Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer of Disney/Touchstone�s �Pearl Harbor� movie, is a front-line, hands-on, take-action guy with a mission: Create box office gold.

He�s done it previously with �Armageddon,� �Crimson Tide," �Enemy of the State,� �Con Air,� �Beverly Hills Cop,� �Top Gun� and �Flashdance.�

And he�s banking on doing it again with his latest effort, possibly the biggest challenge of his colorful career, now before the cameras on Oahu.

The $135 million �Pearl Harbor� pairs him up again with director Michael Bay, with whom he worked on �Armageddon.�

Two weeks into production, �Pearl Harbor� is getting heat from some quarters and has had to deal with the aftermath of a plane crash Monday that left one stunt pilot hospitalized.

Publications grumble

One source, quoted recently in the Hollywood Reporter, said the project �is like a battleship. It continues to be bombarded but keeps afloat.�

Bruckheimer�s closed-set policy and confidentiality clause have the media grumbling. The trade publications are reporting that unions are concerned that they�ll be the next ones asked to defer payments, that Bruckheimer is setting a dangerous precedent. And the idea of focusing the movie on a fictional love story troubles some WWII veterans, who think there�s enough of a story in the history they lived.

�We�re not making a documentary; it is a motion picture,� said Bruckheimer, breaking silence from his closed set on Ford Island. �Events happened. We put a love story in the center, so it�s fictionalized, but we�re doing our best to be historically accurate.

�But sometimes, you can�t keep everything accurate. Buildings are no longer there. We�re shooting planes and moving ships. But it�s been very emotional for us, being there. It�s a very sacred place, where a lot of men gave their lives, and where a lot (fought and) survived Pearl Harbor. We owe a debt of gratitude to all the military and civilians.�

Bay said the fictional love story serves to create an emotional attachment between the characters and the moviegoers, just as the Kate Winslet-Leonardo DiCaprio romance did in �Titanic.�

�Take away Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Take away every scene with them in it. What you�d have left is a sinking ship,� said Bay. �Would that excite you? If you�re not interested in (the characters) emotionally, it�s meaningless.�

And Bay argues that even historians have conflicting views about what actually happened at Pearl Harbor. The script he co-wrote with Randall Wallace stems primarily from survivor accounts.

�And I side with the survivors rather than the historians,� said Bay. �Everyone has their own stories. And every historian has their own stories. What I�m doing is taking the essence of the survivors, taking bits and pieces, and putting them into the movie."

�The color of the planes is not what the movie is about. Too many people are focusing on that. It�s about the essence of what happened at Pearl Harbor emotionally. These people (who are complaining about accuracy) haven�t read the script.�

Surrounded by the history and the memories of war, Bruckheimer said the environment at the real-life Pearl Harbor has been a factor in retelling the war story for future generations unfamiliar with it. But he also has to deliver a hard-ticket number for the studio.

�It�s a seminal event in American history,� said Bruckheimer. �And it has to be told to a younger generation that knows little about it.�

Everyday changes

The scope is huge, the logistics unwieldy, the production demands daunting. �Everyday has been a challenge,� he said. �There�s always something that doesn�t go as planned. We just make alterations.�

The bottom line: The crew is here to work as swiftly as possible, with the least amount of interference � which explains the secrecy, the lid on specific details of filming, the denial of access for the media, the gag order on those hired.

�It�s truly been a joy shooting here,� said director Bay. �The only difficulty so far has been the cloudy weather. It makes a little tough. But we�re still on schedule.�

And it�s a demanding one.

�I�ve been here (on the set) every day since principal photography started (April) 8th,� Bruckheimer said. �We�ll be here for 23 shooting days, leaving the first week in May.�

He and director Michael Bay are indebted to the Navy, the Department of Defense and all branches of the military for their guidance, support and blessing to do the project.

�Without them (the military), there�s no movie,� said Bruckheimer. �They�ve given us the ability to use their ships, their personnel, even providing a historian who is working with us. They�ve given us access throughout Pearl Harbor. Without the Navy, we just wouldn�t be here.�

The primary mission of filming on location at Pearl is to re-create the initial attack on the naval fleet by Japanese war planes.

Bruckheimer doesn�t want to talk about what kind of producer he is � �You have to ask others,� he said. �All I know is that it�s all about being effective. We�re out to entertain people, fill the seats, make a good movie. That�s what we�re trying to accomplish.�

If the movie goes over budget, the extra funding will have to come from Bruckheimer�s pocket. So he�s got a financial interest in efficiency.

Roles open

He said the movie title is firm, but plans for its premiere aren�t. Yes, Ben Affleck, Cuba Gooding Jr. and the other actors are immersed in work, but, no, Alec Baldwin isn�t here.

Yes, Diane Warren has been offered the duty of writing the love theme for the movie, but, no, it�s not completed yet (she has composed tunes for earlier Bruckheimer flicks, such as �Armageddon�).

No, casting is not yet complete; there still are a few other speaking roles to be filled, and, yes, at least 1,000 people are being employed here as extras, for war and crowd scenes (auditions for these are completed, however).

Yes, the USS Missouri has a starring role in the film, and, yes, it�s playing the role of the USS West Virginia, on which the Gooding character (Dorie Miller) shoots Japanese Zeros and becomes a wartime hero. And what�s the bottom line for producer Bruckheimer in making this, or any other movie?

�I love watching an audience watch a movie I make,� he said. �The real thrill is to see people laugh, cry, be entertained � you do it all for them. Hopefully, the viewers react in a positive way. I mean, in many other professions, you never see how people benefit or respond to what you create.�