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[04.03.00]
The
Navy is backing "Pearl Harbor" 100%. Got a copy
of the Navy News Service. You can read it by clicking here.
. . .
The
Honolulu Advertiser reports the following about yesterday's
ceremony at the Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial:
�Pearl
Harbor� movie drops anchor here; New generation to learn
about WWII from film
By Wayne Harada and Catherine E. Toth Advertiser Staff
Writers
Disney
filmmakers pledged yesterday to bring the story of �Pearl
Harbor� � which starts production here tomorrow � to a new
generation of movie-goers, while honoring those who died
in World War II.
On
the site of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack by the Japanese, the
film�s producer, director and stars, along with military
officials, paid their respects with traditional pomp � floral
offerings, the playing of �Taps,� and a flyover by four
P-40 Warhawks.
Producer
Jerry Bruckheimer said, �It (the war) changed the way we
thought. I felt this film was seminal in my career � to
get this done and done correctly.
�
Richard Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Motion Picture
Group, said �Pearl Harbor� likely will be �the most anticipated
movie in the industry� next year.
Gov.
Ben Cayetano said the state is cooperating fully with Disney.
�I think what�s most important is that this film gives Disney
an opportunity to do something great � for our country,�
Cayetano said. He also said the film �can help us educate
those generations and the generations to come� about the
lessons of war.
Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific
Fleet, said the Department of Defense also endorses the
project, calling it �a wonderful effort.�
Director
Michael Bay said the epic drama, focusing on two fighter
pilots and a Navy nurse, �is a true love story � a love
triangle.�
In
said story, Tennessee crop dusters Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck)
and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) become Army Air Corps pilots.
Rafe volunteers for the American Eagle Squadron during World
War II in England, leaving behind his best friend and new
love, Navy nurse Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale). Danny
and Evelyn are then stationed at Pearl Harbor. After Rafe
is reported killed, the two fall in love.
The key players have agreed to defer salaries, banking instead
on box office success.
�(We�ve) really taken no money because I think we really
like the script, the story seemed important, and it seemed
like the right thing to do,� said Affleck, the frequent
indie star known for taking roles over money. �You want
all the money to be up there to make a movie we can all
be proud of. It�s more satisfying for me to be in a movie
that means something than for the cash up-front.�
The film�s preproduction budget of $135 million means that
most of the money will be spent on production costs to ensure
an accurate depiction of the war, according to Cook. A hefty
chunk of the budget will support special effects created
by Industrial Light and Magic.
According to Bay, the film will boast 180 true digital effects,
with historical battle scenes to be recreated at the Baja,
Mexico, tank where many of �Titanic�s� sinking scenes were
filmed.
Some air attacks will be digitally produced, but extensive
filming also will be done on inactive ships at Pearl, meaning
war-like smoke, fire, and noise during production.
The attack on Pearl Harbor will involve the largest effects,
said Bay.
�Michael
wouldn�t commit �til he felt we could really represent the
attack as authentically as possible,� Bruckheimer said.
To
ensure authenticity, the filmmakers have conducted research,
consulted Pearl Harbor survivors, and even involved the
Japanese in script reviews.
�We�re trying to be as accurate as we can, in the context
of motion pictures,� Bruckheimer said.
�I have read it, and it�s an excellent script,� said Ralph
Lindenmeyer, who was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the
attack. �I knew what happened. I could see the chaos. I
tried to impress the movie producers of that angle.�
Some characters were assembled from fragments of history.
The two friends are based on two pilot buddies, Welsh and
Taylor, who shot down six Zeroes. Beckinsale�s character
is a composite of real-life nurses.
Cuba
Gooding Jr.�s character, however, was derived from the history
books. He plays Dorie Miller, a mess attendant on the USS
Virginia who becomes a hero after the attack. Miller was
the first African American to receive the Navy Cross.
Affleck
and Hartnett were sent to a four-day boot camp with the
U.S. Army Rangers. �We thought it was going to be an actor-y
kind of boot camp, where they teach you to salute,� Affleck
said, laughing. �It wasn�t quite that. It was more like
the first 20 minutes of �Full Metal Jacket� but it was extraordinary.�
�I think it was helpful to us, and the movie, for us to
play our roles,� he said. �It�s much more helpful to me
in my life and as a person. I don�t think I scrubbed a urinal
in my entire life.�
�It was a really huge character-building experience,� Hartnett
said. �I�m positive I�ll never forget it.�
[04.02.00]
We
have a lot of updates today.
This
site got mention on the Corpus Christi Caller!!!
The article was regarding Michael's 2nd visit to Corpus
Christi. It says:
"...website
dedicated to the director says Hollywood heavyweights Ben
Affleck and Cuba Gooding Jr. will appear in the movie, and
that Gene Hackman is negotiating."
Not
bad eh?
. . .
It
is windy and raining at the Pearl Harbor Arizona Memorial.
And it will be like that for most of the week. Hope it starts
clearing up before the cameras roll on Saturday, April 8th.
Also, You can see a live webcam shot of the Pearl Harbor
memorial by clicking here.
. . .
Also,
got these two articles which talk about this weeks coming
events
�Pearl
Harbor� filming starts with visit to USS Arizona
By Tim Ryan
Filming on what is expected to be the biggest movie ever
on Oahu in terms of budget, amount spent and number of filming
days may begin as early as tomorrow.
The
$135 million epic "Pearl Harbor" is expected to continue
for some 30 production days with local spending, according
to some estimates, of between $10 million and $20 million.
The
production has brought in a large special-effects team,
period airplanes, military vehicles and costumes.
"This
picture is a grand slam home run economically, historically
and promotionally," said Walea Constantinau, Honolulu city
and county film liaison. "It's so important historically
so that the younger generation can understand this event;
a big budget film brings so much to this economy; and it
gives us a chance to promote Hawaii."
A wreath-laying ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial tomorrow
will mark the beginning of filming here for the movie. Several
of the actors, studio executives, Admiral Thomas Boulton
Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and
Gov. Ben Cayetano are expected to attend.
The World War II epic stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ben Affleck,
Tom Sizemore, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Guy Torry,
James King, Ewan Bremner, William Lee Scott and Matt Davis.
It is being directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry
Bruckheimer, who are known for the blockbusters "Armageddon"
and "The Rock."
Randall Wallace's "Pearl Harbor" tells the story of two
Navy pilots and best friends (Affleck and Hartnett) who
fall in love with the same Army nurse (Beckinsale). Gooding
plays a 3rd Class mess attendant who served on the USS West
Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec.
7, 1941. Scott and Davis play the fighter pilots who work
alongside Affleck and Hartnett.
Most of the "Pearl Harbor" filming in Hawaii will be done
on military bases, especially at Ford Island. Some filming
is expected on the deck of the USS Missouri.
About
15 World War II vintage aircraft -- collected from museums
and private collectors -- are being stored on Ford Island
after being shipped to Hawaii from San Diego.
According
to sources, there are "piles and piles" of U.S. Army WWII
gear on Ford Island, including tents, and along the shoreline
are sand bags, large searchlights and machine guns.
Set construction will be simple, a source said. Instead
of building full sets, the crew will at times build only
what's needed for a shot.
The studio will take an equally conservative approach to
battle re-creations. One scene might require 20 ships, 12-15
camera positions and nine Air Force planes; then Disney
plans to digitally add in numerous more ships and planes.
Al Burnes, business agent of IATSE, Local 665, which provides
the technicians for film, television and stage productions
in Hawaii, said 54 technicians are working on the film,
with another 10 to begin after filming starts. The production
brought in about 200 crew and department heads from Los
Angeles, he said. "I don't like that, but I understand it,"
Burnes said.
"This
is the production's first location and they have at least
another three, so they need these deparment heads at every
place for continuity."
About
20 IATSE members, including carpenters, painters, and electricians,
started working for the production in February.
Some
members said they signed confidentiality agreements as part
of their contract to work on the film.
"Pearl
Harbor" will film six days a week, with Fridays off. Filming
is expected through the first week in May, when the project
moves to Texas and Los Angeles.
The
film is expected to reach theaters in summer 2001.
. . . .
Pearl
Harbor ... according to Hollywood
By Wayne Harada
Hollywood�s
lingering fascination with war, and, especially, World War
II, starts up all over again this week.
Right in our front yard.
Or
harbor. �Pearl Harbor,� a megabucks film from Disney, begins
preliminary shooting Tuesday at Pearl Harbor, site of the
start of America�s involvement in WWII. Officially, the
launch date is Saturday, but production crews and actors
are already in our midst, ready to roll.
The film boasts formidable behind-the-scenes movers and
shakers, including the legendary Hollywood action film-making
team of Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Michael Bay (director).
They last collaborated on �Armageddon,� about a war with
mother nature.
Some A-list stars (Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin, Cuba Gooding
Jr.) are aboard, too, playing fictional as well as real-life
figures. The screenplay, featuring romance and drama and
embroidering together fiction and fact, is by Randall Wallace,
the Oscar-nominated writer of �Braveheart.� Early on, a
peek at the closely guarded script prompted one Hollywood
observer to dub this project �box office gold.�
But when it comes to the Day of Infamy, the quality of Hollywood�s
understanding has varied from one film to the next, said
Robert C. Schmitt, historian and former Hawaii state statistican,
reflecting on the renewed interest in wartime dramas, sparked
in part by �Saving Private Ryan.� �Some films are better
than others; there is one, in the early �70s, that stands
out best.�
He
was referring to 1970�s Japanese-American joint venture,
�Tora! Tora! Tora!,� which recreated the drama � and trauma
� of the war from both nations� perspectives. �It was reasonably
accurate where, over the years, most World War II films
were terribly superficial,� said Schmitt.
He
also thinks Hollywood is gearing up to serve up a new wartime
saga for younger generations of filmgoers who neither saw
nor lived through the experience of Pearl Harbor.
�I�m
not an expert on the war genre, but I would probably say
in terms of film history, �From Here to Eternity� is probably
the one most people remember. But in terms of action, I�d
say �Tora! Tora! Tora!,�� said Georgette Deemer, Hawaii
Film Office manager and one of the few Islanders who has
read the proposed Wallace script. �But the new �Pearl Harbor�
will be great combination of both.�
Pearl
Harbor � whose name is a kind of shorthand for the devastation
that war can wreak, the attack the subject of films, novels,
history books and TV productions � has had its share of
�close-ups� over the years. Among these: 1953�s �From Here
to Eternity,� perhaps best remembered for that clinch-on-the-beach
scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, and 1965�s
�In Harm�s Way,� with John Wayne leading the U.S. charge
against the Japanese, with model ships and planes in bathtubs
serving as the fleet. Footnote: �Eternity� has had extended
life, in a 1979 TV mini-series spinoff (with title intact)
with William Devane and Natalie Wood, which evolved later
that same year into an episodic TV series with Devane and
Barbara Hershey.
The new �Pearl Harbor� will almost certainly be the most
realistic portrayal ever with special effects by Industrial
Light and Magic, blending action shots with computer-generated
images to recreate battle scenes.
The film has an announced pre-production budget of $135
million, believed to be the priciest ever approved up front
(though other films have gone over budget to cost more).
Hollywood is buzzing about the fact that the producer, director
and, presumably, actors are deferring up front salaries
and banking on box office profits later � a new approached
designed to hold down the spiraling costs of filmmaking
and assure the best in production values.
A
studio source said that an 85-day shooting schedule is envisioned,
with between 40 and 45 days here in the Islands � at Ford
Island in Pearl Harbor, at Wheeler Air Force Base, at Fort
Shafter and other unannounced destinations. Additional filming
will continue in England, Texas and Los Angeles.
But Pearl Harbor will have a stand-in for its most famous
scene: The ship-sinking sequences will actually be filmed
at the Fox Baja facilities in Mexico, in the exact location
where the blockbuster �Titanic� gurgled to its see-worthy
demise.
But studio officials have been mum � or at best, vague �
about specifics of the production.
Those
on the military bases will likely start seeing things �
Fiberglas plane parts, aircraft shells, old cars � popping
up. And they�ll start hearing and smelling things � �bombs,�
crashes, smoke and such � an eery reminder. The filmmakers
are working with the Department of Defense to assure that
historical sites are not disturbed and property is restored
to before-filming condition.
Around town, 40-plus vintage cars, secured during an earlier
open call, are being corralled for use in filming. More
than 1,600 military enlistees and dependents have signed
on as extras, awaiting their call for non-speaking crowd
scenes. Props of all kinds are being built at Ford Island.
A Matson container with vintage aircraft awaits unloading
at Pearl.
Filming is expected to be completed by August or September.
Release
date? Memorial Day 2001, preceding the 60th anniversary
of the Day of Infamy, Dec. 7, 1941.
Chances of seeing stars or filming? Pretty slim as the set
is closed. Unless you live and work at Pearl Harbor or one
of the bases, you won�t see much. So who�s in the movie?
Affleck and Josh Hartnett, playing best friends from Tennessee,
pilots who fall in love with the same nurse, portrayed by
Kate Beckinsale. Among others aboard: Baldwin as Col. James
Doolittle, Gooding as mess attendant Dorie Miller. Just
signed: William Lee Scott, soon to be seen in �Black and
White,� and a star in Bruckheimer�s next flick, opening
in June, �Gone in 60 Seconds.�
Today,
in Hawaii fashion, the project begins with a blessing. A
wreath is being laid by filmmakers at the Arizona Memorial,
to pay tribute to those who gave their lives in a war that
has become spectacular entertainment.
Then it will be lights! Camera! Action!
[03.31.00]
Wow...this
movie will be big. Just read this from reel.com:
The
Real Thing
Now
this will be something to see. The actual live bombardment
(with �real� explosives) of roughly fifteen Naval vessels
moored at Pearl Harbor, to be captured by movie cameras
within the next few weeks.
The
movie, of course, is Pearl Harbor, Disney's super-sized
� $135 million-and-counting � World War II epic drama. Filming
is beginning this week under producer Jerry Bruckheimer
and director Michael Bay in and around Pearl Harbor. (April
8 is the official start date.) Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett
will play the two male leads, with Kate Beckinsale reportedly
playing their mutual love interest.
The
ships to be destroyed along �Battleship Row� are moored
at the �middle loch� on the rear side of Ford Island, which
is located in the middle of Pearl Harbor.
A
director friend told me Wednesday that Bay and Bruckheimer
will be using actual naval vessels and real explosives.
The U.S. Navy has been bombing and sinking its own vessels
for years as part of military maneuvers ("sink X's" or "exercises,"
in naval jargon), but this level of realism is rare for
a Hollywood movie shoot.
U.S.
Navy spokesperson Lt. Melissa Sherman, currently in Hawaii,
says she's aware of the plan to use live vessels in the
simulation of the Pearl Harbor attack. She declined to say
how many vessels would be used, or what kind. However, she
adds, "They're not going to sink anything."
The
11-year-old boy in me is thrilled. Real explosions! Real
flying shrapnel! Stunt men leaping into a flaming sea! Something
to see, all right � only I won't see it. Not unless Bay
and Bruckheimer change their tune about press coverage.
The
general policy is to keep reporters and cameras at arm's
length, according to Pearl Harbor's unit publicist Gabriela
Gutentag. I called Gutentag a few weeks ago to ask about
visiting Hawaii to watch filming of the Japanese bombardment,
which Bruckheimer had told me earlier would probably be
the most exciting thing to see.
The
spectacle, Bruckheimer confided, would include Japanese
bomber planes swooping down over the harbor, with scores
of extras running around and simulated bomb explosions going
off willy-nilly. When I mentioned this to Gutentag, she
replied there would be a "closed set" policy during filming
of this footage.
Given
the scale of the action, I said to her, how "closed" do
they expect the shooting of this sequence to be? An industrious
photographer or video-shooter with a private plane at his
or her disposal would be able to easily capture this.
The "live" bombing of the ships is said to be part of Bay's
effort to knock our collective socks off. Word is he's trying
to go the old-fashioned way as much as possible, with actual
props and real explosives, instead of relying mainly on
the computer-generated trickery that has become commonplace
in the making of big-scale action films.
I
think this is terrific. I've said time and again that CGI
always looks like CGI, and that there's no substitute for
organic realism. Think how much better Jim Cameron's depiction
of the Titanic taking to sea would have looked if he'd been
able to pay for a real vessel, instead of using that digitally
animated version of the ship that looked � digitally animated.
Just
you wait. Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight will
work something out with Bruckheimer and Gutentag, and we'll
be seeing at least some of this carnage on one of their
shows before too long. I'll be watching from my desk in
Los Angeles while eating a tuna-fish sandwich.
[03.22.00]
Sources
tell me that Michael Bay will most likely (if not already)
hook up again with Jon Schwartzman as his DP for the 3rd
time in a row.
Michael
now lives in Bel Air (just in case you didn't know). It
seems like the production process for "Pearl Harbor"
might change how movies are made. Keep reading, got this
from Variety.
Studio's
deferment deals could rewrite megapic rules
By CHARLES LYONS
Forty-five men and women stand motionless, staring at a
small brass plaque.
They do not say a word.
Each silently reads about the hundreds of U.S. soldiers
entombed, almost 60 years ago, in the sunken battleship
Arizona. And each is transported, disturbed.
�That�s
why people are doing �Pearl Harbor� and deferring their
salaries,� said Todd Garner, co-president of Buena Vista
Motion Picture Group, describing the reactions of crew members
on a recent scouting trip to the Hawaiian site. (Garner
gave director Michael Bay the idea for the project.)
But
there are many other reasons why principal crew and vendors
agreed to make deferments on the pic, which is budgeted
at $135 million. And greater ramifications.
If
the �Pearl� model works, deferments could become the newest
way for studios to produce more $100 million-plus films
while avoiding co-financing pacts � pacts that reduce studios�
potential upsides.
Still,
the �Pearl� deferments have already caused rumblings among
crew members, some of whom have elected to pass on Disney�s
offer to work for less. And the new model could ignite already
smoldering studio/union relationships.
With
ILM agreeing to take deferments, other effects houses, many
hurting for work, may find themselves forced to follow suit
� and risk the consequences.
One
key below-the-line pro was delighted when Michael Bay approached
him to do the film but was taken aback by the director�s
throwaway line: �I�m deferring my salary on this film. How
about you?� Reluctantly, the crew member accepted the offer.
Soon
thereafter, Bay invited some guests to his new multimillion-dollar
home in Bel-Air for his birthday party. �It was a nice gesture,�
the crew member reflected. �But looking around, I had to
ask myself, �Why am I deferring my meager pay?� �
Bay
countered that no crew members attended his party and noted
that nearly all of his primary crew from past films are
returning for �Pearl.� However, at least three of them assured
Daily Variety they are returning under normal terms, with
one arranging for the deferred portion of his salary to
be put into an escrow account.
Crew
members on low-budget films frequently have to make deferments,
but when the producers on a few bigger pics, such as �The
English Patient,� have tried this arrangement, the results
have not always been happy.
Deferments
mean that the crew member or vendor agrees to work for a
lower rate, with money coming back once the pic turns a
profit. In this case, Disney promises that if �Pearl� reaches
a domestic gross of about $140 million, crew members will
recoup what they would have been paid under normal circumstances.
Over
the past year, however, only 10 movies have surpassed the
$140 million domestic mark, including �Star Wars: Episode
I � The Phantom Menace,� �The Sixth Sense� and �Toy Story
2.�
Unlike
movies such as �American Graffiti� and �Star Wars,� where
below-the-line crew received considerable backend on the
film, only producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director-producer
Bay have �points� on �Pearl Harbor.
Hence,
crew members and vendors are in for considerable risk �
something that sources say they would have balked at had
it not been for the subject matter and the talent involved.
Others have found Disney�s �point�-less proposal uninviting.
Since these crew members are crucial to the production,
Disney has signed them on anyway, under traditional terms.
Despite the rumblings, Disney is steamrolling ahead with
its plans, having already arranged for the following savings:
in
Many heads of major below-the-line departments have agreed
to deferments, including the D.P., editor, production designer
and lighting director. The total budget value of such deferments
is said to be $5 million-$10 million.
Panavision
and Technicolor have been asked to take deferred payments.
A Panavision spokesman said that while such deferments were
discussed, the camera house will work on �Pearl� under its
standard deal with Disney.
ILM
has agreed to what one Disney exec called �meaningful deferments�
on some 200 effects shots, said to cost close to $25 million.
Disney
says its use of the shots will make it look more like 500
f/x shots were used. While ILM has ostensibly agreed to
the deferments because the company wants to be in the Bruckheimer-Bay
business, deal could add additional pressure to the post
biz�s bottom line.
A
conservative approach has been taken regarding set construction:
Instead of building full sets, it will at times build only
what�s needed for a shot. Unlike the method used for �Waterworld,�
the studio will only build a section of some ships.
The
Mouse will take an equally conservative approach to battle
re-creations: While one scene will require a fleet of 20
ships, 12-15 camera positions and nine Air Force planes,
Disney plans to digitally add in numerous more ships and
planes.
Prop
houses, wardrobe houses and labs � among other vendors �
have offered up to 25% deferments in exchange for upfront
payments. But some say that they certainly don�t want to
make a habit of doing so.
�I
wanted to change the way $100 million movies get made,�
said Bruce Hendricks, the studio�s president of motion picture
production and the man responsible to the studio for sticking
to the �Pearl Harbor� budget.
�Nobody
said to do this. It was something that I just came up with
after seeing it done with such studio movies as �The English
Patient.� I just wanted to try a different way of making
the movie cost-effective.�
Under
this strategy, below-the-line craftsmen and vendors, many
of whom are undergoing tough times, may find themselves
in an untenable situation, having to choose whether to work
and take a pay cut or not work at all.
Even
with deferred pay, they lose money. If the film recoups,
they will get a salary in two years but will lose the interest
they could have accrued if paid this year.
A
DGA spokesman, who pointed out that a.d.s could only defer
dollar amounts over scale, said he was �appalled by this
trend.�
But Bay, known for such blockbusters as �Armageddon� and
�The Rock,� emphatically said, �The business thinks they
are rewriting the rule books, but this is a special circumstance.
I am going into this thinking that I am not going to make
a dime. But I would rather gamble on myself.�
Still, some craftsmen are unimpressed by Bay�s wager.
�I
am sure that there must be some people who must be unhappy
with me because we are making every dollar count,� said
Hendricks.
�Certainly
the production won�t be as comfortable as people are used
to. But no one was arm-twisted into doing this movie. Everyone
knew that to do this movie, that�s what needed to happen.�
Production
begins in Hawaii on April 8 with a relatively compact shooting
schedule of 85 days. Bay hopes to bring the film in at 2
hours and 20 minutes, or under.
[03.19.00]
The
Unofficial Pearl Harbor Site has manage to get exclusive
storyboards for "Pearl Harbor." They've got a
total of four storyboards ( thanks to Nick Medrano ). You
can view two of them by clicking on the thumbnails below,
and the rest can be view by clicking on the following link
http://cinemenium.com/pearlharbor
...
Back
in August of 99, I was speaking to Michael about his new
Levi's commercials. I was surprised to learn that he had
made 3 commercials for Levi's that summer. They are: The
Invisible
Man, The
Artist , and The
Train (AKA "Frayed"). The "Train?"
Well, Michael told me he did decided not to finish the "Train"
commercial because Levi's was afraid to take chances with
that particular commercial. Levi's thought it was a little
bit to risqué ( he also went on to tell me how the
Levi's "Elevator"
commercial has the highest rating for any Levi's commercial
ever made ). So he decided not to put up with all the ad
agency BS...and walked off the set.
Well, Levi's has decided to air the "Train" commercial.
I doubted that the cut you will be seeing is what Michael
had in mind. But alas, it has Michael Bay elements. Click
below to see "The Train"
Levi's
Frayed/Train (Quicktime 4, 1.5mbs)
[03.15.00]
Cinescape
reports on the following regarding the lead female role
for Pearl Harbor:
Beckinsale
In 'Pearl'?
Kate
Beckinsale (Breakdown Palace, Haunted) is the most recent
candidate in talks to take on the female lead role in Michael
Bay's Pearl Harbor project. According to Variety, the lead
role is that of a Navy nurse who falls in love with a pilot
named Rafe (to be played by Ben Affleck). Eventually, she
is reassigned to Pearl Harbor prior to the infamous day.
The trade also reports that though Beckinsale is currently
the frontrunner for the role, there are three other actresses
in talks for the role should she pass on it.
[03.14.00]
First
of all, I would like to wish a very happy birthday to a
friend of mine: Liz Olivera. I would give you her email
so that you can all send her a wish...but she would stop
being my friend after she gets bombed with all your emails.
There's
more rumblings of casting for Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor
project. According to a number of sources, Alec Baldwin
is currently in talks to take on the film's role of the
real life Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, a part that Kevin
Costner previously negotiated for but chose to pass on when
the production could not meet his financial requirements.
Ben
Affleck talks on his site ( affleck.com
)about "Pearl Harbor." WARNING,
there are some minor spoilers:
"Which
brings me to...my next movie and it's one I'm really thrilled
about. In fact, I haven't been this excited to do a movie
in a long time and nobody is as surprised as I am at that.
If you had asked me a year ago if I'd be doing Michael Bay's
next movie--and FOR NO MONEY at that--I'd have said you
were crazy. And maybe I am, but I don't think so.
When
I got the script I was fully expecting the kind of saccharine,
popcorn that was Armageddon. I was shocked, to say the least.
Jerry and Michael are working from a script by Randall Wallace
(Braveheart) that is uncompromising, true to the accounts
of survivors and striving to be the definitive epic on the
day that "lived in infamy" and ultimitely proved to be the
definitive moment in the greatest conflict of the last century.
Rather than some jingoistic cowboy story about yee-haw Americans
getting "snuk-attacked" by cagy "Japs," this is a much more
complex story. It begins with a nation that, according to
a gallup poll, is 88% AGAINST getting involved in "the war
in Europe" (!!!) It is a place suffering mightily from the
hangover of a costly (in suffering) and senseless (in both
geo-political and humanistic terms) war where thousands
of American boys died in trenches in Europe. It is a place
where Henry Ford and Charles Lindburgh lead HUGE rallies
where the great applause line goes: "Hitler is our friend!!"
The "peace in our time" movement which advocated isolationism
in the face of the Axis powers invasions in Europe and Asia--an
unimaginable concept in retrospect, but one that had an
invincible political currency at the time. In fact, there
are many fascinating parallels to the post Vietnam era,
where the populace absolutely DID NOT want to send our young
men overseas EVER AGAIN.
In
the White House, a democratic President is running for his
fourth term and facing the fight of his life. His Republic
opponent, Willkie, is making great political hay by implying
that FDR wants to "Drag America to war." A fistfight breaks
out in the House of Representatives after a vociferous anti-wr,
anti-FDR speech--each congressman takes and suffers six
blows to the face. FDR publicly aknowledges that "The Axis
powers will give anything in the world to have me licked
the fifth of November!" and he barely squeaks by in the
election but only after repeatedly promising "your boys
are not going to be sent into any foriegn wars!"
An advisor to FDR, Mccollum, puts forth an internal memo
indicatating that they fully expected that "upon defeat
of England, the United States could expect an immediate
attack from Germany." Yet FDR simply did not have the support
of the populace to enter the war--just lending the British
a few ships had caused a political shitstorm on capital
hill and lead FDR to have to employ his famous "garden hose"
analogy in a "Fireside Chat" the thrust of which being "If
your neighbor's house is on fire, you lend him your hose..."
At
a terrible political crossroad, FDR was stuck. Until that
day in 1941, when a fleet of Japanese Battles ships, attack
fighters and a group of bombers led a shockingly brazen
assualt on the US Naval base at Pearl harbor, leaving 2403
Americans dead and 1178 wounded in less than an hour. The
Japanese lost less than two hundred men, and only one was
captured.
The movie will capture, using the most advanced special
effects, and reproduce the exact events of that terrible
day. if there is one thing I am certain of, it is that Michael's
emormous visual storytelling talents will bring the attack
sequence a sense of horrifying realism and terrible majesty.
The third act of the movie is also culled from true wartime
events in the pacific (and I don't want to give anything
away) but it is truly gripping and extremely well executed
in the script. the fictional love story that Mr. Wallace
crafted (a la Braveheart) is well done and entirely absent
false sentimentality. Suffice it to say that there is (I
believe) very good reason that Michael, Jerry, the rental
houses, and so many crewmembers and actors (including me)
have waived our "fees": we want to make a good movie--and
we want every nickel up on the screen to help tell the story.
Ultimitely, I've found, it's a lot more satisfying to make
a movie you can be proud of than it is to cash a big check.
This time, we're taking the route of the former. I hope
you'll like it. Memorial Day 2001."
[03.11.00]
Recently,
InLinefirst.com
asked Michael Bay About "Pearl Harbor," and surprisingly
about a sequel to "The Rock."
Michael
Bay Talks 'Pearl Harbor'
We
all know 'Pearl Harbor' is the highest-budgeted film of
all time. We may or may not know that it was originally
called 'Tennessee' before the film-makers decided to name
it directly after the event. But what can director Michael
Bay tell us about his ambitious project?
At
a public appearance supporting Buena Vista's 'Mission to
Mars,' Bay talked about 'Pearl Harbor.'
There's
a lot of work ahead," Bay said. "We've been researching
for the past year." Even though there is a lot of effort
being put into historical accuracy, Bay assured InLineFirst
readers that it will be a film about people.
"It's all character, and it's a very different movie than
I've ever done before. It's all history, but not everything's
based in fact."
'Mission to Mars' distributor Buena Vista will also finance
and distribute 'Pearl Harbor.' While we had Bay's attention,
we asked about the possibility of a sequel to 'The Rock.'
He simply replied, "Not for me."
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