Cinco de Mayo and Tony Cimo

For those of you of Mexican heritage, I would like to wish you a "Feliz Cinco de Mayo!"

For those of you living in Atlanta, WATL will broadcast this Saturday afternoon "Vengance: The Story of Tony Cimo." So what's the big deal? I've been bombarded with emails asking me if Michael acts in this movie as a sled agent. Go figure. The Internet Movie DataBase (IMDB) list him as part of the cast for this 1986 movie. I have official word that tells me that it is not the Michael Bay we know. Who the hell gave this info? Can anyone delete that info at the IMDB?

Anyway, if someone gets to record this, please send me a copy (email me at nelson@michaelbay.com if you want my mailing address). I wanna see who this sled agent is...

Pearl Harbor filming in LA and casting news

Little tidbit of news today. For those of you living in the LA area, you might want to see Michael shooting a little bit of "Pearl Harbor" in LA on May 15 from 7pm-7am. Email me at nelson@michaelbay.com if you're interested in the address.

In casting news: Colm Feore (The Insider, Storm of the Century), Catherine Kellner (Six Degrees of Separation) and Jennifer Garner (Felicity) are the most recent additions to "Pearl Harbor."

Pearl Harbor casting

Interested in being an extra in Michael's "Pearl Harbor?" Click here to get the info.

Nike Alpha Project ads

Click here to view one of Michael's Nike Alpha Project commercials titled "Court Elves|Johnnny the Angry Android|Goat Boy."You must have Quicktime 4.0. Note: this is one of Michael's strangest commercials by far. It has that creepy "Fellini-esque" look and feel to it. I've always said it again and again: Michael can make pretty dark and edgy stuff. I just hope he directs the "Gory Details." Below is the list of the three commercials he made for the Alpha Project campaign.

"Court Elves|Johnnny the Angry Android|Goat Boy" (Propaganda Films 1999)

"Johnny the Angry Android" (Propaganda Films 1999)

"Snowdome" (Propaganda Films 1999)

Bad Boys, Bad Boys, whatcha gonna do?

I've been informed that there will be a Special Edition DVD for Michael Bay's first film "Bad Boys." It will be released on June 27, 2000. It will include the following special features:

• Commentary by director Michael Bay
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• "Making the Boom & Bang in Bad Boys" Documentary
• "Damage Control" featurette uses angles feature to analyze special effects explosions
• Music Videos: "Shy Guy" by Diana King, "So Many Ways" by Warren G, "Five O Five O" by 69 Boyz
• Isolated music score
• Production notes
• Widescreen anamorphic format

To preorder it for $17.97, CLICK here.

Some of you have asked me where you can get the Criterion Editions for "The Rock" and "Armageddon." Here is the info:

"The Rock"

The Criterion Edition for this 1986 Blockbuster is out of print. It was only printed on Laserdisc. It list for about US$125, but you can get it at Ken Cranes for about US$40 by calling toll free at (800) 624-3078. It has a lot of special features including: deleted scenes, Michael Bay' s commentary, Michael's "Got Milk?" commercial, etc. It comes on 3 discs. Will there be a DVD version? I highly doubted.

"Armageddon"

The Criterion Edition for 1998's Armageddon is available on DVD at amazon.com. The Laserdisc version is out of print. Collectors and movie buffs have gotten it for $100. But you can get it at the Laser Exchange for $85 (prices may vary). Call them at (978)774-1004 and ask for stock# CC1548l. There are only about 500 prints left.

Pearl Harbor article

The Honolulu Advertiser has an article mainly about Jerry Bruckheimer (co-producer) and snippets from Michael Bay. Click here to read it. Among Michael's quotes: "...I side with the survivors rather than the historians. Everyone has their own stories... And every historian has their own stories. What Iâm doing is taking the essence of the survivors, taking bits and pieces, and putting them into the movie."

Pearl Harbor crash video

Many of you have e-mailed me requesting that I put on the video taken by an amateur photographer shown on ET (Entertainment Tonight) of the airplane crash. I have not seen the video and have no intentions of doing so. I will tell you the following without adopting a "holier-than-thou" attitude:

"The Michael Bay Site will not post footage or links to this video. Personally I do believe that it is ethically wrong to show the moments of someone else's agony and despair. "

Again, this is my personal choice and belief. I am not condemning anyone who has seen it or post it on their site. I am just giving you the reason why I won't.

*********

Regarding yesterday's plane accident in which, thank God, no one died, Bayfilms VP Jennifer Klein says Michael told her that the pilot suffered scrapes and a broken ring finger, not the broken wrist and face lacerations that have been reported by various websites and media organizations. The pilot is currently stationed at Tripler Army Medical Center in stable condition.

Hope it clears the air. Thanks to Nick Medrano at the Pearl Harbor site for the info.

Pearl Haror explosions video

Click here to view the Quicktime movie of the explosions that took place last week in Pearl harbor (1.4Mbs).

Pearl Harbor articles

Click here to read an article that appeared in the Star-Bulletin. Click here to read an article entitled "Reality, fiction clash in “Pearl Harbor’s script " that appeared in the Honolulu Advertisier.

Bay gets 'Gory' at Touchstone

Listen up. Got this from the HollywoodReporter.

Bay gets 'Gory' at Touchstone
By Zorianna Kit

Touchstone Pictures has paid a low six-figure sum for "The Gory Details," an idea that Topper Lilien and Carroll Cartwright will write for filmmaker Michael Bay to produce and possibly direct.

"Gory" focuses on people who are in the business of crime cleaning -- sweeping up the bloody mess left at a murder scene.

Bay Films vp Jennifer Klein brought the idea to Bay and will co-produce. Buena Vista Motion Picture Group's co-presidents Todd Garner and Nina Jacobson along with senior production vp Mark Varhadian will oversee "Gory" for the studio.

Lilien and Cartwright, repped by the Gersh Agency's Frank Wuliger, co-wrote the upcoming USA Films' "Where the Money Is" starring Paul Newman and Linda Fiorentino. The duo also wrote "Dungeons & Dragons," a live-action version of the popular role-playing game for Sweetpea Entertainment, Silver Pictures and J & M Entertainment, which Warner Bros. will distribute domestically.

Pearl Harbor stuff

The staff of Starbulletin.com presents this special video essay by Star-Bulletin Chief Photographer Dean Sensui. Click on the below links to view the movie in Quicktime or Realaudio format.

Quicktime (1.1 Mbs)

RealAudio (900k)

Pearl Harbor web cam screenshot

Here is a webcam shot of planes (P-40s ?) flying over Ford Island. Click on the image to view a bigger version of it.

Pearl Harbor set to start filming

Tomorrow is the first of principal photography. So those of you that live in Hawaii (you know who you are), get ready to take pictures like crazy. An e-mail them to nelson@michaelbay.com.

Word has it director-producer Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer have tapped the writing duo Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais to do a dialogue polish on some of the scenes involving military exchanges.

The original script was penned by Randall Wallace (Braveheart).

Clement and La Frenais did some uncredited rewriting on Bay’s “The Rock” as well. They also wrote such films as “The Commitments” and 1979’s “The Prisoner of Zenda.”

And the DP of Pearl Harbor is...

Much of you have asked who is going to be Michael's DP (director of photography). Well, for the 3rd time in a row it will be no other than John Schwartzman ASC. One of this site's readers sent me a tip confirming, and giving some interesting info. Thanks Sean.

" I was at Panavision Woodland Hills on Monday, March 13 for a workshop and our class was interrupted twice because the camera assistant (just in case you don't know - he's the guy who checks out all the cameras, does tests, i.e. pre-production camera grunt work... then pulls the focus for the "A" camera on set, among other things) was in a rush to test the anamorphic lenses that they were planning to use for Pearl Harbor. He needed to screen his test shots from Friday and needed to do them immediately because he was concerned about some sort of "bending" on the edges of the picture. We were in the only screening room in the entire building so we were privy to the screening. He then came in a second time when we were at lunch to watch footage which was shot in front of Panavision which was mostly handheld photography involving a guy in full sailor (light brown) uniform and just some other guy in shorts and a white shirt. They were doing swish pans and running with the camera handheld. Apparently the sky matched the faces or the costumes too much (there wasn't enough contrast, I guess)... soooo... they brought in the head honcho - John Schwartzman to review the test shots...Schwartzman is definitely on board."

Pearl Harbor casting info

Leland Orser (Wonderland, The Bone Collector) is the latest addition to the growing cast of Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer's Pearl Harbor project. According to Variety, Orser will take on the role of Major Jackson, a wounded intelligence officer who works with Kate Beckinsale's Navy nurse character, Evelyn.

Pearl Harbor

The Navy is backing "Pearl Harbor" 100%. Got a copy of the Navy News Service. You can read it by clicking here.
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The Honolulu Advertiser reports the following about yesterday's ceremony at the Pearl Harbor/Arizona Memorial:

Pearl Harbor' movie drops anchor here; New generation to learn about WWII from film

By Wayne Harada and Catherine E. Toth Advertiser Staff Writers

Disney filmmakers pledged yesterday to bring the story of "Pearl Harbor ÷ which starts production here tomorrow ÷ to a new generation of movie-goers, while honoring those who died in World War II.

On the site of the Dec. 7, 1941 attack by the Japanese, the film's producer, director and stars, along with military officials, paid their respects with traditional pomp ÷ floral offerings, the playing of "Taps, and a flyover by four P-40 Warhawks.

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer said, "It (the war) changed the way we thought. I felt this film was seminal in my career ÷ to get this done and done correctly.

Richard Cook, chairman of the Walt Disney Motion Picture Group, said "Pearl Harbor likely will be "the most anticipated movie in the industry next year.

Gov. Ben Cayetano said the state is cooperating fully with Disney.

"I think what's most important is that this film gives Disney an opportunity to do something great ÷ for our country, Cayetano said. He also said the film "can help us educate those generations and the generations to come about the lessons of war.

Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said the Department of Defense also endorses the project, calling it "a wonderful effort.

Director Michael Bay said the epic drama, focusing on two fighter pilots and a Navy nurse, "is a true love story · a love triangle.

In said story, Tennessee crop dusters Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck) and Danny Walker (Josh Hartnett) become Army Air Corps pilots. Rafe volunteers for the American Eagle Squadron during World War II in England, leaving behind his best friend and new love, Navy nurse Evelyn Johnson (Kate Beckinsale). Danny and Evelyn are then stationed at Pearl Harbor. After Rafe is reported killed, the two fall in love.

The key players have agreed to defer salaries, banking instead on box office success.

"(We've) really taken no money because I think we really like the script, the story seemed important, and it seemed like the right thing to do, said Affleck, the frequent indie star known for taking roles over money. "You want all the money to be up there to make a movie we can all be proud of. It's more satisfying for me to be in a movie that means something than for the cash up-front.

The film's preproduction budget of $135 million means that most of the money will be spent on production costs to ensure an accurate depiction of the war, according to Cook. A hefty chunk of the budget will support special effects created by Industrial Light and Magic.

According to Bay, the film will boast 180 true digital effects, with historical battle scenes to be recreated at the Baja, Mexico, tank where many of "Titanic's sinking scenes were filmed.

Some air attacks will be digitally produced, but extensive filming also will be done on inactive ships at Pearl, meaning war-like smoke, fire, and noise during production.

The attack on Pearl Harbor will involve the largest effects, said Bay.

"Michael wouldn't commit 'til he felt we could really represent the attack as authentically as possible, Bruckheimer said.

To ensure authenticity, the filmmakers have conducted research, consulted Pearl Harbor survivors, and even involved the Japanese in script reviews.

"We're trying to be as accurate as we can, in the context of motion pictures, Bruckheimer said.

"I have read it, and it's an excellent script, said Ralph Lindenmeyer, who was stationed at Pearl Harbor during the attack. "I knew what happened. I could see the chaos. I tried to impress the movie producers of that angle.

Some characters were assembled from fragments of history. The two friends are based on two pilot buddies, Welsh and Taylor, who shot down six Zeroes. Beckinsale's character is a composite of real-life nurses.

Cuba Gooding Jr.'s character, however, was derived from the history books. He plays Dorie Miller, a mess attendant on the USS Virginia who becomes a hero after the attack. Miller was the first African American to receive the Navy Cross.

Affleck and Hartnett were sent to a four-day boot camp with the U.S. Army Rangers. "We thought it was going to be an actor-y kind of boot camp, where they teach you to salute, Affleck said, laughing. "It wasn't quite that. It was more like the first 20 minutes of ÎFull Metal Jacket' but it was extraordinary.

"I think it was helpful to us, and the movie, for us to play our roles, he said. "It's much more helpful to me in my life and as a person. I don't think I scrubbed a urinal in my entire life.

"It was a really huge character-building experience, Hartnett said. "I'm positive I'll never forget it.

Pearl Harbor update

We have a lot of updates today.

This site got mention on the Corpus Christi Caller!!! The article was regarding Michael's 2nd visit to Corpus Christi. It says:

"...website dedicated to the director says Hollywood heavyweights Ben Affleck and Cuba Gooding Jr. will appear in the movie, and that Gene Hackman is negotiating."

Not bad eh?
. . .

It is windy and raining at the Pearl Harbor Arizona Memorial. And it will be like that for most of the week. Hope it starts clearing up before the cameras roll on Saturday, April 8th. Also, You can see a live webcam shot of the Pearl Harbor memorial by clicking here.
. . .

Also, got these two articles which talk about this weeks coming events

'Pearl Harbor' filming starts with visit to USS Arizona
By Tim Ryan


Filming on what is expected to be the biggest movie ever on Oahu in terms of budget, amount spent and number of filming days may begin as early as tomorrow.

The $135 million epic "Pearl Harbor" is expected to continue for some 30 production days with local spending, according to some estimates, of between $10 million and $20 million.

The production has brought in a large special-effects team, period airplanes, military vehicles and costumes.

"This picture is a grand slam home run economically, historically and promotionally," said Walea Constantinau, Honolulu city and county film liaison. "It's so important historically so that the younger generation can understand this event; a big budget film brings so much to this economy; and it gives us a chance to promote Hawaii."

A wreath-laying ceremony at the USS Arizona Memorial tomorrow will mark the beginning of filming here for the movie. Several of the actors, studio executives, Admiral Thomas Boulton Fargo, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Gov. Ben Cayetano are expected to attend.

The World War II epic stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ben Affleck, Tom Sizemore, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, Guy Torry, James King, Ewan Bremner, William Lee Scott and Matt Davis. It is being directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, who are known for the blockbusters "Armageddon" and "The Rock."

Randall Wallace's "Pearl Harbor" tells the story of two Navy pilots and best friends (Affleck and Hartnett) who fall in love with the same Army nurse (Beckinsale). Gooding plays a 3rd Class mess attendant who served on the USS West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Scott and Davis play the fighter pilots who work alongside Affleck and Hartnett.

Most of the "Pearl Harbor" filming in Hawaii will be done on military bases, especially at Ford Island. Some filming is expected on the deck of the USS Missouri.

About 15 World War II vintage aircraft -- collected from museums and private collectors -- are being stored on Ford Island after being shipped to Hawaii from San Diego.

According to sources, there are "piles and piles" of U.S. Army WWII gear on Ford Island, including tents, and along the shoreline are sand bags, large searchlights and machine guns.

Set construction will be simple, a source said. Instead of building full sets, the crew will at times build only what's needed for a shot.

The studio will take an equally conservative approach to battle re-creations. One scene might require 20 ships, 12-15 camera positions and nine Air Force planes; then Disney plans to digitally add in numerous more ships and planes.

Al Burnes, business agent of IATSE, Local 665, which provides the technicians for film, television and stage productions in Hawaii, said 54 technicians are working on the film, with another 10 to begin after filming starts. The production brought in about 200 crew and department heads from Los Angeles, he said. "I don't like that, but I understand it," Burnes said.

"This is the production's first location and they have at least another three, so they need these deparment heads at every place for continuity."

About 20 IATSE members, including carpenters, painters, and electricians, started working for the production in February.

Some members said they signed confidentiality agreements as part of their contract to work on the film.

"Pearl Harbor" will film six days a week, with Fridays off. Filming is expected through the first week in May, when the project moves to Texas and Los Angeles.

The film is expected to reach theaters in summer 2001.
. . . .

Pearl Harbor ... according to Hollywood
By Wayne Harada

Hollywood's lingering fascination with war, and, especially, World War II, starts up all over again this week.

Right in our front yard.

Or harbor. "Pearl Harbor," a megabucks film from Disney, begins preliminary shooting Tuesday at Pearl Harbor, site of the start of America's involvement in WWII. Officially, the launch date is Saturday, but production crews and actors are already in our midst, ready to roll.

The film boasts formidable behind-the-scenes movers and shakers, including the legendary Hollywood action film-making team of Jerry Bruckheimer (producer) and Michael Bay (director). They last collaborated on "Armageddon," about a war with mother nature.

Some A-list stars (Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin, Cuba Gooding Jr.) are aboard, too, playing fictional as well as real-life figures. The screenplay, featuring romance and drama and embroidering together fiction and fact, is by Randall Wallace, the Oscar-nominated writer of "Braveheart." Early on, a peek at the closely guarded script prompted one Hollywood observer to dub this project "box office gold."

But when it comes to the Day of Infamy, the quality of Hollywood's understanding has varied from one film to the next, said Robert C. Schmitt, historian and former Hawaii state statistican, reflecting on the renewed interest in wartime dramas, sparked in part by "Saving Private Ryan." "Some films are better than others; there is one, in the early '70s, that stands out best."

He was referring to 1970's Japanese-American joint venture, "Tora! Tora! Tora!," which recreated the drama - and trauma - of the war from both nations' perspectives. "It was reasonably accurate where, over the years, most World War II films were terribly superficial," said Schmitt.

He also thinks Hollywood is gearing up to serve up a new wartime saga for younger generations of filmgoers who neither saw nor lived through the experience of Pearl Harbor.

"I'm not an expert on the war genre, but I would probably say in terms of film history, 'From Here to Eternity' is probably the one most people remember. But in terms of action, I'd say 'Tora! Tora! Tora!,'" said Georgette Deemer, Hawaii Film Office manager and one of the few Islanders who has read the proposed Wallace script. "But the new 'Pearl Harbor' will be great combination of both."

Pearl Harbor - whose name is a kind of shorthand for the devastation that war can wreak, the attack the subject of films, novels, history books and TV productions - has had its share of "close-ups" over the years. Among these: 1953's "From Here to Eternity," perhaps best remembered for that clinch-on-the-beach scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr, and 1965's "In Harm's Way," with John Wayne leading the U.S. charge against the Japanese, with model ships and planes in bathtubs serving as the fleet. Footnote: "Eternity" has had extended life, in a 1979 TV mini-series spinoff (with title intact) with William Devane and Natalie Wood, which evolved later that same year into an episodic TV series with Devane and Barbara Hershey.

The new "Pearl Harbor" will almost certainly be the most realistic portrayal ever with special effects by Industrial Light and Magic, blending action shots with computer-generated images to recreate battle scenes.

The film has an announced pre-production budget of $135 million, believed to be the priciest ever approved up front (though other films have gone over budget to cost more). Hollywood is buzzing about the fact that the producer, director and, presumably, actors are deferring up front salaries and banking on box office profits later - a new approached designed to hold down the spiraling costs of filmmaking and assure the best in production values.

A studio source said that an 85-day shooting schedule is envisioned, with between 40 and 45 days here in the Islands - at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, at Wheeler Air Force Base, at Fort Shafter and other unannounced destinations. Additional filming will continue in England, Texas and Los Angeles.

But Pearl Harbor will have a stand-in for its most famous scene: The ship-sinking sequences will actually be filmed at the Fox Baja facilities in Mexico, in the exact location where the blockbuster "Titanic" gurgled to its see-worthy demise.

But studio officials have been mum - or at best, vague - about specifics of the production.

Those on the military bases will likely start seeing things - Fiberglas plane parts, aircraft shells, old cars - popping up. And they'll start hearing and smelling things - "bombs," crashes, smoke and such - an eery reminder. The filmmakers are working with the Department of Defense to assure that historical sites are not disturbed and property is restored to before-filming condition.

Around town, 40-plus vintage cars, secured during an earlier open call, are being corralled for use in filming. More than 1,600 military enlistees and dependents have signed on as extras, awaiting their call for non-speaking crowd scenes. Props of all kinds are being built at Ford Island. A Matson container with vintage aircraft awaits unloading at Pearl.

Filming is expected to be completed by August or September.

Release date? Memorial Day 2001, preceding the 60th anniversary of the Day of Infamy, Dec. 7, 1941.

Chances of seeing stars or filming? Pretty slim as the set is closed. Unless you live and work at Pearl Harbor or one of the bases, you won't see much. So who's in the movie? Affleck and Josh Hartnett, playing best friends from Tennessee, pilots who fall in love with the same nurse, portrayed by Kate Beckinsale. Among others aboard: Baldwin as Col. James Doolittle, Gooding as mess attendant Dorie Miller. Just signed: William Lee Scott, soon to be seen in "Black and White," and a star in Bruckheimer's next flick, opening in June, "Gone in 60 Seconds."

Today, in Hawaii fashion, the project begins with a blessing. A wreath is being laid by filmmakers at the Arizona Memorial, to pay tribute to those who gave their lives in a war that has become spectacular entertainment.

Then it will be lights! Camera! Action!

This is gonna be big...

Wow...this movie will be big. Just read this from reel.com:

The Real Thing

Now this will be something to see. The actual live bombardment (with 'real' explosives) of roughly fifteen Naval vessels moored at Pearl Harbor, to be captured by movie cameras within the next few weeks.

The movie, of course, is Pearl Harbor, Disney's super-sized - $135 million-and-counting - World War II epic drama. Filming is beginning this week under producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay in and around Pearl Harbor. (April 8 is the official start date.) Ben Affleck and Josh Hartnett will play the two male leads, with Kate Beckinsale reportedly playing their mutual love interest.

The ships to be destroyed along 'Battleship Row' are moored at the 'middle loch' on the rear side of Ford Island, which is located in the middle of Pearl Harbor.

A director friend told me Wednesday that Bay and Bruckheimer will be using actual naval vessels and real explosives. The U.S. Navy has been bombing and sinking its own vessels for years as part of military maneuvers ("sink X's" or "exercises," in naval jargon), but this level of realism is rare for a Hollywood movie shoot.

U.S. Navy spokesperson Lt. Melissa Sherman, currently in Hawaii, says she's aware of the plan to use live vessels in the simulation of the Pearl Harbor attack. She declined to say how many vessels would be used, or what kind. However, she adds, "They're not going to sink anything."

The 11-year-old boy in me is thrilled. Real explosions! Real flying shrapnel! Stunt men leaping into a flaming sea! Something to see, all right · only I won't see it. Not unless Bay and Bruckheimer change their tune about press coverage.

The general policy is to keep reporters and cameras at arm's length, according to Pearl Harbor's unit publicist Gabriela Gutentag. I called Gutentag a few weeks ago to ask about visiting Hawaii to watch filming of the Japanese bombardment, which Bruckheimer had told me earlier would probably be the most exciting thing to see.

The spectacle, Bruckheimer confided, would include Japanese bomber planes swooping down over the harbor, with scores of extras running around and simulated bomb explosions going off willy-nilly. When I mentioned this to Gutentag, she replied there would be a "closed set" policy during filming of this footage.

Given the scale of the action, I said to her, how "closed" do they expect the shooting of this sequence to be? An industrious photographer or video-shooter with a private plane at his or her disposal would be able to easily capture this.

The "live" bombing of the ships is said to be part of Bay's effort to knock our collective socks off. Word is he's trying to go the old-fashioned way as much as possible, with actual props and real explosives, instead of relying mainly on the computer-generated trickery that has become commonplace in the making of big-scale action films.

I think this is terrific. I've said time and again that CGI always looks like CGI, and that there's no substitute for organic realism. Think how much better Jim Cameron's depiction of the Titanic taking to sea would have looked if he'd been able to pay for a real vessel, instead of using that digitally animated version of the ship that looked · digitally animated.

Just you wait. Access Hollywood or Entertainment Tonight will work something out with Bruckheimer and Gutentag, and we'll be seeing at least some of this carnage on one of their shows before too long. I'll be watching from my desk in Los Angeles while eating a tuna-fish sandwich.

Pearl Harbor tidbits

Sources tell me that Michael Bay will most likely (if not already) hook up again with Jon Schwartzman as his DP for the 3rd time in a row.

Michael now lives in Bel Air (just in case you didn't know). It seems like the production process for "Pearl Harbor" might change how movies are made. Keep reading, got this from Variety.

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Studio's deferment deals could rewrite megapic rules

By CHARLES LYONS

Forty-five men and women stand motionless, staring at a small brass plaque.

They do not say a word.

Each silently reads about the hundreds of U.S. soldiers entombed, almost 60 years ago, in the sunken battleship Arizona. And each is transported, disturbed.

'That's why people are doing ÎPearl Harbor' and deferring their salaries,' said Todd Garner, co-president of Buena Vista Motion Picture Group, describing the reactions of crew members on a recent scouting trip to the Hawaiian site. (Garner gave director Michael Bay the idea for the project.)

But there are many other reasons why principal crew and vendors agreed to make deferments on the pic, which is budgeted at $135 million. And greater ramifications.

If the 'Pearl' model works, deferments could become the newest way for studios to produce more $100 million-plus films while avoiding co-financing pacts - pacts that reduce studios' potential upsides.

Still, the 'Pearl' deferments have already caused rumblings among crew members, some of whom have elected to pass on Disney's offer to work for less. And the new model could ignite already smoldering studio/union relationships.

With ILM agreeing to take deferments, other effects houses, many hurting for work, may find themselves forced to follow suit - and risk the consequences.

One key below-the-line pro was delighted when Michael Bay approached him to do the film but was taken aback by the director's throwaway line: 'I'm deferring my salary on this film. How about you?' Reluctantly, the crew member accepted the offer.

Soon thereafter, Bay invited some guests to his new multimillion-dollar home in Bel-Air for his birthday party. 'It was a nice gesture,' the crew member reflected. 'But looking around, I had to ask myself, ÎWhy am I deferring my meager pay?' '

Bay countered that no crew members attended his party and noted that nearly all of his primary crew from past films are returning for 'Pearl.' However, at least three of them assured Daily Variety they are returning under normal terms, with one arranging for the deferred portion of his salary to be put into an escrow account.

Crew members on low-budget films frequently have to make deferments, but when the producers on a few bigger pics, such as 'The English Patient,' have tried this arrangement, the results have not always been happy.

Deferments mean that the crew member or vendor agrees to work for a lower rate, with money coming back once the pic turns a profit. In this case, Disney promises that if 'Pearl' reaches a domestic gross of about $140 million, crew members will recoup what they would have been paid under normal circumstances.

Over the past year, however, only 10 movies have surpassed the $140 million domestic mark, including 'Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace,' 'The Sixth Sense' and 'Toy Story 2.'

Unlike movies such as 'American Graffiti' and 'Star Wars,' where below-the-line crew received considerable backend on the film, only producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director-producer Bay have 'points' on 'Pearl Harbor.

Hence, crew members and vendors are in for considerable risk - something that sources say they would have balked at had it not been for the subject matter and the talent involved. Others have found Disney's 'point'-less proposal uninviting. Since these crew members are crucial to the production, Disney has signed them on anyway, under traditional terms.

Despite the rumblings, Disney is steamrolling ahead with its plans, having already arranged for the following savings:

in Many heads of major below-the-line departments have agreed to deferments, including the D.P., editor, production designer and lighting director. The total budget value of such deferments is said to be $5 million-$10 million.

Panavision and Technicolor have been asked to take deferred payments. A Panavision spokesman said that while such deferments were discussed, the camera house will work on 'Pearl' under its standard deal with Disney.

ILM has agreed to what one Disney exec called 'meaningful deferments' on some 200 effects shots, said to cost close to $25 million.

Disney says its use of the shots will make it look more like 500 f/x shots were used. While ILM has ostensibly agreed to the deferments because the company wants to be in the Bruckheimer-Bay business, deal could add additional pressure to the post biz's bottom line.

A conservative approach has been taken regarding set construction: Instead of building full sets, it will at times build only what's needed for a shot. Unlike the method used for 'Waterworld,' the studio will only build a section of some ships.

The Mouse will take an equally conservative approach to battle re-creations: While one scene will require a fleet of 20 ships, 12-15 camera positions and nine Air Force planes, Disney plans to digitally add in numerous more ships and planes.

Prop houses, wardrobe houses and labs - among other vendors - have offered up to 25% deferments in exchange for upfront payments. But some say that they certainly don't want to make a habit of doing so.

'I wanted to change the way $100 million movies get made,' said Bruce Hendricks, the studio's president of motion picture production and the man responsible to the studio for sticking to the 'Pearl Harbor' budget.

'Nobody said to do this. It was something that I just came up with after seeing it done with such studio movies as ÎThe English Patient.' I just wanted to try a different way of making the movie cost-effective.'

Under this strategy, below-the-line craftsmen and vendors, many of whom are undergoing tough times, may find themselves in an untenable situation, having to choose whether to work and take a pay cut or not work at all.

Even with deferred pay, they lose money. If the film recoups, they will get a salary in two years but will lose the interest they could have accrued if paid this year.

A DGA spokesman, who pointed out that a.d.s could only defer dollar amounts over scale, said he was 'appalled by this trend.'

But Bay, known for such blockbusters as 'Armageddon' and 'The Rock,' emphatically said, 'The business thinks they are rewriting the rule books, but this is a special circumstance. I am going into this thinking that I am not going to make a dime. But I would rather gamble on myself.'

Still, some craftsmen are unimpressed by Bay's wager.

'I am sure that there must be some people who must be unhappy with me because we are making every dollar count,' said Hendricks.

'Certainly the production won't be as comfortable as people are used to. But no one was arm-twisted into doing this movie. Everyone knew that to do this movie, that's what needed to happen.'

Production begins in Hawaii on April 8 with a relatively compact shooting schedule of 85 days. Bay hopes to bring the film in at 2 hours and 20 minutes, or under.

Pearl Harbor storyboard and Levi ads

The Unofficial Pearl Harbor Site has manage to get exclusive storyboards for "Pearl Harbor." They've got a total of four storyboards ( thanks to Nick Medrano ). You can view two of them by clicking on the thumbnails below, and the rest can be view by clicking on the following link http://cinemenium.com/pearlharbor





...

Back in August of 99, I was speaking to Michael about his new Levi's commercials. I was surprised to learn that he had made 3 commercials for Levi's that summer. They are: The Invisible Man, The Artist , and The Train (AKA "Frayed"). The "Train?" Well, Michael told me he did decided not to finish the "Train" commercial because Levi's was afraid to take chances with that particular commercial. Levi's thought it was a little bit to risqué ( he also went on to tell me how the Levi's "Elevator" commercial has the highest rating for any Levi's commercial ever made ). So he decided not to put up with all the ad agency BS...and walked off the set.

Well, Levi's has decided to air the "Train" commercial. I doubted that the cut you will be seeing is what Michael had in mind. But alas, it has Michael Bay elements. Click below to see "The Train"

Levi's Frayed/Train (Quicktime 4, 1.5mbs)

Beckinsale In 'Pearl'?

Cinescape reports on the following regarding the lead female role for Pearl Harbor:

Kate Beckinsale (Breakdown Palace, Haunted) is the most recent candidate in talks to take on the female lead role in Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor project. According to Variety, the lead role is that of a Navy nurse who falls in love with a pilot named Rafe (to be played by Ben Affleck). Eventually, she is reassigned to Pearl Harbor prior to the infamous day. The trade also reports that though Beckinsale is currently the frontrunner for the role, there are three other actresses in talks for the role should she pass on it.

Affleck speaks...

First of all, I would like to wish a very happy birthday to a friend of mine: Liz Olivera. I would give you her email so that you can all send her a wish...but she would stop being my friend after she gets bombed with all your emails.

There's more rumblings of casting for Michael Bay's Pearl Harbor project. According to a number of sources, Alec Baldwin is currently in talks to take on the film's role of the real life Gen. James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, a part that Kevin Costner previously negotiated for but chose to pass on when the production could not meet his financial requirements.

Ben Affleck talks on his site ( affleck.com )about "Pearl Harbor." WARNING, there are some minor spoilers:

"Which brings me to...my next movie and it's one I'm really thrilled about. In fact, I haven't been this excited to do a movie in a long time and nobody is as surprised as I am at that. If you had asked me a year ago if I'd be doing Michael Bay's next movie--and FOR NO MONEY at that--I'd have said you were crazy. And maybe I am, but I don't think so.

When I got the script I was fully expecting the kind of saccharine, popcorn that was Armageddon. I was shocked, to say the least. Jerry and Michael are working from a script by Randall Wallace (Braveheart) that is uncompromising, true to the accounts of survivors and striving to be the definitive epic on the day that "lived in infamy" and ultimitely proved to be the definitive moment in the greatest conflict of the last century.

Rather than some jingoistic cowboy story about yee-haw Americans getting "snuk-attacked" by cagy "Japs," this is a much more complex story. It begins with a nation that, according to a gallup poll, is 88% AGAINST getting involved in "the war in Europe" (!!!) It is a place suffering mightily from the hangover of a costly (in suffering) and senseless (in both geo-political and humanistic terms) war where thousands of American boys died in trenches in Europe. It is a place where Henry Ford and Charles Lindburgh lead HUGE rallies where the great applause line goes: "Hitler is our friend!!" The "peace in our time" movement which advocated isolationism in the face of the Axis powers invasions in Europe and Asia--an unimaginable concept in retrospect, but one that had an invincible political currency at the time. In fact, there are many fascinating parallels to the post Vietnam era, where the populace absolutely DID NOT want to send our young men overseas EVER AGAIN.

In the White House, a democratic President is running for his fourth term and facing the fight of his life. His Republic opponent, Willkie, is making great political hay by implying that FDR wants to "Drag America to war." A fistfight breaks out in the House of Representatives after a vociferous anti-wr, anti-FDR speech--each congressman takes and suffers six blows to the face. FDR publicly aknowledges that "The Axis powers will give anything in the world to have me licked the fifth of November!" and he barely squeaks by in the election but only after repeatedly promising "your boys are not going to be sent into any foriegn wars!"

An advisor to FDR, Mccollum, puts forth an internal memo indicatating that they fully expected that "upon defeat of England, the United States could expect an immediate attack from Germany." Yet FDR simply did not have the support of the populace to enter the war--just lending the British a few ships had caused a political shitstorm on capital hill and lead FDR to have to employ his famous "garden hose" analogy in a "Fireside Chat" the thrust of which being "If your neighbor's house is on fire, you lend him your hose..."

At a terrible political crossroad, FDR was stuck. Until that day in 1941, when a fleet of Japanese Battles ships, attack fighters and a group of bombers led a shockingly brazen assualt on the US Naval base at Pearl harbor, leaving 2403 Americans dead and 1178 wounded in less than an hour. The Japanese lost less than two hundred men, and only one was captured.

The movie will capture, using the most advanced special effects, and reproduce the exact events of that terrible day. if there is one thing I am certain of, it is that Michael's emormous visual storytelling talents will bring the attack sequence a sense of horrifying realism and terrible majesty. The third act of the movie is also culled from true wartime events in the pacific (and I don't want to give anything away) but it is truly gripping and extremely well executed in the script. the fictional love story that Mr. Wallace crafted (a la Braveheart) is well done and entirely absent false sentimentality. Suffice it to say that there is (I believe) very good reason that Michael, Jerry, the rental houses, and so many crewmembers and actors (including me) have waived our "fees": we want to make a good movie--and we want every nickel up on the screen to help tell the story. Ultimitely, I've found, it's a lot more satisfying to make a movie you can be proud of than it is to cash a big check. This time, we're taking the route of the former. I hope you'll like it. Memorial Day 2001."

Michael Bay Talks 'Pearl Harbor'

Recently, InLinefirst.com asked Michael Bay About "Pearl Harbor," and surprisingly about a sequel to "The Rock."

We all know 'Pearl Harbor' is the highest-budgeted film of all time. We may or may not know that it was originally called 'Tennessee' before the film-makers decided to name it directly after the event. But what can director Michael Bay tell us about his ambitious project?

At a public appearance supporting Buena Vista's 'Mission to Mars,' Bay talked about 'Pearl Harbor.'

There's a lot of work ahead," Bay said. "We've been researching for the past year." Even though there is a lot of effort being put into historical accuracy, Bay assured InLineFirst readers that it will be a film about people.

"It's all character, and it's a very different movie than I've ever done before. It's all history, but not everything's based in fact."

'Mission to Mars' distributor Buena Vista will also finance and distribute 'Pearl Harbor.' While we had Bay's attention, we asked about the possibility of a sequel to 'The Rock.' He simply replied, "Not for me."

Disney stations Hartnett at 'Pearl Harbor'

Josh Hartnett will star along with Ben Affelck in "Pearl Harbor." Read On...

Disney stations Hartnett at 'Pearl Harbor'

By Zorianna Kit

Josh Hartnett is set to star alongside Ben Affleck in Disney's megabudgeted World War II drama "Pearl Harbor" for filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay. The six-month project is expected to go before cameras in the spring.

Hartnett's star is fast rising, as the young actor has roles in five films that are due out this year: Fox 2000's "Here on Earth," New Line Cinema's "Town and Country," Paramount Classics release "The Virgin Suicides" and Miramax's "O" and "Never Better."

The signing of Hartnett and Affleck ends months of searching for the two Army Air Corps pilots and best friends who fall in love with the same Navy nurse. The deal for Affleck pays him no money upfront to star in the $135 million project.

Bruckheimer and Bay reduced their own fees to make the film and have only a small budget to cast even the lead roles because of the project's production costs .

Though the female lead has not yet been cast, roles of the supporting nurses are beginning to fill, with newcomer and model James King being the first selected.

King, a former Cosmopolitan cover girl, recently wrapped a role in her first feature, New Line's "Happy Campers," and is now shooting the studio's "Blow," in which she portrays one of the daughters of a couple played by Johnny Depp and Penelope Cruz.

The Randall Wallace-penned "Harbor," to be produced by Bruckheimer and Bay, the latter of whom will direct, is moving full steam ahead. Cuba Gooding Jr. was the first actor to sign last month as a 3rd Class mess attendant who served on the U.S.S. West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Hartnett has been seen on the big screen in the horror films "The Faculty" and "Halloween H20: 20 Years Later" and starred in the short-lived television series "Cracker." He is repped by the Iris Burton Agency and manager Nancy Kremer.

King, repped by ICM and manager Robert Flutie, made her acting debut in the short "Four Faces of God." She is slated to appear on the cover of Details magazine's May issue.

It's official...

It's official now, as previously reported, Ben Affleck will join Michael again for "Pearl Harbor."

Affleck serves 'Harbor' duty for no upfront

By Anita M. Busch

Ben Affleck is the second high-profile actor to jump aboard Disney's "Pearl Harbor" for filmmakers Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, despite the project's budgetary restrictions on casting. Negotiations were completed late Friday night on a deal by which Affleck will take no money upfront for the lead role.

"Harbor" is emerging as a case of talent rallying around talent. Cuba Gooding Jr. was first to come aboard for Bruckheimer and Bay. The involvement of Affleck and Gooding Jr. comes after the filmmakers' very public, very bumpy negotiations with the studio to get the project greenlit. Adding to the interest from A-listers is Randall Wallace's gritty, engaging script, several sources said.

Both actors are friends of the filmmakers. Affleck was cast in the Bruckheimer-produced, Bay-directed "Armageddon" before winning a best original screenplay Oscar for "Good Will Hunting"; Gooding Jr. plays in Bruckheimer's hockey league.

Gene Hackman, who has worked with Bruckheimer on "Enemy of the State" and "Crimson Tide," might also come aboard, but no decision has yet been made.

Bruckheimer and Bay experienced a rough review at the studio for "Harbor" after the departure of former chairman Joe Roth, who championed the project and gave it its first greenlight. After Roth left, Eisner re-evaluated Roth's decision to make the film at a price tag of $145 million and had the filmmakers make further cuts to bring it down another $10 million.

Bruckheimer and Bay reduced their own fees and then, because the bulk of the project cost is being applied toward its massive production, were left with only a small budget to cast even the lead roles. The filmmakers plan to re-create fully the Dec. 7, 1941, early-morning bombing by the Japanese of the Hawaiian naval base, a pivotal moment that pulled the United States into World War II. Any budgetary overages must be shouldered by the filmmakers.

Affleck began talking seriously last week about joining the project (HR 3/2). He will play the lead fighter pilot in the story that follows two brothers who fall in love with the same woman. A lead actress has yet to be cast.

"Harbor" is expected to go before cameras in April or May and shoot for six months.

Affleck's agreement to join "Harbor" delays two other projects: "Cinderella Man," a Universal Pictures/Miramax Films co-production in which he was expected to star, and Warner Bros.' "The Ugly Truth," in which he was negotiating to star with Gwyneth Paltrow. The latter project is seeking a director after Barry Sonnenfeld exited last month to direct "Big Trouble" at Disney.

Stuff

Thank you to all those who sent a birthday email to Michael. He actually was very pleased and got a kick out of it.

Well, there might be a possibility that that Michael could be reunited with one of the stars of "Armageddon" for the up and coming "Pear Harbor." Hollywoodreporter mentions the follwing:

"In the latest rounds of casting surrounding Disney's megabudgeted "Pearl Harbor," Ben Affleck is in talks to come aboard. "Pearl" would reteam the actor with director-producer Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who cast Affleck in their asteroid pic "Armageddon" two years ago, before Affleck became Hollywood's golden boy after winning an Oscar for "Good Will Hunting." Affleck is repped by CAA."

Happy Birthday Mike

Happy Birthday Michael! Enjoy it where ever you are.

Bombs Away Bombs Away Charlize Theron says no to ''Pearl Harbor'' -- The actress explains why she's passing up a star-making role in Disney's high-priced epic 'SWEET' TALK Theron will star in the smaller ''November'' instead of the big-budget ''Harbor'' by Craig Seymour Industry buzz had it that Charlize Theron would likely become a female lead in ''Pearl Harbor,'' Disney's WWII epic whose $135 million preshooting budget makes it the most expensive film ever greenlit. But the increasingly hot Theron, who next stars opposite Ben Affleck in John Frankheimer's ''Reindeer Games'' (opening Feb. 25), tells EW Online that she's passing on the project. Instead she'll join Keanu Reeves in a remake of the '68 romantic drama ''Sweet November,'' which starts shooting at the same time as ''Harbor.'' ''Whomever is in it [''Harbor''] will probably become a huge star and the movie will do extremely well,'' says Theron. ''But I know I'm here [in my career] because I've always made decisions based on what felt right to me and what felt challenging to me.'' Theron denies that her choice was influenced by the negative hype surrounding ''Harbor'''s initial price tag, which dwarfs the greenlighted budgets of both ''Titanic'' (less than $100 million) and ''Waterworld ($65 million). ''I made my decision based on the character in 'Sweet November,''' she says. (We can see why: In the original version, Sandy Dennis plays a woman who takes a new lover every month.) So while ''Pearl Harbor'' still has ''Armageddon'' director Michael Bay at the helm, and lots of stunt people, pyrotechnics, and ''Titanic'''s water tank to re-create the infamous Dec. 7, 1941, attack, it's now short one soon-to-be A-list actress. But, then again, with a $135 million budget the producers can surely afford a new one. RenŽe Zellweger, perhaps?

My suspicions have been confirmed...Charlize Theron won't play nurse. EW has reported she decided to pass on this project. Why? My opinion? She either didn't like the money or her character in the plot. Then again, this is the same woman who came out in "Mighty Joe Young," and "The Astronaut's Wife" Am I missing something here??? Anyway, got this from EW online:

Bombs Away

Charlize Theron says no to ''Pearl Harbor'' -- The actress explains why she's passing up a star-making role in Disney's high-priced epic 'SWEET' TALK Theron will star in the smaller ''November'' instead of the big-budget ''Harbor''

by Craig Seymour

Industry buzz had it that Charlize Theron would likely become a female lead in ''Pearl Harbor,'' Disney's WWII epic whose $135 million preshooting budget makes it the most expensive film ever greenlit. But the increasingly hot Theron, who next stars opposite Ben Affleck in John Frankheimer's ''Reindeer Games'' (opening Feb. 25), tells EW Online that she's passing on the project. Instead she'll join Keanu Reeves in a remake of the '68 romantic drama ''Sweet November,'' which starts shooting at the same time as ''Harbor.'' ''Whomever is in it [''Harbor''] will probably become a huge star and the movie will do extremely well,'' says Theron. ''But I know I'm here [in my career] because I've always made decisions based on what felt right to me and what felt challenging to me.''

Theron denies that her choice was influenced by the negative hype surrounding ''Harbor'''s initial price tag, which dwarfs the greenlighted budgets of both ''Titanic'' (less than $100 million) and ''Waterworld ($65 million). ''I made my decision based on the character in 'Sweet November,''' she says. (We can see why: In the original version, Sandy Dennis plays a woman who takes a new lover every month.) So while ''Pearl Harbor'' still has ''Armageddon'' director Michael Bay at the helm, and lots of stunt people, pyrotechnics, and ''Titanic'''s water tank to re-create the infamous Dec. 7, 1941, attack, it's now short one soon-to-be A-list actress. But, then again, with a $135 million budget the producers can surely afford a new one. RenŽe Zellweger, perhaps?

Brad Pitt eying Pearl Harbor

The HollywoodReporter says the following regarding Brad Pitt:

"...He's also eying "Pearl Harbor...'The Mexican' is likely to be Pitt's first project of the millennium. However, that all could change if Pitt goes aboard "Pearl Harbor" for Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay.

Pearl Bucks

There's an article in this week's Entertainment Weekly regarding a general overview of the negotiations and casting notes. Click here to read it.

Gooding is all decked out for 'Pearl Harbor'

Cuba Gooding Jr. just can't escape the Navy.

In the first casting for Disney's "Pearl Harbor," Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. -- who next stars in Fox 2000's "Navy Diver" -- is in final negotiations to come aboard the Jerry Bruckheimer/Michael Bay megabudgeted project.

The project has also garnered the interest of Kevin Costner, who is due to begin shooting the indie pic "3,000 Miles to Graceland" next month. The actor was expected to segue into Mandalay Pictures' "Beyond Borders" for director Oliver Stone. However, "Borders" co-star Catherine Zeta-Jones fell out of the project last month, and the producers have not yet secured a female lead, thus pushing back the planned start date.

The Bruckheimer-produced "Pearl Harbor" will be directed by Bay from a script by Randall Wallace ("Braveheart"). The project will go before the cameras in April or May and shoot for about six months.

With "Harbor" proceeding full steam ahead, Gooding will take the smaller but pivotal role of the ship's Dorie Miller, a mess attendant third class who was serving on the U.S.S. West Virginia when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Like many sailors in the segregated U.S. Navy of World War II, Miller was assigned to kitchen duty. Navy archives say the powerfully built Texan was collecting laundry when the Sunday morning attack began.

Historical accounts show that two bombs hit the West Virginia deck, and the battleship suffered below-deck flooding as her crew endured five torpedo hits to the port side. During this, Miller carried wounded sailors to safety, helped the ship's fatally wounded captain and then fired an anti-aircraft machine gun at Japanese planes for some 15 minutes until the gun's ammunition was spent and abandon ship orders were given.

Surviving the attack, Miller's unbridled courage earned him the Navy Cross in 1942. The war hero died in 1943 when the escort carrier he was serving on was torpedoed during the U.S. invasion of the Gilbert Islands. In 1973, a Navy frigate was named the U.S.S. Miller.

Gooding Jr., repped by CAA, won a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in "Jerry Maguire."

(Hollywood Reporter)

Pearl Harbor score & casting

AICN has reported that Cuba Gooding Jr will have a small part on "Pearl Harbor." And to those of you asking if there are any composers attached to "Pearl Harbor," I will let you know as soon as I get some info. Personally, I think Treveor Rabin did a wonderful job with "Armageddon," and Hans Zimmer did a cool job with "The Rock." Maybe they should have both!

ILM

Got this from vfxpro.com:

Industrial Light & Magic confirms that it has secured the visual effects duties for Michael Bay's upcoming Pearl Harbor epic whose possible title is "Tennessee". Walt Disney Studios gave the project the green light after extensive previsualization by Disney's The Secret Lab. An ILM spokesperson said that the company is thrilled to be involved in a film of such scale.

Mega-budgeted WWII epic finally gets its greenlight

By CHARLES LYONS, January 27, 2000

After months and months of budget scrutiny and talent talks culminating in the tension of the last two weeks, Disney has greenlit - at a budget of $130 million-$135 million - the WWII epic "Pearl Harbor," with Michael Bay directing and Jerry Bruckheimer producing from a script by Randall Wallace ("Braveheart").

A few legal issues were still being ironed out Wednesday evening, but the film is on track to begin production in April or May for release around Memorial Day, 2001. Disney will finance the filmâs entire budget, making "Pearl Harbor" one of the most expensive films ever at the greenlight stage. The studio will control worldwide distribution, though it is a distinct possibility that Disney could later lay off a large percentage of the budget on Spyglass, its foreign partner on such films as "The Sixth Sense."

Estimates are that Disney could recoup as much as 40% of that budget in exchange for Spyglass stronghold territories Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Spyglass, run by Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber, has offered to finance the entire film, a scenario that Walt Disney chairman-CEO Michael Eisner and Walt Disney Studios chairman Peter Schneider have resisted while making the decision. The greenlight ends the high-profile jockeying between the studio and Bay and Bruckheimer. That duo gave up their upfront fees and delaying gross participation until the studio reached breakeven - and thought they had gotten a greenlight on a $145 million budget from studio chief Joe Roth and Eisner. That changed when Roth exited the studio this month when his contract expired. Suddenly, Eisner and his new lieutenant Schneider had second thoughts, and spent the last two weeks in a tense negotiation with Bruckheimer and Bay to shave an extra $10 million off the filmâs negative cost.

One source said Bruckheimer and Bay’s waiving of upfront and gross could make a difference of $40 million to $50 million for the studio. That’s a significant chunk of change, and a significant move for the duo. Casting will begin in earnest, with the early favorites being "American Beauty" star Wes Bentley, "Thin Red Line" star Jim Caviezel and Charlize Theron will be offered the lead roles (Daily Variety, Jan. 25) in a storyline about two fighter pilot pals from Tennessee who fall in love with the same nurse.

Pearl Harbor Script updates

Got two tidbits today. The first is from Harry at AICN, and the other one is from the Hollywood Reporter.

Warning: there are a couple spoilers below.

Harry looks at the first real draft of Randall Wallace's screenplay for Michael Bay's PEARL HARBOR

Hey there folks at large, though I am writing this I guess there may be some doubt as to whether or not you'll actually be able to read it. Sigh.... Today I do have something rather interesting for ya. You see... You've perhaps seen a couple of looks at Michael Bay's PEARL HARBOR script. I can remember at least one look over at Dark Horizons. BUT... that was actually a review of a draft in progress. What does that mean?

Well, you see a screenwriter often times will write and get through with a draft... but not be satisfied with it, so he'll go back, rework it, and when he or she is finished and happy.. then they'll send it out to their director, producer, studio... whatever the case may be.

The draft of PEARL HARBOR (aka TENNESSEE) that had been hitting the script circles of the world, was actually an unfinished, incomplete draft of Randall Wallace's that was never turned in to either Bay, Bruckheimer or the Mouse House. Wallace's assistant was fired and that was that.

But as a result... We've never had a review of an accepted draft of this gigantic project... that is... till now.

Through trickery and tomfoolery, I have managed to obtain a 1/13/2000 draft by Randall Wallace of his original screenplay, which is now titled... PEARL HARBOR. Now, in yesterday's Hollywood Reporter They mentioned that there are casting discussions and possibilities of having Charlize Theron, Wes Bentley, Ed Burns, Keri Russell, Scott Speedman, James Caviezel and Gene Hackman talking about roles in this film.

Also, Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer have been in discussions with the Department of Defense, The Pentagon and the Navy to secure complete cooperation in bringing this film about. You see... This isn't a very cheap movie. Believe me. This script is a huge film.

The film is not just about PEARL HARBOR. It's far larger and ambitious than that. It isn't a remake of TORA! TORA! TORA! or FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. The film also covers what it was like to be a part of the Americans that volunteered to be a part of the British formed Eagle Squadron... which was formed of mainly American volunteers that went early to fight the Germans during the early days of the BATTLE OF BRITAIN. It includes behind the scenes details from both the American side and the Japanese side... From FDR to Hirohito... It deals with what happened that fateful day on Pearl Harbor... and then How we Americans reacted. And... if you've ever seen the excellent movie, THIRTY SECONDS OVER TOKYO... you'll know.

This is by far... the most textured and real script that Michael Bay has had in his hands thus far. Having said that... there are still a couple of small tidbits here and there that need tweaking. Mainly having to do with the one night meeting of Evelyn and Rafe.

Well... perhaps I need to set this all up better than I have thus far...

The film starts off with the following paragraph...

'As in every dramatic reconstruction, actual characters and events have been combined and shaped for clarity; but the events are factual, and we have made every effort to capture the truth of what happened, drawing not only from the best historical works, but from the personal accounts of many who saw these events through their own eyes, and shaped them with their courage.'

It then opens in Tennessee in 1926, with two plays playing like they are in a biplane fighting off an unseen imaginary enemy. Their plane nothing more than an old shell of a bi-plane propped up on crates. The boys are Rafe and Danny.

A pair of wide eyed kids. Innocent. War was this strange heroic venture that all 'Men' took part in. Basically the film is really about this loss of innocence. This sense of invincibility that comes with youth. They are the best of friends. They type that when one can't read so well... the other helps with the homework, while the other teaches the other how to fly.

Rafe is the hungrier of the two. Itching to do his duty. He volunteers for the Eagle Squadron to fight the Germans, thus splitting the two friends up. On his night before shipping out to England, Rafe meets Evelyn... a nurse... My only problem in this entire 116 page script is in her character.

They have one night to fall in love, before their romance takes the form of war torn love letters. As their 'night' currently consists... it's mainly an adventurous romp. With their dialogue mainly consisting idle chatter. For me, the best single night dialogue driven love affair came from Kim Krizan and Richard Linklater's BEFORE SUNRISE... and the film desperately needs a realistic soulmate meeting here at the beginning. It isn't terrible... it just isn't.... IT yet.

However, as soon as Rafe ships out... MAN... this movie flies. Randall Wallace's script is filled with all the right moments. You can feel the kindling catching fire 'round the world. You begin to see why the Japanese had to do, what it is they did. You see why the Americans didn't believe that the Japanese were going to attack Pearl Harbor.

What I love about this script is the fact that these are not the, 'EVIL NIPPONESE' or the 'YELLOW PERIL' as they have so often been portrayed in film. In fact... perhaps the best line in the entire film belongs to Yamamoto himself...

Yamamoto has outlined the plan to fill the radio airwaves with false movements and attack plans to confuse the Americans, and the resulting clutter would be indecipherable.

Genda comments to him, 'Brilliant, Admiral.'

To which Yamamoto retorts, 'A brilliant man would find a way not to fight a war.'

And I love that this is coming from the 'insidious enemy'.

Later still, when Danny shoots down a Jap Zero that was going to kill men floating in the water after a ship had been destroyed, he says exasperated to another pilot through the radio, 'They're even shootin' guys floating in the water' To which the other pilot says, 'It's a war, Danny. Wake up.' This sense of things is wonderful to me. I love the sense of innocence and fairplay that gets crushed by war. First in Rafe in the Battle of Britain... then in Danny at Pearl Harbor.

War is not a beautiful thing.

Another thing I really love about this script is this. You know how Michael Bay likes to show, what many of his... ummm... critics like to call... Kodak Moments? You know... like the kid running with the Space Shuttle, with a dilapidated mural of Kennedy is on a building in the background in ARMAGEDDON?

Well here... On the morning of December 7th... His little montage sequences are again applied. But here.. instead of it being just random 'Hallmark Highlights' they're based upon insights from survivors of PEARL HARBOR... Sort of... their little highlighted memories... their Polaroids of a terrible moment. And when we revisit these flashes throughout the ordeal... we see whether or not these people live or die. Whether they lose some one or an arm or two. As a result... these moments are real.

What I like about Evelyn is that she has a sense of purpose in the script. She isn't just some dumb broad. She has to perform a billion decisions as the victims of Pearl Harbor come in like a flood of torn flesh and broken bones. She's forced to choose who will receive treatment... and who will have to die.

She isn't just helpless staring at the men who are getting the job done. And when I called up Bay Pictures about a problem with her character near the end of the script where she is turned into that type of character... It seems that they are at work on this next draft to strengthen her even more.

Yeah... she's a woman in love... surrounded by tragedy. But she's also a nurse. And she has work to do. A place to bury her sorrows by comforting and saving others from their own.

As the script read, it's already a very large epic film. If they end up fixing a couple of character things and that opening romance... then the film will really really be the homerun that everyone at Disney, Bruckheimer and Bay pictures want from this. It's funny. Robogeek was a tremendous fan of ARMAGEDDON, but even he was a bit scared of the 'popcorning' of history that Michael Bay could have brought to the film. Well... at least here in this draft of the screenplay by Randall Wallace... that is not the case.

They don't play up the Japanese or the Germans as ultimate evil bastards. Even the heroes in the film... they are just regular joes that did their jobs in a very irregular time. I can see why SPYGLASS is chomping at the bit to get this film from DISNEY if Eisner were to chicken out on it. I'll continue to follow this film all the way through production, as it is the largest WWII movie that I've been around to see being made. And I just hope they nail it. The events that they are bringing to life are times so a part of historic memory that they need to be treated with the sense of fairness that Randall Wallace has given them.


Fox Baja to serve spell as port of 'Pearl Harbor'

(Wed., Jan. 26, 2000) By John Watling

MEXICO CITY -- "Pearl Harbor," Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay's mega-budgeted production, has found its shooting ports. More than a year after shooting wrapped on the most recent full-length feature filmed at the Fox Baja facility, the studio is gearing up to host Disney's megabudgeted "Pearl Harbor."

Sources said a few weeks of shooting will take place at the Baja facility, while most of the film will be shot in Los Angeles, as well as in Hawaii and Texas. An April 10 date is being eyed for the start of principal photography in Hawaii.

Bruckheimer is producing and Michael Bay is directing "Pearl Harbor," which is now in preproduction in Los Angeles. Fox Baja manager Charlie Aronsen is expecting the production to arrive at his facility in March to begin preparing for shooting there.

"We are extremely happy to have 'Pearl Harbor' here," Aronsen said.

The Fox Baja facility first hit headlines with news that "Titanic" was to film there in 1996. Recently, the northern Mexico facility has attracted some television production, namely "The Expendables" for USA Network. But the facility has had trouble attracting feature productions since 'Big Blue' finished shooting in December 1998.

Aronsen said the difficulties have nothing to do with the quality of the facility. "We can shoot anything here," he said. "It is all about the lack of incentives for filming in Mexico."

The number of foreign productions shooting in Mexico has declined sharply in recent years as other countries including Canada, Australia and Ireland have increased the incentives for foreign productions to film there, while Mexico has done nothing to attract foreign productions.

'Pearl Harbor' Moving Forward?

Got this The Insider at Cinescape:

The last the Insider heard there were negative rumblings about the fate of Michael Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer's Pearl Harbor project. Things appear to have changed for the better, though there may have been some compromising as well.

First, according to Variety columnist Michael Fleming, in order for Disney to give a final okay for the project, Bruckheimer and Bay had to cut the budget of their blockbuster down from the previously announced $145M. The figure is said to now be sitting in the $130M range. Still, even though this tightens things for everyone, it has allowed the team to move forward with potential casting of the film pending the greenlight from Disney.

The columnist repeats recent rumors suggesting that the most prominent actors Michael Bay is eying to take on the film's two male lead roles are currently Wes Bentley (American Beauty) and Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line). In addition, Charlize Theron (Cider House Rules), as opposed to Gwyneth Paltrow, is now the name being tossed around for the female lead. Other names currently floating through the rumor mill for the film's leads include Ed Burns, Keri Russell and Scott Speedman. No matter who takes the parts, early word from Bay and Bruckheimer suggested that those actors might have to work for scale to keep the budget down, though one would imagine that there would also be a back end deal as well.

Beyond the casting, Bruckheimer is said to have sought out government assistance for the impending film. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the producer met with Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen and Secretary of the Navy Richard J. Danzig to gain the aid of the government in the making of the film. Word has it that both have pledged their support to the project.

The Fate of Michael Bay's PEARL HARBOR in trouble'

Got this from Harry Knowles at AICN:

"The truth is... Pearl Harbor (aka TENNESSEE) is still set to begin shooting in Hawaii on April 10th. Michael Bay and crew are currently in the midst of meeting with a wide array of actors and actresses, and it's looking like some casting is almost ready to go forward. They will be shooting in Hawaii for 6 weeks, before moving production to Baja, California for additional shooting. Recently Michael Bay was in Texas taking a look at an old Aircraft Carrier, and the film is being made. So, while Roth MAY have very well left Disney over some heated discussion with Eisner, (Which I Do Not Know), whatever happened between Eisner and Roth... It seems it will have NO effect upon the film or the film's future."

Bombs Away

Nelson here... Sorry for the downtime. I was notified by my webhosting company that one of their servers went down. And guess what? It just *happened* to be the one this site is hosted on. This crap happens one more time, I'll be...

Anyway, on with the news. Since Joe Roth's departure from Disney, rumors regarindg Bay's "Pearl Harbor" have begun to spread. Reel.com's Jeffrey Wells wrote an article about "Pearl Harbor" and all the stuff going on. Personally, I believe some of it (the casting parts), and the other stoff is a bunch of crap. It seems that if this movie gets made, it will be opening summer 2001. If you want to read the article, click here to read it.. Below, you can read some excerpts:

Bombs Away

"In less than four months, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay will probably begin rolling film on Pearl Harbor „ the biggest, splashiest, most expensive World War II film ever made. The budget is starting at $145 million, and will almost certainly come in higher when all is said and done. Movies like this always do. Which is where the "probably" comes in. In the wake of Disney chairman Joe Roth's announced resignation Wednesday, Disney chairman/CEO Michael Eisner is rattling his saber and telling The Wall Street Journal and Variety that Pearl Harbor hasn't been greenlit. But this is probably just posturing meant to assuage the financial community. I'd say the odds favoring a Pearl Harbor "go" at this stage are roughly 80-20..."

"...I've been told Ed Burns (Saving Private Ryan), Jim Caviezel (The Thin Red Line) and Wes Bentley (American Beauty) „ three very intense, au courant young actors „ are top contenders for the two male lead roles, flyboys Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker. Burns is said to be a particular favorite to play McCawley; the similar-looking Caviezel and Bentley (dark hair, intense eyes) are said to be competing for the Walker role. Felicity's Scott Speedman is also said to be in the running for one of the male roles. Gwyneth Paltrow is being sought out to play Evelyn, the romantic female lead..." I know Bruckheimer is looking to cast Gene Hackman as President Franklin Roosevelt, but I'm told Hackman is waiting for a script rewrite before committing..."

"...When this budget-buster from Disney finally opens in the summer of 2001, to put it another way, will it play like a cross between Titanic and Saving Private Ryan, which Bay is said to be aiming for..."

"...Reached by phone, Bruckheimer declined comment on most of the matters discussed here. He confirmed the projected April start date and said the location filming schedule calls for Pearl Harbor, Los Angeles, Fox Baja, Texas, and then England, in that order..."

Did Eisner Bomb Pearl Harbor?

Got this from the IMDB:

Did Eisner Bomb Pearl Harbor?

Joe Roth's exit as Walt Disney Studios chief may have followed a clash with Michael Eisner over Roth's decision last November to greenlight a $145-million budget for Pearl Harbor the Wall Street Journal indicated today (Thursday), citing people familiar with the matter. Reports at the time the go-ahead was announced said that producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Michael Bay had been engaged in lengthy negotiations with Roth and had finally agreed to financial concessions including a downsized back-end participation and accountability for any budget overages. Nevertheless, nearly two months after the deals with Bruckheimer and Bay were struck, Eisner has yet to clear the film, the WSJ said. (Today's Daily Variety said that Eisner told it that Pearl Harbor (2000) has not been greenlighted.) Moreover, it added, Disney's strategic planning department, which ordinarily is engaged in handling business ventures for the company, has been directed to scrutinize the film's budget, the highest ever authorized for any film.