15 Things You Might Not Know About “Con Air”

Eric D. Snider and Mental_Floss present 15 Things You Might Not Know About Con Air.  Here are three of my favorites…

1. It was director Simon West’s first film, but you’d probably seen his work before.

In fact, you’ve probably seen at least one thing West directed against your will. The Englishman directed many TV commercials for A-list companies like McDonald’s and Pepsi. Before that, he made the video for Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” the first few seconds of which have been viewed by anyone who’s ever been Rickrolled.

2. The transport system the movie is about was pretty new at the time.

The Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (or JPATS) was formed in 1995. It combined and simplified systems that were previously run by the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and was immediately nicknamed “Con Air.” Screenwriter Scott Rosenberg tagged along on a few flights for research purposes, and evidently survived the experience. Though he did note that “it was very unsettling, and a bit terrifying.”

12. The Las Vegas climax was originally set at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Bruckheimer said one version of the script had the plane crashing into the White House. “I said the guys would really rather crash into Las Vegas,” Bruckheimer said—which makes more sense anyway, as Vegas is much closer to the plane’s starting point of Oakland.