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Originally Posted by LukeA
I was shocked at how similar the plot of "Up In The Air" was to "About Schmidt", and not just in the "both are set in Omaha" way. It almost seemed kind of forced, in a "homage" kind of way, since it would have made perfect sense for Ryan (George Clooney) to be based out of AA hub STL.
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Well, after learning a little more, I discovered the screenplay was adapted from a book based on a real guy who had a place in Atlanta. Guess the screenwriters must have been looking to tap into a bit more of average everyday America given the state of the economy and what the character did for a living in order to affect a larger audience. Maybe? Who knows. But without giving anything away for those who want to see it, I do recall one scene where there was a comparison to a big city vs. Omaha and it was at Omaha's expense. So the more I think about it, it was overtly intentional to pick a relatively small city I guess. Well, and that they try to make it obvious that it didn't matter where this guy physically lived. His home was in the sky.
AA certainly paid some big dollars for it's promo placement. I have a friend who actually just left her job where she worked those types of deals for movies, commercials, etc. for another airline. It's all a big deal supposedly and the airline has people on set to ensure that the airline is being portrayed in a good light. Although, i'm not sure the airline can suggest that a screenwriter change a plot line to fit with where an airline's hub happens to be. Cause I agree someone who flew 350k a year certainly didn't fly direct flights to everywhere from Omaha.