Up in the Air
Encyclopedia
Up in the Air is a 2001 novel by American author Walter Kirn
. It was later adapted into the 2009 feature film Up in the Air
, starring George Clooney
.
Bingham is trying to get to one million frequent flyer miles,Bingham is trying to achieve ten million frequent flyer miles in the Jason Reitman film adaptation. a number only reached by nine other people in the same mileage club (from the fictional airline "Great West") before his boss returns from vacation, finds his letter of resignation and cancels his company credit card. Bingham is positioning himself to be hired by MythTech, a shadowy company based in Omaha.
He is divorce
d and his disturbed younger sister is about to embark on yet another disastrous relationship.
Bingham inhabits a world of Palm Pilots, rental cars, salted almonds, Kevlar
luggage and nameless suite hotels where e-mail
and voice mail are the communication norm. He takes a lot of pills and spends time with women in Las Vegas
. Bingham fears that someone may be furtively cashing in his precious miles, which would be tantamount to stealing his soul.
during a snowbound winter on a ranch while thinking about airports, airplanes and about a particular conversation he had with another passenger in a first class cabin. That passenger stated that he used to have an apartment in Atlanta but never used it. He got a storage locker instead, since he stayed in hotels and was on the road 300 days a year. He considered the flight crew to be like family, and indicated he knew the flight attendant by name and knew her kids' names.
The book's title comes from a line in F. Scott Fitzgerald
's unfinished novel The Last Tycoon.
and Sheldon Turner
adapted this into a 2009 award winning feature film starring George Clooney
.
Walter Kirn
Walter Kirn is an American novelist, literary critic, and essayist. His latest book is the 2009 memoir Lost in the Meritocracy: The Undereducation of an Overachiever.-Overview:...
. It was later adapted into the 2009 feature film Up in the Air
Up in the Air (film)
Up in the Air is a 2009 American comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and co-written by Reitman and Sheldon Turner. It is a film adaptation of the 2001 novel of the same name, written by Walter Kirn. The story is about a corporate downsizer Ryan Bingham and his travels...
, starring George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
.
Plot summary
Ryan Bingham is a 35-year-old career transition counselor for a Denver-based management consulting company, Integrated Strategic Management (ISM). He flies around the country counseling recently laid off people and preparing them for reentering the job market.Bingham is trying to get to one million frequent flyer miles,Bingham is trying to achieve ten million frequent flyer miles in the Jason Reitman film adaptation. a number only reached by nine other people in the same mileage club (from the fictional airline "Great West") before his boss returns from vacation, finds his letter of resignation and cancels his company credit card. Bingham is positioning himself to be hired by MythTech, a shadowy company based in Omaha.
He is divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d and his disturbed younger sister is about to embark on yet another disastrous relationship.
Bingham inhabits a world of Palm Pilots, rental cars, salted almonds, Kevlar
Kevlar
Kevlar is the registered trademark for a para-aramid synthetic fiber, related to other aramids such as Nomex and Technora. Developed at DuPont in 1965, this high strength material was first commercially used in the early 1970s as a replacement for steel in racing tires...
luggage and nameless suite hotels where e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
and voice mail are the communication norm. He takes a lot of pills and spends time with women in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Bingham fears that someone may be furtively cashing in his precious miles, which would be tantamount to stealing his soul.
Writing
Kirn wrote the book in rural MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
during a snowbound winter on a ranch while thinking about airports, airplanes and about a particular conversation he had with another passenger in a first class cabin. That passenger stated that he used to have an apartment in Atlanta but never used it. He got a storage locker instead, since he stayed in hotels and was on the road 300 days a year. He considered the flight crew to be like family, and indicated he knew the flight attendant by name and knew her kids' names.
The book's title comes from a line in F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's unfinished novel The Last Tycoon.
Film adaptation
Jason ReitmanJason Reitman
Jason Reitman is a Canadian/American film director, screenwriter, and producer, best known for directing the films Thank You for Smoking , Juno , and Up in the Air . As of February 2, 2010, he has received three Academy Award nominations, two of which are for Best Director...
and Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner
Sheldon Turner is a screenwriter and producer. His produced credits as a screenwriter include The Longest Yard , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning , Up in the Air and X-Men: First Class ....
adapted this into a 2009 award winning feature film starring George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
.