The making of 'Up in the Air'

Jason Reitman, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick on George Clooney and Oscar buzz

By Brett Buckalew, Special to Metromix

In these recession-plagued times, viewers looking for comedy might prefer a two-hour escape from reality to something that forcefully engages with the world we live in.

Writer-director Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” challenges that conventional wisdom with the comedic character study of Ryan Bingham (George Clooney), a downsizing consultant whose routine of flying all over America to fire corporate employees for bosses too cowardly to pull the trigger allows him a rootless, commitment-free lifestyle.

Then two women enter Ryan’s uncluttered existence and inadvertently shake it up: Alex (Vera Farmiga, “The Departed”), a fellow frequent flier who sexually connects with him, and Natalie (Anna Kendrick, “Rocket Science”), a precocious young upstart who threatens Ryan’s job with her corporate savvy.

Click through to read what Reitman, Farmiga and Kendrick say about their experiences making this timely entertainment, and about the Oscar buzz that may help lure moviegoers reluctant to check out a layoff comedy.