Aviation Thriller Next For NZ Director

Aviation thriller is emerging New Zealand director’s latest book-to-film project

New Zealand publisher Sterling Gate Books this week announced that Tauranga-born film director James Morcan has attached to direct The Heathrow Affair, an aviation thriller based on his published novel of the same name.

A spokesperson for the publishing company said the novel was one of one of 12 co-authored by Morcan and his father Lance.

“The New Zealand father-and-son writing team’s books are published under the Sterling Gate Books banner,” he said. “It brings to nine the number of their novel adaptations that James is now attached to direct.”

Speaking from Sydney, where he is preparing to approach major streaming platforms regarding his award-winning, new-release movie Anno 2020, the younger Morcan said directing The Heathrow Affair would present some unique challenges.

“The novel was inspired by a narrowly avoided tragedy which saw the captain of a British Airways flight being partially sucked out of the aircraft after it suffered an explosive decompression over Oxfordshire,” said Morcan.

“That event, which occurred on June 10, 1990, involved BA Flight 5390. It was caused by an improperly installed windscreen panel, which separated from its frame, causing the captain to be partially ejected. He was held in place through the window frame for 20 minutes until the plane successfully landed. The captain miraculously survived and made a full recovery.”

“The leading character in The Heathrow Affair is a young East Ender employed as an aircraft mechanic at Heathrow Airport. He seems to have it all, but his life is turned upside down when the girl of his dreams announces she’s leaving him for a dashing pilot employed by the same airline.

“Worse is to come when he’s blamed for a mid-air incident that has catastrophic consequences for one of the airline’s aircraft high above the Atlantic.

“The screenplay adaption for the planned movie will be faithful to the novel in that it will retain the book’s love triangle theme. Without giving too much away, our young mechanic is reunited with his lost love in a way neither could ever have imagined.”

Morcan said this his latest book-to-film project will be uniquely challenging because it will need to be set at England’s Heathrow Airport.

“In addition to the technical difficulties of shooting scenes around the airport as well as in and around individual aircraft, the film will obviously be expensive to shoot. This will necessitate the attachment of A-list actors to greenlight it.”

He said actors couldn’t help but be impressed that the novel was attracting excellent reviews.

Accredited Amazon.com reviewer Grady Harp describes The Heathrow Affair as “An exciting read (that) provides a fine diversion for an evening away from the clutter of the world.” And top Amazon Australia critic Todd Simpson says, “Brilliant, I loved it… The story took a turn that I wasn’t expecting, and it certainly hit me between the eyes!”

Amazon link to The Heathrow Affair: https://www.amazon.com/Heathrow-Affair-Lance-Morcan-ebook/dp/B07X8CN6BD

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