Airspeed - new air race movie

Airspeed, a dramatic large format (LF) film began production on 13 September 2001, filming second unit scenes at the Reno National Championship Air Races (unfortunately, aerial filming could not take place following the grounding of aircraft because of the 11 September tragedy). "We were all shocked and saddened by the events that overtook the country during this time period," stated producer Brian Rogers, "but I wanted to thank the pilots and team owners who allowed us unparalleled access to photograph these magnificent aircraft during an extremely painful period."

Airspeed was originally conceived as a documentary film but when director Chris Woods was in preproduction, he felt that a lot of the magic of the Warbirds that the racers fly couldn't be conveyed using this approach. When screenwriter Joe Chambers suggested a father and son story linking the planes from their original glory as fighter planes in World War Two to their modern day racing incarnations director Woods was convinced.

Woods then set out to make a pure drama with a classic three-act structure. The story follows a son's quest as he sets out to win the ultimate air race and to prove to his legendary WWII fighter ace father that he too has the right stuff. He soon discovers that flying to win makes for winning a championship, but sacrifice for the common good makes the true measure of the man.

Principal photography on Airstream is scheduled to begin in June 2002 with a release date the following spring.