What do nuclear weapons mean to you? They were a thing for Hiroshima & Nagasaki, then the fear of them, then not so much a thing, maybe they will be a thing again with North Korea and Iran?
For Portland filmmaker Matt McCormick they are a thing.
In the 1960s, American military bombers flew straight toward Russia 24x7 armed with nuclear weapons to attack. They turned around just before the Russian border, every day. The film Dr Strangelove is a fictionalized version.
The filmmaker's grandfather was one of those pilots.
His grandfather's plane, carrying nuclear bombs crashed in Maryland. The crash was caused by the tail of the plane breaking off, a known design flaw. He survived, walking out a snowstorm at night. The bombs did not go off.
Matt McCormick is previewing his feature film Buzz One Four about the crash and the Cold War program tonight. It's a rough cut. And he is interested in audience feedback.
At the Hollywood Theater www.hollywoodtheatre.org 4122 NE Sandy Boulevard.7PM $10
