The Pacific

INCEPTION and THE SOCIAL NETWORK Win at the Writers Guild Awards

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 6th, 2011 at 9:26 am

It’s no surprise that Aaron Sorkin’s script for The Social Network won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Writers Guild Awards last night — that script is the favorite for pretty much any award it’s up for.  The same is roughly true for David Seidler’s script for The King’s Speech in the original category.  But the very British The King’s Speech does not meet WGA eligibility, leaving a vacuum at the top.  Christopher Nolan stepped up and won Best Original Screenplay for Inception, news that ought to please the masses.

In television, Mad Men was named the Best Drama Series for the third year in a row, while Modern Family managed to end 30 Rock‘s three-year reign as Best Comedy Series.  Hit the jump to see the full list of winners.

THE KING’S SPEECH Upsets THE SOCIAL NETWORK at the 2011 Producers Guild Awards

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: January 23rd, 2011 at 9:02 am

It seemed like The Social Network had a clear path to the Academy Awards, but the dastardly Producers’ Guild of America may prove an obstacle.  The King’s Speech took home Best Picture at the Producers Guild Awards last night in a notable upset.  Over the past 20 years the Producers Guild and the Oscars have agreed on 13 of 20 Best Picture winners.

Everything else went down about as expected for both film and television.  Toy Story 3 won Best Animated Feature, and Waiting for “Superman” was named Best Documentary.  In TV, the PGA honored Mad Men, Modern Family, The Pacific, The Colbert Report, and Deadliest Catch.  Hit the jump for the full list of winners.

AFI Announces the Top 10 Movies and TV Programs of 2010

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: December 12th, 2010 at 2:03 pm

The American Film Institute have announced their top 10 movies and TV programs of 2010.  As usual, they forgo a ranking system and instead list each winner alphabetically.  On the film side, we have Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids Are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, The Town, Toy Story 3, True Grit, and Winter’s Bone, with special awards for the British (and thus disqualified) The King’s Speech and Waiting For Superman.  A fine list, and I don’t immediately see any egregious snubs.

The AFI only honored three TV programs with more than two seasons: Mad Men, 30 Rock, and Breaking Bad.  The rest were new series (The Big C, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead), one-offs  (The Pacific, Temple Grandin), or standout sophomores (Glee, Modern Family).  Hit the jump to see the full lists.

THE PACIFIC Blu-ray Review

by Rob Vaux    Posted: November 1st, 2010 at 12:47 pm

The Pacific plays out much the way Band of Brothers did: an enhanced G.I.’s eye view of the Second World War. Executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks established the formula with Saving Private Ryan, combining  unflinching realism with unabashed hero worship  to depict events from the men on the tip of the spear. The Pacific demonstrates the power and durability of that formula,  as evinced by its slew of Emmys and unmitigated critical praise. The new Blu-ray release may constitute the ideal means of watching it. Hit the jump for my full review.

HBO Emmy Party 2010 Celebrity Images

by Christina Radish    Posted: August 31st, 2010 at 7:49 am

HBO definitely knows how to throw a party, and their annual bash to celebrate the Primetime Emmy Awards was no exception. Held in the courtyard at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood, guests partied in a huge tent with a theme meant to celebrate their recent 10-episode WWII epic The Pacific, winner of Outstanding Mini-Series.

The big winner for the pay cable network was Temple Grandin, based on the writings by its title subject, an autistic young woman who became, through mentoring and sheer force of will, one of America’s most remarkable success stories. The film’s star Claire Danes, along with co-stars Julia Ormond and David Strathairn, took home acting awards, while the film itself took home Outstanding TV Movie. Al Pacino also took an acting award home for HBO’s You Don’t Know Jack, about the life of Dr. Jack Kavorkian.

Those celebs showed off their Emmy gold, attending the soiree along with the cast of True Blood (including Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Alexander Skarsgaard, Sam Trammell, Rutina Wesley, Nelsan Ellis, Joe Manganiello, Kristin Bauer, Kevin Alejandro, Lindsay Pulsipher, Lindsey Haun, Todd Lowe, Jim Parrack, Marshall Allman, Mariana Klaveno, Ashley Jones, Anna Camp, Michael McMillian and Michelle Forbes), cast members of The Pacific (Jon Seda, Joseph Mazzello, James Badge Dale and Ashton Holmes) with producer Tom Hanks & his wife Rita Wilson, Big Love co-stars Bill Paxton & Chloe Sevigny.  Continued after the jump:

THE PACIFIC Writer Scripting $200 Million 3D WWII Epic THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 28th, 2010 at 2:50 pm

Despite the noted difficulties of shooting on the water, Hollywood has a number of mega budgeted seafaring epics coming your way over the next few years.  Disney has the fourth installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean series.  Universal has assigned Peter Berg to adapt the board game Battleship.  And Warner Bros. has just commissioned a script from Bruce C. McKenna inspired by the Battle of Midway.

According to Deadline, Warner Bros. plans for The Battle of Midway to be a 3D tentpole with a budget of about $200 million.  That’s a pretty big gamble, given that the last true success of the war genre was 1998′s Saving Private Ryan ($482 million worldwide gross, critical acclaim)… maybe 2001′s Pearl Harbor ($449 million, critically panned).  That said, we’re due for another WWII epic, and McKenna is more than qualified for the job.  McKenna is the primary creative force behind the Steven Spielberg-produced HBO miniseries The Pacific; the Marine saga is guaranteed to clean up at tomorrow night’s Emmys with an astounding twenty-four nominations.  Hit the jump for more information on the Battle of Midway — you’ll find it’s ripe for cinematic adaptation.

TCA Awards Honor GLEE, LOST, BREAKING BAD, MODERN FAMILY, THE PACIFIC, and More

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: August 1st, 2010 at 8:50 am

The Television Critics Association honored their favorite television of the year yesterday and, if nothing else, want you to know that they really like Glee.

• Glee took home thee awards: “Program of the Year”, “Outstanding New Program”, and “Individual Achievement in Comedy”
• Both of the gender-neutral “Individual Achievement” awards went to females: Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) for Drama, Jane Lynch (Glee) for Comedy
• Lost tied with Breaking Bad for “Outstanding Achievement in Drama”, while freshman Modern Family earned “Outstanding Achievement in Comedy”
• In terms of classic television, M*A*S*H* got the nod for the “Heritage Award”, and The Rockford Files star James Garner was recognized with the “Career Achievement” award

Hit the jump for the press release, with the full list of winners.

Jon Seda Video Interview THE PACIFIC and LARRY CROWN at the 2010 Saturn Awards

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 4th, 2010 at 10:11 am

If you enjoyed watching HBO’s The Pacific, you’re going to like the red carpet video interview I did with Jon Seda at last week’s 2010 Saturn Awards.  That’s because we spent most of the time talking about what it was like making the show and did he feel like they had to one up Band of Brothers.  We also talked about how he got cast in Tom Hanks next movie Larry Crown and who he plays.  Hit the jump to take a look:

Anna Torv Exclusive Video Interview FRINGE

by Steve 'Frosty' Weintraub    Posted: July 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

At last week’s Saturn Awards (yes, I’m still posting interviews from the event), I got to speak with Anna Torv on the red carpet before the show.  As one of the stars of the great FOX show, Fringe, we talked about what happened last season, what does she know about next season, Comic-Con, HBO’s The Pacific,  and Lance Reddick.  Hit the jump to watch the interview.

Tom Hanks Talks THE PACIFIC, Upcoming Series on JFK Assassination

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 4th, 2010 at 10:17 am

In a profile piece by Time Magazine, Tom Hanks is depicted as the accidental history buff.  He wasn’t interested in history when he was in school, but now he, along with Steven Spielberg, is about to release his second ten-part World War II mini-series.  HBO’s eagerly awaited The Pacific follows three soldiers as they travel through the Pacific campaign.  In the piece, Hanks notes that they won’t shrink from the horror of America’s own brutality in the war, and he’s eager to show how our battle in the Pacific compares to a current war in the Middle East:

“From the outset we wanted to make people wonder how our troops can reenter society in the first place.  How could they just pick up their lives and get on with the rest of us. Back in World War II we viewed the Japanese as ‘yellow slant-eyed dogs’ that believed in different Gods. They were out to kill us because our way of living was different. Does that sound familiar by any chance to what’s going on today?”

Hit the jump for what Hanks had to say regarding his plans for a mini-series about the JFK Assassination.  The Pacific premieres March 14th at 9/8c on HBO.

HBO Adds Another Star To Its Roster As Kathryn Bigelow Signs On To Direct the Pilot For THE MIRACULOUS YEAR

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: February 14th, 2010 at 9:01 pm

Since the dawn of the new year, it’s been hard to keep up with all the film talent HBO was luring to the channel for various projects.  Michael Mann is directing a pilot for Luck from Deadwood creator David Milch.  Charlize Theron and David Fincher are teaming for the serial killer series Mind Hunter.  Russell Crowe and Maria Bello are set to star in Emergency Sex from Slumdog Millionaire scripter Simon Beaufoy.  Zooey Deschanel will headline a series adaptation of I’m With the Band: Confessions of a Groupie.  And most recently HBO acquired the Todd Haynes miniseries adaptation of Mildred Pierce with none other than Kate Winslet attached to star.  Plus miniseries The Pacific, which counts Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks among its producers, will begin a ten-week run on March 14th and the Martin Scorsese-directed pilot for Boardwalk Empire starring Steve Buscemi is set to air later in the year.

But they’re not done just yet.  The Hollywood Reporter announced that recent Oscar-nominee (and soon-to-be Oscar-winner) Kathryn Bigelow will direct the pilot for The Miraculous Year from a screenplay by John Logan.  Details after the break.

Steven Spielberg Interview HBO’s THE PACIFIC

by Sara Wayland    Posted: February 4th, 2010 at 3:33 pm

Executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are following up their highly successful 2001 mini-series Band of Brothers with the epic 10-part The Pacific, premiering on HBO on March 14^th.

The mini-series tracks the intertwined journeys of three U.S. Marines — Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) and John Basilone (Jon Seda) — of the 1^st Marine Division, which is the oldest and largest active duty division of the U.S. Marine Corps.

While Band of Brothers followed the experiences of one company of Amy paratroopers in the European Theater of Operations, The Pacific depicts the war a world away in the Pacific Theater of Operations, which encompassed most of the Pacific Ocean and its islands, including the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.  With the support of their fellow Marines and comrades in the Navy, Air Force and Army, the 1^st Marine Division was at the forefront of many of the hardest-fought campaigns of the Pacific War.  More after the jump:

TV News: PACIFIC Premiere; First Casting on New Shows From J.J. Abrams and BURN NOTICE’s Matt Nix; New CHUCK Poster and Marathon

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: December 16th, 2009 at 6:09 pm

According to Variety, HBO’s The Pacific, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks’ highly-awaited, spiritual-sequel to Band of Brothers, is set to air its first of ten parts on March 14 with a new hour-long episode set to air every Sunday through May 16th.  The miniseries follows the Pacific campaign of World War II and stars James Badge Dale (24), Jon Seda (Bad Boys II), and Joseph Mazzello (Jurassic Park).

Hit the jump to learn about new casting in J.J. Abrams’ new show Undercovers and in Jack and Dan, the new show from Burn Notice creator Matt Nix.  Plus, check out a new poster for the third season of Chuck and when SyFy will be airing a Chuck marathon in preparation for the show’s season premiere.

New Teaser for Upcoming HBO Miniseries THE PACIFIC from BAND OF BROTHERS Creators Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: September 13th, 2009 at 9:39 pm

If you were to make a list of the Top 5 Miniseries of All-Time, HBO’s “Band of Brothers” would have to make the list.  An in-depth personal examination of the soldiers of Easy Company told in 10 parts, it may be the best cinematic depiction of the European Campaign of World War II of all-time.  But exploring the Pacific Campaign and America bringing its vengeance to Japan remains hazy in the public mindset with the flag-raising at Iwo Jima and the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  In March 2010, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman are throwing us back in the shit with the HBO miniseries, “The Pacific”.  Watching its new teaser trailer, I was thrown right back into the war and I can’t help but wonder if “The Pacific” may join “Band of Brothers” on that Top 5 Miniseries list.  Hit the jump to see the new teaser. Click here to see the first teaser trailer which debuted this past June.

Trailer for HBO’s THE PACIFIC

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: June 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 am

You want to know why it’s HBO and not TV?  Because regular TV doesn’t need all the awards for mini-series that HBO inevitibly gets every year.  A new trailer for Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg’s upcoming mini-series “The Pacific” just hit YouTube and they might as well include a line, “We’ll take all the Emmys and Golden Globes right now and save everyone some time.”  It looks absolutely incredible and I’m guessing the only reason it’s not a theatrical release is that it’s in ten parts.

But that doesn’t seem to be the only similarity it has with Hanks and Spielberg’s previous collaboration with HBO.  I need to know what differentiates “The Pacific” from “Band of Brothers” other than the location and it’s focused on the Marines fighting instead of the Army.  I’ll have plenty of time to find out because to my shock and disappointment, we won’t even be seeing this glory until 2010.  I guess those “John Adams” Emmys are lasting HBO just fine for right now.

Check out the new trailer after the jump.

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