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While there were real practical advantages to film in Atlanta – tax credits,
locations that fit the story and/or production needs to tell that tale, Zemeckis points out
that Atlanta also played itself, as opposed to doubling for any other city.
“The movie feels perfectly set in Atlanta. It’s not like we had to go to there and
make it look like New York. We set it there because it is one of those American cities
that has an airline culture and it just felt like the perfect American city for this movie,”
Zemeckis says.
It is also a municipality set squarely in the Bible Belt so the crash landing outside
a Pentecostal Church appealed to Zemeckis’ sense of irony.
Ultimately, “Flight” combines several Zemeckis touchstones – advanced film
technology, big, compelling characters on life changing journeys, themes of recovery and
discovery – or, as he puts it:
“My thinking is this: There’s a wonderful quote by Francois Truffaut which I
subscribe to … he said that a movie that works is the perfect blend of truth and spectacle.
And whenever I can find a screenplay that has both of those aspects, those are movies
that I gravitate to—and I think ‘Flight’ is that kind of movie. I mean it’s a hopeful,
redemptive human story that’s wrapped in this very dramatic and intense spectacle. And
to me that’s what movies are all about,” Zemeckis says.
ABOUT THE CAST
Two-time Academy Award®-winning actor DENZEL WASHINGTON (Whip
Whitaker) is a man constantly on the move. Never comfortable repeating himself or his
successes, Washington always searches for new challenges through his numerous and varied
film and stage portrayals. From Trip, an embittered runaway slave in “Glory,” to South
African freedom fighter Steven Biko in “Cry Freedom”; From Shakespeare's tragic
historical figure “Richard III,” to the rogue detective, Alonzo, in “Training Day,”
Washington has amazed and entertained us with a rich array of characters distinctly his own.
Washington will next be seen in the Universal thriller ”Safe House,” directed by
Daniel Espinosa and co-starring Ryan Reynolds
Washington was most recently seen in “Unstoppable.” The action/thriller, which
once again paired him with director Tony Scott, was released in Fall of 2010.
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