Brian J. Terwilliger Producer/Director
Sessions
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AIAA Aviation Forum 2019
BRIAN J. TERWILLIGER (Producer, Director) is a filmmaker whose unrelenting pursuit of excellence has taken him to all seven continents in search of compelling stories and stunning imagery. A licensed pilot captivated by flight since childhood, Terwilliger has produced, directed and secured the financing for three documentaries, each looking at aviation from a different perspective.
His first film, the 2005 feature One Six Right, focuses on the romance of flight as seen through a day in the life of the Van Nuys Airport, a local general-aviation airport in a Los Angeles suburb. As a result of making that film, Terwilliger was granted the rare opportunity to fly in an F-18 Hornet with the Blue Angels, the elite team of precision Navy jet pilots that first sparked Terwilliger’s interest in flying when he was a boy. He chronicled that experience in the 2008 short film Flying Full Circle.
Terwilliger spent the next several years making Living in the Age of Airplanes, which looks at the dramatic ways aviation has transformed the world. Narrated by Harrison Ford, with an original score by James Horner (Avatar, Titanic), the film uses spectacular images shot in 18 countries to illuminate how airplanes have empowered a century of global connectedness our ancestors never could have imagined. Following its 2015 premiere at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the film has played on giant screen, digital, IMAX® and museum cinemas in 50 cities on three continents. It was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD in 2016 along with the original soundtrack.
After spending his early years in Connecticut, Terwilliger moved with his family to Southern California at age 16. He took his first solo flight at 19 and earned his private pilot license the following year. More recently, Terwilliger was honored to serve as emcee at the 46th Annual National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, considered the “Academy Awards of Aviation.”
Terwilliger attended California State University, Northridge, where he created his own major in business and entertainment. After graduating in 1999, determined to learn every facet of the film industry, he began working in various capacities, from movie-theatre projectionist, to production manager and 1st assistant director on independent films, to visual effects coordinator on the features Big Fish and The Core.
His first film, the 2005 feature One Six Right, focuses on the romance of flight as seen through a day in the life of the Van Nuys Airport, a local general-aviation airport in a Los Angeles suburb. As a result of making that film, Terwilliger was granted the rare opportunity to fly in an F-18 Hornet with the Blue Angels, the elite team of precision Navy jet pilots that first sparked Terwilliger’s interest in flying when he was a boy. He chronicled that experience in the 2008 short film Flying Full Circle.
Terwilliger spent the next several years making Living in the Age of Airplanes, which looks at the dramatic ways aviation has transformed the world. Narrated by Harrison Ford, with an original score by James Horner (Avatar, Titanic), the film uses spectacular images shot in 18 countries to illuminate how airplanes have empowered a century of global connectedness our ancestors never could have imagined. Following its 2015 premiere at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C., the film has played on giant screen, digital, IMAX® and museum cinemas in 50 cities on three continents. It was released on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital HD in 2016 along with the original soundtrack.
After spending his early years in Connecticut, Terwilliger moved with his family to Southern California at age 16. He took his first solo flight at 19 and earned his private pilot license the following year. More recently, Terwilliger was honored to serve as emcee at the 46th Annual National Aviation Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony, considered the “Academy Awards of Aviation.”
Terwilliger attended California State University, Northridge, where he created his own major in business and entertainment. After graduating in 1999, determined to learn every facet of the film industry, he began working in various capacities, from movie-theatre projectionist, to production manager and 1st assistant director on independent films, to visual effects coordinator on the features Big Fish and The Core.