* Posted by Jamie Vesay on December 17, 2009 at 2:00pm filminne.ning.com

I worked on Up in the Air. I ended up with the most days on the project of any local crew. Jason Reitman is all the nice guy he appears in interviews. The Producers and out-of-town crew were all top shelf professionals and as kind. I am proud to have worked on this project.

My involvement in Locations started way back in October of 2008 when Jason came to town for a Director's scout. Honestly, it was a tad surreal since only a month earlier, I was watching him on my TV doing behind-the-scenes commentary from Juno. Over the next few months, there were other visits and more scouting - hoping that at least some of the movie would come here.

I got to see the movie last night. While a good movie, as it has been critically reviewed, my emotions were admittedly mixed. A few things:

1. There's even less of Omaha in the movie that was shot (they filmed two days - Omaha airport and Old Market).
2. I'm sorry to any of the Locations that were filmed and their part is now lying on the editing room floor.
3. I'm sorry to any of the crew that were not credited. That part is even further out of my hands.
4. Nebraska and Omaha are hardly "lauded." It's subtle tongue and cheek 'Why Omaha?" by select characters.
5. But here's the biggest frown. Every scene, except for the exterior of Miami & exterior of Vegas could-have,
should-have, would-have been shot in Omaha.

Jason liked Omaha. He had many positive things to say about it while we scouted. The idea was to base here and travel to the other cities - as they ended up doing in St Louis. But the production incentives of Missouri and the LACK OF INCENTIVES in Nebraska led to us missing out on as many as 40 (forty) more filming days.

This movie is a living, breathing, current, in-the-press EXAMPLE of what you missed out on Nebraska.
Please tell your Senator this. Tell them the would-of, could-of and should-of.

And go see Up in the Air.
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