By Associated Press
Montgomery, AL – The black airmen whose lives will be the basis of a George Lucas movie know the picture will highlight their record of successfully escorting thousands of U.S. bombers in World War II.
Now that ''Red Tails'' is in preproduction, some of the airmen say they are excited their story is coming to the big screen but torn over how much it should devote to each of their two historic fights - against Adolf Hitler abroad and Jim Crow at home.
The movie's title refers to the color of their fighter planes' tails, which allowed U.S. bomber crews to know they were being escorted by the Tuskegee Airmen.
The men have been the subject of several documentaries and books. But a 1995 HBO movie ''The Tuskegee Airmen'' was the film that jump-started much of the attention the airmen have received in recent years.
Producer Rick McCallum said Lucas hopes to begin shooting by the end of the year or early 2009.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)