Executive Decision
Short description
A Boeing 747 is seized in mid-flight by Middle Eastern terrorists who redirect it toward Washington, D.C., and demand the release of their jailed leader. Intelligence analyst David Grant, a Middle East specialist, comes to believe the hijackers have a second objective. When an elite assault team is sent to intercept the aircraft in the air, Grant finds himself taking part in the operation, working alongside a flight attendant on board and a Pentagon group whose time to act is limited.
Stuart Baird directed the film, his first behind the camera after a career in editing, from a screenplay by Jim Thomas and John Thomas; Joel Silver produced with the Thomas brothers. Kurt Russell plays Grant, with Steven Seagal as Lieutenant Colonel Austin Travis, Halle Berry as the flight attendant Jean, John Leguizamo as Rat, Oliver Platt as Cahill and Joe Morton as Cappy, among 63 credited cast members. Baird went on to direct U.S. Marshals and Star Trek: Nemesis.
Made for about 55 million dollars, the film took in roughly 122 million worldwide, a solid return. On IMDb it holds 6.5 out of 10 from around 65,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.4 out of 10 from about 1,070 votes. A critics' rating of 6.2 out of 10 from 43 reviews places professional opinion close to the audience response. The running time is 132 minutes.
What's left behind the scenes
- At the beginning of the film, there is a fantastical and dramatic scene of a passenger Boeing 767 docking with a stealth bomber F-117x Remora. In reality, such a docking of aircraft, with a sleeve for crew transfer, is impossible. The US Air Force uses docking with a tanker, using a telescoping refueling boom.
- Initially, Halle Berry refused the role in this film, but when she was offered a million dollars for the work, she agreed. It was her first million as a fee for a film.
- According to John Leguizamo, Steven Seagal attacked him during filming, trying to intimidate the actors and crew. John claimed he laughed at what Seagal said, thinking it was a joke, but Seagal proved otherwise, slamming him into a wall.
- As in many other Hollywood films, 'Executive Decision' features the fictional airline Oceanic Airlines. It was specifically invented to avoid creating a negative image by vividly depicting a hijacking and a plane crash during landing for any real airline.
- The film was created with the direct support of the Pentagon. A real flight of F-14 fighters from the VF-84 squadron, nicknamed "Jolly Rogers", took part in the filming. In fact, this was one of the squadron's last operations before it was disbanded.
- The film featured a real Boeing 747-200 airliner (serial number MSN 21541) belonging to American Int Airways (tail number N707CK), painted in Oceanic colors. Interestingly, in reality, in 1988, this very aircraft, then owned by Kuwait Airways (tail number 9K-ADA), was hijacked by terrorists.
- Paramount Pictures, originally developing the project, sold it to Warner Bros. in exchange for the rights and screenplay to "Forrest Gump" (1994). "Oblivion" was considered a potentially successful project, unlike "Forrest Gump," which was experiencing script and casting issues. Furthermore, some Warner executives feared that a similar project to "Rain Man"—as the protagonists of both films have a mental disorder—would not be successful.
- Although the film's plot involves a liner making a forced hard landing, losing an engine, and sustaining hull damage, the aircraft itself was not damaged in reality and remained in service until 2004.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
