Air Force One - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Air Force One or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Air Force One

[willard]

The in-fighting over the correct Presidential line of succession was inspired by the real-world conflict after President Ronald Reagan's assassination attempt. His Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, insisted he was in control of the government while Reagan was in surgery, attempting to bypass the Vice President.

[manuel]

Elya Baskin's character was named in honor of Kolchak, the Night Stalker.

[tammy]

Jena Malone refused to audition for this film.

[kyle]

After successfully rescuing the President, the MC-130 pilot says that "Liberty 24 is changing call signs. Liberty 24 is now Air Force One." Technically, this is an actual fact. Air Force One is the name of any Air Force aircraft that is carrying the President at that time. Theoretically, if the President was in the rear seat of a fighter plane, that plane would be Air Force One. This also depends on what branch of the military the aircraft belongs. The helicopter the President flies in is designated "Marine One", as the U.S. Marine Corps are in charge of the aircraft. If The President flies on a Navy aircraft, it'd be called "Navy One". Since the United States Air Force maintains the President's plane, it's designated "Air Force One". In the case of a civilian aircraft carrying the President, the call sign would be "Executive One."

[addison]

A large part of the crew took a tour of the real Air Force One before filming. They based some of the film's scenes, where the terrorists disguised as journalists survey the plane's layout, and begin to take their seats, on the touring experience. The character of Deputy Press Secretary Melanie Mitchell was based largely on their real-life tour guide, and the crew felt uncomfortable having to film the character's execution by the terrorists.

[nicholas]

Xander Berkeley and Jurgen Prochnov have appeared on the show 24 (2001)

[michele]

Having President Marshall watch a Michigan football game is likely an in-joke, as former President Gerald Ford went to Michigan, and television news in the 1970s frequently showed clips of him watching Michigan games.

[jesse]

When it was felt that the original ending of the movie wouldn't work, Wolfgang Petersen and Harrison Ford brainstormed together for an entire weekend to come up with the new ending.

[edgar]

The film was a major box-office success, earning $172,956,409 (54.9%) domestically in North America, and $142,200,000 (45.1%) in other countries worldwide overseas. It grossed a total of $315,156,409 worldwide in the box office against a budget of $85 million. It was 1997's fifth highest-grossing film worldwide.

[ava]

In December 2015, Donald Trump revealed his admiration for "Harrison Ford on the plane ... He stood up for America." Donald was so inspired by Ford's performance in the film that he took it too seriously. When Ford was told during a television interview of Trump's compliment, he turned to the camera and said "Donald, it was just a movie. Things like this don't happen in real life."

[eli]

In reality, Air Force One does not have an escape pod.

[amber]

Gene Hackman was considered for the role of President James Marshall. He turned down the part because considered the script as "lousy".

[richard]

During the initial hijacking when the Secret Service is attempting to escort President Marshall to the escape pod, a military aide with a briefcase handcuffed to his wrist is shot and Marshall screams "THE FOOTBALL!" The "football" or "nuclear football" is a briefcase carried by the White House Military Aide (a title held by five people at any given time, one each from the five service branches) that contains launch codes for nuclear weapons and other information if the President of the United States needed to remotely launch a nuclear attack. It is required to be in the company of the President at all times. There are also similar "footballs" that accompany the Vice President of the United States and one that is always kept at the White House. The aide, however, does not wear the briefcase handcuffed to their wrist.

[claude]

William H. Macy and Philip Baker Hall also appeared in Boogie Nights (1997), Psycho (1998) and Magnolia (1999).

[christina]

Despite being given multiple opportunities to leave, and despite being considered the most important person on the plane, President James Marshall is the last person to leave the plane alive.

[richard]

Glenn Close was a last-minute casting decision to play Vice President Kathryn Bennett. Close wore a wig from her own collection during shooting, because her haircut at the time was too short for the role. She only made one objection about her character in the original script: "They had written a scene of her breaking down and crying. And I said, 'I will not do that.' Because I thought we'd be doing women a disfavor if we had that cliché moment where she breaks down." Nonetheless, the character does tear up visibly when the National Security Advisor is killed while she is on the phone with the terrorists.

[fred]

The corrupt Secret Service Agent is Agent Gibbs. In NCIS (2003), Mark Harmon plays Special Agent Gibbs (no relation). The first episode of NCIS (2003) takes place on Air Force One and makes numerous references to the movie, including the weapons hold, the conference room and Agent Gibbs's comment that the terrorist copied in the movie.

[jessica]

The explicit filming of the execution of Press Secretary Melanie Mitchel was omitted from the final cut, as Wolfgang Petersen thought it was too intense.

[elmer]

In the beginning of the movie, the President rides in the motorcade back to the plane. In fact, the United States is the only country in the world that transports its Presidential motorcade vehicles to whatever country the President goes.