Drop Zone (film)
Encyclopedia
Drop Zone is a 1994 action movie directed by John Badham
John Badham
- External links :...

. It stars Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...

, Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...

 and Yancy Butler
Yancy Butler
Yancy Victoria Butler is an American television and movie actress known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 John Woo film Hard Target and as Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama Witchblade.-Early life:...

.

Plot

Aboard a commercial airliner, U.S. Marshal Pete Nessip (Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...

) and his brother Terry (Malcolm Jamal-Warner), a fellow marshal, are escorting prison inmate Earl Leedy (Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...

), who is a computer wizard, to a high-security prison.

When an apparent terrorist hijack attempt blows a hole in the airplane, Terry is sucked out to his death, and the terrorists parachute out of the same hole, taking Leedy with them. A devastated Pete is blamed for overreacting to the incident, and he is forced to turn in his badge.

Pete believes that the assault may have been an elaborate prison break meant to free Leedy. But the FBI refuses to listen saying that the chances of sneaking a parachute through airport security and parachuting at 30,000 feet are impossible. Renegade skydiver and former DEA agent Ty Moncrief (Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...

) is the mastermind behind the attack, which culminated in the first-ever parachute jump from a commercial jet at 30,000 feet. Ty plans to use Leedy to hack into the DEA mainframe computer in Washington DC so Ty can auction off the names of undercover agents to drug cartels worldwide.

Ty has scheduled this to be accomplished during an Independence Day parachute exhibition and fireworks display, which is the one day every year when security is loosened around the airspace above Washington DC. Because skydiving played a part in the airplane hijacking, Pete finds his way to Jessie Crossman (Yancy Butler
Yancy Butler
Yancy Victoria Butler is an American television and movie actress known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 John Woo film Hard Target and as Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama Witchblade.-Early life:...

), a world-class skydiver and ex-con, whose ex-husband Jagger, unknown to all, is part of Ty's crew. Jessie agrees to train Pete how to skydive, if he will sponsor her team for the parachute exhibition.

When Jessie's parachuting friend Selkirk (Corin Nemec
Corin Nemec
Corin "Corky" Nemec is an American actor. Nemec is known for playing the title character on Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Jonas Quinn on Stargate SG-1, and Harold Lauder in the ABC miniseries The Stand.-Personal life:Nemec's mother was a graphic artist as well as a painter, writer and poet...

) is severely injured after using a faulty parachute that Ty had intended for Jessie to use, Pete is appointed to take Selkirk's place. When Jagger is found dead, tangled in some high-voltage power lines, it is obvious that his death was a murder engineered by Ty, and with Pete's help, Jessie now is seeking revenge on Ty. When Pete discovers Ty's plan to hack into the DEA mainframe, the rest of the parachuting team agrees to help Pete with the situation. On the night of the Independence Day exhibition, Jessie sneaks into Ty's parachuting plane, holding them at gunpoint in order to determine an explanation for Jagger's death. but Ty's men kick her outside and then parachute out, Jessie now managing to grab hold of the plane door bar lets go on a free fall just as Pete and the parachuting team arrive and rescues her, floating down safety to the roof of the DEA mainframe office building where Ty has already arrived.

Pete tries to find access to the DEA mainframe control room, eliminating Ty's men one by one, with the help of the parachuting team. He breaks in and holds Leedy (who has already started downloading the identities) as hostage. But Ty appears who has kidnapped Jessie threatening to kill her unless Pete releases Leedy. A fight breaks out between Pete and Ty that results with both of them go falling out the building window. Luckily, Pete opens his emergency parachute as Ty tumbles to his death. Pete lands safely on the ground and is escorted away by paramedics, but spots Leedy wearing a DEA jacket leaving the scene, one of the team members, Swoop (Kyle Secor
Kyle Secor
Kyle Ivan Secor is an American television and movie actor, best known for his role as Detective Tim Bayliss on the crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street.-Early years:...

) leaps from the building parachuting down onto Leedy stopping him in his tracks. Pete tells Jessie that in a few years he will try skydiving again.

Cast

Actor Role
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...

 
Pete Nessip
Gary Busey
Gary Busey
William Gary Busey , best known as Gary Busey, is an American film and stage actor and artist. He has appeared in a large variety of films, as well as making regular appearances on Gunsmoke, Walker, Texas Ranger, Law & Order, and Entourage...

 
Ty Moncrief
Yancy Butler
Yancy Butler
Yancy Victoria Butler is an American television and movie actress known for her roles as Natasha Binder in the 1993 John Woo film Hard Target and as Detective Sara Pezzini on the TNT supernatural drama Witchblade.-Early life:...

 
Jessie Crossman
Malcolm Jamal-Warner  Terry Nessip
Kyle Secor
Kyle Secor
Kyle Ivan Secor is an American television and movie actor, best known for his role as Detective Tim Bayliss on the crime drama Homicide: Life on the Street.-Early years:...

 
Swoop
Rex Linn
Rex Linn
Rex Maynard Linn is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Frank Tripp in the television series CSI: Miami.-Early life:...

 
Bobby
Corin Nemec
Corin Nemec
Corin "Corky" Nemec is an American actor. Nemec is known for playing the title character on Parker Lewis Can't Lose, Jonas Quinn on Stargate SG-1, and Harold Lauder in the ABC miniseries The Stand.-Personal life:Nemec's mother was a graphic artist as well as a painter, writer and poet...

 
Selkirk
Claire Stansfield
Claire Stansfield
Claire Stansfield is an actress, director, fashion designer and former model. She is best-known for her recurring role as "Alti" in several episodes of the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess.-Life and career:...

 
Kara
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...

 
Earl Leedy

Production notes

Drop Zone was one of two skydiving action movies released in 1994; the other was Terminal Velocity
Terminal Velocity (film)
Terminal Velocity is a 1994 action movie starring Charlie Sheen as a daredevil skydiver who becomes mixed up with Russian spies. It was written by David Twohy and directed by Deran Sarafian. Originally, Sheen's role was written for Tom Cruise, although William Baldwin was also considered. The...

. The original idea came from two professional skydivers, Tony Griffin
Tony Griffin
Tony Griffin is a former member of the Clare intercounty Hurling team. He plays his club hurling with Local club Ballyea, Co. Clare.-Inter-county career:In 2000, he was called up to the Clare intercounty team under Ger Loughnane....

 and Guy Manos
Guy Manos
Guy Manos is a former world champion skydiver and multiple world record holder, and a screenwriter, film director, and stuntman...

. One of the film's screenwriters, Peter Barsocchini
Peter Barsocchini
Peter Barsocchini is an American screenwriter, author, and television producer best known for his scripts for the High School Musical series.- Early career :...

, would later write High School Musical
High School Musical
High School Musical is a 2006 American television film, first in the High School Musical film franchise. Upon its release on January 20, 2006, it became the most successful film that Disney Channel Original Movie ever produced, with a television sequel High School Musical 2 released in 2007 and...

. Steven Seagal
Steven Seagal
Steven Frederic Seagal is an American action film star, producer, writer, martial artist, guitarist and reserve deputy sheriff. A 7th-dan black belt in Aikido, Seagal began his adult life as an Aikido instructor in Japan...

 was originally intended to star (for a rumored $15 million).

The film bears some resemblance to the 1994 action movie Freefall, which is about a skydiving spy who uncovers a plot to expose the identities of undercover Interpol
Interpol
Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

 agents.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109840/maindetails The insurance policies of Wesley Snipes
Wesley Snipes
Wesley Trent Snipes is an American actor, film producer, and martial artist, who has starred in numerous action films, thrillers, and dramatic feature films. Snipes is known for playing the Marvel Comics character Blade in the Blade film trilogy, among various other high profile roles...

 and most of the cast precluded them from skydiving. However, that really is Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter
Michael Jeter was an American actor.- Early life :Michael Jeter was born in Lawrenceburg, Tennessee. His mother, Virginia , was a housewife...

 doing the tandem jump.

The fact that the two main characters — Nessip (who is black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

) and Crossman (who is white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...

) — are not linked romantically is contrary to Hollywood plot conventions. This might hint at the reluctance of the producers to stage an interracial
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....

 romance, but the part of Crossman was originally written for a man.

The Paramount Parks (now owned by Cedar Fair) featured drop tower amusement rides called Drop Zone: Stunt Tower, which were based on the movie. The attractions are now named Drop Tower: Scream Zone.

The musical sting that plays when Swoop races to help the stricken skydiver has been frequently used in movie trailers, most notably The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro
The Mask of Zorro is a 1998 American swashbuckler film based on the Zorro character created by Johnston McCulley. It was directed by Martin Campbell and stars Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Stuart Wilson...

and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl is a 2003 adventure fantasy film based on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney theme parks. It was directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

(incidentally, a track from this film bears a strong resemblance with the one for Drop Zone). It is a thirty second excerpt from "Too Many Notes-Not Enough Rest" and "After the Dub" by Hans Zimmer, available on the soundtrack album.

The green C-47 used in the skydiving scenes is currently on display at the Valiant Air Command air museum
Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum
The Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum is located at the Space Coast Regional Airport, 6600 Tico Road, in Brevard County, just south of Titusville, Florida. The VAC contains vintage aircraft and a hangar with a restoration area. The VAC also has a Memorabilia Hall with flight gear, dress...

 in Titusville, Florida
Titusville, Florida
Titusville is a city in Brevard County, Florida in the United States. It is the county seat of Brevard County. Nicknamed Space City, USA, Titusville is on the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center and south-southwest of the Canaveral National Seashore...

.

Box office

The movie had a modest debut. The movie experience a 52% drop in the second weekend drop.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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