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"The
Aviator Text and Photos by Tom Doherty - LIEFC The aviation film of the decade will most probably be Martin Scorsese's I 10 million dollar epic "THE AVIATOR", which is all set for a December release. It's the story of the young Howard Hughes, from childhood to his Hollywood years and beyond. His interests in film-making and aviation culminated in his production of the block-buster film of the decade, "Hell's Angels".
Being closely involved in the production of this film, I used my extensive contacts, and left no stone untumed to find as many Fokker D-VUs and S.E.- Sas as possible for the "Hell's Angels" scene of this movie. While it was relatively easy to locate six full-scale D-Vlls to take part in filming, locating six full-scale S.E.-5as posed a bit of a problem, as few examples are in North America and fewer than half of these were available. Due to the great scarcity of these British fighters in the full-scale version, and the high cost of shipping over examples from Europe, a compromise was made. The three full scale S.E. 5as committed to the film were supplemented by 7/8 scale S.E.-5as and a Thomas Morse S-4C Scout.
This example, supplied by Roger Freeman, is also a veteran of other aviation movies, including "Dawn Patror' and "The Great Waldo Pepper". In October 2003, WW I aeroplanes began arriving on the set for the "Hells Angels" scene for the film. This set, located near Santa Clarita, California is a large, flat mesa, previously used for other movies. The aircraft came from as far afield as Ontario, Canada and Illinois. They were brought in disassembled in moving- van trucks. Unloading and reassembly was done on site. Canvas hangars were erected for each individual aircraft for night time storage. This aerodrome set was used for days and nights of fthning. Fokkers and S.E.-5as were lined up on the ficid,as mechanics in period garb,-tinkered with engines. Leather-jacketed-pilots uNd-untedea choftheir :@- respective "crates", as engines sputtered and roared to life. Bright red D-VUs and khaki-colored S.E.-5as taxied to and fro, as one quarter scale models of the same planes soared overhead. One of the manned S.E.-5as took to the sky for a series of maneuvers over the field.
As is the case with most movies filmed in Hollywood in recent years, the film is loaded with special effects. These digital sequences of realistic looking WW I planes engaged in aerial combat promise to be nothing short of spectacular, and will be well worth the price of admission. In the original "Hells Angels", a Sikorsky aircraft doubled as a "Gotha Bomber". The interior of this aeroplane was recreated on a sound stage. There is an exciting scene as the lumbering bomber does it's "death spiral" toward the ground. Much of the principal filming was done in Montreal, Canada. A complete mock-up of "Grauman's Chinese Theater" was constructed on a set in the city. Here they recreated the Hollywood premier of the original "Hells Angels". The Sopwith Camel hanging over the entrance to the theater substituted for the Fokker D-VII that was at the 1930 opening. Leonardo DiCaprio depicts the young Howard Hughes. Jude Law is Errol Flynn: with Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow. Cate Blanchette plays Katherine Hepburn. Kate Beckinsale is also featured as Ava Gardner. Alex Baldwin and William Dafoe have roles as well. The buzz among the Hollywood inner circles is that "The Aviator" will definitely be in the running for several Oscar categories in the next year. Hopefully, this larger-than-life film will be the start of a new trend of film making, -making features for the silver screen with WW I aviation as a principal theme. Only time will tell let's keep our finger's crossed. © 2004 The Long Island Early Fliers Club, P.O. Box 221, Bethpage, NY 11714-0221 • info@longislandearlyfliers.org |
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