Airplane! - crew, film crew

The entire team, the film crew of the film "Airplane!"
Airplane! (1980)
Timing: 1:28 (88 min)
Airplane! - TMDB rating
7.31/10
4998
Airplane! - Kinopoisk rating
7.414/10
54607
Airplane! - IMDB rating
7.7/10
286000

Film crew

Director

Producer

Jon Davison
Producer

Executive Producer

Photo Jerry Zucker #73391

Jerry Zucker

Jerry Zucker
Executive Producer
Photo Jim Abrahams #73390

Jim Abrahams

Jim Abrahams
Executive Producer
Photo David Zucker #73104Photo David Zucker #73105

David Zucker

David Zucker
Executive Producer

Writer

Casting

Joel Thurm
Casting

Editor

Patrick Kennedy
Editor

Costume Design

Stunts

Bruce Paul Barbour
Stunts
Photo Chuck Hayward #51591Photo Chuck Hayward #51592
Chuck Hayward
Stunts
Roger Creed
Stunts
Photo Paula Moody #73392
Paula Moody
Stunts
Leslie Hoffman
Stunts
Jesse Wayne
Stunts
David LeBell
Stunts
Janet Brady
Stunts
Russell Saunders
Stunts
Nick Palmisano
Stunts
C.D. Smith
Stunts

Production Design

Ward Preston

Ward Preston
Production Design

Stunt Coordinator

Set Decoration

Anne D. McCulley
Set Decoration

Makeup Artist

Edwin Butterworth
Makeup Artist
Photo Rob Bottin #14547

Rob Bottin

Rob Bottin
Makeup Artist
Bob Stein
Makeup Artist

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

David J. Hudson
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
David E. Campbell
Sound Re-Recording Mixer
John T. Reitz
Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Original Music Composer

Photo Elmer Bernstein #71923

Elmer Bernstein

Elmer Bernstein
Original Music Composer

Unit Production Manager

Maurice Vaccarino
Unit Production Manager

Associate Producer

Hunt Lowry
Associate Producer

Orchestrator

David Spear
Orchestrator

Second Assistant Director

Kenneth D. Collins
Second Assistant Director

Stunt Double

Leigh Walsh
Stunt Double

Director of Photography

Joseph F. Biroc
Director of Photography

Camera Operator

Frederic J. Smith
Camera Operator

Costumer

Victoria Snow
Costumer

Costume Supervisor

Aggie Lyon
Costume Supervisor

Property Master

Steven M. Levine
Property Master

Supervising Sound Editor

Clancy T. Troutman
Supervising Sound Editor

Script Supervisor

Nancy Hansen
Script Supervisor

Electrician

Norman Lang
Electrician

Hairstylist

Joan Phillips
Hairstylist

Still Photographer

John Monte
Still Photographer

Sound Mixer

First Assistant Director

Arne Schmidt
First Assistant Director

Thanks

Boom Operator

Dennis Jones
Boom Operator

Set Designer

Joseph E. Hubbard
Set Designer

Construction Coordinator

Wally Graham
Construction Coordinator

Art Department Coordinator

Mike Higelmire
Art Department Coordinator

Assistant Editor

Scott K. Wallace
Assistant Editor

Grip

Nick Papanickolas
Grip
William E. Fitch
Grip
Jerry Deats
Grip
Bill Decker
Grip
Edmond Wright
Grip

Assistant Property Master

Tom Crowl
Assistant Property Master

Leadman

Mike Higelmire
Leadman

Special Effects

John Frazier
Special Effects

Gaffer

Larry Gilhooly
Gaffer
Brink Brydon
Gaffer

Music Editor

Jeff Carson
Music Editor
Kathy Durning
Music Editor

Stand In

Huey Redwine
Stand In

Unit Publicist

Art Sarno
Unit Publicist
Sam Mattingly
Unit Publicist

Visual Effects

Robert Blalack
Visual Effects
Photo Peter Kuran #71089
Peter Kuran
Visual Effects
Jamie Shourt
Visual Effects
Chris Casady
Visual Effects
Max W. Anderson
Visual Effects
Bill Hedge
Visual Effects

Choreographer

Tom Mahoney
Choreographer

Assistant Sound Editor

Jeff Clark
Assistant Sound Editor

Title Designer

Photo Dan Perri #66569

Dan Perri

Dan Perri
Title Designer

Sound Editor

James Troutman
Sound Editor

Craft Service

Adam Culunga
Craft Service

Assistant Camera

Jamie Anderson
Assistant Camera
M. Todd Henry
Assistant Camera

Additional Casting

Gretchen Rennell
Additional Casting
Wallis Nicita
Additional Casting
Susan Arnold
Additional Casting

Animal Wrangler

J.L. Mitchell
Animal Wrangler
Dick Webb
Animal Wrangler

Sign Painter

Jeff Clark
Sign Painter

Original Film Writer

Arthur Hailey
Original Film Writer

Hall Bartlett

Hall Bartlett
Original Film Writer
John C. Champion
Original Film Writer

What's left behind the scenes

  • The scene depicting an argument between employees making announcements in the airport building featured actual announcers from Los Angeles International Airport.
  • The only airline that purchased the film for in-flight entertainment was Mexican airline Aeromexico.
  • Leslie Nielsen's (1926-2010) role as the doctor in "Airplane!" was his first comedic role. He later said he was very happy when he was offered the part, as he feared he was reaching an age where he could only be counted on for "old man" roles on screen. The studio wanted Dom DeLuise (1933-2009) for the role of the doctor, but directors Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams insisted on their choice. Filming in this movie opened a new chapter in Nielsen's acting career. He began to play in comedies, particularly in other films by the Zucker and Abrahams directors.
  • The actors improvised the street slang conversation between the two Black passengers from beginning to end, as the rest of the cast and crew simply did not know the slang of "the Black neighborhoods."
  • A parody of Hall Bartlett's drama "Zero Hour!" (1957).
  • The model of the airplane used in the film is now located in a museum in Las Colinas, a district of the city of Irving in the state of Texas.
  • Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty rehearsed the dance they perform to The Bee Gees' song Stayin' alive (1977) for a whole month.
  • A newspaper published a photograph of a boy with the caption "A child locked in a refrigerator ate his own leg." This is a photograph of Billy Koch, who was the grandson of film producer Howard W. Koch. The grandfather once called the boy and asked him to bring him the photograph. Billy only learned what it was needed for when the film was released.
  • The mandatory copyright notice at the end of the film concludes with the phrase "Something like that."
  • A DVD of the film states in one section that the abortion debate between the announcers in the airport building was taken from a "cheap novel." In reality, it was taken from the 1968 novel *Airport* by American writer Arthur Hailey (1920-2004), based on which George Seaton filmed a movie of the same name in 1970.
  • The air traffic controllers are playing the game *Basketball* (1978) on an Atari 2600 video game console.
  • The film's action takes place mainly inside a jet airplane, however, the sound of propellers can be heard in the passenger cabin. Studio executives insisted on using a jet passenger plane in the script.
  • Julie Hagerty's debut role.
  • The interior of the dispatch tower was filmed at the Combat Control Center for ballistic missiles, built in 1954 to protect the United States from attack by the USSR. At the time, it was the largest computer system in the world. It weighed 6,000 tons and occupied an entire floor of a fortified bomb shelter. When the system was removed from active duty, its components were put up for sale. They were mainly bought by film companies, who were attracted by the equipment, which was futuristic for its time, despite being released in the 1950s.
  • In the Italian release, the slang conversation between the Black actors was dubbed into the Neapolitan dialect. In the German release, it was dubbed into the Bavarian dialect (with subtitles in standard German).
  • The Boeing 707 used in the film is a repainted aircraft from the American airline TWA.
  • Filming took just over a month.
  • Initially, Marci Goldman was considered for the role of Mrs. Hammond, but she eventually played Mrs. Jelline.
  • In the final credits, expressions like "The guy who was responsible for a lot of things" appear before the names of the crew members.
  • Sigourney Weaver auditioned for the role of Elaine Dickinson.
  • Christopher Lee turned down the role of Dr. Rumack. He called it "a big mistake" in his autobiography.
  • Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were considered for the role of Ted Striker.
  • In the scene where a sick woman's husband gives her oxygen, a bearded man is visible in the background. The script called for the beard to be blown off by the wind, but the adhesive proved too strong. The man is seen "making faces" in the hope that the beard will come loose.
  • Teenage girls fighting in the bar were played by men.
  • Directors Jerry Zucker and David Zucker made a cameo appearance in the film. They play ground crew workers who direct a plane on the taxiway straight towards the airport building.
  • While telling an elderly woman on the adjacent seat about how he met Elaine, Stryker says he served in the Air Force. However, the flashback shows him in a Navy uniform.
  • Robert Hayes and Julie Hagerty rehearsed the dance they perform to The Bee Gees' song "Stayin' Alive" (1977) for a whole month.
  • Leslie Nielsen’s (1926-2010) role as the doctor in “Airplane!” was his first comedic role. He later said he was very happy when he was offered the role, as he feared he was reaching an age where he could only be counted on for “old man” roles on screen. The studio wanted Dom DeLuise (1933-2009) for the role of the doctor, but directors Jerry Zucker, David Zucker, and Jim Abrahams insisted on their choice. Filming in this movie opened a new chapter in Nielsen’s acting career. He began to play in comedies, particularly in other films by the Zucker and Abrahams directors.
  • The actors improvised the street slang conversation between the two Black passengers from beginning to end, as the rest of the cast and crew simply didn't know the slang of the 'Black neighborhoods'.
  • A parody of Hall Bartlett's drama “Zero Hour!” (1957).
  • The newspaper featured a photo of a boy with the caption “Child locked in refrigerator ate his own leg.” This was a photograph of Billy Koch, who was the grandson of the film’s producer, Howard W. Koch. His grandfather once called the boy and asked him to bring him the photograph. Billy only found out what it was needed for when the film was released.
  • The mandatory copyright notice at the end of the film concludes with the phrase “Something like that.”
  • The DVD of the film states in one section that the argument about abortion taking place between the announcers in the airport building is taken from a “cheap novel.” In reality, it is taken from the novel “Airport” (1968) by American author Arthur Hailey (1920-2004), based on which George Seaton made a film of the same name in 1970.
  • Air traffic controllers are playing the game "Basketball" (1978) on the Atari 2600 video game console.
  • The Boeing 707 used in the film was a repainted aircraft from the American airline TWA.
  • In the end credits, before the names of the crew members, there are phrases like "The guy who was responsible for a lot of things."
  • Christopher Lee turned down the role of Dr. Rumack. He called it "a big mistake" in his autobiography.
  • In the scene where the sick woman's husband gives her oxygen, a bearded man is visible in the background. The script called for the beard to be blown off by the wind, but the glue was too strong. You can see the man "making faces" hoping the beard will come loose.
Did you like the film?

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