Paper Planes Interview – Dylan Parker and James Norton
Welcome to Impulse Gamer please tell us how you became involved in the smash-hit Aussie film PAPER PLANES?
DYLAN: It was so awesome! We folded and flew our way to the World Championships in Austria in 2009 which inspired Australian director Robert Connolly to make PAPER PLANES. After working with Robert on the script and the ideas he had we became head PAPER PLANE CONSULTANTS on the film. We designed and folded all the planes you see in the film and even appear in one of the competition scenes, see if you can spot us!!
JAMES: Dylan is a great mate, when he was offered the role of INSPIRATOR & PAPER PLANE CONSULTANT he said to the Director “James & I are a team, this is our story not just mine (Dylan). If we do this, we do it together”. So I’m very luck to have been afforded the opportunity to join Dylan & Robert on this unbelievable life experience. I think we are indebted to Robert who enabled us to share our stories. He and writer Steve Woreland wove together the immensely poignant and richly layered script that has enabled the film to be such a success.
When you first saw the movie, what was your favourite scene and why?
JAMES: The whole movie was very emotional for us & for many different reasons. But I think it’s fair to say that it all came to a head in the final scene. The scene in itself (SPOILER) details the culmination of different story threads in the movie which all come together. Dylan finds a new way to win with the concept that the longest distance between two points is never a straight line & also by making something beautiful inspired from flight in nature, this converges with his Dad (Sam Worthington) finding new hope, catching Dylan’s plane, signified a milestone for his grief. For Dylan & I this plane ‘Clive’ was a symbolic milestone for how far we have come as mates, It was a milestone for us as designers, ‘Our Everest’, to come up with something so beautiful (yet incredibly complicated to fold purely from one sheet of paper).
Why do you think the movie PAPER PLANES has struck an emotional chord with Australia?
DYLAN: It’s just such a wonderful story of following your dreams no matter how hard the road ahead of you is! It shows that anything can happen if you really try your best. The movie also shows how important it is to stick by your family, especially in the difficult times, because when it really counts, they’ll be the ones who’ll be there to cheer you on.
Do you think there could be a sequel?
JAMES: We certainly hope so. We both think that Julian Dennison ‘Kevin’ has a bright future in Paper Planes Two. He is an incredibly funny kid & I’m sure would do well in a sequel. All the actors involved became very proficient folder and flyers, some almost eclipsed our skill so it would be a shame not to have them all back for round two.
Can you tell us how you became involved in paper plane flying and making?
DYLAN: My Mum bought me this AWESOME book about Leonardo Da Vinci’s flying contraptions and in the back was some simple paper plane designs to test out, before I knew it I had covered the house in planes! James learnt a really great design from a family friend, a design that behaved like a boomerang, so then he was hooked! Everyone has an awesome paper plane story, it’s universal and partly why the film is succeeding all over the world!
If someone is interested in creating their own paper planes and maybe be involved with others, where should they start?
JAMES: As Kimi says in PAPER PLANES, “look to nature”. There are some obvious and not so obvious forms for flight in nature that are very interesting & they’ll inform your designs and thinking on the physics of flight, especially when you try and replicate this in your paper plane designs. Throwing paper planes alone, I probably look like a bit of a weirdo especially as I’m now nearing thirty, so its great having a Wing Mate like Dylan to pal around with. Being PAPER PILOTS together makes us probably the Worlds First Paper Plane Sports Team, & with the movie under our belts, WE’RE LEGIT!!
What’s been your greatest paper plane distance to date?
DYLAN: I’ve thrown my plane, ‘The Raptor’, 58.3 meters at the AIS Stadium in Canberra. I’m training pretty hard at the moment to break that record so hoping to better that this year.
JAMES: Boddington WA is the furthest distance I’ve had to go for a paper plane gig at a Gold Mine. One day I’d like to launch a few thousand planes into their Super Pit using their 2km long conveyor belt.
Do you have a favourite paper plane that you make and why?
JAMES: I have many favorites depending on what I want the plane to do. For Gliding it’s the ‘Squarosaurus’. For double spirals that return to me ‘The Circling Clive’. For hitting Dylan from across a Classroom it’s a ‘Zylo’. But I think for both Dylan & I it’s the ‘Manta Ray’ a plane we happened upon early in our Paper Plane careers. It is the most elegantly simple and graceful plane in flight that you’ll ever see.
We’ve also heard you have your own flight suits, can you tell us about them?
DYLAN: Yes we do!!! They’re seriously cool and the same as the ones worn by real Australian Air Force pilots! They’re designed to give us maximum maneuverability and are fitted with specialised pockets to store our folding tools, rulers and some snacks in case we get hungry while we’re folding.
Lastly, what does 2015 hold for you?
JAMES: Since Dylan’s brush with death (Australian Story – The Meaning of Life) we’ve both been living by the mantra “DO FUN STUFF” so we formed THE PAPER PILOTS to do just that. Dylan & I are both full time PAPER PILOTS. Schools, Businesses, Event Organizers, Rehabilitation centres all go to our website (www.paperpilots.com.au) and book Gigs with us, it’s the best job in the world. We’ve found that Paper Planes are not only a great demonstration of aerodynamics and physics but can extend to geometry and even the exploration of different materials and their properties. The simplicity of a first fold, a first design, a first flight can take off in a room with any group pretty quickly and the problem solving skills needed to test planes and improve them is immediate. We like to think we help people discover their niche, while sharing our story to becoming World Paper Plane Champions.
Paper Planes is now available on DVD and Blu-ray … check out our review at https://www.impulsegamer.com/paper-planes-blu-ray-review/
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