Mon, Jan 09, 2012
George Lucas Personally Funded Production
With so many Hollywood films looking like formulaic excuses for
big paychecks, it's refreshing to hear the celebrities involved in
the forthcoming Red Tails talk about their passion in
making the tribute to the Tuskegee Airmen. George Lucas, who
invested $58 million of his own money to make the movie, says a
half-dozen studio heads turned down his offer to partner on the
film.
Lucas, in an article in USA Today, recalls, "Everyone said:
'You're George Lucas walking in there. Won't they just do anything
for you?' And the answer is no. They felt there was no evidence
that this sort of film would draw a big audience. I said I
disagreed. The most important thing to me is my freedom. I've been
investing in my own movies since Empire (Strikes Back), so it was
just time to do it again."
The film was directed by Anthony Hemingway, who regularly
directs episodes of the TV drama, CSI: NY. Cuba Gooding,
Jr. plays the squadron's leader in the film, and also appeared in a
1995 HBO movie about the Tuskegee Airmen. Of his involvement in
Lucas's effort, Gooding says, "For my sons not to know about this
part of history is unacceptable. When I heard George was making a
go of it, I couldn't sit back. Hollywood just isn't green-lighting
these kinds of tales, because they tend to be gambles
financially."
Lucas doesn't appear to see it as such a gamble, and notes the
$200 million box office gross for The Help, released last
summer. And as appealing as Lucas finds the story, there's another
draw. Reflecting on the Star Wars series, he explains, "I love
dogfights and I know how to do them. I told Anthony, 'You worry
about the actors and the story on the ground, and I'll worry about
the one hour we're in the air.' "
Red Tails opens across the US on January 20. Find
trailers using the FMI link below.
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