If you’re looking for a little bit of that “ Top Gun: Maverick ” spectacle and thrill at the movie theater this summer, you’re in luck. A groundbreaking new documentary, “ The Blue Angels,” is flying onto IMAX screens for one week, through May 22.
Using IMAX-certified cameras mounted on a helicopter, the filmmakers were granted unprecedented access to the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, both on the ground and in “the box,” the tightly guarded performance airspace. Unlike in a Hollywood movie, there were no staged recreations, second takes or computer-generated shots. And they had about “5% of the budget” “Top Gun” had, those involved estimated.
The film was the brainchild of Rob Stone and Greg “Boss” Woolridge, a former Blue Angel and subject of a 1994 film about one of their historic tours in Europe. COVID-19 derailed plans to follow their 75th anniversary season, but a silver lining would emerge in the delay. By that point, aerial coordinator Kevin LaRosa II had worked several times with actor Glen Powell, on “Top Gun” and “Devotion.” Powell, he’d learned, had grown up with a Blue Angels lithograph in his childhood bedroom.
US overdose deaths dropped in 2023, the first time since 2018
China releases list of first batch of pilot cities seeking to peak carbon dioxide emissions
Cold wave continues to wreak havoc
Fresh strawberries go global from northeast Chinese city
Kevin Pillar gets 1,000th career hit in Angels' win at Texas
Over 1,900 criminal rings busted as China intensifies crackdown on gang crimes
Art reshapes rural scene in SW China village
Dedicated efforts bolster nation's health defenses
Liverpool confirms Arne Slot as Jurgen Klopp's replacement
‘The Blue Angels,’ filmed for IMAX, puts viewers in the ‘box’ with the elite flying squad
Xinjiang braces for more passenger train suspensions amid extreme weather