Red Tails is a 2012 American war film directed by Anthony Hemingway in his feature directorial debut, and starring Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr. The film is about the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African-American United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) servicemen based at Ramitelli Airfield in southern Italy during World War II. The characters in the film are fictional, although based on real individuals.Cone, Brandon and Josh Phillips. "‘Red Tails’ looks good, fails elsewhere." Bixby Bulletin, January 24, 2012. Retrieved: January 25, 2012. The film was produced by Lucasfilm Ltd. and released by 20th Century Fox, and would be the last film Lucasfilm released before being purchased by The Walt Disney Company nine months later. This was Gooding's first theatrically released film in five years since his starring role in 2007's Daddy Day Camp.
John Ridley wrote the screenplay. Additional material was shot the following year with executive producer George Lucas as director and Aaron McGruder as writer of the reshoots. It was filmed in March and July 2009. Red Tails was a personal project for Lucas, one that he had originally conceived in 1988. It is the first Lucasfilm production since the 1994 film Radioland Murders that is not associated with the Indiana Jones or Star Wars franchises." 'The Tuskegee Airmen'." Teach with Movies. Retrieved: January 24, 2012. Terrence Howard had previously portrayed a Tuskegee pilot in Hart's War (2002), and Cuba Gooding Jr. had previously starred in The Tuskegee Airmen (1995), an HBO made-for-television film about the same group of pilots.
Plot
In 1944, as the air war over Europe enters a deadly phase with increasing losses of Allied bombers, the 332d Fighter Group (the Tuskegee Airmen), consisting of African-American USAAF fighter pilots, after enduring racism throughout their recruitment and training in the Tuskegee training program, are sent into combat in Italy. Flying worn-out Curtiss P-40 Warhawk aircraft and chafing at their ground attack role, the Tuskegee Airmen fear they may never fight the Luftwaffe. The tight-knit group of Captain Martin "Easy" Julian, 1st Lt. Joe "Lightning" Little, 2nd Lt. Ray "Ray Gun" Gannon, 2nd Lt. Andrew "Smokey" Salem, and 2nd Lt. Samuel "Joker" George, under the guidance of Major Emanuel Stance and Col. A.J. Bullard, face a white military bureaucracy still resistant to accepting black flyers as equals.
Tension develops between Lightning, a hotheaded and reckless pilot, and Easy, an alcoholic prone to self-doubt. Lightning becomes infatuated with Sofia, an Italian woman, and starts a relationship. When Lightning punches a white man who uses a racial slur at a "whites only" officer's club, he is confined and reprimanded by Colonel Bullard. Opportunities for aerial combat finally materialize when the Tuskegee Airmen are ordered to support the Allied landings at Anzio, Italy. They battle Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters led by a German ace pilot they nickname "Pretty Boy." When they damage Pretty Boy's plane and raze his airbase he is stunned to learn his adversaries are African-Americans. When Ray Gun's eyesight is impaired by anti-aircraft fire, Easy reluctantly allows him to continue flying.
Impressed with the Tuskegee Airmen's performance, the USAAF Bomber Command asks Bullard's group to escort Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers because of unacceptably high casualties. Bullard accepts on the condition his unit be supplied with the new North American P-51 Mustangs. The tails of the aircraft are painted bright red and become the unofficial name of the outfit.
Noting the reckless aggression of previous escorts, Bullard orders his pilots to stay with the bombers at all times. Their first escort mission is a success, and the 332nd downs multiple Luftwaffe aircraft without the loss of a single bomber. Lightning even takes his chances to attack a Kriegsmarine destroyer before returning to base.
Attitudes against the Tuskegee Airmen begin to change as they earn the bomber crews' respect, though at a cost. Ray Gun is shot down and captured, and a seriously injured Deke is rescued from a crash-landing and medically discharged. Ray Gun is recruited by fellow POWs at Stalag 18 for their escape committee. Ray Gun and his group of POWs escape, but Ray Gun provides a distraction when the Germans detect them, allowing the others to escape. One of the escapees reaches the 332nd's base and informs them Ray Gun sacrificed his life for their freedom. Easy blames himself for Ray Gun's loss, and spirals deeper into alcoholism. Lightning promises Easy he will fly less recklessly as long as Easy remains sober, and Sofia agrees to marry him as long as he stays in Italy.
The Tuskegee Airmen are tasked with escorting the first American bombers to attack Berlin, though only on the first leg of the mission. When their relief never arrives, Easy orders the group to stay with the bombers into enemy airspace where Pretty Boy leads a flight of the revolutionary new Messerschmitt Me 262 jet fighters against them. Despite being outclassed, the Tuskegee Airmen shoot down several of the jets, then escort a damaged B-17 back to Allied airspace. Pretty Boy nearly shoots down Easy, but is shot down by Lightning who is seriously wounded in the dogfight and killed when his Mustang crashes.
Easy informs Sofia about Lightning's death, and overcomes his alcoholism. At Lightning's funeral, Ray Gun returns, having survived his escape from German captivity. The Tuskegee Airmen are awarded the Presidential Unit Citation in honor of their achievements.
Cast
Terrence Howard as Col. A.J. Bullard Cuba Gooding Jr. as Major Emanuel Stance Nate Parker as Capt. Martin "Easy" Julian David Oyelowo as 1st Lt. Joe "Lightning" Little Tristan Wilds as 2nd Lt. Ray "Ray Gun" or "Junior" Gannon Ne-Yo as 2nd Lt. Andrew "Smokey" Salem Elijah Kelley as 2nd Lt. Samuel "Joker" George Marcus T. Paulk as 2nd Lt. David "The Deacon" Watkins Leslie Odom Jr. as Declan "Winky" Hall Michael B. Jordan as Flight Officer Maurice "Bumps" Wilson Method Man as Cpl. "Sticks" Bryan Cranston as Col. William Mortamus Kevin Phillips as 2nd Lt. Leon "Neon" Edwards Andre Royo as 1st Sgt. "Coffee" Coleman Lee Tergesen as Col. Jack Tomilson Gerald McRaney as Lieutenant General Luntz Daniela Ruah as Sofia Paul Fox as Capt. Miller Matthew Marsh as Brigadier General Hauser Lars van Riesen as "Pretty Boy" (the German antagonist pilot) Ryan Early as Captain Bryce Henry Garrett as Hart Robert Kazinsky as Chester Barnes Rick Otto as Flynt Josh Dallas as Ryan Fling Edwina Findley as "CeCe" Stacie Davis as Mae Aml Ameen as "Bag O'Bones" Rupert Penry-Jones as Brig. Gen. Campbell
Production
George Lucas began developing Red Tails around 1988,Spelling, Ian. "Life with Indy." Starlog #191, June 1993. after hearing of the Tuskegee Airmen from his friend George Hall, a photographer.Madsen, Dan. "New Movie Update: 'Red Tails'." The Lucasfilm Fan Club Magazine #12, Summer 1990.Curtis, Bryan. "George Lucas Is Ready to Roll the Credits." Los Angeles Times, January 17, 2012. At the time, the film was scheduled for release in 1992,Windham et al. 2010, p. 151. with Kevin Sullivan writing the screenplay and Thomas Carter directing.Eller, Claudia. "A look inside Hollywood and the movies: The Road to 'Radioland' Mill Valley Murder-Mystery, or the Not-So-Young George Lucas Chronicles." Los Angeles Times, June 20, 1993. Lucas originally conceived of the film as a long, detailed narrative similar to Lawrence of Arabia, and as a trilogy, but after multiple script drafts, he decided to focus on the combat portion of the story.Weintraub, Steve. "Producer Rick McCallum Talks Red Tails and Live-Action Star Wars TV Series; Describes Show as 'Empire Strikes Back' on Steroids." Collider.com, January 18, 2012. He compared it to Tucker: The Man and His Dream as "a story too good to be true".Dutka, Elaine. "Lucas' Next Movie: Tuskegee Airmen." Los Angeles Times, August 11, 1990. In researching the film, Lucasfilm invited some of the surviving Tuskegee Airmen to Skywalker Ranch, where they were interviewed about their experiences during World War II."Tuskegee Airmen to be subject of Lucas film." MSNBC.com, June 17, 2008.Thompson, Jeff. "TNAA honors Carters during 125th anniversary celebration." The Tuskegee News, August 5, 2010. Lucasfilm was also given access to the original mission logbooks used by some of the pilots.Orange, B. Allen. "Exclusive: Michael B. Jordan Talks Red Tails." MovieWeb.com, September 15, 2010. A number of writers worked on the project until John Ridley was hired in 2007 to write the screenplay.Fleming, Michael. "Lucas taps Ridley to write 'Tails'." Variety, August 27, 2007. Lucas held discussions with Samuel L. Jackson regarding Jackson possibly directing and acting in the film. Although Jackson praised the script, he did not commit to either role.Vejvoda, Jim. "Jackson Eyeing Red Tails." IGN, August 18, 2008. Retrieved: August 25, 2008. Anthony Hemingway, a former production assistant for Lucas' The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles TV series,"Anthony Hemingway: Director." Red Tails Blu-ray bonus features, 2012. was ultimately chosen to direct in 2008.McNary, Dave. "Hemingway to helm 'Red Tails'." Variety, September 30, 2008.
Pre-production began in January 2009, with location scouting having taken place in June 2008 in Prague, Czech Republic, Italy and Croatia. Lucas invited storyboard artist David Russell (son of Tuskegee Airman James C. Russell) to design key aerial combat sequences. David Russell Draws History to Life, The Pasadena Rose Magazine Production began in March 2009 with high-definition Sony F35 cameras used for principal photography,"FGV-Schmidle: Light & Camera Rental Munich – Red Tails." fgv-rental. Retrieved: January 24, 2012. which took place in the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia and England over a period from August to December. While shooting in the Czech Republic, the actors also underwent a "boot camp" program, during which they lived in similar conditions to the actual Tuskegee Airmen.
Harkening back to his early work on Star Wars where he had studied World War II aerial footage to create the space aerobatics performed by Rebel X-wings and TIE fighters, Lucas was familiar with World War II aerial combat.Kline 1999, p. 49. The Lucas template for photographing computer-generated imagery (CGI) dogfighting "involved lots of action, continuous motion, moving camera, streaks, loops and rolls, and all of the things aerial photography allows you to do in live action."Kline 1999, pp. 50–51. Aerial scenes in Red Tails involved actors sitting in a gimbal-mounted cockpits (and mock-up fuselages and wings), in front of a green screen, rocked back and forth by production crew members. In order to achieve a realistic reaction, actors were flown in actual P-51 Mustangs at the Planes of Fame in Chino, California, to experience the forces involved in dogfighting."Red Tails: About the Production." Celebrity Wonder. Retrieved: January 24, 2012.
Editing began while the production was in Prague. Avid editing systems were used simultaneously in a Prague studio and at Lucasfilm."George Lucas' new epic shoots on F35." sony.lv. Retrieved: January 24, 2012. A vehicle was fitted with a "technical center" so that the production could quickly move between locations. Red Tails was the first film to use Barco's Auro-3D 11.1 surround sound system."Lucas's Red Tails, a 2D film with 3D sound" Stereoscopy News Retrieved: January 19, 2012.