prepare yourself for take-off

Based on a novel by Walter Kirn, Up In The Air tells the story of Ryan Bingham (played by Oscar-winning George Clooney). Ryan is a corporate downsizer who spends his life in airports, hotel rooms, and rental cars. With no real place to call home, Ryan has spent years content in his airborne lifestyle. On the brink of reaching his 10 million frequent flyer mile goal, life threatens to ground him. Only then does Ryan realize what he’s been missing - a real human connection.

by Kuba Ingram & Erin Black • Photography by Dale Robinette

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UP IN THE AIR takes audiences on a journey around the country. Filmed in five different airports, the film portrays twenty different U.S. cities. Detroit was chosen for multiple reasons. As the film depicts the beauty and sophistication of travel, the pristine McNamara terminal at Detroit-Metro Airport was a perfect location. (You may have noticed it’s on the movie poster!) In addition, the story has a heavy emphasis on the economic realities of job loss and unemployment. In a film that strips humans to their basic needs, Detroit was a natural selection.

Director and writer, Jason Reitman, is known for provokingly honest stories of humanity. Taking on the perspective of unpopular characters, a tobacco lobbyist in Thank You for Smoking and a pregnant teenager in Oscar-winning Juno, Reitman again creates a story of love and humor about a man who fires people for a living. Exploring the true journey of life, Reitman has audiences fasten their seatbelts and enjoy the ride.

Jason Reitman spent a few minutes with Michigan Movie Magazine explaining his vision, working with George Clooney, and making his most moving film yet.

MMM: What was so compelling that you chose to write this story?
Reitman: I thought it would be interesting to humanize someone who fired people for a living and at the same time I wanted to explore my own interest in collecting air miles.

How long was the screenwriting process?
Reitman: From start to finish it took six years, I mean there were breaks, because I made Thank You for Smoking and Juno during the process.

Were there a lot of changes throughout that process?
Reitman: Yeah, what started out really as a movie about a guy who just fired people for a living became a movie about a guy trying to figure out who and what he wanted in life.

In the story we notice that the character Ryan Bingham goes through so many life changing experiences. But it seems that the journey was more of a focus than the ending. What did you hope to convey to the audience about what changed in Ryan’s life?
Actually, when I make a movie my hope is that half the audience thinks one thing and half the audience thinks the other. I want to leave my endings open enough that the viewer is forced to come up with their own conclusions. Ryan reaches the end of the film not having made a decision but really just had an epiphany. Before we can see him make a decision, the movie ends. So my hope is that the audience is polarized, and they talk about it and use it as an opportunity to look at their own lives and figure out who and what they want in their own lives and who do they cherish.

The film is very metaphoric. Was there a message you were trying to convey?
I really just try to portray specific lives as honestly and authentically as possible, and if you feel my opinion as a director then I am doing my job poorly. It’s not my job to lay any moral argument on anything. As a director, I work very hard to keep my presence unknown.

In the film one of the locations used was the McNamara Terminal in Detroit. Why this particular airport?
That airport is gorgeous! A surprising amount of money was spent on those two new terminals, and they are stunning. I wanted to write a love letter to travel and nowhere better then the McNamara Terminal could you do that.

So, why did you choose George Clooney as the lead Character?
Well, if you’re going to make a movie about a guy who fires people for a living, the main character had better be charming, and there is no one more charming then George Clooney.

The film is part serious, part comedy. Was it difficult to maintain that balance?
For whatever reason, that seems to come natural to me. I think that Comedy and Drama at the end of the day are not genres as much as they are techniques that can be used to move the audience. Because of that, my movies never really sit naturally on either the comedy or drama video shelf, but hopefully that offers a more complex narrative.

Were there any overwhelming challenges or struggles in making this film?
Shooting in airports is tricky. Everyone has to go through security, including your actors. All the equipment is sniffed by dogs, and you could imagine the crowd control problem when all these passengers want to say hello to George.

You have received a lot of praise for your previous films Thank You for Smoking and Juno. From your point of view, were there similarities between all three?
I think the three films have become progressively more naturalistic with the human experience.

Jason, you have a reputation for captivating and compelling opening scenes in your films. Would you share some tips for aspiring directors on this?
Your opening should CRACKLE! The voice should be clear, and you should have something memorable on page one. Don’t spend too much time intro-ing, just get right into it.