Flyboys
Short description
Flyboys is a war drama about young Americans who join the French military before the United States enters the First World War, becoming the country's first fighter pilots. The story follows several volunteers from very different backgrounds who are drawn to the Lafayette Escadrille for their own reasons. Among them are Blaine Rawlings, a Texan who loses his family's land and sees the squadron as a new start; William Jensen, a Nebraska man following a family military tradition; and Briggs Lowry, who enlists under pressure from his wealthy father. Trained by the French officer Captain Thenault, the recruits must adjust to a war that is nothing like what they imagined.
The film was directed by Tony Bill and written by David S. Ward, and it is the sixth feature Bill directed, arriving thirteen years after his fifth, A Home of Our Own. James Franco plays Blaine Rawlings, with David Ellison as Eddie Beagle, Jean Reno as Captain Thenault, Philip Winchester as William Jensen and Todd Boyce and Mac McDonald among the credited cast.
Set in the skies over France, the film was released in September 2006 and runs 138 minutes. It combines action and adventure with drama, history, romance and war, and it counts twenty credited cast members and eighty-four credited crew. Produced with a budget of sixty million dollars, it took in about eighteen million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.5 from roughly 46,000 votes, and on TMDB it also stands at 6.5 from 874 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- In preparation for filming, James Franco obtained a pilot's license.
- The squadron was named in honor of Marquis de Lafayette.
- The RMS Aquitania, on which Briggs Laurie arrives in Europe from New York, was converted into an armed merchant cruiser at the very beginning of the war, and then into a transport ship, and was no longer used as a passenger liner.
- The character of Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salem) was based on Eugène Bullard, whose biography only partially corresponds to what is shown in the film.
- Everyone refused to finance the project, so a group of filmmakers and investors, including producer Dean Devlin and David Ellison, son of Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison, invested over $60 million of their own money in the film's creation.
- The actual mascots of the Lafayette Escadrille were a pair of lion cubs. One of them was named Whiskey (as shown in the film), and the other was named Soda.
- Models of French 'Nieuport' fighters were filmed on the ground, while the 'Sopwith 1 1/2 Strutter' biplane actually flew. In the best Hollywood tradition, its paint scheme was simply changed as needed, as it depicted several aircraft at once.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
