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07-05-08, 07:51 AM
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Television: HBO Shoots to 'Kill'
'Wire' creator David Simon takes aim at the Iraq war with his new HBO series
By ROBERT J. HUGHES
July 5, 2008; Page W2
Practically every movie about the Iraq war has flopped at the box office, and several programs about the conflict have fizzled on television. But HBO feels that because "Generation Kill," its new miniseries about the war, doesn't take sides about the conflict, the show has a fighting chance to succeed.
"This is about what a portion of the war did to these Marines," says executive producer David Simon, best known for his HBO show "The Wire." "The idea of grafting what we feel about the war one way or another was not our place."
Mr. Simon and his writing and producing partner, Ed Burns, adapted journalist Evan Wright's 2005 nonfiction book about the war. "War movies have done poorly because Hollywood can't resist the temptation to lecture," says Mr. Wright, who wrote or contributed to several of the scripts. "We did a story about the first weeks of the war, and we made it for the guys in the platoon."
Mr. Wright was embedded with the First Reconnaissance Battalion in the early days of the 2003 invasion of Iraq as the Marines traveled from their base in Kuwait to Baghdad. To provide an arc for the series, the creators relied on the concept of a road trip, concentrating on the people in the lead Humvee, who include team leader Brad "Iceman" Colbert (Alexander Skarsgard), driver Josh Ray Person (James Ransome), LCpl. James Trombley (Billy Lush) and reporter Wright (Lee Tergesen).
The series shows the point of view of the men on the ground, their humor, their eagerness for battle, the endless waiting for troop movement, and actual combat. In the second episode, the troop has a violent skirmish where Trombley kills a combatant. But as in Mr. Wright's book, the focus is the relationship among the men of the elite Marine division as the realities of war set in.
During filming Mr. Simon and Mr. Burns would occasionally hear about some concern from HBO over how poorly an Iraq-themed movie would do. "But it never seemed to kill this project," Mr. Simon says. The only pressure, he says, came with budgeting. HBO had the producers cut the series to seven from eight episodes, Mr. Simon says. The total budget was $50 million to $60 million, he says. Filming took place over seven months in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique.
The series debuts July 13 at 9 p.m. EDT. HBO is airing a making-of documentary several times in the days leading up to the premiere. It features military consultant Eric Kocher, a former sergeant with the First Reconnaissance Battalion, who served as an adviser during the filming of the series.
Mr. Kocher ran a boot camp for the actors before the shooting and was on the set during filming, making sure that the actors carried their equipment and wore their uniforms properly and that the military vehicles looked correct. "Marines are all about details," Mr. Kocher says, "and so many movies get it wrong."
Write to Robert J. Hughes at bob.hughes@wsj.com
HBO
From left, John Huertas, Alexander Skarsgard, Lee Tergesen in "Generation Kill"
Ellie
Find television listings for Generation Kill at LocateTV.
http://www.locatetv.com/tv/generation-kill/5390174
Television: HBO Shoots to 'Kill'
'Wire' creator David Simon takes aim at the Iraq war with his new HBO series
By ROBERT J. HUGHES
July 5, 2008; Page W2
Practically every movie about the Iraq war has flopped at the box office, and several programs about the conflict have fizzled on television. But HBO feels that because "Generation Kill," its new miniseries about the war, doesn't take sides about the conflict, the show has a fighting chance to succeed.
"This is about what a portion of the war did to these Marines," says executive producer David Simon, best known for his HBO show "The Wire." "The idea of grafting what we feel about the war one way or another was not our place."
Mr. Simon and his writing and producing partner, Ed Burns, adapted journalist Evan Wright's 2005 nonfiction book about the war. "War movies have done poorly because Hollywood can't resist the temptation to lecture," says Mr. Wright, who wrote or contributed to several of the scripts. "We did a story about the first weeks of the war, and we made it for the guys in the platoon."
Mr. Wright was embedded with the First Reconnaissance Battalion in the early days of the 2003 invasion of Iraq as the Marines traveled from their base in Kuwait to Baghdad. To provide an arc for the series, the creators relied on the concept of a road trip, concentrating on the people in the lead Humvee, who include team leader Brad "Iceman" Colbert (Alexander Skarsgard), driver Josh Ray Person (James Ransome), LCpl. James Trombley (Billy Lush) and reporter Wright (Lee Tergesen).
The series shows the point of view of the men on the ground, their humor, their eagerness for battle, the endless waiting for troop movement, and actual combat. In the second episode, the troop has a violent skirmish where Trombley kills a combatant. But as in Mr. Wright's book, the focus is the relationship among the men of the elite Marine division as the realities of war set in.
During filming Mr. Simon and Mr. Burns would occasionally hear about some concern from HBO over how poorly an Iraq-themed movie would do. "But it never seemed to kill this project," Mr. Simon says. The only pressure, he says, came with budgeting. HBO had the producers cut the series to seven from eight episodes, Mr. Simon says. The total budget was $50 million to $60 million, he says. Filming took place over seven months in South Africa, Namibia and Mozambique.
The series debuts July 13 at 9 p.m. EDT. HBO is airing a making-of documentary several times in the days leading up to the premiere. It features military consultant Eric Kocher, a former sergeant with the First Reconnaissance Battalion, who served as an adviser during the filming of the series.
Mr. Kocher ran a boot camp for the actors before the shooting and was on the set during filming, making sure that the actors carried their equipment and wore their uniforms properly and that the military vehicles looked correct. "Marines are all about details," Mr. Kocher says, "and so many movies get it wrong."
Write to Robert J. Hughes at bob.hughes@wsj.com
HBO
From left, John Huertas, Alexander Skarsgard, Lee Tergesen in "Generation Kill"
Ellie
Find television listings for Generation Kill at LocateTV.
http://www.locatetv.com/tv/generation-kill/5390174