouri and St. Louis leaders provided about $4 million in tax credits for the $30 million film. Producers set up a St. Louis, Missouri production office January 5, 2009. Filming began in St. Louis on March 3, 2009 and continued through the end of April. The film includes 80 different sets at 50 locations throughout the St. Louis area, including Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Concourse D, the Mansion House in downtown St. Louis, Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, Hilton St. Louis Airport, and the Cheshire Inn. Props used while filming in St. Louis were sold locally on April 27, 2009.
Crews for Up in the Air scouted locations in Omaha, Nebraska for three days of filming during the week of April 27 through May 1, 2009 with George Clooney (specifically in Omaha). Some of the scenes were shot inside the Visitor's Bureau and in a condo in the Old Market area of downtown Omaha. Filming also occurred at the south end of the main terminal at Eppley Airfield.
Reitman needed fifty days to film Up in the Air , eight of which were devoted to aerial shooting. The aerial shots turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. He was unable to use three days of the aerial filming. Many of the aerial shots, such as the crop circle on fire, are featured in the trailer but are not used in the film. The p
Comfort Hotel Downtown (Toronto, Canada) - Hotel Reviews - TripAdvisor
Comfort Hotel Toronto; Comfort Inn Toronto; Comfort Inn Downtown Toronto; Address: 15 Charles Street East, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1S1, Canada
Comfort Hotel Downtown Toronto, Toronto, Ontario - Comfort Inn Hotels ...
Comfort Hotel Downtown Toronto located in Toronto at 15 Charles St. E. Toronto Ontario Canada. Hotel reservations, deals and discounts with World Executive.
Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Downtown Ontario Canada Hotel - Toronto ONT ...
The Hilton Garden Inn Toronto Downtown hotel is the ideal launching point for experiencing the ... We provide true comfort to today's business and leisure travelers.
Toronto Downtown hotels, Comfort Hotel Downtown Toronto near ...
The Comfort Hotel Downtown in Toronto is located minutes from Bloor-Yorkville district, Royal Ontario Museum, University of Toronto, Canon Theatre and the Nathan Phillips Square
Comfort Inn Toronto East - WELCOME
The Comfort Inn Toronto East is ideally situated near Bluffers Park Marina, The University ... In downtown Toronto, visitors will have easy access to the CN Tower, the Metro Toronto ...
Toronto, Comfort Hotel Downtown, toronto.com
Comfort Hotel Downtown. 15 Charles Street East, Toronto, ON, M4Y1S1 ... The Westin Harbour Castle; Holiday Inn Toronto-Yorkdale
Comfort Hotel Downtown Reviews and Photos, Toronto, Canada ...
Comfort Hotel Toronto; Comfort Inn Toronto; Comfort Inn Downtown Toronto; Address: 15 Charles Street East, Toronto, Ontario M4Y 1S1, Canada
Hilton Garden Inn Toronto City Centre - Hotels, Apartment Hotels ...
Hilton Garden Inn Toronto City Centre. 200 Dundas Street East, Toronto, ON, M5A4R6 ... new property provides the finest accommodation right in the heart of downtown Toronto.
Comfort Hotel Downtown (Toronto Ontario) - Search KAYAK for Great ...
The Comfort Inn Downtown Toronto is located in the center of the city just blocks from Yorkville Shopping District and the Toronto Eaton Center.
Toronto Comfort Inn hotels and accommodation, Comfort Inn hotel ...
This Comfort Inn is located approximately seven miles from Pearson International Airport and 19 miles from downtown Toronto. ... more>>>