"Red Tails" The Next George Lucas Production

?Red Tails? Gets An Unofficial Release Window

Fans have been waiting to find out when we?d get to see Lucasfilm?s first non-Star Wars or Indiana Jones film in two decades and today we might have our answer. Anthony Hemingway, the director of The Tuskegee Airmen film Red Tails, produced by George Lucas, just tweeted that the film will be released in January 2012. With the recent news that Terence Blanchard will be scoring the film this month in Prague, that sounds just about right. Not that there?s a rush, Lucas has been developing the film for 20 years and it began shooting several years ago.

I think we can expect the film to have a limited release in December (for Oscar consideration) then go wide in January of 2012, most likely the 4-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, which has become a great time to release a film.

 

There are last minute edits and then there's last minute George Lucas edits that chop up the score and insert generous amounts of vfx.

But I am very eager to see what this film amounts to. I'm very hopeful this is the film that will showcase that Lucas' productions can be much more meaningful and profound than anything he has done since the '70's.

Everything I've heard and read thus far points to some very good things.

 

Yeah, surely a limited elease over Christmas and a general release in January? Releasing it around this time really does give a heads up that this could be an Oscar Worthy movie!

Also interesting that George is going up against himself with Red Tails in January and The Phantom Menace 3D in February.

 

Not every film. And GL has a tendency to not know when to stop fiddling with his movie, sometimes undermining them in very damaging ways.

 

On the other hand his "fiddles" have made some of his films much better. ANH was completely transformed in editing and wouldn't have been half the film it was/is if it hadn't been for editing of GL/Chew/Hirsh and Marcia.

For better or worse, this is the way Lucas works. Sometimes he make bad choices, but more often than not it makes the movie better (looks at the droid factory scene in AOTC or the brilliance of the Ruminations scene in ROTS)

He'll never change the way he makes his movies, so reshoots and late editing changes are always factored into a George Lucas film.

 

Yep. That's just the way Lucas makes his films and has for decades now.

That doesn't mean a film is going to be better or worse.

 

As Lucas has so often stated, he predominantly directs in the editing suite. But this is no abnormal thing. As a former post-production student myself, I completely understand and approve of what he says. Everything you see on tv and in a cinema is essentially made in the editing suite. The building analogy works quite well. The script is the blueprint/designs, the shoot is the choosing and collection of the bricks etc., but its the editing where the house is actually built. And thats arguably the most important part of the process.

If you shoot junk, you can still fashion it into something worthwhile (albeit with a very skillful editor). If you shoot the most wonderful material in the world, it means nothing to a finished product if it isn't edited and tailored the way it should be.

ANH was so very nearly a horrible film (reference the reactions of Lucas' closest friends when they saw an early rough cut). Its what happened in post-production (both the oscar winning score and editing) that made it the work as well as it did. Part of my own deepest criticisms of the PT is that it misses a dedicated, top-notch editor. The material they shot should and could have been fashioned into something that surpassed much of the OT. Unfortunately, some of it fell quite flat due to some ill-disciplined and rather odd choices come post-production.

 

So I heard recently that Lucas (and Ford) are making an appearance at EAA Air Venture in Oshkosh, WI at the end of this month. Apparently the reason Lucas is making his debut there, is to show a preview for "Red Tails". Could this mean a trailer will be released about the same time??

 

We can only hope.

 

Red Tails now has an official Facebook Page.

I quite like the font they used for the title.

There are already several responses to the trailer posted on the Facebook page, but I couldn't find the trailer itself.

 

Love the font used for the logo. It's unexpected, I was thinking it would be militaristic in style, but I like that this eschews that completely. I'm looking to see if I can find the trailer online somewhere.

One of the comments about seeing the trailer was posted by a LucasFilm employee so I think they must have had a special screening of the trailer at LucasFilm itself.

I forgot to mention that 20th Century Fox will be releasing the film.

 

DSLR filmmaker Philip Bloom tweeted he saw it five times and spotted several of his DSLR shots in it.

The font makes it feel like an 80's old-school title graphically, which is really refreshing to see again.
It's probably meant to look like personal markings on a pilot's plane or a squad banner.

 

http://starwars.com/themovies/redtails/index.html

Lucasfilm's Red Tails Will Take Flight on January 20, 2012

Twentieth Century Fox to Release Epic Action Story Inspired by the Heroic Tuskegee Airmen

Fans have long known that the daring aerobatics of World War II were a major inspiration in the making of the space battles in the Star Wars saga. George Lucas and his production team have captured the rush of aerial dogfights aboard P-51 Mustangs while telling an inspiring story based on real events in the next major motion picture production from Lucasfilm: Red Tails.

A high-flying action epic inspired by the heroic exploits of the first all African-American aerial combat unit, Red Tails will launch on January 20, 2012, released by Twentieth Century Fox. Produced by Rick McCallum and Charles Floyd Johnson, the gripping WWII action movie is directed by Anthony Hemingway ("Treme," "The Wire," "Battlestar Galactica").

"I am humbled and honored to direct the story of the Tuskegee Airmen -- heroes who have paved the way so others could have the opportunity to pursue their dreams," said Hemingway. "To be selected by George Lucas and Rick to direct this film was more than my wildest dreams come true. It's been a blessing to work with them, along with the amazingly talented artists at Industrial Light & Magic. I've grown a lot on many levels from this experience. As director, I had the fortune to work with a highly skilled crew from the Czech Republic, U.K. and the U.S., along with a remarkably talented group of actors. The resonant beauty, strength and dedication of our heroes is reflected in the powerful ensemble cast."

Red Tails stars Oscar® winner Cuba Gooding Jr. (Jerry Maguire), Oscar nominee Terrence Howard (Crash), Emmy® winner Bryan Cranston ("Breaking Bad"), Nate Parker (The Secret Life of Bees, The Great Debaters), David Oyelowo (The Last King of Scotland, Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Tristan Wilds ("90210"), Grammy® Award winner Cliff Smith aka Method Man ("The Wire"), Kevin Phillips (Pride), Rick Otto ("The Wire"), Lee Tergesen (Monster), Andre Royo ("Heroes"), Grammy-Award winner Ne-Yo (Stomp the Yard), Elijah Kelley (Hairspray), Marcus T. Paulk (Take the Lead), Leslie Odom Jr. ("Grey's Anatomy"), Michael B. Jordan ("Friday Night Lights," Chronicle) and Daniela Ruah ("NCIS").

"I've wanted to do this film for a great many years," said George Lucas, executive producer of Red Tails. "So it is especially gratifying to see it all come together. It has been a real pleasure to work with Anthony and the extraordinary cast on a project that we all passionately believe in. The Tuskegee Airmen were such superb pilots that it was essential for us to create visual effects that would live up to their heroism and put audiences in the cockpit with them. They were only in their early 20s when they performed these amazing feats," Lucas added. "They became the best of the best--the top guns. It is an honor to bring to the screen a story inspired by their heroics."

The first official trailer will be released on Yahoo.com at 10 am PDT Friday.

 

Hell freaken yeah! We finally have a release date!!!!! Hope they're pushing this for some oscars!!!!

 

It's going to feel pretty strange hearing the Fox fan fair while seeing the 2oth Century logo followed by the Lucasfilm logo without the words "A long time ago..(ETC.)

But hey,I'm pretty pumped about this film actually. Looks damn good!

 

FIRST TRAILER FOR RED TAILS IS UP!

 

Lots of great cinematography and nice areal combat coming our way, judging from the trailer.

Heh. Don't worry, only one month later you will get a chance of seeing that on the big screen again.

 

Crazy to think.A new George Lucas movie followed by a new way to watch SW.

Watching the trailer again and yes,I know it's a different war but alot of those scenes had a sort of young Indy feel to it.Neat!

 

The visual effects and the cinematography is beautiful. The aerial dogfighting action was so awesome looking in the trailer, I only wish that this was going to be in 3D as well, because the fight scenes would be incredible.

 

Really looking forward to this. Red Tails and TPM in 3-D that close in release is awesome.

 

Anyone else having that weird vibe that Red Tails will have some Star Wars references such as the planes having jet engine sounds like X-Wing sounds etc?

 

Well, the sound effect sources for Star Wars vehicles often were taken from old fighter planes. They definitely share the same amazing source- Skywalker Sounds.

Also, Tom Kane (TCW Yoda) and James Arnold Taylor (TCW Obi Wan) are the two bomber pilots having an exchange in the first trailer. Not to mention, Matthew Wood is the Supervising Sound Editor, so we can look forward to an incredible sounding film.

 

The publicity machine for Red Tails is starting to crank into life.

interview with the great GL himself

 

Wow, the trailer I just saw on TV was bad. BAD. You will know when you see it.

 

I've watched all the trailers. Looks great.