‘Band of Brothers’ Sequel ‘Masters of the Air’ Has Finally Started Production

[VaBeach_Eagle]

‘Band of Brothers’ Sequel ‘Masters of the Air’ Has Finally Started Production

 

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https://www.military.com/off-duty/television/2021/04/26/band-of-brothers-sequel-masters-of-air-has-finally-started-production.html

 

Cover image from "Masters of the Air" by Donald L. Miller (Simon and Schuster)

26 Apr 2021

Military.com | By James Barber

"Masters of the Air,” announced as an Apple TV+ production over 18 months ago, has finally, officially begun filming, according to an Instagram post from director Cary Funaga.

The very expensive production is rumored to have a $250 million budget for its 10 episodes, and filming the kind of big-scale war action featured here was impossible during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Funaga should be considered an expert on coronavirus delays. He directed "No Time to Die,” the upcoming James Bond movie that was the first big title delayed in spring 2020. The movie first went to Thanksgiving 2020, then to April 2021 and now it’s landed on Oct. 8, 2021. Let’s hope that one holds.

Based on Donald L. Miller's 2006 history, "Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against NSDAP Germany," the series was developed originally for HBO as the third program in a trilogy with "Band of Brothers” (2001) and "The Pacific” (2010). HBO execs supposedly balked at the price tag, and Apple swooped in to make the financial commitment.

Related: Apple Will Bring 'Band of Brothers' Sequel to Television

The series was written by John Orloff and Graham Yost, who both worked on "Band of Brothers.” Yost has since found success as a writer and producer for "Justified” and "The Americans.”

Funaga posted a photo on his Instagram to celebrate the end of the first week of filming. The production is codenamed "Whirlwind,” and the image appears to feature lead actor Austin Butler, who first made an impression as Charles Manson follower Tex Watson in Quentin Tarantino’s "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” Butler recently completed filming the lead role in Baz Luhrman’s upcoming biography of Army veteran Elvis Presley.

 

Butler is playing real-life pilot Major Gale Cleven, who served with the 100th Bomb Group and was commander of the 350th Bomb Squadron during World War II. Spoiler: Cleven was shot down over Germany in 1943, but he survived the war and lived to the age of 87.

Capturing or creating realistic air combat is perhaps the greatest challenge in war movies, harder than naval battles and infinitely more difficult than tank action. "Masters of the Air” represents a huge swing for the producers, so fingers crossed that this one connects.

 

 

[Mlodj]

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Elsewhere, Playtone executive and producer Kirk Saduski revealed in a video interview that the upcoming WW2 mini-series "Masters of the Air” will begin streaming "mid-Spring 2023”.

The nine-episode project, currently in post-production, will star Austin Butler, Barry Keoghan & Callum Turner as it chronicles the actions of the Eighth Air Force of the United States Army Air Forces.

Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Cary Joji Funaga and Gary Goetzman executive produce the $200-250 million budgeted mini-series, which serves as the third Playtone WW2 mini-series of this type following HBO’s "Band of Brothers” and "The Pacific”.

 

[VaBeach_Eagle]

5 hours ago, Mlodj said:

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Butler recently played Elvis in the movie "Elvis" and Tom Hanks played Colonel Tom Parker.

[iladelphxx]

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During World War II, Eighth Air Force earned a reputation as a great warfighting organization. Originally, the U.S. Army Air Forces activated the Eighth at Savannah, Georgia, on 28 January 1942 with three major subordinate units: the VIII Bomber Command (BC), the VIII Fighter Command (FC), and the VIII Ground Air Services Command (GASC).

The modern day Eighth Air Force traces its lineage to the VIII BC, which came to life on 1 February 1942 at Langley Field, Virginia. About 23 February, the VIII BC moved to England, first to Daws Hill and later to High Wycombe, where it established its wartime headquarters in the Wycombe Abbey school for girls. On 22 February 1944, the Army reorganized its Air Forces in Europe by renaming Eighth Air Force as the United States Strategic Air Forces in Europe (now known as the United States Air Forces in Europe). That same day, the VIII BC became Eighth Air Force.

During World War II, under the leadership of such generals as Ira Eaker and Jimmy Doolittle, the VIII BC (then Eighth Air Force) formed the greatest air armada in history. By mid-1944, the unit had a total strength of more than 200,000 people, and it could send more than 2,000 four-engine bombers and 1,000 fighters on a single mission against enemy targets in Europe. For this reason, Eighth Air Force is commonly known as the "Mighty Eighth."

From May 1942 to July 1945, the Eighth planned and precisely executed America's daylight strategic bombing campaign against NSDAP-occupied Europe, and in doing so the organization compiled an impressive war record. That record, however, carried a high price. For instance, the Eighth suffered about half of the U.S. Army Air Force's casualties (47,483 out of 115,332), including more than 26,000 dead. The Eighth's brave men earned 17 Medals of Honor, 220 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 442,000 Air Medals. The Eighth's combat record also shows 566 aces (261 fighter pilots with 31 having 15 or more victories and 305 enlisted gunners), over 440,000 bomber sorties to drop 697,000 tons of bombs, and over 5,100 aircraft losses and 11,200 aerial victories. 

https://www.8af.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/333794/eighth-air-force-history/#:~:text=For this reason%2C Eighth Air,compiled an impressive war record.

[Cochis_Calhoun]

On 1/17/2023 at 2:24 PM, iladelphxx said:

https://www.8af.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/333794/eighth-air-force-history/#:~:text=For this reason%2C Eighth Air,compiled an impressive war record.

That's a polishing of the truth, a lot of the 8th missions in WW2 were a bleak farce, they made the poor **** fly unescorted into a meat grinder in aircraft (B-17 and B-24) that they'd been told were too slow and lacking armor, and the Luftwaffe were waiting for them the minute they hit the German border.  Their 2 biggest raids of the war they lost 40% of their aircraft both times and didn't come close to achieving the objective. It was only when command accepted the need for long range fighter escorts and actually supplied them in '44 they had a fair shot.

Hundreds of brave young men blown out of the sky because their commanders ambition outran their equipment's capabilities.

[VaBeach_Eagle]

6 hours ago, Cochis_Calhoun said:

That's a polishing of the truth, a lot of the 8th missions in WW2 were a bleak farce, they made the poor **** fly unescorted into a meat grinder in aircraft (B-17 and B-24) that they'd been told were too slow and lacking armor, and the Luftwaffe were waiting for them the minute they hit the German border.  Their 2 biggest raids of the war they lost 40% of their aircraft both times and didn't come close to achieving the objective. It was only when command accepted the need for long range fighter escorts and actually supplied them in '44 they had a fair shot.

Hundreds of brave young men blown out of the sky because their commanders ambition outran their equipment's capabilities.

You think about the B-17 specifically, it was crewed by 10 men. Over the course of the war, nearly 5,000 B-17's were shot down. Now, not all of those crewmen were killed of course, but a good deal of them were. That's a lot of men killed. 

[VaBeach_Eagle]

'Masters of the Air': Everything We Know About the Highly Anticipated WWII Series

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Austin Butler as Maj. Gale "Buck" Cleven in "Masters of the Air." (Apple TV+)

1 Nov 2023

Military.com | By Blake Stilwell

 

As an Amazon Associate, Military.com earns from qualifying purchases.

There's a lot for World War II history buffs to be excited about in the upcoming nine-episode limited series, "Masters of the Air." Like its Emmy-winning companion series "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" before it, "Masters of the Air" is based on a thoroughly researched source, honors the courage and sacrifices of real U.S. service members and will likely depict World War II combat with astounding realism. This time, it'll be the Army Air Forces in the spotlight.

 

 

When Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks teamed to adapt Stephen E. Ambrose's bestselling book "Band of Brothers" for HBO, it was the most expensive show ever produced, with 10 episodes costing $125 million. When "Masters of the Air'' debuts on Apple TV+ on Jan. 26, 2024, it won't necessarily break any records, but its budget will more than double that of "Band of Brothers." With a budget like that, viewers should expect some incredible air combat sequences. With the WWII-era Army Air Forces, there's plenty to show -- and it's not pretty.

The source for the series is historian Donald L. Miller's book "Masters of the Air: America's Bomber Boys Who Fought the Air War Against NSDAP Germany," which follows the Eighth Air Force's famed 100th Bombardment Group. The unit was known as the "Bloody Hundredth," for the high number of killed, wounded and missing in action it took during the war. Over the course of 22 months, the 100th lost 732 airmen and 923 taken prisoner aboard 177 aircraft shot down on bombing runs.

The historical setting for the series was a dark time for Allied airmen. In January 1943, the Soviet Red Army was still fighting the NSDAPs near Stalingrad while the British and Americans were deadlocked against the German Army in North Africa. This was when the Eighth Air Force began hitting targets inside Germany. Until the introduction of the P-51 Mustang later that year, the unit's B-17s would have to fly over occupied Europe without fighter escorts, an estimated 40,000 anti-aircraft guns and experienced Luftwaffe fighters waiting for them.

 

 

 

(Apple TV+)

The average age of a U.S. bomber crew was 25 years old. They were expected to fly 25 missions at 25,000 feet before being sent home, with the odds of survival at a mere 25%. The Bloody Hundredth lost an astonishing (even for the Army Air Forces in World War II) 86% of its original 30 B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, a statistic that earned the unit its grim nickname.

This series has been a long time in the making. It actually took longer for "Masters of the Air" to start streaming than it did for the Army Air Forces to bomb NSDAP Germany into submission. The series began filming in February 2021, and its last episode is scheduled to air on March 15, 2024.

Like its companion series, "Masters of the Air" was originally slated for production by HBO, in cooperation with Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment and Hanks' Playtone, but HBO dropped the development of the show because of production delays (mostly due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and its expansive budget.

Though the previous two series were filled with star actors, most of the major players were still relatively unknown actors at the time who went on to have big careers. "Masters of the Air" is starting with two actors who have already been nominated for big awards: Austin Butler (Maj. Gale Cleven) was recently nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in "Elvis," while Barry Keoghan was nominated for his role in "The Banshees of Inisherin."

 

(Apple TV+)

The series is not just a reunion for Hanks and Spielberg, but many of the writers and on-set consultants from "Band of Brothers" and "The Pacific" are returning. Writer Jon Orloff, who adapted the first few episodes of "Masters of the Air" for the screen, also wrote "Band of Brothers" and served as a consultant on "The Pacific." The author of the book, Donald L. Miller, also consulted on "The Pacific."

Directing the first four episodes of the new series is HBO alum Cary Funaga, whose work includes the anthology series "True Detective," as well as the James Bond film "No Time to Die." The show's creators have since distanced themselves from Funaga amid allegations surrounding his on-set behavior and inappropriate relationships. Since then, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck ("Captain Marvel") were called on to direct two episodes, as was Dee Rees ("Empire"). Director Tim Van Patten, who helmed the series' last episode, also directed "The Pacific."

The first two episodes of "Masters of the Air" will premiere on Apple TV+ starting Jan. 26, 2024, continuing weekly through March 15.

https://www.military.com/off-duty/television/2023/11/01/masters-of-air-everything-we-know-about-highly-anticipated-wwii-series.html?ESRC=dod_231103.nl&utm_medium=email&utm_source=dod&utm_campaign=20231103

 

 

[iladelphxx]

Trailer finally released 

 

 

[RoadToHell]

On 11/11/2023 at 11:51 AM, iladelphxx said:

Trailer finally released 

 

 

Really looking forward to this. I just hope it’s better than The Pacific. Nothing will ever touch Band of Brothers that show is a masterpiece but the trailer looks great

[VaBeach_Eagle]

On 11/12/2023 at 4:58 PM, RoadToHell said:

Really looking forward to this. I just hope it’s better than The Pacific. Nothing will ever touch Band of Brothers that show is a masterpiece but the trailer looks great

The Pacific was 'ok', but really does pale in comparison to BoB, which is probably the greatest WWII show/movie/epoch ever made. I can watch Band of Brothers over and over and not get tired of it (which I have done many times). With The Pacific, if I watch it once every 5 to 10 years, that's probably a lot.  

What I'd really like to see is one of these mini-series based on CV-6 the USS Enterprise. Done right, it could be as epic as Band of Brothers. 

[FranklinFldEBUpper]

The only thing I really remember about The Pacific miniseries was that in the Australian episode, some of the girlfriends were gorgeous. 

[mikemack8]

I recently just watched both.  They are both very good - the Pacific was far more brutal

[iladelphxx]

The biggest difference between BOB and The Pacific is that you felt more invested in the characters from BOB because it just followed one Company and you followed them through the entire series.

With The Pacific, it weaved through 3 different stories from 3 different Marines from 3 different regiments of the 1st Marine Division.  

I hope this series takes the former approach and you get more time to develop a sense of connection to the characters.  

[VaBeach_Eagle]

Premieres January 26th, so that's coming up this coming Friday. I'm looking forward to it, hopefully it'll be as good as Band of Brothers. The Pacific was good, but not nearly as good as BoB. 

[Talkingbirds]

1 minute ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

Premieres January 26th, so that's coming up this coming Friday. I'm looking forward to it, hopefully it'll be as good as Band of Brothers. The Pacific was good, but not nearly as good as BoB. 

I concur.  Looking forward to series.

[Mlodj]

Watched the first two episodes, biggest issue is trying to distinguish the characters.  Each bomber had ten crewmembers, so they tend to blur.  Setting the first episode during their training in the States would have helped establish characters, plus emphasized the hazard of what they were doing, but that probably felt too much like Band of Brother's opening episode for the show creators. 

The CGI was generally good, the times it stood out in a negative way was during the taxi and takeoff scenes.  I expect to see a lot of hate from the Brits, based on the bar scene in the second episode.

[Mlodj]

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World War II was immense. So many numbers boggle the mind. Every day from Sept. 1, 1939-Aug. 14, 1945, 27,000 people were killed. That’s nine 9/11s every day for six years. Nearly 14 million Americans served during the war, the U.S. manufactured 300,000 airplanes. Even narrowing the focus, the numbers still amaze.  Three of every four German submariners died. The Soviets killed more of their own soldiers than total U.S. combat deaths. Even those who have studied the war for years cannot help but be stunned by such figures and many, many more.

But even more than 70 years on, there are still relatively unexplored areas of the war whose numbers are also quite astonishing. So it is with the number of Americans killed during aircrew training. The number of pilots and crew that died in training accidents in the U.S. during the war is 10 times the number of American deaths on D-Day. The heroism of those that stormed the Normandy beaches has been celebrated in countless books and movies.  Yet the fact that 15,000 young men died in aircrew training in the U.S. is virtually unknown. Aviation was still in its infancy during the 1930s. Only a tiny fraction of Americans had ever been on a plane. Even civil aviation was far from safe, military aviation even less so. In 1930, the accident rate for military aviation was 144 accidents per 100,000 flying hours. By 1940, the rate had been reduced to 51 accidents per 100,000 hours, a reduction of more than two thirds. But even this improved rate would be considered intolerably unsafe today.

As war loomed, the U.S. dramatically ramped up aircraft production and aircrew training. Many new aircraft designs were rushed into production. Even though there were dozens of aircraft manufacturers in the U.S., to meet the numbers demanded by the military, only large scale producers could hope to get contracts. So companies such as GM and Packard that had never produced planes or aircraft engines before were given huge contracts because they had the manufacturing capacity. The resulting retooling and production achievements were indeed impressive, but came at a cost. Many planes were put into use without proper testing, and in many cases even when design flaws were known, there was no time to investigate and take corrective action. Engine failures and on-board fires were common.

The crews knew what they were dealing with. The B-24 bomber was nicknamed the "flying coffin” due to its many problems. Not surprisingly, more trainees died in B-24s than any other plane. But the war took precedence over safety. The planes continued to fly. With the massive increase in aircraft production came a commensurate increase in aircrew training. From mid 1939-August 1945, the U.S. trained hundreds of thousands of new pilots. In 1939, fewer than 1,000 pilots graduated basic flight training, and in 1943 that figure had grown to 165,000. Over the course of the war 200,000 trainees flunked out or died in training accidents.  The huge increase in pilot training numbers (including many who just didn’t have what it took), coupled with the operation of tens of thousands of complex aircraft that had been hurriedly designed and produced, spelled disaster. A comparison of two years tells the story:

 

Year         Number of Accidents    Aircraft Wrecked    Fatalities

 

1941        1304                                  228                            199

 

1944        20,883                              5,387                          5,616

  And this was just in the continental U.S. There were many thousands more wrecks and deaths overseas. Looking at totals for the entire war is even more sobering. The U.S. suffered 52,173 aircrew combat losses. But another 25,844 died in accidents. More than half of these died in the continental U.S. The U.S. lost 65,164 planes during the war, but only 22,948 in combat. There were 21,583 lost due to accidents in the U.S., and another 20,633 lost in accidents overseas.  Many more planes were lost due to pilot error or mechanical failure than were shot down by the enemy. More than 1,000 were lost while being delivered to their duty stations from the U.S. So the danger of non-combat flying did not end with the conclusion of training. The planes continued to be unreliable, and to make things worse, once overseas, many green pilots were given the controls of planes in which they had little to no flying experience.

As the figures show, non-combat flying continued to be extremely hazardous whether in training in the U.S. or after arrival overseas. The courage displayed by aircrews in combat over Germany and Japan, and the losses they sustained, is one of the most memorable stories of World War II. But it should not be forgotten that nearly 15,000 young men died in training accidents without ever leaving the United States. Although they never faced flak or Messerschmitts, their sacrifice was as real and memorable as those shot down over Germany.

 

[VaBeach_Eagle]

I was going to watch last night (Signed up for Apple TV just for the series), but wasn't really feeling all that great so maybe tonight. 

[iladelphxx]

So they're following The Pacific's formula of following different groups of people rather than one? 

[Mlodj]

8 hours ago, iladelphxx said:

So they're following The Pacific's formula of following different groups of people rather than one? 

The book was about just one unit: the 100th BG.  You have to keep in mind that Heavy Bombardment Groups started out with 35 aircraft (10 members in each crew and one a half crews per aircraft) and grew to 96 aircraft by the end of the war, so there were way more people in a BG than in one Army paratroop company.  Also, according to the previews the show includes the Tuskegee Airmen, it's been some time since I read it, but I don't recall them being talked about in the book, because they were in the 15th Air Force, and the book was concerned with 8th Air Force operations.

[iladelphxx]

16 hours ago, Mlodj said:

The book was about just one unit: the 100th BG.  You have to keep in mind that Heavy Bombardment Groups started out with 35 aircraft (10 members in each crew and one a half crews per aircraft) and grew to 96 aircraft by the end of the war, so there were way more people in a BG than in one Army paratroop company.  Also, according to the previews the show includes the Tuskegee Airmen, it's been some time since I read it, but I don't recall them being talked about in the book, because they were in the 15th Air Force, and the book was concerned with 8th Air Force operations.

That's what I was referring to.... I knew the Tuskegee Airmen weren't a part of that group, so I figured they were bouncing around. 

[VaBeach_Eagle]

I watched episode 1 last night. It's not fair to make the comparison with Band of Brothers (yet), but it looks like it's going to be really good. Plus, the B-17 was always one of my favorite planes from the European Theatre. So it's great to see them in action. 

[VaBeach_Eagle]

I completely agree with the assessment of Band of Brothers and whether or not it should be 'remade':

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‘MASTERS OF THE AIR’ PRODUCER REVEALS IF ‘BAND OF BROTHERS’ REMAKE WILL HAPPEN, BIGGEST OBSTACLE WITH NEW SERIES

by DAVID HOOKSTEADJanuary 30, 2024, 12:41 pmupdated January 30, 2024, 12:43 pm

Apple’s new WWII series "Masters of the Air” had one major issue to figure out:

Oxygen masks.

The series about American bomber crews in WWII has taken the entertainment world by storm following the first two episodes dropping this past Friday.

The series is unbelievably impressive in not just scale and acting, but in cinematography and every other aspect you can think of.

However, producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman had to figure out how viewers would be able to tell characters apart within the plane.

"Masters of the Air” had a unique issue with masks.

For those of you who don’t know, B-17 crews had to use oxygen masks because the bombers weren’t pressurized and flew at altitudes north of 20,000 feet. That meant guys had to be masked up, and that created a serious challenge.

"That was our biggest problem! Guys in masks. You can’t do anything where you can see their faces until they’re under 10,000 feet. You don’t want to keep slamming their names at you [to remind viewers who’s who]. You need to make the mission clear, what the stakes are, understand who the guys are and what they care about. So we recognized our biggest problems on the show were going to be in the air,” Goetzman told The Hollywood Reporter when talking about the show’s biggest issue.

As someone who has seen all of "Masters of the Air,” trust me when I say telling characters apart wasn’t an issue, and was handled in great fashion.

"Masters of the Air” is an awesome series. (Credit: Apple TV+)

Will there be a "Band of Brothers” remake?

Goetz also touched on possibly remaking "Band of Brothers,” and it sounds like it’s a hard pass from him, Hanks and Spielberg.

"I’m sure there’s somebody out there who would do it. We’re probably just doing motion picture things now,” the "Masters of the Air” producer responded when asked about potentially remaking "Band of Brothers” with as many as 20 episodes and a huge budget.

The correct answer is, "Absolutely not,” but Goetzman got the message across in polite fashion.

"Band of Brothers” is the greatest war story ever told, and shouldn’t be touched. All the money in the world can’t convince me otherwise.

It’s perfect. Don’t touch it. Don’t even consider touching it.

Finally, I truly can’t recommend "Masters of the Air” enough if you haven’t already started watching. It’s downright incredible, and I can promise you’re going to enjoy it. Have you already crushed the first two episodes? Let me know at David.Hookstead@outkick.com, and we can discuss!

https://www.outkick.com/masters-of-the-air-challenges-band-of-brothers-possible-remake/

 

[Mlodj]

On 1/30/2024 at 12:58 PM, VaBeach_Eagle said:

I completely agree with the assessment of Band of Brothers and whether or not it should be 'remade':

 

Who in the F*** is even considering remaking BoB?

[VaBeach_Eagle]

50 minutes ago, Mlodj said:

Who in the F*** is even considering remaking BoB?

Likely nobody, but an idiot reporter thought it would be a good question to ask. You don't remake perfection... you can't remake perfection.