Rigor Mortis Online

Jason Reitman’s new film Up in the Air has garnered him more rave reviews than even Juno and that was a pretty beloved movie from the Montreal born director.  I have to say that I am not against the main stream critics here, this film is pretty god damn fabulous. Based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Walter Kirn, Reitman has been adapting the book for the screen with Sheldon Turner since 2002, not completing it until 2008. The film was written specifically for the actors George Clooney, Vera Famiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride et all apparently as well, or so it is claimed.  Funny that he got every single actor for every role he wanted, but hey stranger things have happened in Hollywood.

Quick synopsis: Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) likes his life flying around the U.S. firing people for companies that are afraid to do it themselves, he can fit his entire life into a suitcase (and also gives self help speeches on how you can too!) and likes his detached life.  Everything is flipped on its head when Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) keenly comes into his company and introduces firing people over a webcam so that it becomes unnecessary to fly around the country to fire people, which would force Ryan to change his entire way of life, and to this he is very unhappy.  On his journeys Ryan had met Alex (Vera Famiga) who describes herself as the exact same as him but with a vagina.  The two meet up in random cities around the country as both of their careers require them to spend much of their lives up in the air.  Ryan begins to fall for Alex and through constant goading from Natalie he begins to see the usefulness of human company and perhaps the error of his ways.  He invites Alex to his sister’s wedding in Wisconsin where he saves the day by convincing the groom not to back out of the wedding, which is ironic because Ryan has always been against weddings, kids, picket fences, etc.  Now that he is making such realizations (helped by the fact that Alex looks fantastic naked), Ryan is left with a the decision of carrying on in his ways or letting Natalie sway him into trying to settle with Alex.

This entire film takes place in airports, office buildings, hotel lobbies, and little homes and there is honestly very little action, but who needs it?  I thought about it afterwards and realized that Up in the Air is entirely dialogue but in no way is it ever dull. Ryan begins very set in his ways and the combination of Natalie trying to change his mind through her words and Alex through actions creates a very interesting character study and development throughout that does not play out as obvious as you may think. I do not give spoilers in my reviews but the ending is a shocker and more bleak than you would expect given my synopsis.  All movies that have someone against marriage and kids always ends with that character giving in and getting married and living happily ever after because that is the popular thing to do so audiences can leave pleased.  Movies that say marriage sucks and kids will end your life and that is the final message probably won’t sell as well.  So watching Up in the Air makes me think all along that eventually Ryan will do the popular thing that all mainstream films want and fall for Alex who will accept him and everything will work out swimmingly. Perhaps during the credits there will be pictures of them with future children and so on.  But not so fast, Jason Reitman is better than you may give him credit for.

I’m not saying that the film gives in to the whole marry and happily ever after thing, but I’m not saying that it does the opposite either.  It manages to keep you guessing right until the very end when Ryan makes his decision, which comes with shocking consequences, and Natalie leaves the firing business to pursure her dreams.  The best shot in the film is when Ryan’s boss (Jason Bateman) tells him that Natalie has quit and there is a quick silence as we see an image of Natalie getting further and further away while riding one of those moving floor things (*I don’t know what they’re called!) in an airport.  Just brilliant.  The same can be said for the final shot of the sky and just the sound of wind going by, which can sound kind of corny as I describe it but it is just too fitting for the tone at the end of it all.

Up in the Air is a great film as it studies the dynamics of it’s characters through their relationships and does so in an unconventional to Hollywood kind of way with its equally unconventional ending.  This is a film that I would definitely demand that you see, and pretty much all other critics that you read will agree with me on this one.

Technical notes on the film go as follows, as found by looking it up on the internet (IMDB or Wikipedia or Google and whatnot) so that I could find some interviews with key crew members and other filmmaking processes of interest:

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Themes

Summary

Alex’s and Natalie’s arrival into Ryan’s life challenge his philosophy of a relationship-free life throughout the course of the film (Natalie’s relationship with her boyfriend and Ryan’s growing attraction to Alex). Natalie begins to realize the disheartening aspects of Ryan’s job while questioning the purpose of Ryan’s personal miles goal, and how his lifestyle makes it impossible for him to make any real relationship.

Reitman noted that, “In one sense, it’s a movie about a man who fires people for a living. In another sense, it’s a movie about a man who collects air miles excessively. In another sense, it’s about a man who meets a woman who’s so similar to him that even though they both believe in the idea of living solo, they begin to fall in love.”  According to Reitman, “The movie is about the examination of a philosophy. What if you decided to live hub to hub, with nothing, with nobody?”

Addictive Behaviors as an Escape

In a more general sense, Up In The Air examines certain addictive behaviors and how they can be used as a substitute for true emotional connection with other people. Ryan is obsessed with his mile collection hobby, enjoys flirtation and insubstantial banter, and sex with no attachment with multiple partners. He is constantly on the go making substantial attachment impossible in his mind. People are objects of entertainment, not fellow people. Many of his and Alex’s behaviors and characteristics are illustrated in Anne Wilson Schaff’s 1989 book “Escape From Intimacy.” Alex, for instance, compromises her values and ethics and ultimately jeopardizes her family in pursuit of her “escape” relationships (she alludes to other brief sexual encounters during her conversations with Ryan.) This is a hallmark of addictive behaviors.

While Ryan appears to not be conflicted about the lack of intimacy in his life, he becomes extremely defensive, aggressive and emotionally violent when the primary tool he uses to feed his addictions and avoid connections is threatened. He is disappointed and perhaps even sad when his neighbor tells him she is “seeing someone” and will no longer be available as a casual partner. Ryan is fleeing intimacy but part of him seems to want it at some level. There are other points in the movie when Ryan wants to be connected to people. Ryan encourages a laid off worker to pursue the worker’s long abandoned dream of being a chef. He appears to be gently connecting with Alex during his sister’s wedding weekend. He goes out of his way to honor his sister’s photograph requests and he encourages her nervous groom through his marriage fears. Ryan’s cognitive dissonance of is also a classic characteristic of addictive behavior.

When Ryan’s primary tool for hiding from intimate connections, extensive travel, is threatened by a change at his company he becomes emotionally violent and aggressive, not caring who he brow beats, lashing out at his co-workers and even jeopardizing his employment by verbally attacking his manager and refusing his requests. He throws himself so aggressively into his new ‘feelings’ for Alex (we never learn if he was truly interested in her, or the idea of a relationship) that he walks off stage in the middle of an important speaking engagement to run to Chicago to see her. Other-destructive and self-destructive behavior are hallmarks of addicts protecting their “supply.” When his ability to continue hiding from intimacy and feeding the distractions that make this easier, he is willing to hurt others and himself.

By the end of the story, Ryan begins to think of others, writing a letter of recommendation for his young former co-worker, Natalie, and giving a generous gift to his sister and her new husband. While he is still alone, he may be at a turning point where he will try to recover from his addictions. In the closing scene he is thrust back into the world of endless travel and in a realistic story line would likely fall back into his old patterns of addiction and avoiding emotional connection. “In The Air” illustrates the destructive and self-perpetuating features of general addictive behaviors that are used as an escape from connecting with people.

Production

Development

Kirn wrote the book during a snowbound winter on a ranch in rural Montana, while thinking about airports, airplanes and a first-class passenger he had met who would strongly resemble Ryan Bingham.  In 2001, the year the novel was published, Sheldon Turner discovered the book and wrote a screenplay adaptation, which he sold to Dreamworks in 2003. Jason Reitman later came upon the novel (initially attracted by the Christopher Buckley blurb on the cover) while browsing in the Los Angeles bookstore Book Soup; at the time, Reitman was struggling to find backing for his film Thank You for Smoking, which was eventually released in 2006.

Reitman said in an interview, “I’m a flyer. I fly a lot. The reason I love that book is because I am loyal to one airline. I fly it religiously. I’d rather have a connecting flight than fly nonstop on another airline. I have a very specific way that I pack. I have a specific way that I go through security…So I see a beauty in the idea of travel that I recognized in [the] book and wanted to explore that on film. There’s a great line in the book and it’s true for me, ‘Everything you hate about travel is why I love it.’”

Reitman persuaded his father Ivan Reitman to purchase the book’s film rights, and the elder Reitman commissioned a screenplay from Ted and Nicholas Griffin, who used some elements from Turner’s script in their own work. Jason Reitman then developed his own screenplay, incorporating some of the elements from the Griffins’ script that had (unbeknownst to Reitman) originated with Turner. Some of Turner’s inventions that were utilized in the final film include Ryan’s boilerplate termination speech (“Anyone who ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you’re sitting right now…”), a key plot point involving a suicide, and the character of Ryan’s partner (written by Turner as male).

Reitman initially attempted to claim sole credit for writing the film, and later admitted to being confused when the Writers Guild of America ruled that he should share credit with Turner, whose script Reitman claimed to have never read. He and Turner later appeared at a WGA event where both said they were happy to share credit now that the course of events, and Turner’s contribution to the final product, had been made clear. At a press screening, Reitman also said that his father Ivan had written “the best line in the movie.”

Reitman’s work on the Up in the Air screenplay spanned a six-year-period, halting several times while Reitman directed Thank You for Smoking and Juno. During the screenwriting process, Reitman ascended professionally and became a homeowner, husband, and father, experiences he credited with shaping Ryan’s journey as he completed the script, which was originally intended to be much more comedic. Reitman also said the 1975 satire Shampoo was one of his inspirations.

“I think that the book is to the movie what a piece of paper is to a paper airplane,” Kirn said in an interview. “He took this story and he folded it and re-folded it and he transformed it in a way that I completely recognize my own impulsive writing in. But when I sat down to see it, I was not only honored and delighted but surprised by the transformations that had taken place in my own material and some of the potentials that I left untapped.”

Casting

Reitman wrote the parts specifically for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynskey, Amy Morton, Sam Elliott and Zach Galifianakis. On the parts for Farmiga, he cited her ability to walk a fine line between aggressiveness and femininity. On Kendrick, Reitman cited that he was inspired by her performance in Rocket Science. On Clooney, he said, “If you’re going to make a movie about a guy who fires people for a living and you still want to like him, that actor better be damn charming and I don’t think there’s a more charming actor alive than George Clooney. I was very lucky he said yes.” Reitman said, on the B.S. Report with Bill Simmons, that he considered Steve Martin for Clooney’s role if Clooney did not accept the role. Reitman said that he would have changed the movie with Martin and gave Martin “his Lost in Translation.”

Approximately 4,600 people signed up for the chance to be an extra in the film during the open call on January 24, 2009 and January 25, 2009 at Crestwood Court in St. Louis, Missouri. Up in the Air cast 2,000 extras with 15 to 25 Missouri actors in minor speaking roles. About 250 extras were used from the Omaha, Nebraska area. They were used for filming inside and outside the terminal at Eppley Airfield, while Clooney shot most of his scenes inside the terminal. While shooting the film in St. Louis and Detroit, Reitman placed an ad in the paper asking if people who recently lost their job wanted to be in a documentary about job loss. He specified “documentary” in the ad so actors who wanted to be in the production would not answer the ad. Reitman was amazed by how many people of different age, race, and gender were willing to speak frankly about what happened and what a cathartic experience it was for these people. They received a startling amount of responses with 100 responses, 60 people on camera (30 in Detroit and 30 in St. Louis). Twenty-two made it into the film. They interviewed them for about ten minutes on what it is like to lose their job in this kind of economy and after that they would actually fire them on camera and ask them to either respond the way they did the day they lost their job or if they preferred the way they wished they had responded.

Filming

The film was directed by Jason Reitman and filmed mostly in the St. Louis area. Several scenes were also filmed at the Berry and McNamara Terminals at Detroit Metro Airport in late February 2009 with minimal filming in Omaha, in Las Vegas and in Miami.

Missouri and St. Louis leaders provided about $4 million in tax credits for the $25 million film. Producers set up a St. Louis production office January 5, 2009. Filming began in St. Louis on March 3, 2009 and continued through the end of April. The film includes 80 different sets at 50 locations throughout the St. Louis area, including Lambert-St. Louis International Airport Concourse C and Concourse D (which played the part of several airports around the country), the Mansion House apartments in downtown St. Louis, Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, Hilton St. Louis Airport, the Cheshire Inn, the GenAmerica building, Renaissance Grand Hotel, Maplewood United Methodist Church and Affton High School. The film was shot at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for five days, twenty hours each day.

Crews for Up in the Air scouted locations in Omaha, Nebraska for three days of filming in late April with Clooney. Some of the scenes were shot inside the Visitor’s Bureau and in a condo in the Old Market area of downtown Omaha and at the south end of the main terminal at Eppley Airfield.

Reitman needed fifty days to film Up in the Air, eight of which were devoted to aerial shooting. The aerial shots turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. He was unable to use three days of the aerial filming. Many of the aerial shots, such as the crop circle on fire, are featured in the trailer but are not used in the film. The pilot who flies the Boeing 747 that carries the space shuttle flew the aircraft used for the aerial shots.

The film features heavy product placement, with American Airlines, Hertz, Travelpro, and Hilton Hotels all featured prominently. Competing brands are displayed only as blurs in scene backgrounds or are replaced with pseudonymes in dialogue.

Editing

The post-production schedule for Up in the Air was shorter than the previous two films. They only had a 16 or 17 week post schedule, whereas the normal post schedule is anywhere from 22 to 26 weeks. On Juno, they shot through the second week of April. On Up in the Air they shot through the middle of May. Fortunately for the schedule, Reitman was involved in post-production while he was shooting as well. The film was shot entirely on location and Glauberman stayed in L.A. to cut. She would send him scenes every day or every other day as she finished them, and he would take a look at them. He flew home every weekend to work with her for a few hours on Saturdays or Sundays. That was the only way they were able to stay on schedule.

Editing helped determine of how nonverbal moments shape the first meeting between Ryan and Alex, who become lovers. “In a scene like that, there is a sort of playfulness that goes on,” editor, Dana E. Glauberman said. “There were little looks that they gave each other. Sometimes I stayed a beat longer on a take to get that little sparkle in their eyes. … You can see a lot of playfulness in the quick cuts back and forth when they are teasing each other, but then there are also certain moments that Vera would give a little raise of an eyebrow, or George would give the same thing. Those tiny nuances are really helpful to show their character and show what they are after.”

Music

The score to Up in the Air was composed by Rolfe Kent, who recorded his score with a 55-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Sony Scoring Stage.  Reitman says the soundtrack is like a character in the film. “I start thinking about the music very early on. While I’m writing the script, I’m putting together a matching iTunes library. The result is a collection of songs that speaks to the nature of travel and warmth of human connection.” The St. Louis based band, Yukon Jake, is featured for 30 seconds in the movie’s wedding scene.

Reitman asked Chicago-based musician Sad Brad Smith to compose a song for the film after hearing him play in a Chicago coffee shop. Smith’s song “Help Yourself” is featured during a pivotal wedding scene in the film.

Kevin Renick wrote the song “Up in the Air” two years prior to knowing that Reitman was working on a film adaptation to the book. He was recently laid off at the time, and is an unrecorded, unemployed St. Louis musician. When Renick researched the film he discovered that the theme of the film was much the same as the song he had written. “The song is about uncertainty, disconnection and loneliness, while alluding to career transition,” Renick explained. “It’s a melancholy song, and a narrative about finding out where your life’s going to go.” He handed a cassette to Reitman after the director did a Q&A at Webster University. Renick included a spoken-word introduction about the song on the cassette so that Reitman would know why he was giving the song to him. Reitman found a tape deck, listened, liked the song and placed the original introduction and song from the cassette midway through the credits. Reitman stated that the song has a do-it-yourself authenticity.

Both “Help Yourself” and “Up in the Air” have been withdrawn from consideration for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Portions of Smith’s song existed as part of previous songs he wrote and Renick wrote the song before he met Reitman.

Jason Reitman has heavily promoted Up in the Air with personal appearances during film festivals and other showings. He indicated that he could relate to that lifestyle of the lead character, Ryan Bingham, and he enjoys it himself.

Up in the Air was screened as a “sneak preview” at the Telluride Film Festival on September 6, 2009, before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 12. The film was initially not scheduled to be completed for another three months, but Reitman rushed production in order to maintain a streak of debuting his films at TIFF.

During October and November 2009, Up in the Air screened at festivals including the Aspen Filmfest, the Woodstock Film Festival, the Hamptons International Film Festival, the Mill Valley Film Festival, the Austin Film Festival, the London Film Festival, the St. Louis International Film Festival, the Starz Denver Film Festival, and the Stockholm International Film Festival. It was the only American film to compete for the Golden Marc’Aurelio Audience Award for Best Film at theInternational Rome Film Festival. On November 6, New York Times film critic Janet Maslin interviewed Reitman and Kirn at the Jacob Burns Film Center following a screening of the film.

Following the positive response the film received at the Telluride Film Festival, Paramount intended to move Up in the Air from its original release date of December 4, 2009, planning for a November 13 limited release going wide before the Thanksgiving holiday. However, this schedule conflicted with the release of The Men Who Stare at Goats, another Clooney film. The film was eventually released on December 4 in fifteen theaters spanning twelve markets, broadening in the next week to 72 theaters and going into wide release on December 23, 2009. It will be released in other countries beginning in early 2010.

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All of that information you could find on the film but looking it up yourself but I thought I might as well put it all here so it can be in one place and is saves everyone time.  This film has to be considered a box office success and not just a critical one as it cost around $25 million US to make and is probably going to reach $100 million in global takings by the time I write this.  So good on the crew who made it and good on you for going to watch it now based on this very favourable review.  If you managed to not see the trailer then watch it now below.