Flight of Phoenix on set and Base Camp Fly over / Photo Credit: Bruce Bisbey
SHORT STORY - C-119 ARRIVAL IN AFRICA FOR FILM FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX 2004 (In the Entertainment industry.)
Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductionsllc.blogspot.com or https://www.facebook.com/DumbDogProductionsLLC/ thank you.
SHORT STORY - C-119 ARRIVAL IN AFRICA FOR FILM FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX 2004
Did not mean to write a book, ended up telling one of my best film project adventure stories I have had the honor to work on. It’s late and I have not proofread this, just wrote.
I was the Art Department Coordinator on the Fox feature film project Flight of the Phoenix for almost a year. Pre-production in Los Angeles and production in Namibia, Africa. Many people who watched the movie said allot of the plane and sand scenes looked CGI’ed. Nothing could be further from the truth. The great director (in my opinion) John Moore is a bit of a purist and shot everything on location in the Namib Desert and locations around Namibia. The only part/scene that was CGI created (as far as I know) was the very dramatic sand storm scene.
One of the most interesting aspects of the creation of the film was the C-119 twin engine aircraft. We rebuilt one from ground up. As well as taking almost 7 months of planning, finding, disassembling, shipping, rebuilding, 4 and half other C-119s from the US and Kenya and shipping to Walvis Bay.
We had 3 and a half C-119 twin engine aircraft broken and stripped down and shipped from the plane bone yards near Tucson, Arizona to Houston and shipped via freighter to Walvis Bay, Namibia. This took almost a month and a half. We also broke down and stripped a Red Cross C-119 that had been shot down and landed in the bush in southern Kenya and shipped overland via 7 countries to Walvis Bay. That took over 7 weeks.
We purchased a C-119 and made a deal with a plane forest fire fighting company in Gray Bull, Wyoming. We paid for it to be rebuilt and had full use for the length of the shoot and post production for the film. They got to keep the plane. I had to track the plane for 19 days with daily reports to the director John Moore, UPM and Ex Producer Ric Kidney and Production Designer Patrick Lamb. Flying from Gray Bull Wyoming, via Newfoundland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, France, Algeria, Morocco, I believe Liberia and the Congo, Angola to Walvis Bay, Namib. 19 days in all.
The arrival of the C-119, piloted by Jim and George was watched closely. Director John Moore asked me if there was any way the plane could arrive before wrap for the Christmas Hiatus. I said I would try, I was in touch with the pilots. They said they would try. On the day of their arrival I was in the tower at the Walvis Bay airport, in communication with George the pilot. I asked him if they could do a fly over of the set. There were many guests and they again were wrapping for Christmas and the New Year.
The pilot said they could do a fly over, it was timing. He said they needed to get all the paper work and passports filed and GPS coordinates for the fly over. Well that got me going. With Guy Nockels, Namib Films and the African producer and my Art Department Assistant Coordinator Monica Theron we ran to the passport/landing office and got help from three lovely Namibian officials who were completely amused by the bald Yankee (me) trying to have an American military type aircraft land and have it fly off again into the desert. (I was passing out film hats and t-shirts and prepared to beg if needed).
The plane was coming and the first thing we saw was two white single prop Namibia fighter planes fly past heading for the nearby Namibian air base. They had been ghosting the C-119 military plane with US markings. Maybe five minutes behind the C-119 came into view, did a fly over and landed. The pilot did not even get out of the plane. The officials, Guy, Monica and I met him at the door, he was smiling and started to laugh. He talked with the Namibian officials and the co-pilot got the GPS coordinates from me and Guy.
All three of us Monica, Guy and I had camera’s for the landing and flight. It was for a documentary on the film project, I don’t think it ever got seen, it was made, that I know from the documentary director on the crew. Guy and I were up in the cabin with the pilots, standing the whole time holding on for dear life with the cameras. Monica was at the rear of the plane with her camera at the tail window shooting out the rear of the plane the whole time. She was awesome. But after wards she was bruised all over by being thrown back and forth, but she got the shots.
I got on the radio with John Moore’s assistant and screaming over the engines, we are coming, Director Moore got on the radio and said thank you, thank you, but hurry, the wrap is breaking up. In the cabin with the pilots we saw a spec in the distance, our huge base camp. Then the set, with I don’t know how many people, allot of family, guests, studio people, government officials for the hiatus wrap and many family from all over the world coming to Namibia and South Africa for Christmas.
George the pilot was an ex US military bomber pilot. He said over the radio, ‘hang on, we going in for a bombing run’. Well he dove and I mean a bombing type run. Guy and I were leaning forward trying to hold on, still standing, shooting with the cameras. Poor Monica was having her own adventure being thrown everywhere, but again she got the shots. We got the fly over as they wrapped, I understand, don’t know for sure, Dennis Quaid fell off his quad bike and many people hit the sand as we flew so low. It was awesome.
We got back to the airfield and checked in and headed with the pilots to the production offices in Swakopmund. Later Director Moore when he saw me he gave me a hug, a real hug. The entire shoot Director Moore was a gentleman and spent his own money to make the film wrap party a smashing success.
Wrap party outside Swakopmund, Namibia. Some of us in the Art Department.
Postscript: As of this writing, Monica emigrated from Namibia and is living and working in the industry in Norway with her husband and son. Guy owns the largest production company in Namibia and we are currently working on a project in Namibia in conjunction with entities in Holland and Germany. I ended up going back to Africa and have lived and worked there over 6 years as of this writing. Fell in love with a South African, my fantastic Afrikaans lady and now South Africa is my second home.
And so it goes. Cheers Bruce Bisbey
February 22nd 2019 at our office at the White Sands Missile Base, New Mexico
Me
Sources, References & Credits: Bruce Bisbey, Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Future Learn, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, How Stuff Works, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Bright Hub, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety, Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite, Realty 101, Liberty Me, Careers Hub, Sokanu, Raindance, Film Connection, Cast & Crew, Entertainment Partners, My Job Search, Prospects, David Mullich, Gear Shift, Video University, Oxford Dictionaries’, Boredom Therapy, The Bold Italic, Meets the Eye Studio, The Guardian, Elliot Grove, Jones on art, Creative Plant, Studio Binder, Film Tool Kit, Still Motion, Film Under Ground, Steves Digicams, Improve Photography, Guy Nockels, Namib Films,
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Flight of Phoenix on set and Base Camp Fly over / Photo Credit: Bruce Bisbey
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