I guess I never really gave it much though, but I always just assumed the planes, tanks, guns etc. were all fake. Pretty cool that the equipment and operators are actually “for rent” if you are a big enough outfit.
It’s actually a good idea to involve the military directly like they are doing if you want realism. It is also nice that production companies are not (yet) forced to include the military in all related projects.
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4 responses to “The Pentagon Calls The Shots In Hollywood War Movies”
yep they have been doing that for quite a while. everything from “transformers” to “AirForce One.” my 1sgt was a crewchief on the blackhawk in the movie airforce one, but he only got his standard military pay
Typically it’s a mixture of real materiel, miniatures, CG, and composites of all three.
CGI is probably getting both more realistic and cheaper, too. I could see an increasingly diminished need
to use real military vehicles, especially when the script calls for them to get all ‘splodey – CGI is a lot safer
than practical pyrotechnics.
I was also an extra on Air Force One while I was on AGR status in the guard. The scene at the airport in Germany was actually filmed (the outdoor portions) at Rickenbacker Airport in Columbus, Ohio (the prison scenes were filmed at the old prison in Mansfield, Oh an hour or so away so they tried to keep the 2nd unit in one spot I guess). the shooting was done at night, I got paid $125 a day since it was authorized employment outside of my normal duty hours, we got fed like kings and sat around a lot. We had to wear Air force uniforms and got issued rubber ducks and fake k-pots. My big scene is sitting in one of the humvees that race down the runway after Air force 1. BTW, the plane used in that was actually a privately owned plane that the owner purposely uses for movies and such. I think they also use is as a decoy by the secret service. I got to go just inside the doorway to the plane…pretty impressive.