Douglas then recruited Richard Donner as the film's new director. However, Stonebridge executives found the dailies disappointing, and after 10 days of filming, Douglas shut down production, at a loss of $5 million. The budget was set at $17–18 million after Evans agreed to cut some expensive effects sequences. Under Evans's direction, the film starred Rosanna Arquette as the mother, Tomas Arana as Jack, and Luke Edwards and James Badge Dale as the children. This was the first film Columbia put into production under the ownership of Sony, as well as one of the first films to be greenlit by the studio's new management, led by Peter Guber and Jon Peters. Douglas, however, believed Evans had the vision to pull it off. The deal also gave Evans the opportunity to direct even though he had no prior experience helming a film. Just before Thanksgiving, Columbia paid Evans a huge sum for a first-time Hollywood screenwriter: $1.25 million. Warners had eyes on it as a vehicle for veteran director Richard Donner, while Columbia was buying it on behalf of Michael Douglas's production outfit Stonebridge Entertainment, which had a major production deal with the latter studio. and Columbia Pictures started a bidding war around it in November 1989. Adam Baldwin as Jack "The King" MacKenzie (Jack's face is barely seen throughout the film)ĭavid Mickey Evans's script for Radio Flyer was a hot property around Hollywood, and Warner Bros.Tom Hanks as Older Mike / Narrator ( uncredited).He concludes his story by saying, "That’s how I remember it." Though Mike never sees Bobby again, he continues to receive postcards from him from places all over the world.īack in the present, Mike reiterates to his sons the importance of keeping a promise, and imparts a lesson about history being in the mind of the teller. Mary arrives with police officer Jim Daugherty and The King is arrested. Bobby then speeds down the hill alone (knocking out The King with the wing of his plane) and triumphantly soars into the air as Mike and Shane look on. After leaving a farewell letter for their mother, the brothers take the device to the cliff at night, but The King discovers their plan and attempts to stop them, prompting Shane to furiously attack him. The boys also raise money though various means, such as retrieving lost balls on a golf course and selling them back to the golfers. They draw up a schematic diagram with wings and an engine and scavenge numerous parts, secretly using The King's tools to build the aircraft in their shed. Inspired by the urban legend of a boy named Fisher who attempted to fly away on his bicycle over a cliff nicknamed “The Wishing Spot”, the two convert their eponymous Radio Flyer toy wagon into an airplane in the hopes of sending Bobby and Shane away from harm. Mary also starts to catch on to The King's true nature and finally requests a divorce. As a result, the brothers devise a plan for Bobby to escape The King once and for all. After spending time in jail, The King is released following the death of his mother and returns to their house with flowers and chocolates promising never to drink or abuse Bobby again he violates his promise while the boys are at school and nearly kills Shane. An unsupervised incident in the kitchen leads to Bobby being hospitalized by The King, but Shane gets revenge on The King by violently biting him on the arm. Instead, the two boys seek adventures to occupy the time that would otherwise be spent with The King they recount the "seven great abilities and fascinations" of childhood while exploring their new surroundings and dealing with the neighborhood bullies. Seeing that Mary has found happiness at last with The King, Bobby swears Mike to secrecy about the abuse. The King also repeatedly plays Hank Williams’s " Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" on his record player. Unbeknownst to Mary, The King is an alcoholic who often gets drunk and beats Bobby. There, Mary weds a new man who the children call "The King". In 1969, 11-year-old Mike (Elijah Wood), 8-year-old Bobby, their mother, Mary, and their German Shepherd, Shane, relocate from New Jersey to Novato, California after their father/husband leaves them. To help them understand that a promise does mean something, he tells them the story of his youth. Mike (Tom Hanks) observes his two sons fighting, with one insisting that a promise doesn't mean anything. Filming locations included Novato, California, and Columbia Airport in Columbia, California. Michael Douglas and Evans were executive producers. Evans was to make his directorial debut on the film but was replaced by Donner. It stars Lorraine Bracco, John Heard, Elijah Wood, Joseph Mazzello, Adam Baldwin, and Ben Johnson and is narrated by Tom Hanks. Radio Flyer is a 1992 American drama- fantasy film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Mickey Evans.
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