By Jueseppi B.
Red Tails is an upcoming 2012 action drama film directed by Anthony Hemingway, from a screenplay by John Ridley and Aaron McGruder. The story, written by Ridley, is inspired by true events. George Lucas serves as the executive producer for the project. It is based on the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American U.S. service members during World War II, and is the first Lucasfilm production since Radioland Murders (1994) not associated with the Indiana Jones or Star Wars franchises. This movie stars Cuba Gooding, Jr., who previously starred in another movie about this group of men called The Tuskegee Airmen on HBO and Terrence Howard, who portrayed a Tuskegee pilot in Hart’s War. The scheduled release date is January 20.
Plot
A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard. As the war in Europe continues to take its toll on Allied forces, the Pentagon brass has no recourse but to consider unorthodox options—including the untried and untested African-American pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program. Against all the odds these intrepid young airmen take to the skies to fight for their country.
Cast
- Cuba Gooding, Jr. as Major Emanuel Stance
- Terrence Howard as Col. A.J. Bullard
- Bryan Cranston as Col. William Mortamus
- Nate Parker as Martin “Easy” Julian
- David Oyelowo as Joe “Lightning” Little
- Tristan Wilds as Ray “Ray Gun” Gannon
- Daniela Ruah as Sofia
- Ryan Early as Captain Bryce
- Method Man as Sticks
- Kevin Phillips as Leon “Neon” Edwards
- Henry Garrett as Hart
- Robert Kazinsky as Chester Barnes
- Rick Otto as Flynt
- Lee Tergesen as Col. Jack Tomilson
- Andre Royo as Chief “Coffee” Coleman
- Ne-Yo as Andrew “Smoky” Salem
- Elijah Kelley as Samuel “Joker” George
- Marcus T. Paulk as David “Deke” Watkins
- Leslie Odom Jr. as Walter “Winky” Hall
- Michael B. Jordan as Maurice “Bumps” Wilson
- Jazmine Sullivan as Deborah “Love Bunny” Gannett
- Edwina Finley as CeCe
- Stacie Davis as Mae
- Aml Ameen as Bag O’Bones
- Gerald McRaney as General Luntz
George Lucas began developing Red Tails around 1988 with a scheduled release in 1992. He compared it to Tucker: The Man and His Dream as “a story too good to be true”. Thomas Carter was his original choice to direct. A number of writers worked on the project until John Ridley was hired in 2007 to write the final screenplay. Lucas held discussions with Samuel L. Jackson regarding Jackson possibly directing and acting in the film. Although Jackson praised the script, he did not commit to either role. Anthony Hemingway was finally chosen to direct in 2008. In researching the film, Lucasfilm invited some of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen to Skywalker Ranch, where they were interviewed about their experiences during World War II. Lucasfilm was also given access to the original mission logbooks used by some of the pilots.
Production began in March 2009. High-definition Sony F35 cameras were used for principal photography, which took place in the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia and England. While shooting in the Czech Republic, the actors underwent a “boot camp” program, during which they lived in similar conditions as the actual Tuskegee Airmen. Editing began while the production was in Prague. Avid editing systems were used simultaneously in a Prague studio and at Lucasfilm. A vehicle was fitted with a “technical center” so that the production could quickly move between locations. In March 2010, Lucas took over direction of reshoots, as Hemingway was busy working on episodes of the HBO series Treme. Hemingway will have final approval over the footage
In an appearance on The Daily Show last night, George Lucas said that he had trouble getting funding for his new movie, “Red Tails,” because of its black cast.
“This has been held up for release since 1992 since it was shot, I’ve been trying to get released ever since,” Lucas quipped to Jon Stewart. “It’s because it’s an all-black movie. There’s no major white roles in it at all…I showed it to all of them and they said no. We don’t know how to market a movie like this.” The movie is directed by Anthony Hemingway, the rare black director getting a chance to direct a big-budget feature.
Last week, Lucas told USA Today that he was worried that if Red Tails was a failure, it could have negative repercussions for black filmmakers. “I realize that by accident I’ve now put the black film community at risk [with Red Tails, whose $58 million budget far exceeds typical all-black productions],” he said. “I’m saying, if this doesn’t work, there’s a good chance you’ll stay where you are for quite a while. It’ll be harder for you guys to break out of that [lower-budget] mold. But if I can break through with this movie, then hopefully there will be someone else out there saying let’s make a prequel and sequel, and soon you have more Tyler Perrys out there.”
Let’s all pay the price of admission and see some history on the big screen.
Filed under: Movie Reviews, News Tagged: | Aaron McGruder, Anthony Hemingway, Cuba Gooding, George Lucas, Redtails, Terrence Howard, Tuskegee Airmen, World War II
[...] knowing that The Help is entertainment, and NOT historical fact such as was the case with the film RedTails. I also would point out that this movie gave employment to many people of color, in an industry [...]
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Mr. Winbush,
I believe Black Cinema is bigger than one picture or one production. It is a long shot that one failed movie with an all Black cast would destroy Black Cinema….many caucasians didn’t support Tyler Perry movies until movie critic Roger Ebert trashed one of his early films. BUT I understand your concern and question, it already took Lucas years to get this film produced and brought to the big screen.