TNL Movie Club: Pushing Tin

[animegirl]

Being an actual Air Traffic Controller I was stoked to hear about a movie that featured controllers. Pushing Tin is the best controller movie I have ever seen and the most accurate. It really captures how controller's minds work and how we all have weird-ass type A personalities. Plus, it has John Cusak and Billy Bob. Can't go wrong there. The technical stuff in the movie is for the most part pretty spot on.





Here is the summary from the official website:

Nick Falzone (John Cusack) is a control freak. An air traffic control freak.

"He "pushes tin" at New York’s Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) center. Part catacomb, part frat house, TRACON is the chaotic air traffic facility on Long Island that handles up to 7,000 flights a day into and out of the finite airspace above Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark airports. Nick works the Newark radar scopes, the busiest of them all, and he is the best of the best. If you don’t believe it, just ask him.

That is, until Russell Bell (Billy Bob Thornton) comes to town. After stints in Albuquerque, Phoenix and Denver, Russell — a cross between a motorcycle-riding cowboy and a Zen master — has come to New York looking for heavier traffic. This is the same guy who once stood in the turbulence wake of a departing 747 just to see what it felt like. Call him crazy…he’ll take it as a compliment.

Fueled by caffeine and machismo, a rivalry ensues between Nick and Russell. The one-upmanship becomes a contest of wits and wills, where stress is the great equalizer and bravado is the lowest common denominator, a game where the winner — not the loser — could lose it all…his job, his marriage, his mind."

For no reason at all Scottish ATC:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b1GM...ffic%20control

Here is what I do in the Air Force. It's kinda crappy though because AF News sucks:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkpUo...ffic%20control

[Rumpy]

Being an actual Air Traffic Controller I was stoked to hear about a movie that featured controllers. Pushing Tin is the best controller movie I have ever seen and the most accurate. It really captures how controller's minds work and how we all have weird-ass type A personalities. Plus, it has John Cusak and Billy Bob. Can't go wrong there. The technical stuff in the movie is for the most part pretty spot on.

How many air traffic controller movies are there? More than one?

Anyway, I think I tried watching this years ago and wanted to gouge my eyes out. I'll give it another try...maybe it was a different movie I remember or maybe I'll like it on this go around.

[Jetman]

Cool. I had a couple of coworkers who wanted to cross train into that AFSC because you guys didnt have to deal with 20 something volumes of study material or multiple tests involving that material (you guys just have to prove yourself at the job to be qualified correct?). I think one or two of them learned the hard way that it wasnt easy,and was a pretty stressful either way.

Are you in the RAPCON section animegirl? For some reason, I thought you mentioned that you were...

[animegirl]

How many air traffic controller movies are there? More than one?

Anyway, I think I tried watching this years ago and wanted to gouge my eyes out. I'll give it another try...maybe it was a different movie I remember or maybe I'll like it on this go around.

Yeah, I just watched a different one recently called Ground Control. It sucked ass. It did have Keifer Sutherland in it but the technical stuff was laughable.

Cool. I had a couple of coworkers who wanted to cross train into that AFSC because you guys didnt have to deal with 20 something volumes of study material or multiple tests involving that material (you guys just have to prove yourself at the job to be qualified correct?). I think one or two of them learned the hard way that it wasnt easy,and was a pretty stressful either way.

Are you in the RAPCON section animegirl? For some reason, I thought you mentioned that you were...

I work in both the RAPCON and the Tower. We have to take tons of tests over tons of regs but we just don't have CDCs.

[Scourge]

Pushing Tin is a great movie.

[Rumpy]

Please elaborate Scourge.

[Revoltor]

I should have this by Tuesday. I will then proceed to trash it and make Animegirl cry.

[BerringerX]

I saw this back in the day, and if I remember corerectly I didn't think it was all that bad... I'll have to watch it again to say anything further, though.

On an interesting sidenote, I totally fucked up a print of this movie back when I was a projectionist.

[Rumpy]

Melted the film?

[BerringerX]

That, and scratched the whole damned thing up. It ended up on the floor in a big tangled mess.

What a day. While I was trying to rectify that, 10 Things I Hate About You melted too. Errgh.