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EXCLUSIVE: It’s almost considered a foregone conclusion that HBO’s The Pacific will sweep the Emmy Award categories for miniseries, due in no small part to the writing work of co-executive producer Bruce C. McKenna who scripted 7 of the 10 installments and is nominated along with Robert Schenkkan for penning the final episode. Now, HBO’s sister company Warner Bros is getting in on his WWII action. The studio has made a preemptive buy of The Battle of Midway, a McKenna pitch for a 3D film about the June 4-6, 1942, turning point of the war. I’m told the studio bought the pitch late last week, and that it is being fast tracked, with McKenna expected to turn in a script in 8 weeks for a film that will likely carry a price tag around $200 million.
I’m told Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road will be the producer of WB’s pic. The Battle of Midway took place six months after the demoralizing surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. When it was over, the supremacy of the Imperial Japanese Navy was lost along with 4 of its aircraft carriers and 1 heavy cruiser. The Japanese never recovered. The Pacific miniseries, which reportedly cost north of $200 million, has already won 7 Creative Arts Emmy Awards; it’s up for 24 total. The mini was exec produced by Steven Spielberg and Playtone’s Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, the same guys who were executive producers on Band of Brothers, for which McKenna wrote three episodes, was Emmy-nominated and won a Writers Guild Award. McKenna’s repped by CAA.
The Battle Of Midway has been captured before on film: in 1942, John Ford directed the Oscar-winner The Battle of Midway using actual battle footage shot by the Navy. There was also the 1976 film Midway starring Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn and Hal Holbrook. The latest deal comes at a time when Universal Pictures is moving forward with the Peter Berg-directed Battleship, another war film involving big boats with a big price tag. But the similarities end there. Berg reportedly will make his film 2D, and the officers on his ship will be shooting at aliens. Warner Bros’ plan will be a closer cousin to Pearl Harbor or Saving Private Ryan and the studio will take a step further by shooting it 3D.
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So over 3D! Please stop making good movies in this format. Hopefully this is just a fad that will end soon.
Once upon a time “talkies” were a fad and directors didn’t know what to do with them. Get used to it, real life is 3d and all it needs is for someone to separate himself from the 3d orthodoxy of today. Maybe this film will fail to bring anything new to the table but the day will come. It’s inevitable.
Nope, 3D remains a gimmick and the tool of non-creative minds.
Right. AVATAR closing in on $3 billion. Right.
You anti-3D people have degenerated into nothing but Internet trolls. I’ve never seen so many whiners over a completely *optional* viewing experience.
If you don’t want 3D, then don’t see it in 3D. You’re not being forced to endure it.
Get over yourselves.
Most 3D movies now do not offer the option to see it without 3D, unless you wait until it comes out on DVD.
Really? Name ONE.
Akiva Goldsman and Bruce McKenna both went to Wesleyan.
Don’t believe they knew each other then.
Yes, let’s hope it is MUCH MUCH MUCH closer to Saving Private Ryan vs. Pearl Harbor.
Dont want to just be a hater, but am I the one war movie buff who thought the pacific sort of sucked? Did you really know or cate about the characters? Band of Bros was so much Better!
Totally agree. Excellent production value and performances, but it got repetitive.
Agreed, but I wasn’t sure if it was just because the war in the Pacific seemed so dehumanizing even compared to the war in Europe. Obviously I was not there, but most of the stories told by people who were made it seem like an unending hell on earth, unlike the war in Europe which at least seemed to have some moments of hope and humanity. Under those circumstances, I could understand why the characters in a realistically told story about the Pacific would be almost impossible to relate to.
….the only weakness of “The Pacific” was the failure of many of it’s watchers to grasp that the basic story was taken from two specific books,with some material gleened from handfull of others.The story,as advertised,followed the experiences of three Marines,and also incorporated those of other Marines who also wrote of their experiences.Having read much of the material that was used to tell the story,I can only say that this effort by the producers,writers,cast and crew was nothing short of spectacular.Again,being familiar with the material,I am almost grateful that some of the material was “softened” for the screen.Believe it or not,many of the incidents depicted were,as described in the books,even more horrific than what was seen in the series.
I never expected the series to tell every significant event of the Pacific war,but was stunned at how well the series brought the story and experience of these men and women to a 21st century audience.Obviously the series worked for me,and I consider it some of the best filmaking I’ve ever seen.
No. Blaming the audience for not “getting it” is self-deception and a waste of time.
Quoting Billy Wilder (who knew a thing or two about this subject): “An audience is never wrong. An individual member of it may be an imbecile, but a thousand imbeciles together in the dark is … critical genius.” If, as you claim, “The Pacific” failed to reach its audience (the meaning of your “the failure of … it’s watchers to grasp that the basic story was taken from two specific books, with some material gleened from … others …”) that means it was under-written. That means the scripts were poorly structured. I suspected as much when I read that a single person wrote so many of its episodes himself — on an ensemble project. Ensembles need more voices and perspectives, not fewer, to sharpen their focus. One person lacks that capability — and it showed up in the edited-result.
I couldn’t agree more! The Pacific was meandering, I never knew who the story was about, and I knew as little about the people when it was over as I did at the beginning. I get it, there were a lot of explosions, and war is bad.
the difference between Band Of Brothers and The Pacific is Nazis made European war movies more interesting.
On films, the Japanese have not proven worthy enemies.
So Band Of Brothers had a head start because we all know the geography and some of the basic history.
The Japanese war is one big blur.
wow, Warner Brothers is so creative! Where on Earth did they come up with such an original idea. Way to go Robinov and Silverman. yOu guys are geniuses!!!
A 200 Million dollar movie based on the story of Midway? Look what happened at Midway was great and turned around the shape of the pacific war. But why would anyone want to fund a 200 million dollar movie based on this.
Seriously?
This movie has such amazing potential, and $200 Million is pocket change these days for epic movies.
Midway was both a psychological and strategic turning point. Think about this..the Torpedo bomber squadrons, riding to their certain deaths, unflinching as spartans. They bought time with their lives for the Dive bombers to find and kill the Japanese flleet. The Crypto people at Hypo who broke the codes and told the Navy where their enemy was. The fact that the Japanese finally understood they were facing Samauri who refused to quit,dashing forever that thwe Americans could not or would not fight . This was a battle fought on a huge scale, one that pitted free men against slave masters .. and free men prevailed.
If this succeeds, I hope to see Ploesti FINALLY done or the Marianas Turkey Shoot, or, perhaps the U.S. Navy’s finest hour, the Battle of Samar.
Damn, I’ll see this in a heartbeat.
Wish I was writing it.
While the news about this project is a welcome one, being touted from the people behind “Pacific” doesn’t thrill me. “Pacific” was a listless affair that didn’t come close to “Band Of Brothers” (the best episode was the Australia stopover one), and the writing played a part in that.
This is a real mixed bag.
I still remember sitting through the interminable Heston/Fonda/Holbroke “Midway” at Grauman’s Chinese (the-one-&-only) back in ’76 — last time I set foot in the place; “stultifying” about describes it. Leaving the theater, I felt embarrassed about spending $6 to see it. That release was part of the “Battle of the Bulge” wave (another dreadfully realized idea). The Suits of that era tended to march in lockstep (like lemmings over a cliff as often as not) just like today’s, so it doesn’t surprise me that “Flags of Our Fathers”/”Letters from Iwo Jima” would generate “The Pacific”, then this.
And this battle happened so long ago. It was already ancient history back in ’76. Given today’s audience demographics why would millions of tweens line up to see something that involved grandpa (or great grandpa) even in 3-D? Where’s the hook? The plot is known. How does one maintain suspense? Romance?
Yes, done right, 3-D provides loads of eye candy, but eye candy alone does not a picture make … .
Who is going to pay to see this extravaganza in 3-D? In Japan? The rest of Asia? Europe?
I understand 3-D’s problem: a dearth of stories worthy of its power. But is this concept the best that the Suits can come up with?
Count me as one who is fascinated by that war. As anyone with similar interests know this was a 3 theater war each unique from each other. The most, cough, “civilized” one seemed to be the one on the western front. The Pacific, if you will, was about the emergence of the first superpower. But the one with the greatest land battles and ferocity took place on the eastern front. Lots of great material there from Kursk to Stalingrad. Too bad Hollywood ignores this treasure trove of material.
MIDWAY (1976) was one of the biggest hits of the year. With an all star cast including Charlton Heston, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford,Toshiro Mifune Etc. it was a pretty solid WW2 drama (no doubt aided by Sensurround).
I remember there was an even longer cut that got aired on tv with more Japanese footage.
If it was a hit then it could be a hit again if the pyrotechnics are as gripping yet again, but alas I cant really think of any cast these days that could live up to the ’76 version.
Do the math. 1976 was 34 years ago. Assuming this project is released 18-months from now (breakneck-speed production) it will be 36 years ago. The 1976 “Midway” was part of a WW-2 commemorative wave that included “Tora! Tora! Tora!” and “Patton”. It stood in stark contrast to the anti-war/anti-Vietnam War wave, a genre that included “Mash” (set in the Korean War, but clearly speaking to the anti-military sentiments generated by the Vietnam/Nixon debacles) and “Apocalypse Now”. A great many WW-2 veterans (then, in late middle age) disapproved of these anti- genres and wanted to see a movie about a great American military victory. That audience paid to see it. But that audience is gone, as are their motivations.
Think “Titanic” — especially how nearly a million kids (13-17) world-wide paid to see Leo and Kate go down with the ship five, ten, fifteen, even twenty times (I saw it three times myself). What emotional element can you put into a movie about an obscure WW-2 naval battle (to 90% of today’s kids, that vital 13-17 year-old audience demographic that helped make “Titanic” such a hit) that will motivate them TO PAY to see “Midway/2012″ in an IMAX 3-D theater (at $15 a pop) again-&-again-&-again-&-again-&-again …?
” … go down with the ship … ” and each other.
McKenna tried to hammer through the brotherhood of the soldiers in The Pacific. If he accurately depicts the brotherhood of the sailors (which, in my opinion, is far closer than that of an army man), as well as the longing to be back home rather than spending months at sea, then he can emotionally connect with any audience.
This can be a 2.5 – 3 hour movie and not drag. It has strong potential.
I’ve been waiting for a good navy movie for years, and I really hope he doesn’t focus on the aviators (*coughPearl Harborcough*).
I shudder to think what those brave Americans who lost their lives in that battle would say about America today.
It’s unfortunate about The Pacific, which, while good, but pretty mediocre in the overall war genre. Sad that Generation Kill was pretty much ignored by the Emmys, while the VASTLY inferior Hurt Locker cleaned up at the Oscars.
Anyone else think it’s kind of wrong to 3D a war film? Especially one wherethe veterans are still alive? It’s kind of pathetic actually. Your exploiting a true story to maximize profits. I’m all for 3D but I draw the line at a 3D war film. Please stop this as it’s borderline disrespectfull. Imagine the outrage if Saving Private Ryan was in 3D? only in Fucking Hollywood
Totally agree. WWII may provide great narratives for film but to decide to “put people in the battle a la 3D” is to be delusional enough to think the ugliness and deadly destruction of war can be turned into “neat and cool”… only in Hollywood, indeed. The obvious publicity campaign is cringe-inducing… “We want people to experience war like never before…” Really?! Is that why most Warner Bros. suits would flee to Canada before serving?! (Alan Horn should take personal interest in this project. As a former Captain in the US Air Force, he’s the only person at the studio who may care enough to make sure it doesn’t suck). The ridiculous BATTLESHIP currently in production is the way to go if the creative-less studios want to do war in 3D, at least it’s not offensive.
And I hope the attention to detail is historically accurate, not more Hollywood spin. For anyone who bought into the PEARL HARBOR authenticity tales, check out images from that infamous day and you will see that several of the battleships were not even rendered correctly. This matters to history, survivors and ancestors of them… and reveals that even with hundreds of millions invested, Michael Bay’s team does what it wants, So EF you, historical accuracy!… oh, but we knew that.
The only good news about this announcement… Finally, a studio is investing in an event film that is not a comic book. Too bad it’s an idea that has SUNK written all over it.
“Wrong”? Only if it fails to attract a large-enough paying audience in all-media/all markets.
It all boils down to how the story is plotted and treated. 2-D? 3-D? Irrelevant.
Im so with you on 3D, hopefully it is just a fad, in most cases it makes films look cheesy and a mvoie based on The Battle of Midway should be far from “cheesy”
PEARL HARBOR II: REVENGE AT MIDWAY 3D!!!
Please don’t make it like Michael Bay’s “Pearl Harbor”. That film was bad.
It was bad, IN YOUR OPINION. I love Pearl Harbor, especially the Director’s Cut.
No more 3D please.
The only reason studios are flocking to this gimmick is that – for now – home theaters don’t yet compete with it on a large scale. But if flat panels, Blu-Rays, DVR’s and satellite/cable increase content (and if the technology improves), then the theaters are screwed again.
While we’re at it, let’s get rid of color, too. And surround sound. I just want a black and white picture coming from a single audio channel. That’s more than enough to tell the story of what’s going on.
News flash: 3D is *optional*. If you don’t like it, don’t go to see it. But don’t advocate taking it away from those of us who don’t irrationally hate it just because you don’t like it.
I hope its like Pearl harbor;serious war movies are so boring
“Lawrence of Arabia” and “The Sand Pebbles” aside, the best war movie ever made was “Mister Roberts”.
What a fucking idiot. Fight over there in Iraq (a pussy war compared to the war in the pacific) and tell me how boring it is.
I like the link between 1976′s Midway, which used Sensurround to connect the WWII genre (which had faded by ’75) to the then-hot disaster genre, and today’s now-apparently faddy use of 3D for The Battle of Midway. We’ll see, but it’s tough to beat that all-star cast of ’76′s version.
WAR WAR WAR… IS THAT ALL YOU AMERICANS CAN THINK OF?
No, we can think of mining on the Moon, launching a mission to the Red Planet, exploring the depths of The Abyss, etc. It’s you Europeans that can’t get war off your minds because that’s apparently all you ever complain about in regard to American cinematography.
Well, we think of firm boobies, long legs balanced on high heels..theres baseball, real football, cars with V-8s….and hotdogs too. So, yes we do think of other things form time to time then killing the enemy.
Yes.
Actually we’re pretty hooked on sex too – they go hand-in-hand you know.
The Battle of Midway demonstrated not only the courage of the American fighting man, but also his intelligence, resourcefulness, inventiveness, and loyalty. No wonder the stunted minds of today can’t see how it’d make a good movie.
So was Gettysburg (the battle) not “Gettysburg” the movie. The movie was a listless turkey. It only came to life (for me) briefly when many, many thousands of Civil War re-enactors formed Gen. Pickett’s line-of-battle shortly before his 15-minutes of fame began.
Remember “Titanic”‘s structure; what made it tick emotionally? At least 50% of it plotted an aboard-ship romance suddenly destroyed by a massive, epic catastrophe — framing it emotionally, bringing it down to a 1:1 level. That basic structure is what sold those millions of admission tickets. What shipboard romance do you propose to depict aboard the USS Yorktown?
“But it’s not about love”, you say. OK. Then what is it about?
And where — in all that fiery chaos — do I find the small tragedy that frames the far greater one, bringing it down to Earth?
You could try to focus it as a thriller, but without a love interest you’d end up grinding out a kind of naval grand-battle procedural — fascinating for naval historians, perhaps, all thirty five of them.
I watched all of fifteen minutes (Episode III, I think) of “The Pacific” before tuning it out — out of sheer boredom.
”Letters from Iwo Jima” was a great flic about the Japanese mind set at the time. There are a lot of Navy buffs, Historians and war movie fans out there if your not one stay home. If you are you will see it. LOTRs wasnt expected to do so good but there are alot of fans and people willing to try it guess what it was good and made money. If You want to understand things that made this country great and understand history go for it. So because its been many years dont do it, then why do ACW and ARW movies excell. Yeah just put out another crappy comidey movie or Reality show. So the endless groupie. of dumbness can watch.
Pyrotechnics? Nothing like three aircraft carriers going up in flames w/in five minutes of each other to produce some pyrotechnics.
John Ford’s “Battle of Midway” used footage SHOT BY HIMSELF.
He happened to be on the island the day it was attacked and grabbed his 16mm camera. From the footage he shot, Ford made the documentary, which won the Oscar for Best Documentary.
I hope the screenwriter & director of this project will incorporate this piece of history.
Chad, remember that after you denounce the talk of “war, war, war” you’re supposed to flounce your hoop skirt and refuse to go out with the Tarleton twins to the barbeque…
Miz Scarlett would want it that way!