1944. World War II rages and the fate of the free world hangs in the balance. Meanwhile the black pilots of the experimental Tuskegee training program are courageously waging two wars at once — one against enemies overseas, and the other against discrimination within the military and back home. Racial prejudices have long held ace airman Martin “Easy” Julian (Nate Parker) and his black pilots back at base — leaving them with little to do but further hone their flying skills — while their white counterparts are shipped out to combat after a mere three months of training. Mistakenly deemed inferior and assigned only second-rate planes and missions, the pilots of Tuskegee have mastered the skies with ease but have not been granted the opportunity to truly spread their wings. Until now.

As the war in Europe continues to take its dire toll on Allied forces, Pentagon brass has no recourse but to reconsider these under-utilized pilots for combat duty. Just as the young Tuskegee men are on the brink of being shut down and shipped back home, Col. A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) awards them the ultimate chance to prove their mettle high above. Undaunted by the prospect of providing safe escort to bombers in broad daylight — a mission so dangerous that the RAF has refused it and the white fighter groups have sustained substantial losses — Easy’s pilots at last join the fiery aerial fray. Against all the odds, with something to prove and everything to lose, these intrepid young airmen take to the skies in a heroic endeavor to combat the enemy — and the discrimination that has kept them down for so long.

Directed by: Anthony Hemingway.

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Terrence Howard, Bryan Cranston, Brandon T. Jackson and Nate Parker.

Red Tails is an upcoming film directed by Anthony Hemingway, from a script by John Ridley and story by executive producer George Lucas. It is based on the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American combat pilots during World War II, and is the first Lucasfilm Ltd. production since Radioland Murders (1994) not to be associated with the Indiana Jones or Star Wars franchises.

George Lucas began developing Red Tails around 1988. He compared it to Tucker: The Man and His Dream as “a story too good to be true”. Thomas Carter was his original choice to direct. A number of writers worked on the project until John Ridley was hired in 2007 to write the final screenplay. 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. Anthony Hemingway was finally chosen to direct in 2008. 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. Lucasfilm was also given access to the original mission logbooks used by some of the pilots.

Production began in March 2009. High-definition Sony F35 cameras were used for principal photography, which took place in the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia and England. While shooting in the Czech Republic, the actors underwent a “boot camp” program, during which they lived in similar conditions as the actual Tuskegee Airmen. Editing began while the production was in Prague. Avid editing systems were used simultaneously in a Prague studio and at Lucasfilm. A vehicle was fitted with a “technical center” so that the production could quickly move between locations. In March 2010, Lucas took over direction of reshoots, as Hemingway was busy working on episodes of the HBO series Treme. Hemingway will have final approval over the footage.

In the meantime, enjoy the video.

Skeleton Crew takes an in depth look at the process of shooting an Action/Horror film on a low budget and the hard work and passion that goes into making any independent feature film a success. The feature runs for 40 minutes.

“Battleground”
The war in Vietnam is announced to finish. American troops are withdrawn and the relief of peace echoes through the air. However, as the calm after the storm spreads a sigh of relief, there is something unsettling amidst the forests of North Michigan. A disturbed war veteran remains, but he lives for on reason only … to kill.

What would happen if six ruthless men stumbled across him in the eerie deserted forest, after their mass bank-robbery leaves them running from the law with three million dollars? Would they be better off facing the cells of prison or can they escape from the murderer out to get them…?

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The story centres on John Foster (Christopher Dane) a man from south Manchester who in a drunken haze following a row with his wife, lists himself for sale on an online auction site. A victim of the recession, his redundancy has made him feel inadequate compared to his wife Lara (Eva Pope) who has kept her job.

We join the story with just over an hour until the end of the auction and John is already attracting attention from the media. Pushy, ambitious reporter Maia Long (superbly played by Jessica Blake) is hot on the heels of the story, flattering John and attracting him with ideas of fame and fortune in order to get the exclusive. Meanwhile, there is excellent support from Lee Boardman as Chris, John’s best-friend – a somewhat childish man who’s antics leave Lara despairing and provider of some of the films funniest moments. There are also brilliant cameos from Lesley Joseph as John’s mother, Roy Walker as a psychiatrist and Terry Christian.

As events unfold, the clock ticks down and the bids go up, the tension increases as John beings to see past all the media bluster and realise exactly what he has done and the consequences of his actions. In one of the film’s most touching moments, he recalls the birth of his son and wonders how he got there. The last 5 minutes of the film as the auction counts down are tense, exciting, funny and there is a twist in the tale at the last minute that most will not have seen coming.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this film however, is that it was shot in just two days by award winning director Phil Hawkins on a budget of just £20,000. How they did this is explained in the hour-long documentary ‘How did they shoot a feature film in two days?’ Both this and the film are available to purchase from the website http://www.beingsoldthemovie.com/ Watch this film. You’ll laugh and maybe cry but you won’t be disappointed.