- [Gabe] To get a better understanding
of what air travel was
like during it's heyday,
I flew to Air Hollywood
Studios in California
and took another flight on Pan Am.
Well, okay, it's not a real Pan Am flight,
but the place is so authentic
it feels like the real thing.
And to understand why it
exists in the first place,
I spoke with Talaat Captan
who owns the studio.
What gave you this idea?
- You know, I produce films.
So, one of the films I was producing
took place on airports and airplanes.
And I had such a hard
time filming at airports,
and I said, I thought it would be
a really great business to
open an aviation film studio
where you can do both
airports and airplanes.
So, this worked out really well.
We've been here for almost 20 years.
- Wow, yeah, this is a great idea.
- [Talaat] So, we're going
into our airport terminal.
It goes arrival, departures,
immigrations, TSA,
so it changes all the time.
It depends really on what
the company wants to do.
This could be any airport in the world,
because on real airports, like LAX,
you can't even take like
a screwdriver through.
- Oh, sure.
- So this is like a controlled
environment, so basically,
this is why everybody
likes to shoot the film here.
- Well, I didn't even expect
to fly out until tomorrow,
but it feels like I'm going to today.
- You know, everything is
authentic, like the x-ray machines
really work and we do
a lot of shooting here.
We're the largest aviation
film studio in the world.
- This has been the easiest
by-pass through security
that I've done in a while.
- Yes, you don't have to take
your shoes off here, either.
- That's right. (laughing)
I need to have some luggage with me,
I feel out of place right now.
- I know, we'll get you
one from our prop house.
- (laughing) Okay.
- So, this is our wide-body
aircraft that we use
for international or
long-distance flights.
On a real airplane, it
takes about four hours
to move one chair.
Here, it takes two minutes.
Every time you see a
commercial or a TV show
shot on airplanes, you know,
it's usually done here.
- I can see why, it's super convenient.
- Yeah. We're on a floor
basically with airbags,
so basically, we can lift
it up and we can shake it.
- [Gabe] Oh, wow.
- And I promise you, with a sound effect,
we close the window and
we shake the whole thing,
you'll definitely on an airplane.
- [Gabriel] (laughing)
Yeah, that's very cool.
- So this is the original
cockpit from the movie Airplane.
- [Movie Control Room]
Flight two zero niner,
you are clear for take-off.
- [Clarence] Roger.
- [Roger] Huh?
- Basically, it's a piece of history,
because everyone, no matter who it is,
they always want to take a picture inside.
- Oh yeah, I do.
And it still lights up.
- And it still lights up.
- Do not push.
- Yeah.
- We have clearance, Clarence.
- Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor?
(bouncy lounge music)
- Part of this business is
for movies and television
to come in here and film inside of a plane
without having to go to an airport,
and then the other part
is this Pan Am experience.
How did all that come about?
- [Talaat] Our main business
is really aviation for the film
and commercial industry,
TV and commercial industry.
Somebody introduced me
to Anthony and said,
"Have you heard about
this guy from Pan Am?"
And I said, "No, I
haven't heard from him."
- From Pan Am!
- From Pan Am, it's like, it can't be.
The guy made introductions,
and I went to see him.
And I saw a guy sitting in a warehouse
with tons of boxes everywhere.
With this airplane in half,
with duct tape and everything else.
And he said, "This is my Disneyland."
And so, it was really fascinating to see
all the stuff that he
had, so I talked him into,
to come to our studio
and we'll work together
and we'll build this aircraft
in really the correct way.
The way that really filmmakers can use it.
With the collection of
Anthony, and also Anthony doing
what I call, he's so
meticulous about details,
he makes sure that every
single detail is taken care of.
So, that's why people
are really so impressed
with our operations.
Can you tell us about some of the projects that 
have taken place here?
 Here’s we’ve done several projects.
We've done "Once Upon A Time in Hollywood"
with Quentin Tarantino.
It was filmed here.
And Margot Robbie was up here 
And Leo (Leonardo Dicaprio) and Brad (Pitt) were downstairs.
It was really a great experience.
We do a lot of, basically anything that takes place in history
Like in the 70's or 80’s, they come in and film here.
(bouncy lounge music)
- This is a Continental
Airlines uniform, so we have
all original pieces here
from, literally, just about
any airline you could name
throughout this back area here.
That's an original hat
from Japan Airlines,
and this is the uniform that it goes with.
This is from 1977, and we have
a stewardess on the airplane
tonight whose from Japan,
who we typically put in that uniform.
Down here we have literally
every single uniform
for airport personnel.
So like, your TSA, your security
staff, your ticket counter.
And then we have more modern-day
pilot and flight attendant
uniforms back here for
more modern-day shoots.
But just about any wardrobe
that someone could possibly want
for a movie shoot is gonna be here.
Besides my love of Pan Am,
I've actually been collecting
vintage aviation pieces my entire life.
These aisles here are
literally filled with dishware,
amenity kits, safety cards,
just about every single thing
that every single airline
used that we use now today
in production for any movie
that wants to re-create a scene,
we can do it.
(laughing)
- Ugh.
You love aviation and traveling.
What got you into that?
- You know, when I first
started, I was a little kid
and I always wanted to be on airplanes.
So, it was like a dream come true.
And I come from Lebanon,
so I didn't get the chance
to be on an airplane until I
left in 1976-77 during the war.
And that first flight, it was like
something I would never forget.
And here I am, after all these years.
I always wanted to be,
I wanted to be actually,
I wanted to be a pilot.
But I thought it was really
boring to be on the plane
just sitting doing nothing.
So that's why I thought,
I really love airplanes,
so that's why I was involved
so much in aviation.
- How have you seen travel
change throughout the years?
- Well you know, in the
old days, we used to say,
"Bon voyage," now we say, "Fly safe."
You know, "Have a safe trip."
The journey was the big
deal, not the destinations,
but right now, it's like
people want to get from A to B
and that's all they care about.
So, all this is gone, you know?
If somebody wants to have a
really good travel experience,
they go on a train, they go
on a boat, on the cruise.
But having to get on the plane
right now, it's just like,
it's so much stress.
- It seems like the why we travel
is changing just as much as the how.
Why do you think that is?
- Traveling has become such a necessity
in our life right now,
everybody goes somewhere,
especially for work.
We travel so much for
work on a daily basis,
people commute between here
and Vegas, San Francisco,
and they live here.
Now it's become just
transportation, just like a car.
- It's become so commonplace,
which is great that everyone
can afford to do it, but it's
kind of lost some of the…
- Nostalgia.
- Or even just the,
what's special about it.
We take it for granted.
- Yes, we do.
(bouncy lounge music)
(noisy background talking)
- I'm all set.
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