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Spielberg and Hank's "Pacific"

post #1 of 39
4/10/07 at 6:39pm
Thread Starter 
I can't fucking wait for this series. Jungle battles, perhaps some naval action, japanese prison camps. It's going to be awsome.

They Could literally continue and make another series following the african campaign and perhaps one following the eastern campaign, following either a russian squadron or a german.

From Comingsoon.net:

"The Sun-Herald reports that HBO and DreamWorks' "The Pacific," to be produced by Steven Spielberg and Playtone partners Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, has set up shop in Melbourne and commenced casting.

The article states that the 10-part war miniseries will cost $150 million and employ 280 Australian actors, including almost 20 male least and at least 250 in supporting roles or extras.

From the creative team that brought you "Band of Brothers," the project is centered on the battles in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Writer Bruce McKenna, who penned several installments of the first miniseries, is the head writer.

The cameras are expected to start rolling in August for close to a year, with locations to include Far North Queensland, Melbourne and the Northern Territory. Producers have chosen to base the series at Melbourne's Central City Studios"
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post #2 of 39
4/10/07 at 6:44pm
HBO definitely needs something like this for the future. With "Sopranos" ending and "The Wire" heading into its last season they're going to need an event to get folks excited.
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post #3 of 39
4/10/07 at 7:02pm
Yeah, with Rome over and Deadwood bowing out, there's going to be a real dearth in quality dramas at HBO next year. I'd give Milch's new show at least half a season even if it was an hour of dead air, but the promos haven't really set my pants on fire.

Big Love is a pretty good show, but it's no substitute for the Sopranos.
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post #4 of 39
4/10/07 at 7:24pm
Even a show like "Curb," which I love, has been off for so long (even longer than almost all "Sopranos" breaks) that I don't find myself getting amped for its return.

"Big Love" is a show that I watched a few times, realize that it is good, but just wasn't compelled to stick with. I hope I don't have the same problem with Milch's new show which aside from the impressive cast and the fact that it involves surfing I don't know much about.
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post #5 of 39
4/10/07 at 7:48pm
It's a shame Michael Kamen has passed away because it's hard to imagine somebody else scoring this. His score for BoB was fantastic and (to me at least) is perfectly suited for the subject matter.

I'm looking forward to this.
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post #6 of 39
4/10/07 at 7:52pm
That's a good point about Kamen. I forgot he did that wonderful score.
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post #7 of 39
4/10/07 at 7:53pm
I'm ready for another Spielberg run on HBO. Looking forward to this greatly. I can't help but to stop and watch Band of Brothers whenever it is on. Great replay value... and great score, I agree.
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post #8 of 39
4/10/07 at 8:00pm
HBO should hopefully have "A Song of Ice and Fire", "Preacher", and "Pacific" out over the next few years. At that point, we can all rest easy knowing that they will have a fantastic new crop of programs whose production schedules can be drawn out ridiculously, or that can be cancelled abruptly.
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post #9 of 39
4/10/07 at 9:14pm
This is one of those projects that for some reason, I never really thought would happen. I'm ecstatic that it's going forward. Band of Brothers is the only TV series that I've purchased on DVD, and I've also loaned it out more than any other DVD in my collection. It's just fantastic.

I'd really like to see a change in the look of this, though. Saving Private Ryan & Band of Brothers looked really good with the muted color palette, but now it's almost cliche to have a WWII film shot with that look. Something maybe a bit more colorful (especially set in the Pacific) would help this to stand apart from the european look of BoB.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mattimus
It's a shame Michael Kamen has passed away because it's hard to imagine somebody else scoring this. His score for BoB was fantastic and (to me at least) is perfectly suited for the subject matter.
It's one of the best scores I've ever heard. Anytime I watch one of the episodes, I never fast forward through the credits. Since the Reaper has claimed him, I'd like to see Michael Giacchino take over. His music for the Medal of Honor & Call of Duty games was pretty good (from what I remember), and he seems to be good at doing some diverse music. I really like his stuff on Alias & Lost, his MI:III score was damn good, and I absolutely love his Incredibles score.

Give him a chance, Spielberg!
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post #10 of 39
4/10/07 at 9:23pm
The upcoming John Adams miniseries with Paul Giamatti looks damn good.
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post #11 of 39
4/10/07 at 9:27pm
I agree with your entire post Wayden. The muted look really gave the European campaign its own unique look at the time, but it has been done to death both in film and games. A lush, vibrant jungle setting would be amazing to look at and be a great backdrop to the horrors that occurred.

Giacchino is an excellent choice. I like his work on Medal of Honor and his Incredibles soundtrack is one of my favorites. i'd love to see him incorporate some Asian themes into the score.
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post #12 of 39
4/10/07 at 9:28pm

Fan-fucking-tastic

As mentioned above, it had been so long since any solid news on this had come along, that it was starting to look like it would dissapear into the creative ether...

Even if it's only half as good as BOB, then it will be well worth watching. As for the look, although I think the "Private Ryan" desaturated aesthetic has become cliche, it is horribly affective at evoking the desired mood. If they go that way, I won't be disapointed, but I suppose another way to go would be a little bit of the faux-3strip technicolor look used in THE AVIATOR...
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post #13 of 39
4/10/07 at 9:50pm
Thread Starter 
I agree with the color arguments. I don't think a desaturated colorscheme will work in favour of a jungle setting. we need that tropical look that we had in The Thin red Line.
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post #14 of 39
4/10/07 at 10:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratty
The upcoming John Adams miniseries with Paul Giamatti looks damn good.
Had no idea this was in the works until I saw it as part of a spot advertising their upcoming series and movies, and yeah, as a nut for Revolutionary history, I'm geeked for this. I was excited about the Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee adaptation until I saw that it seems to be focusing only on the Sioux and not on all the tribes the way the book did.

What's going on with the Southern Vampire series? Isn't that supposed to be coming too?
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post #15 of 39
4/10/07 at 10:59pm
"Band of Brothers" is the gold standard. I've been waiting for this for a long time, glad to hear it's on.
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post #16 of 39
4/10/07 at 11:22pm
Really psyched for this one as well. Count me in for wanting a Giacchino score as well. His work on Black was fantastic.
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post #17 of 39
4/10/07 at 11:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson
What's going on with the Southern Vampire series? Isn't that supposed to be coming too?
Pilot is shooting right now with Anna Paquin as Stackhouse; this and the Adams miniseries were covered in the recent THUD Coverage. Redundancy ho!
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post #18 of 39
4/11/07 at 1:03am
I read the T.H.U.D. Coverage, Rath. If nobody else, I read it dammit.
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post #19 of 39
4/11/07 at 2:10am
If I recall correctly, it was Spielberg and co. who gave Giacchino one of his first big breaks with the score for The Lost World video game, so hopefully he'll be in consideration. I also really liked Christopher Lennertz's work on Medal of Honor: Rising Sun, so he could be a good choice as well.
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post #20 of 39
4/11/07 at 4:32pm
I really like Band of Brothers, so I will look foward to this.

My real question is will Spielberg and Hanks do other series after this. I would love to see a movie about the Eastern Front, of a german POV on WWII, or a WWI series (that would be great).
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post #21 of 39
4/11/07 at 4:38pm
While I certainly wouldn't mind an on-going war series of Band's quality, something tells me they'll be done after this. The American experience in WWII is just way more marketable than any other graphic depiction of a war, and these are pretty mammoth undertakings to produce.
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post #22 of 39
4/11/07 at 4:43pm
Band of Brothers was really faithful to the book - I wonder if they've found another book to base this version on. I'd like to read the book before I see the series this time...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratty
The upcoming John Adams miniseries with Paul Giamatti looks damn good.
Out of curiosity, how was this book? I've been thinking about picking it up...
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post #23 of 39
4/11/07 at 5:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by lordelsey
I would love to see a movie about the Eastern Front, of a german POV on WWII, or a WWI series (that would be great).
There's a movie called Stalingrad that's really great, and underrated.

Tough to find, but it's worth it.
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post #24 of 39
4/11/07 at 5:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bitches Leave
They Could literally continue and make another series following the african campaign and perhaps one following the eastern campaign, following either a russian squadron or a german.
Stop it, you're making me salivate. North Africa always gets the shaft. I don't think there have been any truly great films to date.
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post #25 of 39
4/11/07 at 6:11pm
North Africa was one of my favorite parts of Call of Duty 2. Vast desert coupled with cramped villages. I would love to see some Desert Fox love from Spielberg and Co.
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post #26 of 39
4/11/07 at 6:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Wood
Stop it, you're making me salivate. North Africa always gets the shaft. I don't think there have been any truly great films to date.
Sahara, with Bogart (1943)? I don't know if it is "great", but it's certainly very good.
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post #27 of 39
4/11/07 at 6:18pm
Maybe they could adapt the "Vs." fad for war films. "Rommel Vs. Montgomery", etc.
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post #28 of 39
4/11/07 at 6:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Overlord
Sahara, with Bogart (1943)? I don't know if it is "great", but it's certainly very good.
Yes, Sahara is a good one. However that only shows one little corner of the conflict. I'm looking for a sweeping view of the major battles, such as Tobruk, El Alamein and the Kasserine Pass.

I had hoped The Big Red One might deliver, but the African scenes were very disappointing.
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post #29 of 39
4/11/07 at 7:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Wood
Yes, Sahara is a good one. However that only shows one little corner of the conflict. I'm looking for a sweeping view of the major battles, such as Tobruk, El Alamein and the Kasserine Pass.
I know Patton touches on these, but probably not to the level you're looking for.
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post #30 of 39
4/11/07 at 7:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson
I know Patton touches on these, but probably not to the level you're looking for.
You're right, there is a North African sequence, but I can't remember exactly what is shown. At any rate the major battles of the campaign were over by the time he assumed a major role.
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post #31 of 39
4/11/07 at 11:07pm
We're also getting the "homefront" perspective this fall with Ken Burns' latest opus "The War."
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post #32 of 39
4/12/07 at 9:33am
Speaking of the African Front, anybody else saw The Desert Rats, a 1950-ish British movie about the men in the title ?
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post #33 of 39
4/12/07 at 5:42pm
I have seen the Desert Rats, or maybe just the TV show of the same name.

A north Africian/Italian campain would be a good side piece to BoB. I would also like the WWI series. Maybe while their are some vets of the Confiict still alive.
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post #34 of 39
4/13/07 at 1:28am
I haven't seen The Desert Rats, but am eager to do so.

Quote:
Originally Posted by lordelsey
I have seen the Desert Rats, or maybe just the TV show of the same name.
You may be thinking of The Rat Patrol, which I used to love. Haven't seen it in forever though.
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post #35 of 39
8/21/07 at 11:21pm

Dale Dye's Pacific Journal

As of right now it's the only news from the set. It pleases me to no end that this thing is underway and only worldwide catastrophy could (or my own demise) could stop me seeing this now.

http://www.warriorsinc.com/cfblog/
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post #36 of 39
8/22/07 at 8:46pm
With Dale Dye on board at least the physical production will be accurate.
And I am excited at least part of it is based on Robert Leckie excellent memoir "Helmet For My Pillow" and Sledge's "With The Old Breed". Both very good personal memoirs of the Pacific War.
Seems pretty focused on the First Marine Division,though.
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post #37 of 39
8/22/07 at 8:57pm
Damn, this is the one show that will probably keep me from deleting HBO.
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post #38 of 39
8/22/07 at 9:22pm
That's been the central challenge of doing the THE PACIFIC, I think. Following EASY, BoB was able to give us a window on most of the central parts of the European campaign. I don't think there's a Pacific unit that they could tie the whole series to. But I think the Marines as a military corp were present at most of the major Pacific engagements. Besides the fact that they have two great Marine memoirs to base things on, and I think it was a sensible way to go. I remember hearing this time last year that the through-line to the series was going to be the USO.

No matter who they chose, they're excluding someone's experience.

I hope they DO continue to make these, even if they had to stick with the American perspective (which I assume they would), then there's still North Africa, Italy, or they could do series on a bomber crew (though done many times before), a fighter unit, a sub crew or even a battleship series. The possibilites to my mind are endless. Personally, I'd love to see them do one on the commando unit called THE DEVIL'S BRIGADE. That way we'd sneak some Canadians in there as well.
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post #39 of 39
1/15/09 at 2:00pm
At last, some footage.

http://www.pacificfans.com/forum/vie...1b34ce61#p1131

Or

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E81uWNfRHbs
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