Sailors Attend US Battleship Premiere

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Trevor Welsh, Navy Public Affairs Support Element West

LOS ANGELES (NNS) -- Universal Pictures hosted nearly 50 Sailors for the U.S. premiere of the movie "Battleship" at the Nokia Theater L.A. Live in Los Angeles May 10.

Sailors were given the "blue" carpet treatment alongside cast members of the movie and attended the special screening of the film prior to its release in more than 3,000 theaters nation-wide May 18.

"I'm happy that they finally made a film that highlights who we are and is an accurate depiction of what we do," said Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Tim Gutherperson, stationed aboard USS Benfold (DDG 65).

Cast members Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna and Brooklyn Decker, Tadanobu Asano, Col. Gregory D. Gadson, Hamish Linklater, Rico McClinton and Liam Neeson; director Peter Berg; writers Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber; and producers Brian Goldner, Scott Stuber, Sarah Aubrey, Duncan Henderson and Bennett Schneir were all in attendance signing autographs and interacting with Sailors prior to the screening.

Taylor Kitsch, who played the lead male character "Lt. Alex Hopper" in the movie said what really stands out for him is the sacrifices made by Sailors and their families.

"This film is really a tip of the hat to you guys; the true heros," said Kitsch.

Following Department of Defense approval in 2010, the film's production began, and principal photography took place during the U.S. Pacific Fleet's Rim of the Pacific training exercise later that year. Additional filming also took place in Hawaii, San Diego, and on a film set in Baton Rouge, La., constructed by Universal Studios. The movie's cast and crew spent time at-sea and witnessed life underway on U.S. Navy warships and lived side-by-side with Sailors.

"They taught us more than we ever knew about the Navy, which was pretty special," said Brooklyn Decker, who played the lead female character "Sam" in the movie. "We actors only play heros, so the fact that they were there helping us along was incredible, and it also gave something real to the movie. It's a big, fun, summer, alien action movie, so to have something real felt very special to us."

"It was one of the most amazing things watching that crew in action, throwing down, with what they do every day," said Jon Hoeber. "They granted us total access, and it was unbelievable. They were excited to have us there and we were dieing to be there. To be able to tell their stories and watch the United States of America 'Blue Water Navy' and all they do-stunning! People in this country do not know enough about that."

"Battleship" was made with the support of the Department of Defense and the Navy. According to Rear Adm. Denny Moynihan, U.S. Navy's Chief of Information, the Navy had to evaluate the idea of the movie and ask some critical questions before deciding to support the film.

"First, does the script accurately portray the Navy," said Moynihan. "Second, does it positively represent our service and our Sailors? Third, can we support the film without impacting our operations? And finally, do we believe that it could have a positive impact on recruiting? In the case of 'Battleship,' we felt the answer was 'Yes' to each of those questions."

Because filming took place during already scheduled training events, it did not impair operations and there was no cost to the Navy or American taxpayers.

"The end result is a film that provides movie-goers with a realistic look of the Navy and Sailors operating at sea - scenes that I think reflect well on the Navy," said Moynihan.

"The reason we do things like this, is because we would love to take everybody out to sea on an aircraft carrier, destroyer, or submarine to see what we do, but we can't." said Moynihan. "But we know that people go to movies, so this is one way we help the American people get get a better understanding of what their Navy does 24 hours a day 7 days a week."

Navy Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR), in coordination with Universal Studios, will be offering special screenings of Battleship to Sailors and their families prior to the nationwide release of the movie May 18.

The film's director, Peter Berg, will be present to kick off the free screenings at Naval Base Coronado and Naval Base San Diego Naval Air Station (NAS) North Island May 11. Special screenings will also take place this weekend at Camp Lejeune, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Naval Submarine Base New London and Joint Base Little Creek-Fort Story May 12.

Berg, director of Battleship, will also attend the Joint Base Little Creek-Fort Story screening. Future screenings will take place in Washington, D.C. May 14, at Naval Air Station Jacksonville May 15 and onboard USS Missouri May 16.

Hollywood Films 'Battleship' Aboard Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Mark Logico, Commander Navy Region Hawaii Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- A Universal Pictures production crew was aboard Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH) Sept. 7-24 to film the new action-adventure movie "Battleship," based on the Hasbro board game.

Directed by Peter Berg, Battleship will feature the U.S. and Japanese navies stumbling upon the point of an alien invasion. Berg's previous directorial works include "The Kingdom," "The Rundown" and "Hancock."

"I've always been a huge fan of the Navy," said Berg. "My father was a Marine and a naval historian. I was brought up learning about Pearl Harbor, the campaign of the Pacific, and the Battle of Midway. He was particularly obsessed with World War II. The idea of making a film about naval warfare was something that was always interesting to me. What better place to set it than Pearl Harbor?"

The film is set in modern day, during a Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise. RIMPAC is the largest real world multinational maritime exercise that occurs every two years in and around the Hawaiian islands. This year, seven nations participated in RIMPAC, showcasing more than 30 modern naval ships, with the goal of building relationships, increasing interoperability and improving readiness among allied countries.

Berg said there have been a number of films with old battleships like the USS Missouri.

"I thought it would be interesting to introduce the audience to the modern surface warfare," he said, "and some of the current destroyers, missile cruisers and some of the other things that the Navy has now, that they didn't have back in the old days."

One of the modern U.S. Navy destroyers featured on "Battleship" is USS Hopper (DDG 70), where the film crew shot several action scenes on the ship.

"The movie gives the Sailors a chance to see what Hollywood is like, and believe it or not, they are not unlike us," said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jim Dewitt, USS Hopper. "It brings a lot of different people out to see what the Navy is all about. All the people who are in the background, and all the people who are working for Hollywood themselves probably never got to do some of the stuff that we get to do."

When the casting call was announced for scenes aboard the Battleship Missouri Memorial, Dewitt signed up to play an extra in the film. More than 300 Sailors and actors playing Sailors signed up to participate in the filming aboard Missouri.

The scenes shot aboard the Missouri included actors Taylor Kitsch, Brooklyn Decker, Alexander Skarsgard, Rihanna and Liam Neeson.

"I met most of the actors and actresses, and they are all very nice," said Dewitt. "They are very approachable individuals. A lot of people were kind of 'should I talk to them, should I not?', but they are as excited about being here as much as we are."

JBPHH Chief Staff Officer Capt. Lawrence Scruggs, showed his support for the movie by signing up to be an extra as well.

"The real value of having Sailors as part of that production is that we could "Sailorize" the actors who have no military affiliation," said Scruggs. "With Battleship, this is an opportunity for the Navy to reach out to the civilian population and say, 'Hey, look at us and look at what we do.'"

Scruggs said it is important to depict U.S. Sailors accurately.

"Somebody is going to see Battleship and see those actors and extras, and that's going to be their only impression of the Navy," said Scruggs. "You want that to be a good impression, because there are 330,000 Sailors and Marines out there right now who are just doing great stuff for the country. We want to portray those individuals accurately as well as those Sailors who have come before us."

Berg said he believes in research and authenticity, citing his previous movies "Friday Night Lights" and "The Kingdom," in which he used actual football players and FBI agents.

"As an actor, I like taking people who have never acted before and helping them find their inner actor," said Berg. "We all have an actor inside of us. To have the guys and gals on board ships like the Hopper, Shoup, Ronald Reagan, and some of the other ships that we have been on, do what they do…we could not teach an actor to do as well as they do it. They have a lot of fun. They're good at it, and it is fun to put real Sailors in the movie."

Dewitt said he hopes that he could at least be seen in the movie.

"There were a few scenarios where we had some close-ups done, but you just never know," said Dewitt. "It was still a fun experience. I expect that we will have a good portrayal of the Navy. They've done a lot of good Navy shots, incorporating a lot of the Sailors and service members around Hawaii. I also think that we are going to see a lot of action in this movie. They're pulling off a lot of different stunts and a lot of different things. They're going to show what the Navy is all about."

Battleship is scheduled to be released May 18, 2012.