[01.17.00]
Got
this from Harry Knowles at AICN:
"The
truth is... Pearl Harbor (aka TENNESSEE) is still set
to begin shooting in Hawaii on April 10th. Michael Bay
and crew are currently in the midst of meeting with a
wide array of actors and actresses, and it's looking like
some casting is almost ready to go forward. They will
be shooting in Hawaii for 6 weeks, before moving production
to Baja, California for additional shooting. Recently
Michael Bay was in Texas taking a look at an old Aircraft
Carrier, and the film is being made. So, while Roth MAY
have very well left Disney over some heated discussion
with Eisner, (Which I Do Not Know), whatever happened
between Eisner and Roth... It seems it will have NO effect
upon the film or the film's future."
[01.14.00]
Sorry
for the downtime. I was notified by my webhosting company
that one of their servers went down. And guess what? It
just *happened* to be the one this site is hosted on.
This crap happens one more time, I'll be...
Anyway,
on with the news. Since Joe Roth's departure from Disney,
rumors regarindg Bay's "Pearl Harbor" have begun
to spread. Reel.com's Jeffrey Wells wrote an article about
"Pearl Harbor" and all the stuff going on. Personally,
I believe some of it (the casting parts), and the other
stoff is a bunch of crap. It seems that if this movie
gets made, it will be opening summer 2001. If you want
to read the article, click
here to read it.. Below, you can read some excerpts:
Bombs Away
� "In less than four months, producer Jerry Bruckheimer
and director Michael Bay will probably begin rolling film
on Pearl Harbor � the biggest, splashiest, most expensive
World War II film ever made. The budget is starting at
$145 million, and will almost certainly come in higher
when all is said and done. Movies like this always do.
Which is where the "probably" comes in. In the wake of
Disney chairman Joe Roth's announced resignation Wednesday,
Disney chairman/CEO Michael Eisner is rattling his saber
and telling The Wall Street Journal and Variety that Pearl
Harbor hasn't been greenlit. But this is probably just
posturing meant to assuage the financial community. I'd
say the odds favoring a Pearl Harbor "go" at this stage
are roughly 80-20..."
"...I've been told Ed Burns (Saving Private Ryan),
Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line) and Wes Bentley (American
Beauty) � three very intense, au courant young actors
� are top contenders for the two male lead roles, flyboys
Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker. Burns is said to be a
particular favorite to play McCawley; the similar-looking
Caviezel and Bentley (dark hair, intense eyes) are said
to be competing for the Walker role. Felicity's Scott
Speedman is also said to be in the running for one of
the male roles. Gwyneth Paltrow is being sought out to
play Evelyn, the romantic female lead..." I know
Bruckheimer is looking to cast Gene Hackman as President
Franklin Roosevelt, but I'm told Hackman is waiting for
a script rewrite before committing..."
"...When this budget-buster from Disney finally opens
in the summer of 2001, to put it another way, will it
play like a cross between Titanic and Saving Private Ryan,
which Bay is said to be aiming for..."
"...Reached by phone, Bruckheimer declined comment
on most of the matters discussed here. He confirmed the
projected April start date and said the location filming
schedule calls for Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles, Fox Baja,
Texas, and then England, in that order..."
[01.13.00]
Got
this from the IMDB:
Did
Eisner Bomb Pearl Harbor?
Joe
Roth's exit as Walt Disney Studios chief may have followed
a clash with Michael Eisner over Roth's decision last
November to greenlight a $145-million budget for Pearl
Harbor the Wall Street Journal indicated today (Thursday),
citing people familiar with the matter. Reports at the
time the go-ahead was announced said that producer Jerry
Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay had been engaged
in lengthy negotiations with Roth and had finally agreed
to financial concessions including a downsized back-end
participation and accountability for any budget overages.
Nevertheless, nearly two months after the deals with Bruckheimer
and Bay were struck, Eisner has yet to clear the film,
the WSJ said. (Today's Daily Variety said that Eisner
told it that Pearl Harbor (2000) has not been greenlighted.)
Moreover, it added, Disney's strategic planning department,
which ordinarily is engaged in handling business ventures
for the company, has been directed to scrutinize the film's
budget, the highest ever authorized for any film.
[12.24.99]
I
would like to wish everyone that visits this site a Merry
Christmas. Hope you can enjoy the holidays wherever you
are. To those in Venezuela and Russia, you will be in
our prayers, may God be with you.
And
to all those who have in some way contributed to this
site (with your emails, news, pictures, etc), we only
hope that by this time next year we'll all be watching
Micheal Bay's "Pearl Harbor."
[12.16.99]
Went
back in to the archives of "Bay material" and
picked up a small story the Hollywood Reporter did on
John Schwartzman. In the article he talks about working
with Michael on "Armageddon." You can read it
here.
[12.07.99]
Just
some little news today. ILM (Industrial Light & Magic)
will be doing the visual effects for Pearl Harbor. And
Jerry Bruckheimer has his web site on standby mode. Go
to www.jbfilms.com
[11.24.99]
Michael
is featured in an article on the Hollywood Reporter chosing
him as "Person of the Week." Before reading
it, I would like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to you all.
Take care.
'Pearl'
Jam / A big-spending director gets the green light from
frugal Disney
By Stephen Galloway
No
one has ever accused Michael Bay of lacking chutzpah.
But when the thirtysomething director's new movie, tentatively
titled "Pearl Harbor," got the green light last week,
a great many pundits had their breath taken away.
The
reason: "Pearl" is going into production with an officially
sanctioned $145 million budget. That's $10 million more
than Bay's last flick, "Armageddon," hitherto the costliest
movie ever to be greenlit.
True,
other films have cost more. "Titanic" springs to mind,
at $200 million-plus. And let's not forget "Waterworld"
and "Wild Wild West" and "Lethal Weapon 4" and ... the
list goes on.
But
the difference between these pictures and "Pearl Harbor"
was that they ended up costing so much; at the time they
were initiated, their budgets were just a fraction of
their final cost. Indeed, "Titanic" was expected to sail
in at around $90 million-$100 million, until a few minor
seafaring snafus got in the way.
"Pearl
Harbor" is an anomaly at a time when Hollywood has been
struggling to cut costs. Other major movies, from the
Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer "I Am Legend" to the Robin
Williams vehicle "Bicentennial Man," have been killed
or were put on temporary hold because their budgets topped
the now-verboten $100 million mark.
And
Disney, in particular, has been budget-conscious since
its struggling stock price led company chairman Michael
Eisner to mandate widespread cuts and a hiring freeze.
But
maybe that cost-cutting is about to start loosening up.
Disney has been flush with one of the best boxoffice runs
in motion picture history. After halving the number of
films it makes, down to around 15 live actioners a year,
it has continued to ride a boxoffice tsunami, emphasizing
a deft mix of family films and "event" releases. This
year it will easily cruise in at No. 1. And, with the
"Pearl Harbor" project, it is betting on two proven commodities:
the blockbustering Jerry Bruckheimer and his occasional
stablemate Bay, who together have hit home runs not only
with "Armageddon" but also with "The Rock."
Hollywood
can afford to take a few risks. Still, future greenlighters
may also remember the lessons 20th Century Fox has learned.
In the wake of "Titanic," budgets have been slashed at
the studio. And if Bay had gone ahead and made his next
picture for Fox, as planned, it wouldn't have been the
$145 million "Pearl Harbor" but an altogether more modest
affair: the $10 million "Phone Booth."
[11.23.99]
No
major news today. I did get an e-mail telling me how msn.com
describes this site :
"Very
flashy tribute to the director of such films as 'Armageddon'
and 'The Rock' features video clips, a bio, a filmography,
and a chat room."
Hey
not bad eh? I'll share something with you guys & girls
today. Remember when I met Michael at his office? Well,
one of the things that I mentioned to him is that I get
a lot of "fucking, angry e-mails" from people
who hate Bay's work (most of them envious people). And
then told him how much "commotion" his name
causes when an article appears on AICN. And he asked very
puzzled: "Why?" I simply answered: "I dunno.
I guess they don't like you or your work." He then
told me that the world would be a better place if these
people would worry more about the things happening in
Turkey (remember, this conversation took place August
31 of this year) than worrying about his movies. Anyway,
I just thought I'd share this with you.
[11.19.99]
Ok,
Disney has given Michael the greenlight on doing Tennessee!
Read more about it below
Disney
opens fire on 'Pearl Harbor': $145 mil
By Chris Gennusa
The
Walt Disney Co. has said yes to the most expensive live-action
film ever greenlit, Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay's
$145 million "Pearl Harbor" (a k a "Tennessee") written
by Oscar-nominated screenwriter Randall Wallace ("Braveheart").
While other pictures -- most notably 20th Century Fox
and Paramount's $200 million opus "Titanic" and Warner
Bros.' "Wild Wild West" -- have cost more, no movie has
been given the go-ahead with such a lofty price tag. (Fox
committed to "Titanic" when the film was expected to cost
a mere $90 million-$100 million.)
The
previous watermark was Bay and Bruckheimer's "Armageddon,"
which Disney greenlit at a budget of $135 million. The
decision to move forward on "Pearl Harbor" follows weeks
of negotiations among Disney, producer Bruckheimer and
director Bay, who both made financial concessions to get
the picture made.
Under terms of the greenlight, neither Bruckheimer nor
Bay will receive their regular first-dollar gross deal,
and their back-end participation will be far less than
on previous pictures. They will also be held responsible
for budgetary overages. The project's expense stems from
Bay's wish to re-create fully the early-morning bombing
of the Hawaiian naval base that pulled the United States
into World War II.
Because the money is being spent on production, sources
said the picture will be made without A-list star salaries
and instead rely on the internationally known Bruckheimer-Bay
brand. It is expected that lesser-known actors will be
cast, unless top stars are willing to work for scale.
Last month, a second-unit production crew began work on
"Pearl Harbor," even though Disney Studios chairman Joe
Roth had not given the drama an official thumbs up. Weeks
later, second-unit production stopped, and word came that
the filmmakers were trying to shave the budget by reworking
the script.
Some
pegged the original budget at $200 million. As of last
week, sources said the budget was $153 million-$154 million,
but it was understood that the studio wanted it trimmed
to $140 million. Interestingly, during the studio's negotiations
with the filmmakers, the project began showing up on Disney
news releases as a done deal.
Disney has entered into "split rights" deals with other
studios, but the studio is committed to financing "Pearl
Harbor" on its own, sources said. Disney will likely approach
foreign financing entities about investing in the project,
but producing-financing firm Spyglass Entertainment (a
Disney-based equity partner) has not yet been approached.
"Pearl Harbor" (a working title) begins months before
the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese bombing of the Pearl Harbor
U.S. naval base in Hawaii and focuses on a pair of brothers
who fall in love with the same woman. One brother remains
on American soil in the U.S. Air Force, while the other
goes overseas to fight in the United Kingdom.
Bay initially called the project "Tennessee," apparently
a code name. Sources said he did not want to repeat the
situation in which he found himself with "Armageddon."
When word of that project leaked, DreamWorks and Paramount
immediately put the similarly themed "Deep Impact" into
production, causing a well-publicized race to the screen.
The commitment to "Pearl Harbor" marks a leap of faith
for Disney as the company has been making cutbacks across
the board.
With Disney stock hovering at $23-$29 per share for most
of the year, company chairman and CEO Michael Eisner recently
took the unusual step of holding a conference with shareholders
to propose ways to boost profits and lift the stock price.
In addition to making staff and budgetary cutbacks, he
announced that the company will make a large percentage
of its animated classics permanently available on video
for the first time.
Disney has long attempted to keep budgets down, a company
mantra since a famous memo was issued by Jeffrey Katzenberg
in which the then-studio chief proclaimed the benefits
of lower budgets following the relatively disappointing
performance of "Dick Tracy."
Bruckheimer
and Bay, who have long-term deals at Disney, have collaborated
on such films as "Armageddon" and "The Rock." Separately,
Bruckheimer (with late partner Don Simpson) has made such
top money earners as "Flashdance," "Top Gun" and "Crimson
Tide."
.
. .
You
can read an article on Bay and Tennessee at http://www.aint-it-cool-news.com.
I had the pleasure of meeting Harry Knowles of AICN in
Santa Monica. He was cool. We talked a little about Michael
and the usual reaction critics and film snobs. Harry is
one of the few "film geeks" that actually enjoys
Michael's work.
[11.18.99]
It's
been a while since I posted something significant. I've
moved from Massachussetts to California, and I'm in the
process of getting settled. Well, one of the dilemas in
bringing Tennessee to the screen will be getting all the
visual effects done in time for its Christmas 2000 release.
Got this from the Hollywood Reporter:
Visual
effects have become a hot spot in the ongoing battle to
get Michael Bay's World War II epic "Tennessee" green-lighted.
The sizable effects job -- easily 300 shots, insiders
say -- was originally to have gone to Dream Quest Images,
which made sense because Disney, the studio producing
"Tennessee," owns Dream Quest, and two of the company's
top effects supervisors -- Richard Hoover and Hoyt Yeatman
-- have long-established relationships with Bay, with
whom they worked on "Armageddon" and "The Rock."
Because of the high volume of work and fairly tight turnaround,
it was decided the work would be split between two shops,
and Industrial Light & Magic entered the mix. However,
in an effort to lower production costs, it was decided
that it would be more efficient to have one shop do the
work. "It's always more expensive to work with multiple
facilities, because you're carrying the overhead for both
in your budget," a source on the production said.
At one point, ILM reportedly had the job locked up. The
San Francisco-based firm did spectacular World War II
work for "Saving Private Ryan" and has a battalion of
Oscars, all of which appealed to Bay, who is intent on
making "Tennessee" a "prestige" production.
But an eleventh-hour rally by the artists formerly known
as Dream Quest, recently rechristened by Disney as the
Secret Lab, has put the dark horse back in the running.
"They're just not giving up," said an insider at Jerry
Bruckheimer Films, which is posting "Gone in 60 Seconds"
with Secret Lab and has done five other films with DQI.
"They sent over a new reel, which absolutely floored us."
On the other hand, "ILM really wants the job," one insider
said. "Michael is a filmmaker they believe in."
It remains to be seen how much Disney believes in him.
Despite the combined track records of Bay and Bruckheimer,
there is considerable nail-biting over "Tennesse's" big
budget and whether it will set sail.
One
thing is certain. If "Tennessee" does get made, it will
be shot at Fox Baja Studios, with whom the producers are
negotiating. "For a film like this, you wouldn't want
to shoot anywhere else," the production source said of
the state-of-the-art facility, which boasts the premier
tanks for water work. A Secret Lab spokeswoman said the
process is ongoing, and it is too premature to comment.
ILM declined to comment on the status of its bid.
[10.18.99]
"Corona's
Coming Attractions" has posted on their site some
info on "Pearl Harbor" that you can read here.
I'm not putting the site's credibility down (they have
been known to give accurate in the past), but in regards
to the latest news (posted October 14, 1999) on the budget,
casting, etc...it's partially inaccurate, so don't worry.
Anyways,
the movie is still scheduled to come out on Christmas
2000. The start of principal photography might be pushed
back a month.
[10.12.99]
Sorry
this page hasn't been updated for more than a month. I've
been in the process of moving. I now live in Los Angeles,
and have a new job. So, I have a tiny update in regarding
to the latest news on "Pearl Harbor."
As
of lately, Michael has been meeting with the visual effect
guys that will probably be involved in the Pearl Harbor
bombing scene. They're still waiting for a script that
will be approved which is being written by Randall Wallace
(Braveheart).
[
9.8.99 ]
HONOLULU,
Hawaii � Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay will begin
filming an epic big-budget drama set around the Pearl
Harbor bombing here early next year.
Bay, who directed the 1998 blockbuster �Armageddon� and
�The Rock,� and Bruckheimer, who produced the films, head
the production team for the $100 million-plus �character-driven
love story� tentatively titled �Tennessee� under Disney�s
Touchstone moniker (Daily Variety, June 25). Randall Wallace,
who won a screenwriting Oscar for �Braveheart,� is the
scribe.
The picture, which looks to be the second most-expensive
ever produced in Hawaii (after �Waterworld�), will �spend
plenty on spectacular special effects, including a re-creation
of the bombing,� Bay said. �You will see what happened
at Pearl Harbor like you have never seen it in any other
movie,� Bay promised. �Our goal is to stage the event
with the utmost realism.�
Hackman, Paltrow sought
No stars have been signed, but Bay said he�s after Oscar
winners Gene Hackman to play President Franklin Roosevelt
and Gwyneth Paltrow for the romantic lead of a Navy nurse.
The story centers on two brothers caught up in the events
that drew the United States into World War II. One of
the siblings enlists with the U.S. Air Force, and the
other flies for the RAF. Both brothers get involved with
the same woman. The story begins several months before
the Pearl Harbor bombing.
�Tennessee� is the film�s temporary title and has been
a code name for the production for several months, Bay
said. The film may be called �Pearl Harbor,� he said.
The code name was used to keep the project secret, Bay
said. (Writer Wallace is from Tennessee.)
Avoiding
copycats
�We didn�t want the same thing to happen with this film
that happened to us with �Armageddon,� � said Bay. When
word got out about �Armageddon,� another studio rushed
a similar themed film, �Deep Impact,� into production.
�I want this to be the movie about Pearl Harbor by which
all other such films are measured,� he said. � �Tora Tora
Tora� was more of a documentary. And all of these other
(Pearl Harbor) films glorified war; there were no characters
to latch onto.�
This summer, Bay scouted Oahu for locations in a helicopter
with his production designer and visual effect supervisor.
Since June, Bay and Wallace have interviewed veterans
of the Pearl Harbor attack, and the production�s special
effects staff started its research.
World tour
Bay expects the film to require 130 shooting days � the
same as �Armageddon� � including time in England, Los
Angeles, San Francisco and Baja, Mexico, at the �tank�
set used for the film �Titanic.� The Baja set is ideal
for some of the film�s planned large special effects,
specifically the sinking of the USS Oklahoma.
Bay plans to use many live explosions rather than just
computer-generated ones, he said. He also plans to �take
real ships and twist them up through the air.�
Most
of the Hawaii filming will be done at Oahu military bases,
including Hickham, Wheeler, Schofield and Pearl Harbor.
The production team has met with military officials on
the mainland and expect approval, as the film depicts
�such an American historical event.�
The production company has not selected a production base,
but Bay said he really liked Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.
The Hawaii Film Studio is currently being used by two
production companies, one of which produces the television
series �Baywatch Hawaii.�
[
9.6.99 ]
While
in Los Angeles, I got the chance to meet Michael at BayFilms.
Click here to
read about it and see some pictures.
