“Every movie is tricky to make, but that is especially true of one that requires a deft balance of tension, humour, drama, and action… all while unfolding in more or less real-time,” says screenwriter Jared Rosenberg of Flight Risk, aiming to create a high-stakes, claustrophobic thriller focusing on intense character dynamics within the confined space of a small aeroplane, blending elements of suspense and dark humour, creating a unique and engaging story.
Producers John Fox and John Davis of Davis Entertainment discovered the spec script of Flight Risk by Jared Rosenberg, a versatile screenwriter, editor, and producer.
“We fell in love with the script. It felt very producible, but also very original,” says Davis. “John and I started working with the writer and then decided to figure out the best way to move forward.” When Mel Gibson’s agent reached out, they sent Gibson the script, and he came on board to direct.
“The beauty of the film is that it takes place over the beautiful Alaskan Alps, which are stunning and spectacular, as well as intimidating and scary,” says Gibson, who was also drawn to the project because the script “kept me guessing and had some unexpected laughs; it was terrifying and had an intriguing mix of elements I found charming. There are no dead spots.”
Bruce Davey, Gibson’s longtime producing partner at their company Icon Productions, similarly remembers that the script was “a real page-turner, a great dramatic thriller, and it kept me at the edge of my seat.”
Screenwriter Jared Rosenberg found inspiration for the script from his great-grandfather, who converted his farm into a small grass airfield. “Growing up, relatives would take us up in these small, single-engine aircraft,” he says. “That sense of flight is unlike anything you get on a commercial jet: it is tactile and analogue. You feel every bump and air pocket — the rivets rattle — and when you turn, the entire world seems to shift around you. It feels amazing, and unique, and a little dangerous. I was excited by the opportunity to replicate that sensation on the big screen.”
Rosenberg adds, “Every movie is tricky to make, but that is especially true of one that requires a deft balance of tension, humor, drama, and action… all while unfolding in more or less real-time. To accomplish that feat is a testament to [Mel Gibson’s] skill and care as a director.”
Gibson embraced the challenge, and his longtime producing partner, Davey, notes, “When Mel approaches a script to direct, he does so from inside the story, characters, and production, not from the outside. He puts you inside the action, making you feel that he and you are right there.
For director and producer Mel Gibson, Flight Risk presented challenges and opportunities unlike any he’d tackled before, including the helming of Braveheart, the blockbuster historical drama The Passion of the Christ; and the epic adventure Apocalypto. “Any time you’re in an aircraft, especially one as small as ours, it’s going to be claustrophobic,” Gibson explains. “We’ve played into everyone’s fear of flying, high altitudes, falling, and crashing.”
To help bring audiences inside the film, Gibson relied on some technical wizardry, but most of all, on the talents of his three cast members.
Mark Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they fly over the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.
While filming aboard a tiny Cessna as it was airborne was impossible, the filmmakers did the next best thing.
To provide the stunning visuals of the plane soaring high above the Alaskan wilderness and snow-capped mountains, they used an immersive soundstage known as a Volume, in which LED panels are used as a backdrop for a set on which video or computer-generated imagery can be displayed in real-time. The
majority of the film was shot at on a stage in Las Vegas, where the Volume was installed and so most of the film’s action unfolds within the confines of this Cessna Grand Caravan airplane.
Set on a 10-foot gimbal, the plane was surrounded by 1,830 LED panels arranged in a 270- degree display capable of playback at 24k horizontal resolution at 24fps.This immersive setup allows audiences to feel as though they are inside of the plane and in the scene with these characters – sharing in their claustrophobia and growing suspicion of one another. Yet, even within the tight space, the plane soars over the vast, breathtaking vistas of the Alaskan Snow Alps.
As Gibson puts it, “So, while Flight Risk is set inside a small plane, it feels open, and the vistas are magnificent. The scope is huge.”
“The Volume helped to open up our world,” says director of photography Johnny Derango. “It emphasizes how small our characters and plane are, in context to the magnificent world around them. That was something we focused on: there were times we would go from a super wide exterior shot, and then come in on a tight closeup. I love the juxtaposition of transitioning from the vastness of the world around them to the microfocused interior and drama.”
“Keeping everything grounded and feeling real was important to Mel and myself,” Derango continues. “We always wanted the audience to feel like they were in that plane with the characters.
The fourth “star” of Flight Risk is the film’s sole set – the plane itself, a Cessna 208B.
Production designer David Meyer looks back at the plane’s casting: “We wanted the largest bush plane we could find, and the Grand Caravan did the trick. Inside, it’s only five and half feet wide, and four and half feet tall, and that presents many challenges, starting with the fact that the actors and crew couldn’t stand up in it. Everyone was always in a crouched position. We did some interesting things, like taking the nose cone off where the engine would be, so that the camera could rest on platforms in front of the plane and be close to the actors.”
Writer Jared Rosenberg says “The movie is, first and foremost, an original, non-stop thrill ride (no IP here!)” And continues “But beyond that, this is a story that takes place in real-time, confining strangers together in a small plane, and so seeing the movie in theaters — with strangers — creates an environment for the audience that mimics the experience of the characters on screen. That’s a unique opportunity that elevates the movie-going experience and simply cannot be replicated at home.”
Jared Rosenberg is a screenwriter with more than a decade of experience in the entertainment industry. Jared grew up in Massachusetts and graduated from Middlebury College, where he was subsequently a writing fellow at the Middlebury Script Lab. He has written screenplays for a number of production companies, and he co-produced the feature documentary Money For Nothing, which premiered at Lincoln Center and appeared at festivals worldwide. He is currently at work with Netflix on a high-stakes,
military action thriller.
Mel Gibson was born in upstate New York, but moved to Australia with his family at age 12. After high school, Mel attended the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Arts, where he was trained in classical British theatre tradition and appeared in a number of plays, including Death of a Salesman and Waiting for Godot. Read more
