aka_tom_w Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 Found this today and thought I would share it It is a page on the www but it seems to be a frame and I'm not sure how to post the address or the URL, as just the newspapers: http://www.nationalpost.com/ comes up its in todays Arts and Life but here is the article: August 14, 2000 Back to Hatfield Saving Private Ryan veterans Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg return to England for another assault on the Second World War David Gritten The Daily Telegraph 'Here we are again,'' says Tom Hanks, grinning bashfully from beneath his baseball cap. "Back in Hatfield, the place that has everything.'' Hanks' tongue is firmly in his cheek as he tells me this, of course. Few people rhapsodize about Hatfield, a humdrum town in Hertfordshire, England. But it has a huge, disused aerodrome that for filmmakers constitutes a dream backlot; on its 1,100 acres there's room to create several distinctly different sets. It was here that the beleaguered French village in the Oscar-winning Saving Private Ryan was created. Hanks starred in that film and Steven Spielberg directed it. And now, as Hanks says, they're back -- as executive producers of a project loosely linked to Saving Private Ryan but even bigger in scope. Band of Brothers is a 10-part drama series for U.S. cable channel HBO based on Stephen Ambrose's non-fiction best-seller about the Second World War. Starting in 1942, it follows the soldiers of Easy Company from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division through training in America and parachuting into France early on D-Day morning and climaxes with their daring capture of Hitler's fortified mountain chalet, the Eagle's Nest, at Berchtesgaden. Band of Brothers is an enormous undertaking, with a budget of US$100-million, a nine-month shooting schedule, a speaking cast of 500 and 10,000 extras. (The caterers serve as many as 800 meals a day.) Most of the action takes place at the Hatfield aerodrome. Its geography has been drastically rearranged to create man-made rivers, dikes (for scenes depicting Holland) and forests, as well as villages in Belgium and France and the American training camp. For Saving Private Ryan, only a small portion of the aerodrome was employed. Although producers Hanks (who does not appear in Band of Brothers but directs one of its episodes) and Spielberg are star names, the cast is comprised largely of unknowns; only David Schwimmer (Ross from Friends), who plays a tough training officer, counts as a high-profile actor. In a story exclusively about American soldiers, English actor Damien Lewis plays the lead role -- heroic Captain Richard Winters. Lewis is hardly a household name, which may be why filming in Hatfield has attracted scant British press attention. Yet Band of Brothers is a hugely significant production for Britain's film industry. Though made for TV, it is one of the largest projects ever to employ the services of British film crews and craftsmen. For such a production to be shot here is the equivalent of a British company winning a huge export order. The British government felt it was so crucial to land Band of Brothers that negotiations were monitored by Downing Street. "Tony Blair [the Prime Minister] spoke to Spielberg personally about the project,'' says Steve Norris, the British Film Commissioner. "They already knew each other. They first met when Blair was leader of the opposition and Spielberg was in Britain making Saving Private Ryan. It makes a lot of difference when people are made to understand they are welcome here.'' Such high-level persuasion was necessary, because the competition was fierce. Ireland and the Czech Republic were also bidding to be the location. Hanks discloses that last year he and Spielberg also mulled over shooting the series in North America. "But England has the materiel,'' Hanks adds. "You can't find Sherman tanks in the U.S.A. The American military brought this stuff over in the '40s and didn't bother taking it back. So you have the vehicles, and that's no small thing. You have great craft services here. We've recreated Holland, Georgia, the Ardennes forest in Hatfield. And compared with the U.S. or Canada, it's convenient: Everyone lives within half an hour's drive.'' The British Ministry of Defence played its part. At Hatfield, I find retired U.S. Marine Captain Dale Dye. He now runs Warriors Inc., a company that has helped actors in 44 films (including Saving Private Ryan and Platoon) to look and behave like authentic military men. For Band of Brothers, Dye had 60 actors to lick into shape, the most he has been assigned for one film. "The co-operation has been wonderful,'' says Dye. "The Ministry of Defence was kind enough to give us two solid weeks to train these guys. They turned over a camp at Longmoor, which is an active duty training base, with six acres of woods, hills and barracks. I got everything I wanted. And we had a week at RAF Brize Norton, where there's a parachute school. We did a massive amount of training there -- para landing falls, the works. It's really paid dividends for us.'' Spielberg, who admires British film technicians and likes shooting here, wanted to make Saving Private Ryan wholly in the UK, but the Irish government persuaded him to shoot the film's gruelling D-Day landing scenes on beaches in County Wexford, and provided reserve soldiers as extras. For Braveheart, which was shot partly in Scotland, the Irish provided incentives for Mel Gibson and his cast and crew to shoot their big showpiece battle scenes in the Emerald Isle. Both times, John Major's government seemed to be caught on the hop. "We were disappointed that it happened,'' says Norris, who himself was once a film producer. "But back then you just couldn't galvanize the government. I have to say, this government is much more interested and sensitive. There's been a sea-change in the thinking. "For Band of Brothers, the Irish offered a set close to Dublin. We felt we had to compete. The Hatfield site was ready to be redeveloped, so the developers were asked to hold off until filming was done.'' In addition to this new competitive attitude, the Blair government has done something that eluded its predecessors -- it recently managed to arrive at a new British Film Definition to establish whether a film production is "British'' enough to qualify for tax concessions. "There's a simple rule,'' says Norris. "You have to spend 70% of your production budget here. And 70% of your labour has to be from Britain or the EC. If you want access to British taxpayers' money, that's what you do.'' Band of Brothers may look all-American, but will qualify under the British Film Definition. It has several American actors in speaking roles, but as they are unknown, they are also cheap. Hanks and Spielberg receive producers' fees, with a profit share from international broadcast sales. "The nice thing about the Definition is it encourages producers to stick around after their film is shot, and do editing and post-production in Britain,'' says Norris. "If a film qualifies as British, the tax breaks probably cut seven or 8% off its budget.'' The British Film Commission also takes the view that the money from big Hollywood movies not only keeps our film workers in business, but enables the industry to bring on younger people and enhance their skills. Then there is the tourism factor: It is widely believed that in 1996, the year after Braveheart and Rob Roy opened worldwide, the number of foreign visitors to Scotland increased by 20%. "There's nothing like being able to present visions of your country on a big screen,'' says Norris. Britain's major film studios are currently busy, busy, busy with large-scale Hollywood productions. Disney's 102 Dalmatians has just wrapped at Shepperton; Tomb Raider, with Angelina Jolie as computer-game heroine Lara Croft, has started shooting on the famous 007 sound stage at Pinewood; The Mummy Returns, set in Victorian London, has begun at Shepperton. And the long-awaited Harry Potter film from Warner Bros. should start rolling at Leavesden in October. Any or all of these films might qualify as British under the new definition; at the very least their producers will have targets and quotas to aim for if they want tax breaks. That would mean a substantial boost to the British economy, after years of seeing film opportunities go abroad. When New Labour came to power it was quickly and understandably derided for its slavish emphasis on "Cool Britannia'' and a starry-eyed adulation of showbiz values. Yet it has arrived at a pragmatic approach to making foreign film production in Britain work for everyone's benefit. We have an intangible advantage, of course. Back on set in Hatfield, Hanks is grinning his boyish grin: "You know what I love about it here? You can shoot all day and be back in London for dinner.'' He shakes his head: "Britain really is the coolest place to make movies.'' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendellM Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 Nifty! Thanks for sharing. Hopefully the British won't have any hard feelings about the ahistorical "U-571" movie. I'd hate to see Eisenhower state with an English accent, "Patton, old boy, you simply don't have what it takes. Why not let Monty take a crack at breaking the German line, hmm?" More seriously, it's good to see Anglo-American cooperation used to recreate such important history for a modern audience. Wendell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spook Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 Thanks for the info, Tom. This project has been "buzzed about" for some time, but the article you've provided puts some more meat on the matter. I also had the erroneous assumption from earlier gossip that Hanks would be in a star role for this movie series. I'm glad to read that he has enough style to support in the background this time as a director instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 /me feignts Where'd I put that number for HBO again ------------------ The names Ash, Housewares [This message has been edited by Ash (edited 08-14-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purple4Ever Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 Yes - this looks pretty cool. I saw a "Quick Look" on HBO (ten minute preview). They are actually building scale JagdPanthers for the movie - made out of sheet metal(or really thin plate), of course! Once they're all painted-up - should look like the real thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcents Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 Excellent...I am a huge fan of Ambrose and Band of Brothers was the first book of his that I bought..from then on I was hooked. BoB was a quick read..easily consumed in a couple of days. I also suggest Pegasus Bridge for a good kill-some-time-at-the-airport book. DDay is excellent and all proceeds go towards the DDay museum in New Orleans. If you haven't read any of Ambrose's books, get on it and plunk down some bucks (or pounds, or francs, etc.) ------------------ The only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without them. - Churchill [This message has been edited by vcents (edited 08-14-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 Here's the full link to the article: http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?f=/stories/20000814/369485.html ------------------ Ow, my leg! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maastrictian Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 vcents's sig: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> The only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without them. - Churchill <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'd rather fight allies than be one of them -Napoleon --Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ntg84 Posted August 14, 2000 Share Posted August 14, 2000 They also have a Lynx they are making, but you can tell that the running gear is not of a PzII Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Devils Posted August 15, 2000 Share Posted August 15, 2000 Cool article. Thanks for posting. I saw the preview on HBO. It looks pretty good. This book is a great story. These guys were in on D-Day, Market-Garden (they were stuck in the dykes for weeks after Market failed). They were also in the thick of things at Bastogne and as mentioned earlier, they were the ones to occupy Hitler's Eagles Nest. Good reading all around. Should make a very exciting series! Go get HBO! ------------------ I'm sorry, we haven't the facilities to take all of you prisoner. Was there anything else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subvet Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Here is the HBO website for this: Click here to see it It starts next month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMC Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 I watched the 30-minute "making of" on Friday. It was pretty cool. They're actually making a Panzer III from an old Brit APC - lengthening the chassis to add a sixth road wheel and moving the engine to the back. Looks very promising. Does anybody know how they're going to run the series? One a week, one a day for 10 days straight? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. Brian Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Ambrose wrote the book, Band Of Brothers. I just started it … and it seems good, along the lines his Pegasus Bridge. I'm sure there are more historical inaccuracies, but on the whole, it is another good read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pvt. Ryan Posted August 14, 2001 Share Posted August 14, 2001 Time warp alert!!! This thread was started exactly one year ago. Go to the HBO website for tons more info on the miniseries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted August 15, 2001 Author Share Posted August 15, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Pvt. Ryan: Time warp alert!!! This thread was started exactly one year ago. Go to the HBO website for tons more info on the miniseries.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Feels like the Twilight Zone! Anyway, I was wondering what this old post with my name on it was doing so close to the top of the list. So its just a reminder of a one year anniversay ok. -tom w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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