The Flyboys (film)

Two kids from a small town, the new kid, Kyle Barrett (Reiley McClendon), finds himself saving one of his peers at school, Jason McIntyre (Jesse James), from a group of bullies and they quickly become friends. Although they come from different sides of the track, the two set out on an adventure. While playing hookey from school, the pair decide to go to the local airport, where Jason's uncle works, for some excitement. When they find aircraft are left unlocked, they sneak inside for a better look, trying out the controls first on a small light aircraft and then they check out a larger, twin-engined airliner.

The mysterious and silver colored aircraft is in a hangar but suddenly, the hangar doors open and the boys immediately hide with the hope to not get in trouble, thinking that whoever it is will simply fetch or drop something off and then leave again. Slipping into the rear baggage compartment, Jason sneaks a peek at who is coming on board. He is frightened to discover one of the two men in the cockpit has a gun. Before they can make an escape, the aircraft starts up and takes off on a long flight over the Arizona desert.

Jason and Kyle unexpectedly find a bomb in the baggage compartment but when they burst into the cabin to report their discovery, they find that everyone on board had bailed out. Taking the controls, Jason manages to straighten up the plane and tells Kyle to throw the explosive out, before he assumes the seat of the co-pilot and together they manage to land the aircraft themselves- But their troubles are only beginning. Jason and Kyle soon realize that they are embroiled in a criminal effort to steal millions of dollars from the mob. In the process of staying one step ahead of gangsters, they find their courage to come out on top.

Producer, director and screenwriter Rocco DeVilliers worked with a $2.4 million budget, meagre for a major production. Including pre-production, work on the film took over seven years. Once production was complete, the film was shopped around to major studios and distributors but was not successful in making any headway. Ultimately, despite 21 wins at numerous film festivals, The Flyboys was relegated to a DVD release, re-titled as Sky Kids. Promotional efforts then centered on the new title. The film was broadcast on Sky Movies UK on August 15, 2009. It was released on DVD in the UK titled Sky Kids on May 25, 2009.

The Flyboys was filmed in parts of Southwestern Utah, mainly in Hurricane, Utah, St. George, Utah, Washington, Utah and Zion National Park. Principal photography took place at Mesquite Airport,in Clark County, Nevada, United States. The aircraft used in the film included: a Bullock Bu-180 (N145BB),[1] Beech 18S (CZ -265, N476PA), Beech A36 Bonanza, Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil (N410JC), and Piper PA-34-220T Seneca III (N83878).[2] [Note 1]

In 2008, Devilliers embarked on an odyssey of film festivals all over the United States, with The Flyboys picking up 21 individual awards. A total of 14 awards were for best feature film while Steven Baldwin was also nominated for best supporting actor.[4]

• List of American films of 2008

• Official website
• The Flyboys at IMDb
• The Flyboys at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Flyboys at AllMovie