Amelia Earhart

Jennifer MacKinnon grew up in the Lucknow area where her parents, Dave and Cathy MacKinnon, and brother, Jonathan, still live. MacKinnon moved to Simcoe (Norfolk County) in 1999 when she became an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) officer.

Two years ago MacKinnon moved to the Toronto area where she is a Detective Constable with the Drug Enforcement Section, and is currently seconded to Pearson International Airport. She was also selected to attend the 2010 Winter Olympics in January in British Columbia to work for 30 – 40 days, and is looking forward to the experience.

“Although I have moved away from Lucknow, I return often and always consider it to be home,” said MacKinnon.

MacKinnon became involved in flying about seven seven years ago when a co-worker took her up in a small airplane (citabria). She obtained her private pilot licence and night rating, and later her commercial pilot licence. MacKinnon is a member of the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association (CHAA), which is where she learned how to fly.

It was at an airshow in Welland in 2006 where MacKinnon met, Cam Harrod, who would later be tasked with selecting pilots to fly in a movie called “Amelia”, featuring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

MacKinnon was at work last April, when she received a call from Harrod, asking her if she would like to be in a movie. Harrod had tracked her down and told her he was tasked to coordinate airplanes and pilots for part of a movie called “Amelia”. The movie would feature Hilary Swank, cast as Amelia Earhart, and Richard Gere, cast as her husband, George Putnam. He was looking for female pilots who had an appreciation for vintage aircraft and, of course, who could fly them.

“I thought at first he was playing a joke on me, especially when he told me who was in the movie,” said MacKinnon. “I then realized he was serious. The movie shoot would last three three days at Dunnville airport, and would feature a segment of the “Powder Puff Derby”.

The Powder Puff Derby began in 1929 and was a transcontinental race as part of the National Air Races at Cleveland, and was entered by 20 female flyers. It was also this year that the Ninety-Nine’s women’s aviation organization was born; this organization still exists today.

MacKinnon was cast as a special skills expert, who would be required to fly in the movie, if required (there were three female pilots cast). Basically, she was a “Powder Puff Girl”. She filmed two part days, plus a full day with Hilary Swank “Amelia” and the other “Powder Puff Girls” as part of the derby.

“Swank was a real personable individual, interacting with all of the girls and joking around when we had a bit of downtime,” said MacKinnon. “When it came to filming; she took her role very seriously and it was amazing to see her transform into Earhart. Unfortunately, the Director, Mira Nair, opted that we didn’t fly for liability reasons, but I experienced in three days what it was like to be a movie star.”

MacKinnon and her fellow pilots were all dressed in full, 1929 period costumes. “The movie props were unreal; it really felt like I was living in that time period for those few days,” said MacKinnon. “It was an absolute once in a lifetime thrill to be a part of.”

On June 1, 1937, Earhart and her navigator set off for her next most challenging flight – to be the first woman to fly around the world. Her twin engine Lockheed Electra disappeared somewhere across the Pacific Ocean, near Howland Island, on July 2, 1937. She was declared dead on Jan. 5, 1939. Her body was never found.

The life of this remarkable woman is captured in the upcoming movie “Amelia”. It is due out on Oct. 23.

“I hope I at least make a couple of seconds in the movie, after all the editing,” said MacKinnon. “I know I’d do it all over again, in a heartbeat!”

Article ID# 2120614
~ www.lucknowsentinel.com

Join other Amelia Earhart fans on the new Amelia Earhart message board! Chat with other fans about the new upcoming movie Amelia or just talk about what you love most about Amelia Earhart. Join Today!

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The 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, presented by Starz, have announced that two-time Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank will be honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award” at the festival’s Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony. Hilary Swank will soon be seen starring in the title role of Mira Nair’s biopic “Amelia,” from Fox Searchlight, which is the story of the life of legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart.

Hollywood, CA (PRWEB) October 14, 2009 — The 13th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Awards, presented by Starz, have announced that two-time Academy Award-winning actress Hilary Swank will be honored with the “Hollywood Actress Award” at the festival’s Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony.

The gala ceremony will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on October 26, 2009. The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder and Executive Director of the Hollywood Film Festival. “It is a privilege to honor Hilary Swank’s extraordinary talent and remarkable career,” said
Mr. de Abreu.

About Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank will soon be seen starring in the title role of Mira Nair’s biopic “Amelia,” from Fox Searchlight, which is the story of the life of legendary aviatrix Amelia Earhart. World famous for her aviation triumphs, Earhart disappeared along with her navigator Fred Noonan on July 2, 1937, somewhere over the Pacific Ocean near Howland Island while on her World Flight to circumnavigate the globe. “Amelia” also stars Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Christopher Eccleston, and Joe Anderson.

Hilary Swank has won two Best Actress Academy Awards. She won her first Oscar(r) for the role of Brandon Teena in the 1999 drama “Boy’s Don’t Cry.” In 2005, she won her second Academy Award for her starring role as boxer Maggie Fitzgerald in Clint Eastwood’s Oscar(r)-winning Best Picture, “Million Dollar Baby,” opposite Eastwood and Morgan Freeman.

An actress as well as a producer, Swank is involved with several highly anticipated projects. She recently completed filming on the feature “Betty Anne Waters,” based on the true story of a working mother who puts herself through law school to free her wrongfully convicted brother who is serving a life sentence. Set for release in late 2009, Swank stars alongside Sam Rockwell and Minnie Driver. Swank also stars in the 2010 thriller “The Resident,” about a doctor who suspects she may not be alone in her Brooklyn loft, and learns that her landlord has formed a frightening obsession with her.

In 2008, Swank and producer Molly Smith launched the production company 2S Films and signed a two-year first-look pact with Warner-based Alcon Entertainment. Projects in the works include “French Women Don’t Get Fat,” based on the 2004 bestseller by Mireille Guiliano, a romantic comedy about a young, single woman living in New York who learns some tough life lessons about truly loving yourself and “Sweet & Vicious,” a light-hearted comedy about female friendship and the pitfalls of success. Other projects in development are “You’re Not You,” based on a novel by Michelle Wildgen, about a woman suffering from a terminal illness and an aimless young woman who enters her life as a caregiver. Also in development is “Falling Out of Fashion,” based on the debut novel by Karen Yampolsky, which centers on a woman who leaves a Georgia hippie commune for New York City with dreams of becoming a magazine editor, and “Something Borrowed” based on the first novel from author Emily Giffin, about a woman who falls for her best friend’s fiance.

In 2007, Hilary starred in two films which showcased her range in talent, both from director Richard LaGravenese: first in the drama, “Freedom Writers,” opposite Patrick Dempsey, based on the inspirational true story of school teacher Erin Gruwell, followed by her starring role in the romantic comedy “P.S. I Love You,” opposite Gerard Butler and Kathy Bates.

Swank’s other film credits include Brian De Palma’s real-life crime drama “The Black Dahlia,” opposite Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson, “The Affair of the Necklace,” opposite Adrien Brody, Sam Raimi’s “The Gift,” with Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves, Christopher Nolan’s “Insomnia,” opposite Al Pacino and Robin Williams, “The Reaping,” “The Next Karate Kid” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, a premium movie service provider operating in the United States. It offers 16 movie channels including the flagship Starz(r) and Encore(r) brands with approximately 17.5 million and 31.5 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs more than 1,000 movies per month across its pay TV channels and offers advanced services including Starz HD, Encore HD, Starz On Demand, Encore On Demand, MoviePlex On Demand, Starz HD On Demand, Encore HD On Demand, MoviePlex HD On Demand, and Starz Play. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation, and is attributed to Liberty Entertainment Group, a tracking stock group of Liberty Media Corporation.

For more information please go to http://www.hollywoodfestival.com

Festival Contact: 1.310.288.1882
Hollywood Film Festival®
433 N. Camden Drive, Suite 600
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Posted By SAULT STAR

Posted 23 hours ago

The Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre will be closed between Oct. 19 and Oct. 23.

It will be the first time in years that the tourist attraction will significantly change its floors.

The museum will reopen on Oct. 26 with winter hours, Monday to Sunday, 10 a. m. to 4 p. m.

Meanwhile, the centre will host a special event An Evening With Amelia, celebrating the life of Amelia Earhart and the Bushplane’s recent acquisition of Fokker Tri-Engine aircraft used in the 2009 Fox Searchlight movie Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere.

The evening will feature a dramatic presentation starring Kathie Brosemer celebrating the life of Amelia Earhart, the famous female pilot who disappeared in 1937 while circumnavigating the globe.

Cost is $5 for adults.

The event takes place from 7:30 to 9 p. m.

HILARY SWANK’s new biopic about AMELIA EARHART is sure to be a fly-away success if demand for the aviator’s memorabilia is an indicator – her goggles topped all celebrity items at a California auction last week (09Oct09).
The eye accessories Earhart wore during her historic 1932 solo transatlantic flight sold for more than a guitar Elvis Presley used onstage in Las Vegas and an endoskeleton from Terminator sequel T2 3-D.
Auction experts at Profiles in History were stunned as the goggles sent bidding into a flurry – they eventually went under the hammer for $141,600 (GBP94,400) at the 37th Hollywood Memorabilia Auction.
Presley’s personal Martin D-28 guitar state, used in his final Las Vegas performance, fetched $106,200 (GBP70,800) and an original hero screen-used T-800 Endoskeleton from T2 3-D: Battle Across Time went under the hammer for $94,400 (GBP62,933).
Also snapped up at the auction: a full-scale screen-used Hero Bumblebee robot from Transformers, Michael Jackson’s iconic illuminating glove worn on state during The Jackson’s Victory Tour and a Harrison Ford-signed Indiana Jones bullwhip from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Recently announced, Hilary Swank will star as the female aviator in the lead role of the upcoming feature film “Amelia”. Following Earhart’s life and rise to fame, the film will also feature Co-Stars Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor according to Variety. Shooting is taking place in Toronto and the film is currently scheduled to be released sometime in 2009.

Release Date: 5/29/2007 11:17:00 PM

From the United States Department of Defense

WASHINGTON (NNS) — Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter announced on May 29 his decision to name the Navy’s newest underway replenishment vessel, USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE 6).

The name honors Amelia Mary Earhart for her courage, vision and groundbreaking achievements, both in aviation and for women.

Amelia Earhart’s name became a household word in 1932 when she became the first woman — and second person –to fly solo across the Atlantic, on the fifth anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s feat, flying a Lockheed Vega from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to Londonderry, Ireland.

That year, she received the Distinguished Flying Cross from the Congress, the Cross of Knight of the Legion of Honor from the French government, and the Gold Medal of the National Geographic Society from President Herbert Hoover.

In January 1935 Earhart became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean from Honolulu to Oakland, Calif. Later that year she soloed from Los Angeles to Mexico City and back to Newark, N.J. In July 1936 she took delivery of a Lockheed 10E “Electra,” financed by Purdue University, and started planning her round-the-world flight.

The primary goal of the T-AKE program is to provide effective fleet underway replenishment capability at the lowest life cycle cost. To meet that goal, the ship will be designed and constructed to commercial specifications and standards and certified/classed by the American Bureau of Shipping, U.S. Coast Guard, and other regulatory bodies. All of the new ships will be operated by the Military Sealift Command. They are being built in San Diego by General Dynamics NASSCO.

For more news from around the fleet, visit www.navy.mil.

This article originally appeared in the Ada Evening News on May 21, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY – This year marks two special anniversaries in aviation history – the 75th anniversary of Amelia Earhart’s Atlantic crossing and the 70th anniversary of her disappearance. To commemorate, the Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots opened a new exhibit on May 17 that highlights some of her personal treasures.

On May 20, 1932, Amelia Earhart set out from Harbor Grace in Newfoundland, Canada. Over 2,000 miles and 13.5 hours later, she landed near Londonderry, Ireland as the first woman and second person to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Five years later on July 2, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during an attempt to circumnavigate the world. Despite numerous searches, Amelia and her plane were never found. To this day, she is known by many to be the greatest female pilot in history.

“When Amelia Earhart set out on her legendary trip, she probably didn’t realize just how big of an impact she would have on the future of aviation,” said Margie Richison, chairman of the Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots. “One of the museum’s missions is to inspire children to pursue a career in aviation. The anniversary is the perfect time to unveil our new exhibit highlighting an inspirational figure in the aviation industry.”

The Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots has in its collection some of Earhart’s most valuable possessions which are included in the new anniversary exhibit.

Earhart always carried her lucky bracelet and scarf with her on long-distance flights, but left them with her mother when she took her last flight around the world. Now the bracelet and scarf are reverently displayed at the museum alongside Earhart’s pilot’s license, navigation charts and voice and video recordings.

The Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots, located near Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, has another very special connection to this legendary aviatrix.

She was the organization’s first elected president. The Air Race Classic was started in 1929 because women were not allowed to compete in the Men’s Cleveland Air Race. After the first Air Race Classic, the women met under the bleachers and decided to start an organization. They agreed to send a letter to every woman pilot in the United States, only 117 at the time. Ninety-Nine women responded and so began the international organization which is headquartered in Oklahoma City.

“Amelia laid the groundwork for women to pursue their dreams,” said Richison. “At a time when women pilots were almost unheard of, she was flying right alongside the men and setting records with the best of them. She had the courage to fly at record speeds into the face of adversity and is still inspiring women 75 years later.”

According to the FAA Airmen Certification Branch, women represent only about six percent of the total pilot population.

“Although women have made significant progress in the aviation industry, they still have a long way to go,” said Richison. “The history of women in aviation plays a significant role in inspiring young women around the world from diverse cultures to pursue their dreams and consider a career in the field of aviation. With a little help from our friend Amelia, the Ninety-Nines Museum of Women Pilots is doing our part to assure the history of women in aviation will live on to inspire generations to come.”

To celebrate the exhibit opening, 5th grade students from All Saints Catholic School in Norman studied Amelia Earhart and her historical cross-Atlantic flight, created posters and attended the exhibit opening on May 17.

For more information about the Amelia Earhart exhibit, call (405) 685-9990.