Up in the Air (film)
Encyclopedia
Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...

 directed by Jason Reitman
Jason Reitman
Jason Reitman is a Canadian/American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking , Juno , and Up in the Air . As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director...

 and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits as a screenwriter include The Longest Yard , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning , Up in the Air and X-Men: First Class ....

. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. His latest book is the 2009 memoir Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever.-Overview:...

. The story is about a corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham (George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

) and his travels. The film follows his isolated life and philosophies along with the people he meets along the way. Filming was primarily in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

, which substituted for a number of other cities shown in the film. Several scenes were also filmed in Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

; Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

; Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

; and Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

.

Reitman heavily promoted Up in the Air with personal appearances during film festivals and other showings, starting with the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....

 on September 5, 2009. The Los Angeles premiere was at the Mann Village Theater
Fox Theater, Westwood Village
The Fox Theater, Westwood Village, also known as the Fox Village Theater, is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, California. It is currently operated by Regency Theaters under the name Regency Village Theater...

 on Monday, November 30, 2009. Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...

 scheduled a limited North American release on December 4, 2009, broadening the release on December 11, 2009, with a wide release on December 23, 2009.

The National Board of Review and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association is a group of film critics based out of Washington, D.C., United States that was founded in 2003. WAFCA is composed of 34 DC-based film critics from television, radio, print and the internet...

 named Up in the Air the Best Picture of 2009. It received eight Broadcast Film Critics Association
Broadcast Film Critics Association
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....

 nominations and garnered a win for Adapted Screenplay, six Golden Globe
67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...

 nominations, earning a win for Best Screenplay, and three Screen Actors Guild
15th Screen Actors Guild Awards
----Best Cast - Motion Picture: Slumdog Millionaire----Best Cast - Drama Series: Mad Men Best Cast - Comedy Series: 30 Rock ...

 nominations. It received six Academy Award
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...

 nominations, but did not win in any category. Up in the Air also received recognition from numerous critics' associations.

Plot

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

) makes his living traveling to workplaces around the United States and breaking the news to workers that they have been let go for employers unwilling to do it themselves. Ryan also delivers motivational speeches, using the analogy "What's In Your Backpack?" to extol the virtues of a life free of burdens like relationships with people as well as things, arguing that the best way to live is to travel light, with little to hold you down.

Ryan relishes his perpetual travels. His personal ambition is to earn ten million frequent flyer miles with American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

. While traveling, he meets a satin-bloused, frequent flyer named Alex (Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...

). They begin a casual relationship
Casual relationship
A casual relationship, colloquially known as a fling, is a physical and emotional relationship between two people who may have a sexual relationship or a near-sexual relationship without necessarily demanding or expecting the extra commitments of a more formal romantic relationship...

, meeting whenever they can arrange to cross paths.

Ryan is unexpectedly called back to his company's offices in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

. An ambitious, freshly graduated new hire, Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick
Anna Kendrick
Anna Kendrick is an American film and stage actress best known for the role of Natalie Keener in the 2009 film Up in the Air. Her other work includes the films Camp , Rocket Science , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , 50/50 , and the Broadway musical High Society...

), is promoting a plan to cut costs by conducting layoffs via videoconferencing. Ryan argues that Natalie knows nothing about the actual process, live or not, as she has never fired anyone and does not know how to handle upset people. He plays the role of a fired employee to show her inexperience. His boss (Jason Bateman
Jason Bateman
Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...

) assigns him to take Natalie with him on his next round of terminations, much to his annoyance. Throughout the rounds, Natalie is visibly disturbed by firing people face to face.

As they travel together and become better acquainted, Natalie questions Ryan's philosophy, but he is satisfied with his lifestyle. During the trip, Natalie is shattered when her boyfriend unceremoniously dumps her by text message. Ryan and Alex try to comfort her. Natalie later lectures Ryan about his refusal to consider a commitment to Alex in spite of their obvious compatibility, and becomes infuriated; she apologizes later, but soon afterwards they are ordered back to Omaha to begin implementing Natalie's program. There are problems during a test run; one laid-off man breaks down in tears before the camera, and she is unable to comfort him.

Instead of returning immediately to Omaha, Ryan convinces Alex to accompany him to his younger sister Julie's (Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Lynskey
Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After...

) wedding near Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

. He learns that the reason that Julie had him take photos of a cutout picture of her and future husband Jim (Danny McBride) in various places is because they cannot afford a honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...

 trip. When Jim gets cold feet
Cold feet
Cold feet is apprehension or doubt strong enough to prevent a planned course of action.Cold Feet may also refer to:*Project COLDFEET, a CIA operation in 1962*Cold Feet, UK television series*Cold Feet Cold feet is apprehension or doubt strong enough to prevent a planned course of action.Cold Feet...

, Ryan's older sister talks Ryan into using his motivational skills to persuade Jim to go through with it. Although this runs counter to Ryan's personal philosophy of non-commitment, he persuades Jim that "everyone needs a co-pilot" and the important moments in life are rarely unshared. The wedding takes place without any further problems.

Ryan begins having second thoughts about his own life. As he starts to deliver his "What's In Your Backpack?" speech at a convention in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

, he realizes he no longer believes it and walks off the stage. On an impulse, he flies to Alex's home in Chicago, Illinois. When she opens the door, he is stunned to discover she is a married woman with children; Ryan leaves without saying a word. She later tells him on the phone that her family is her real life and he is simply an escape.

On his flight home, the crew announces that Ryan has just crossed the ten-million-mile mark. The airline's chief pilot (Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...

) comes out of the cockpit to meet Ryan. He notes that Ryan is the youngest person to reach the milestone; Ryan, who had been awaiting that moment for a long time, is almost speechless, although appears to be surprisingly unaffected by the achievement.

Back in his office, Ryan calls the airline to transfer five hundred thousand miles each to his sister, Julie, and brother-in-law, Jim Miller, enough for them to fly around the world for their honeymoon. His boss then tells Ryan that a woman he and Natalie fired has committed suicide, just as she warned them she would, and that when Natalie found out, she immediately quit via text message and left without another word. The company puts the remote-layoff program on hold because of government concerns and puts Ryan "back on the road".

Natalie applies for a job in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

. The interviewer is impressed by her qualifications and a glowing recommendation from Ryan, and hires her. The film concludes with Ryan standing in front of a vast destination board, looking up, and letting go of his luggage, echoing a sentiment expressed by Natalie earlier.

Cast

  • George Clooney
    George Clooney
    George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

     as Ryan Bingham, "a suave, smartly dressed businessman in his 40s"
  • Vera Farmiga
    Vera Farmiga
    Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...

     as Alexandra 'Alex' Goran, a "beguiling, mysterious fortysomething"
  • Anna Kendrick
    Anna Kendrick
    Anna Kendrick is an American film and stage actress best known for the role of Natalie Keener in the 2009 film Up in the Air. Her other work includes the films Camp , Rocket Science , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , 50/50 , and the Broadway musical High Society...

     as Natalie Keener, an ambitious 23-year-old
  • Jason Bateman
    Jason Bateman
    Jason Kent Bateman is an American television and film actor. After appearing in several 1980s and 1990s sitcoms including It's Your Move, and The Hogan Family, Bateman came to prominence in the early 2000s for playing Michael Bluth on Arrested Development, for which he won a TV Land, a Golden...

     as Craig Gregory, owner of Career Transition Counseling
  • Amy Morton
    Amy Morton
    Amy Morton is an American actress best known for her work in theatre. A member of Steppenwolf Theater's core group of actors since 1997, Morton has spent most of her career working in the Chicago theater scene. She made her Broadway debut starring opposite Gary Sinise as Nurse Ratched in the Tony...

     as Kara Bingham, Ryan's older sister
  • Melanie Lynskey
    Melanie Lynskey
    Melanie Jayne Lynskey is a New Zealand actress best known for playing Charlie Harper's neighbor/stalker Rose on Two and a Half Men, and a range of characters in films such as Win Win, Up in the Air, The Informant!, Away We Go, Flags of Our Fathers, Shattered Glass, Sweet Home Alabama, Ever After...

     as Julie Bingham, Ryan's younger sister
  • Danny R. McBride
    Danny R. McBride
    Daniel Richard "Danny" McBride is an American stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist.-Career:...

     as Jim Miller, Julie's fiancé
  • Zach Galifianakis
    Zach Galifianakis
    Zachary Knight "Zach" Galifianakis is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his numerous film and television appearances including his own Comedy Central Presents special...

     as Steve, a fired employee
  • J. K. Simmons
    J. K. Simmons
    Jonathan Kimble "J. K." Simmons is an American actor. He is best known for his roles on television as Dr. Emil Skoda in NBC's Law & Order , Assistant Police Chief Will Pope in TNT's The Closer, neo-Nazi Vernon Schillinger in the HBO prison drama Oz, on film as J...

     as Bob, a fired employee
  • Sam Elliott
    Sam Elliott
    Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...

     as Maynard Finch, Chief Pilot
  • Tamala Jones
    Tamala Jones
    Tamala R. Jones is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the movies Booty Call, The Wood, Kingdom Come, The Brothers, and Two Can Play That Game...

     as Karen Barnes, a fired employee who commits suicide


Themes

The film has a thematic connection to the children's book The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real is a children's novel written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real through the love of his owner. The book was first published in 1922 and has been republished...

, which appears in the film, before the wedding.

Reitman noted that

In one sense, it's a movie about a man who fires people for a living. In another sense, it's a movie about a man who collects air miles excessively. In another sense, it's about a man who meets a woman who's so similar to him that even though they both believe in the idea of living solo, they begin to fall in love.


Reitman also later stated that "the movie is about the examination of a philosophy. What if you decided to live hub to hub, with nothing, with nobody?"

Background

Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. His latest book is the 2009 memoir Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever.-Overview:...

 wrote Up in the Air, the book on which the film is based, during a snowbound winter on a ranch in rural Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...

, while thinking about airports, airplanes and first-class passengers he had met who would strongly resemble Ryan Bingham. The novel was published in 2001 and, shortly after, Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits as a screenwriter include The Longest Yard , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning , Up in the Air and X-Men: First Class ....

 discovered the book and wrote a screenplay adaptation, which he sold to DreamWorks
DreamWorks
DreamWorks Pictures, also known as DreamWorks, LLC, DreamWorks SKG, DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC, DreamWorks Studios or DW Studios, LLC, is an American film studio which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games and television programming...

 in 2003.

Canadian-American
Canadian-American
A Canadian American is someone who was born or someone who grew up in Canada then moved to the United States. The term is particularly apt when applied or self-applied to people with strong ties to Canada, such as those who have lived a significant portion of their lives in, or were educated in,...

 filmmaker Jason Reitman
Jason Reitman
Jason Reitman is a Canadian/American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking , Juno , and Up in the Air . As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director...

 later came upon the novel (initially attracted by the Christopher Buckley blurb
Blurb
A blurb is a short summary or some words of praise accompanying a creative work, usually used on books without giving away any details, that is usually referring to the words on the back of the book jacket but also commonly seen on DVD and video cases, web portals, and news websites.- History :The...

 on the cover) while browsing in the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 bookstore Book Soup
Book Soup
Book Soup is an independent bookstore located at 8818 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood, California, and is the largest general interest independent bookstore in Hollywood...

. Reitman persuaded his father, Canadian-American filmmaker Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman
Ivan Reitman, OC is a Canadian film producer and director. He is known for the comedies he has directed and produced, especially in the 1980s and 1990s.He is the owner of The Montecito Picture Company, founded in 2000.-Early life:...

, to purchase the book's film rights, and the elder Reitman commissioned a screenplay from Ted Griffin
Ted Griffin
Ted Griffin is an American screenwriter whose credits include Ravenous, Matchstick Men, and Ocean's Eleven.Born in Pasadena, California, Griffin graduated from Colgate University in 1993...

 and Nicholas Griffin, who used some elements from Turner's script in their own work. Jason Reitman then developed his own screenplay, incorporating some of the original script that was (unbeknownst to Reitman) written by Turner. Some of Turner's inventions that were used in the final film include Ryan's boilerplate termination speech ("Anyone who ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you're sitting right now..."), a key plot point involving a suicide, and the character of Ryan's partner (written by Turner as male). Reitman initially attempted to claim sole credit for writing the film, and later admitted to being confused when the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....

 ruled that he should share credit with Turner, whose script Reitman claimed to have never read. He and Turner later appeared at a WGA event where both said they were happy to share credit, after Turner's contribution to the final product had been made clear. At a press screening, Reitman also said that his father Ivan had written "the best line in the movie."

Casting

Though Reitman has claimed in countless interviews that he wrote the parts specifically for George Clooney, Vera Farmiga, Anna Kendrick, Jason Bateman, Danny McBride, Melanie Lynskey, Amy Morton, Sam Elliott and Zach Galifianakis, some of his actors have publicly stated their confusion in Reitman's assertion, if only because they knew he was meeting other actors all along including for his choice to fill his last lead role with Ellen Page
Ellen Page
Ellen Philpotts-Page , known professionally as Ellen Page, is a Canadian actress. Page received both Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Actress for her role as the title character in the film Juno...

 (who starred in Reitman's previous film Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....

) for the part that Kendrick ultimately played. On the part played by Farmiga, he cited her ability to walk a fine line between aggressiveness and femininity. On Kendrick, Reitman cited that he was inspired by her performance in Rocket Science
Rocket Science (film)
Rocket Science is a 2007 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Jeffrey Blitz, and starring Reece Thompson, Anna Kendrick, Nicholas D'Agosto, Vincent Piazza, and Aaron Yoo...

. On Clooney, he said, "If you're going to make a movie about a guy who fires people for a living and you still want to like him, that actor better be damn charming and I don't think there's a more charming actor alive than George Clooney. I was very lucky he said yes." Reitman said, on the B.S. Report with Bill Simmons, that he considered Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....

 for the part if Clooney declined the role. Reitman said that he would have changed the movie with Martin and given Martin "his Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation (film)
Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson...

."

Approximately 4,600 people applied to be extras in the film during the open call on January 24, 2009 and January 25, 2009, at Crestwood Court
Crestwood Court
Crestwood Court, formerly known as Crestwood Plaza and Westfield Crestwood, is an enclosed shopping mall in St. Louis, Missouri. Opened in 1957, it was the first major mall in the St. Louis area, and one of the first to have more than one department store. The mall includes one anchor store, Sears,...

 in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

. Up in the Air cast 2,000 extras with 15 to 25 Missouri actors in minor speaking roles. About 250 extras were used from the Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, area. They were used for filming inside and outside the terminal at Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield is a medium hub primary airport located three miles northeast of the central business district of Omaha, a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. It is the largest airport in the state of Nebraska...

, while Clooney shot most of his scenes inside the terminal.

While shooting the film in St. Louis and Detroit, Reitman placed an ad in the paper asking if people who recently lost their job wanted to be in a documentary about job loss. He specified "documentary" in the ad so actors would not respond to the ad. Reitman was amazed by how many people of different age, race, and gender were willing to speak frankly about what happened and what a cathartic experience it was for these people. They received a startling amount of responses, with 100 responses, including 60 people on camera (30 in Detroit and 30 in St. Louis). Twenty-two made it into the film. They interviewed them for about ten minutes on what it is like to lose their job in this kind of economy, and after that they would "fire" them on camera and ask them to either respond the way they did the day they lost their job or, if they preferred, the way they wished they had responded.

Filming

Filming was mostly done in the St. Louis area. Several scenes were also filmed at the Berry and McNamara Terminals at Detroit Metro Airport in late February 2009 with minimal filming in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...

 and in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

. Missouri and St. Louis leaders provided $4.1 million in tax credits for the $25 million film. Producers set up a St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 production office on January 5, 2009. Filming began in St. Louis on March 3, 2009 and continued through the end of April. The film includes 80 different sets at 50 locations throughout the St. Louis area, including Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport
Lambert-St. Louis International Airport is a Class B international airport serving Greater St. Louis. It is located approximately northwest of downtown St. Louis in unincorporated St. Louis County between Berkeley and Bridgeton. It is the largest and busiest airport in the state with 250 daily...

 Concourse C and Concourse D (which played the part of several airports around the country), the Mansion House apartments in downtown St. Louis, Hilton St. Louis at the Ballpark, Hilton St. Louis Airport, the Cheshire Inn, the GenAmerica building, Renaissance Grand Hotel, Maplewood United Methodist Church and Affton High School
Affton High School
Affton High School is located in unincorporated St. Louis County, Missouri. Located in Affton, Missouri, AHS is part of the Affton School District which is headquartered at the Affton School District Administration Building on Mackenzie Road.- History :...

. The film was shot at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for five days, twenty hours each day.

In October 2008 Production Services of Omaha scouted locations in Omaha, Nebraska for three days of filming in late April with Clooney. Some of the scenes were shot inside the Visitor's Bureau and in a condo in the Old Market area of downtown Omaha and at the south end of the main terminal at Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield
Eppley Airfield is a medium hub primary airport located three miles northeast of the central business district of Omaha, a city in Douglas County, Nebraska, United States. It is the largest airport in the state of Nebraska...

.

Reitman needed fifty days to film Up in the Air, eight of which were devoted to aerial shooting. The aerial shots turned out to be more difficult than he had expected. He was unable to use three days of the aerial filming. Many of the aerial shots, such as the crop circle on fire, are featured in the trailer but are not used in the film. The pilot who flies the Boeing 747 that carries the space shuttle
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...

 flew the aircraft used for the aerial shots.

The film features heavy product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...

, with American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

, Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

, Hertz
The Hertz Corporation
Hertz Global Holdings Inc is an American car rental company with international locations in 145 countries worldwide.-Early years:The company was founded by Walter L. Jacobs in 1918, who started a car rental operation in Chicago with a dozen Model T Ford cars. In 1923, Jacobs sold it to John D...

, Travelpro, and Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels
Hilton Hotels & Resorts is an international chain of full-service hotels and resorts founded by Conrad Hilton and now owned by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton hotels are either owned by, managed by, or franchised to independent operators by Hilton Worldwide. Hilton Hotels became the first coast-to-coast...

 all featured prominently. Competing brands are displayed only as blurs in scene backgrounds or are replaced with pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

s in dialogue. However, the brands did not pay for the exposure; rather, they exchanged shooting locations, such as AA's airport areas and Hilton hotels. Reitman expressed his desire to use real brands as he finds them less distracting.

Editing

The post-production schedule for Up in the Air was shorter than Jason Reitman
Jason Reitman
Jason Reitman is a Canadian/American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking , Juno , and Up in the Air . As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director...

's previous two films. The editing team had only 16 to 17 weeks post-schedule, whereas usually the editing deadline is from 22 to 26 weeks. Reitman was involved in post-production during shooting. The film was shot entirely on location and Glauberman stayed in L.A. to cut. She would send him scenes every day or every other day as she finished them, and he would look at them. He flew home every weekend to work with her for a few hours on Saturdays or Sundays in order to stay on schedule.

Editing helped determine how nonverbal moments shape the first meeting between Ryan and Alex, who become lovers. "In a scene like that, there is a sort of playfulness that goes on," editor, Dana E. Glauberman
Dana E. Glauberman
Dana Elise Glauberman is an American film editor with about 10 film credits. She has edited the recent films directed by Jason Reitman....

 said. "There were little looks that they gave each other. Sometimes I stayed a beat longer on a take to get that little sparkle in their eyes ... You can see a lot of playfulness in the quick cuts back and forth when they are teasing each other, but then there are also certain moments that Vera would give a little raise of an eyebrow, or George would give the same thing. Those tiny nuances are really helpful to show their character and show what they are after."

Soundtrack

Up in the Air is the official soundtrack to the film, released by Warner Music on November 9, 2009, and composed by Rolfe Kent
Rolfe Kent
Rolfe R. Kent is a British film score composer.Kent was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England. He attended St Albans School, then graduated in Psychology from the University of Leeds in 1986...

, who recorded his score with a 55-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony
Hollywood Studio Symphony
The Hollywood Studio Symphony is the credited name of the symphony orchestra behind many major soundtracks, including The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sucker Punch, Jurassic Park 3, Last Samurai, Pirates of the Caribbean, We Are Marshall, Spider-Man 2, Lost and The...

 at the Sony Scoring Stage. It was orchestrated by Tony Blondal
Tony Blondal
Tony Blondal, , is a film and television orchestrator and conductor, and record arranger. He started out his musical career playing live and doing studio recording sessions...



Kevin Renick wrote the song "Up in the Air" two years prior to knowing that Reitman was working on a film adaptation to the book. He had been laid off at the time, and was an unrecorded, unemployed St. Louis musician. When Renick researched the film he discovered that the theme of the film was much the same as the song he had written. "The song is about uncertainty, disconnection and loneliness, while alluding to career transition," Renick explained. "It's a melancholy song, and a narrative about finding out where your life's going to go." He handed a cassette to Reitman after the director did an interview at Webster University
Webster University
Webster University is an American non-profit private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Webster University is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools...

. Renick included a spoken-word introduction about the song on the cassette so that Reitman would know why he was giving the song to him. Reitman found a tape deck, listened, liked the song and placed the original introduction and song from the cassette midway through the credits. Reitman stated that the song has a do-it-yourself authenticity.

Strategy

Reitman heavily promoted Up in the Air with personal appearances during film festivals and other showings. He stated that he could relate to and enjoys the idea of Ryan Bingham's lifestyle. "Yesterday [October 28, 2009] I took my 10th flight in 10 days so I live that life myself and I kinda enjoy it," Reitman said, "I think when you're in an airplane it's the last refuge for the people who enjoy being alone and reading a book."

Reitman documented his experiences promoting the film. He took photos of everyone who interviewed him and recorded videos in each and every city he visited. He edited these images together into a short video titled "Lost In The Air: The Jason Reitman Press Tour Simulator".

Up in the Air was screened as a "sneak preview" at the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....

 on September 6, 2009, before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

 (TIFF) on September 12. The film was initially not scheduled to be completed for another three months, but Reitman rushed production in order to maintain a streak of debuting his films at TIFF.

During October and November 2009, Up in the Air screened at festivals including the Aspen Filmfest, the Woodstock Film Festival
Woodstock Film Festival
The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was begun in 1999. The festival was first conceived as a part of the Woodstock '99 Music and Arts Festival, with movies being screened as part of that event.-History:...

, the Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...

, the Mill Valley Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual, non-competitive film festival presented by the California Film Institute. Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a non-competitive environment for exhibiting independent and world cinema.Founded in 1978 by MVFF...

, the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...

, the London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...

, the St. Louis International Film Festival
St. Louis International Film Festival
The St. Louis International Film Festival is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 2003...

, the Starz Denver Film Festival
Denver Film Festival
The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...

, and the Stockholm International Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...

. It was the only American film to compete for the Golden Marc'Aurelio Audience Award for Best Film at the International Rome Film Festival. On November 6, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

 film critic Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...

 interviewed Reitman and Kirn at the Jacob Burns Film Center
Jacob Burns film center
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit cultural arts center located inPleasantville, NY. It occupies a moviehouse that was for many decades known as the Rome Theater.-External links:*...

 following a screening of the film.

Following the positive response the film received at the Telluride Film Festival, Paramount intended to move Up in the Air from its original release date of December 4, 2009, planning for a November 13 limited release going wide before the Thanksgiving holiday. However, this schedule conflicted with the release of The Men Who Stare at Goats
The Men Who Stare at Goats (film)
The Men Who Stare at Goats is a 2009 comedy war film directed by Grant Heslov and written by Peter Straughan and released in theaters on November 6, 2009...

, another Clooney film. The film was eventually released on December 4 in fifteen theaters spanning twelve markets, broadening in the next week to 72 theaters and going into wide release on December 23, 2009. It was released in other countries beginning in early 2010.

September 2009

Up in the Air was shown at a sneak preview on September 5, 2009 and September 6, 2009 at the Telluride Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....

. Reitman had fueled speculation that he would give a sneak preview at that festival. He posted pictures from Telluride on his Twitter account. Prior to the first showing, people waited for two hours to get into Up in the Air and hundreds were turned away.

The world premiere for Up in the Air occurred at 2009's Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

 (TIFF) which ran from September 10 to 19, 2009. The press showing was on Friday September 11, 2009. Public screenings were on September 12, 13 and 19. Reitman originally did not plan to debut the film at TIFF, since it was not scheduled to be ready for another three months. He rushed production so he could keep his Toronto debut streak going.

The first clip of the film debuted on Apple Inc. website on September 8, 2009. The first trailer became available on iTunes on September 10, 2009 and on September 18, 2009 it screened before the new movies The Informant! and Love Happens. The second trailer became available on October 1, 2009.

October 2009

Reitman received Aspen Film's first New Directions Award and participated in a question and answer session following a screening of Up in the Air on Friday October 2, 2009 at the Wheeler Opera House. The Aspen Filmfest runs from September 30, 2009 through October 4, 2009. It was shown twice at the Tinker Street Cinema on the closing day of the Tenth Annual Woodstock Film Festival
Woodstock Film Festival
The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival that was begun in 1999. The festival was first conceived as a part of the Woodstock '99 Music and Arts Festival, with movies being screened as part of that event.-History:...

 2009 on October 4, 2009. Vera Farmiga and Lucy Liu
Lucy Liu
Lucy Alexis Liu is an American actress and film producer. She became known for playing the role of the vicious and ill-mannered Ling Woo in the television series Ally McBeal , and has also appeared in several Hollywood films including Charlie's Angels, Chicago, Kill Bill, and Kung Fu Panda.-Early...

 participated in a question and answer session moderated by entertainment journalist Martha Frankel
Martha Frankel
Martha Frankel is an American writer. She was born in the Bronx, New York.She began her writing career at the original Details magazine, writing a column about plastic surgery called Knifestyles of the Rich and Famous. She went on to write book reviews, essays and celebrity profiles for other...

 after the film and in the Sunday noontime WFF Actor's Dialogue panel. The 2009 Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival
Hamptons International Film Festival was founded to provide a forum for independent filmmakers from around the world to express their vision. The Festival is traditionally held for five days in mid-October in theatre venues from Montauk to Southampton and attracts roughly 15,000 visitors annually...

 showed Up in the Air on October 10, 2009 during its run at Long Island, New York's east end October 8–12, 2009.

The Spotlight Tribute held during the 32nd edition of Mill Valley Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual, non-competitive film festival presented by the California Film Institute. Known as a filmmakers’ festival, the annual Mill Valley Film Festival offers a non-competitive environment for exhibiting independent and world cinema.Founded in 1978 by MVFF...

 hosted an interview with Reitman and a screening of Up in the Air on Wednesday October 14, 2009 in the Smith Rafael Film Center, San Rafael, California
San Rafael, California
San Rafael is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area...

. The Mill Valley Film Festival ran from October 8–18, 2009. It was also shown four times at the 53rd London Film Festival
London Film Festival
The BFI London Film Festival is the UK's largest public film event, screening more than 300 features, documentaries and shorts from almost 50 countries. The festival, , currently in its 54th year, is run every year in the second half of October under the umbrella of the British Film Institute...

 which was held from October 14–19, 2009. Up in the Air was the only American film to compete for the Golden Marc'Aurelio Audience Award for Best Film at the fourth annual International Rome Film Festival which ran October 15–23, 2009. It was shown three times October 17–19, 2009. Reitman showed Up in the Air at ShowEast in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...

 on October 26–27, 2009 and asked for the movie theater owners and managers to support the picture as fervently as they did his film Juno two years ago. Reitman also held a Q&A and pep talk with film students at the University of Central Florida
University of Central Florida
The University of Central Florida, commonly referred to as UCF, is a metropolitan public research university located in Orlando, Florida, United States...

.

The first St. Louis press screening happened on October 28, 2009 at the Tivoli Theater. Up in the Air closed the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...

 on October 29, 2009 at the Paramount. Reitman attended the screening. The Austin Film Festival ran from October 22–29, 2009. The Palm Springs International Film Society
Palm Springs International Film Festival
Palm Springs International Film Festival is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. It was started in 1989 and is held annually in January...

 showed Up in the Air on Thursday, October 29, 2009 at the Regal Cinemas in Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs, California
Palm Springs is a desert city in Riverside County, California, within the Coachella Valley. It is located approximately 37 miles east of San Bernardino, 111 miles east of Los Angeles and 136 miles northeast of San Diego...

. Anna Kendrick was present at the showing.

November 2009

Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick hosted a screening of Up in the Air at the Paris theatre, New York, New York on Thursday, November 5, 2009. On November 6, 2009 the New York City Apple Store in SoHo hosted a conversation with director Jason Reitman. On November 6, 2009 The New York Times critic Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...

 interviewed Reitman and Kirn during a question and answer session which was held at the Jacob Burns Film Center
Jacob Burns film center
The Jacob Burns Film Center is a nonprofit cultural arts center located inPleasantville, NY. It occupies a moviehouse that was for many decades known as the Rome Theater.-External links:*...

 after a screening of Up in the Air. The question and answer session was followed by a reception in the Jane Peck gallery. The Boston Sunday Night Film Club had a free screening on Sunday, November 8, 2009 with a Q&A session with Reitman following the screening.

Up in the Air was the centerpiece for the 18th Annual St. Louis International Film Festival
St. Louis International Film Festival
The St. Louis International Film Festival is an annual film festival in St. Louis, Missouri, which has been running since 1992. The coordinating organization changed its name to "Cinema St. Louis" in 2003...

, which was held November 12–22, 2009. It was shown November 14, 2009 at the Tivoli Theater in University City, Missouri
University City, Missouri
University City is an inner-ring suburb in St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 35,371 in 2010 census. The city was shaped by Washington University in St. Louis, whose campus abuts the city to the southeast....

 with Jason Reitman and Michael Beugg in attendance. Kevin Renick, a St. Louis musician who wrote the song Up in the Air, performed half an hour prior to the screening. Yukon Jake, who performed during the wedding scene in Up in the Air, provided entertainment during the party held prior to the screening. The party took place at the St. Louis Ballpark Hilton and the Airport Hilton. Both are featured in the film.

On November 14, 2009, Paramount flew 50 members of the press to New York with Anna Kendrick, Sad Brad Smith and representatives of American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...

 to promote Up in the Air. The film was shown on the aircraft's video monitors during the flight from New York to Los Angeles. American Airlines provided the Boeing 767 gratis. Smith performed a few songs including Help Yourself in the aisle of the aircraft. On November 18, 2009 Back Stage and Paramount Pictures had a special screening of Up in the Air for Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...

 and Back Stage
Back Stage
Back Stage is an entertainment-industry brand aimed at people working in film and the performing arts, with a special focus on casting, job opportunities, and career advice.Back Stage publishes a weekly tabloid-sized trade magazine in the U.S...

 members at The Paramount Theatre (on the Paramount Lot), Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. The screening of the film was followed by a conversation with the cast members Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick. The Starz Denver Film Festival
Denver Film Festival
The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily in the Tivoli Union on the Auraria Campus and the new Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver Colorado...

 closed on November 22, 2009 with a screening of Up in the Air with an introduction by J.K. Simmons, who was in town to accept the fest's Cassavetes award earlier that afternoon. The 20th Stockholm International Film Festival
Stockholm International Film Festival
The Stockholm International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Stockholm, Sweden. It was launched in 1990 and has been held every year in the second half of November...

 which ran November 18–29, 2009 closed with a screening of Up in the Air on November 29, 2009.

Box office performance

Film Release date Box office revenue Box office ranking Budget Reference
United States United States International Worldwide All time United States All time worldwide
Up in the Air
Up in the Air (film)
Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. The story is about a corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham and his travels...

December 2009 $83,823,381 $83,019,358 $166,842,739 #610 Unknown $25,000,000


The film was first released in only 15 theaters in the U.S. and ranked number 13. It took in $1,181,450, with $78,763 per theater. After three days it expanded to 72 theaters and took in $2,394,344 ($33,255 per theater), during the second weekend. During its third weekend, it broke into the top 10 as it widened to 175 theaters ahead of its nationwide expansion on December 23, 2009. It came in at number 8 with $3,210,132—$18,344 per theater. The film expanded to 1,895 theaters on December 23. It completed its domestic run on April 8, 2010 with a total domestic gross of $83,823,381, and received a worldwide gross of $163,220,494.

Home media

The film was released in both DVD and Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...

 formats on March 9, 2010, and sold 536,441 units in its first week of release, worth $9,114,133 of consumer spending. To date the film has sold 1,162,509 home copies, equivalent to $18,517,122 of sales.

Critical reception

The film received positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

 reports that 90% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 241 reviews, with a rating average of 8.1 out of 10. The critical consensus is: "Led by charismatic performances by its three leads, director Jason Reitman delivers a smart blend of humor and emotion with just enough edge for mainstream audiences." Among Rotten Tomatoes' "Top Critics", which consists of popular and notable critics from the top newspapers, websites, television and radio programs, the film holds an overall approval rating of 92%, based on a sample of 37 reviews. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, which assigns a weighted mean
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...

 rating out of 100 to reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 83 based on 36 reviews.
The sneak preview of Up in the Air was the highest profile hit during the Telluride film festival. The film also tied for third place in the Toronto International Film Festival indieWire
IndieWire
indieWIRE is a daily news site for the independent film community. It covers indie, documentary and foreign language films, as well industry news, film festival reports, filmmaker interviews and movie reviews...

 poll.

Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan is an American film critic and Lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California.-Background:...

 of the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

 wrote, "Up in the Air makes it look easy. Not just in its casual and apparently effortless excellence, but in its ability to blend entertainment and insight, comedy and poignancy, even drama and reality, things that are difficult by themselves but a whole lot harder in combination. This film does all that and never seems to break a sweat." Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...

Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman
Owen Gleiberman is an American film critic for Entertainment Weekly, a position he has held since the magazine's launch in 1990. From 1981–89, he worked at the Boston Phoenix....

 agreed, rating the film an A as a "rare and sparkling gem of a movie, directed by Jason Reitman with the polish of a master."

Claudia Puig of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...

 praised the film's sense of timeliness, writing, "It's tough to capture an era while it's still happening, yet Up in the Air does so brilliantly, with wit and humanity ... Reitman emerges as a modern-day Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Frank Russell Capra was a Sicilian-born American film director. He emigrated to the U.S. when he was six, and eventually became a creative force behind major award-winning films during the 1930s and 1940s...

, capturing the nation's anxieties and culture of resilience." Stephen Saito of IFC.com
Independent Film Channel
The Independent Film Channel is an American cable TV network that airs independent film and related programming. IFC programming includes commercially interrupted feature-length films, original documentaries, shorts, animated series, original series, acquired series, and content exclusively for...

 wrote, "It touches on larger themes of mass unemployment, cultural alienation and technology as a crutch. But ultimately, it's really an expertly done character study that's a dramatic change of pace from director Jason Reitman's previous two films." Jonathan Romney of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

 wrote "Its cynical wit almost places it in the Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder
Billy Wilder was an Austro-Hungarian born American filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, artist, and journalist, whose career spanned more than 50 years and 60 films. He is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood's golden age...

 bracket: Up In The Air is as eloquent about today's executive culture as The Apartment
The Apartment
The Apartment is a 1960 American comedy-drama film produced and directed by Billy Wilder, and starring Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, and Fred MacMurray. It was Wilder's follow-up to the enormously popular Some Like It Hot and, like its predecessor, was a commercial and critical hit, grossing $25...

 was about that of 1960. It is a brutal, desolate film – but also a superb existential rom-com, and the most entertaining lesson in contemporary socio-economics that you could hope for." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

 gave the film four stars and wrote, "This isn't a comedy. If it were, it would be hard to laugh in these last days of 2009. Nor is it a tragedy. It's an observant look at how a man does a job."

Calling the film "a slickly engaging piece of lightweight existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...

," Todd McCarthy wrote in Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

 that "Clooney owns his role in the way first-rate film stars can, so infusing the character with his own persona that everything he does seems natural and right. The timing in the Clooney-Farmiga scenes is like splendid tennis." The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

 Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with A.O. Scott. She was formerly a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice. She has written for a variety of publications, including Film Comment and...

 especially appreciated the film's strong female roles, noting that "the ferocious Ms. Kendrick, her ponytail swinging like an ax, grabs every scene she's in," but wrote that the film "is an assertively, and unapologetically, tidy package, from its use of romance to instill some drama ... and the mope-rock tunes that Mr. Reitman needlessly overuses."

The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...

Michael Phillips
Michael Phillips (critic)
Michael Phillips is a film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper. Previously he was the drama critic of the Tribune; the Los Angeles Times; the St. Paul Pioneer Press; the San Diego Union-Tribune; and the Dallas Times Herald....

 wrote, "Up in the Air is a slickly crafted disappointment. [It] feels tailor-made for George Clooney, who is very good. But the stakes remain frustratingly low and it's one of those contemporary middlebrow projects that asks us to root for a genial, shallow individual as he learns to be a little less the man he was." Julian Sancton of Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...

 wrote, "There are two movies in Up in the Air: one about a guy who's flying around the country firing people, and one about a commitment-phobe who's flying away from responsibility and a shot at true love, as embodied by Farmiga. There is no attempt to braid these two threads together, and that's where the movie feels unsatisfying." J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
James Lewis Hoberman , also known as J. Hoberman, is an American film critic. He is currently the senior film critic for The Village Voice, a post he has held since 1988.-Education:...

 of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...

 wrote, "Like Juno, Up in the Air conjures a troubling reality and then wishes it away. The filmmakers have peeked into the abyss and averted their eyes ... [the film] warns that you can't go home again—and then, full of false cheer and false consciousness, pretends you can."

Shave Magazine Jake Tomlinson gave the film four out of five stars and wrote that "There is a very strong sense of humor as well as emotional depth, yet the scope of the film sometimes limits these sentiments. As a moviegoer, this film provides a satisfying experience where one can take a step back to ponder some of the finer points in our daily lives, but don't expect to find all the answers here."

Accolades

Up in the Air earned various awards and nominations, in categories ranging from recognition of the film itself to its screenplay, direction and editing, to the performance of the three primary actors—George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...

, Vera Farmiga
Vera Farmiga
Vera Ann Farmiga is an American actress and director. Farmiga made her film debut in the 1998 drama thriller Return to Paradise. This was followed by supporting roles in the 2000 romantic film Autumn in New York and the 2001 television series UC: Undercover...

, and Anna Kendrick
Anna Kendrick
Anna Kendrick is an American film and stage actress best known for the role of Natalie Keener in the 2009 film Up in the Air. Her other work includes the films Camp , Rocket Science , Scott Pilgrim vs. the World , 50/50 , and the Broadway musical High Society...

. The film received six Academy Award
82nd Academy Awards
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2009 and took place March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after...

 nominations and Farmiga and Kendrick both received nominations for Best Supporting Actress, although the film failed to win any of the awards. At the 63rd British Academy Film Awards
63rd British Academy Film Awards
The 63rd British Academy Film Awards, hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, took place on 21 February 2010 and honoured the best films of 2009. The Hurt Locker took home the most awards, receiving 6 BAFTAS...

, Up in the Air won one award—Best Adapted Screenplay, awarded to Reitman and Turner—out of the five for which it was nominated. The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association is an organization of 35 print, radio/TV and internet journalists from Dallas-Fort Worth-based publications...

 named Up in the Air Best Picture and awarded Reitman Best Director and Best Screenplay with Turner and Clooney was given the award for Best Actor. The film also received five nominations at the 67th Golden Globe Awards
67th Golden Globe Awards
The 67th Golden Globe Awards was telecasted live from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on Sunday, January 17, 2010 by NBC, from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM and 8:00PM – 11:00 PM . The ceremonies were hosted by Ricky Gervais, and were broadcast live for the first time.Nominations were...

, with Reitman and Turner taking the award for Best Screenplay. Reitman and Turner also received recognition for the film's screenplay from the Writers Guild of America
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....

, where they won the Best Adapted Screenplay award.

The film garnered five nominations from the Satellite Awards, with Rolfe Kent, the film's score composer, winning the Best Original Score award. Clooney, Farmiga and Kendrick were each nominated for an award at the 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards
16th Screen Actors Guild Awards
----Best Cast - Motion Picture: Inglourious Basterds----Best Cast - Drama Series: Mad Men Best Cast - Comedy Series: Glee ...

, but ultimately lost out. Kendrick earned an MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance and the Rising Star Award from Palm Springs International Film Festival for her role in the film. Up in the Air won Best Film from eleven awards ceremonies, including the Florida Film Critics Circle
Florida Film Critics Circle
The Florida Film Critics Circle is an organization of film reviewers from fourteen Florida-based publications and websites. In December, the FFCC meets to vote on their awards for films released during that year.- Categories :* Best Actor...

, Iowa Film Critics
Iowa Film Critics
The Iowa Film Critics is an organization of film reviewers from publications based in the U.S. state of Iowa.Each year, the IFC meets to vote on their Iowa Film Critics Awards for films released in the same or the previous calendar year....

, Southeastern Film Critics, and Vancouver Film Critics Circle
Vancouver Film Critics Circle
The Vancouver Film Critics Circle was founded to represent Vancouver's print, on-line and broadcast media and honours the best in Canadian and international filmmaking.-Award categories:International*Best Film*Best Director*Best Actor...

. The film earned four nominations for the Best Cast from the Broadcast Film Critics Association
Broadcast Film Critics Association
The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics....

, Central Ohio Film Critics, Denver Film Critics Society
Denver Film Critics Society
The Denver Film Critics Society is an organization of film critics based in Denver, Colorado. -2009 Winners and Nominees:Best Film*The Hurt Locker**A Serious Man**Star Trek**Up in the AirBest Director...

, and the Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association is a group of film critics based out of Washington, D.C., United States that was founded in 2003. WAFCA is composed of 34 DC-based film critics from television, radio, print and the internet...

. At the Kansas City Film Critics Circle
Kansas City Film Critics Circle
The Kansas City Film Critics Circle is a group of media film critics in the Kansas City metropolitan area. James Loutzenhiser, a local psychiatrist and film buff, who died in November 2001, founded the group in 1967...

 and the National Board of Review, Up in the Air won each of the awards for which it was nominated. Costume Designer Danny Glicker was nominated for his work by the Costume Designers Guild
Costume Designers Guild
The Costume Designers Guild , IATSE LOCAL 892 was founded in 1953 by a group of 30 motion picture costume designers. In 1986, the Costume Designers Guild joined the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and added Local 892 to its name...

 in the Contemporary Film category. In addition, the film was included on lists of the ten best films of 2009 by Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

, the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...

, and The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

.
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