With names like Denzel Washington and Robert Zemeckis attached to the upcoming film “Flight,” you would normally expect huge budget thrills along the lines of the director’s previous work “Back to the Future.” But according to Washington, the action will be there, but the budget may not be.
Washington told MTV News that he and Zemeckis made the film on a tigher budget than usual. “[Zemekis] did it on a shoestring budget, for him a shoestring budget,” he said. “We made the movie for, I reckon, $32 million.” For a movie that focuses on an A-list cast and a plane crash, that’s discount filmmaking.
The way around a lofty budget relied on creativity from the filmmakers and the cast. Washington clarified that all had to pitch in. “We inverted the plane. They found some ancient plane. We flew the thing upside down,” he said. “I don’t know how much more cash he’s going to get out of the studio now, but we shot it on schedule. We shot it in 47 days.”
Having to wrestle with that cap was something Washington ultimately found rewarding. “I reckon it was excellent for all of us,” he said. “‘Hey, you know what? You got to use your imagination. We got to cut and paste this thing. We got to make it happen. We don’t have another $50 million to throw at it.’”
In “Flight,” Washington plays a pilot with his honest share of demons, drugs and alcohol included. When one of his flights barrels through a terrible storm, the lives of his passengers are left in his hands. “He really inverts the plane, flies upside down, crashes the plane, turns it over at the last second,” Washington said. “And I reckon out of 102 people, only six are killed. He’s considered a hero, but he knows the truth.”
“Flight” also stars Don Cheadle, John Goodman, Melissa Leo and Bruce Greenwood, and should hit theaters sometime this year.
Does “Flight” sound like a trip you’ll be taking? Let us know in the comments below and on Twitter!
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