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Though Disney is keeping mum about its much ballyhooed May 21 premiere of the $135-million film "Pearl Harbor" at Ford Island, the official Web site teases moviegoers with trivia about the Jerry Bruckheimer-Michael Bay film, exclusive pictures from the set and hints about a soon-to-be-published book, "Pearl Harbor: The Movie and the Moment." ‘Pearl’ Ford Isle
premiere hinted for MayStarbulletin.com video specials:
Pearl Harbor: Big Boom
By Tim Ryan
Star-BulletinThe studio, under its Touchstone Pictures banner, sent some location photos to select publications, but the full press kit won't be released until shortly before it opens nationwide May 25, a Disney official said.
Despite Disney's insistence that a final decision to hold the premiere in Hawaii has not been made, the studio recently inquired about the availability of production crews in Honolulu for the premiere, execs were here to discuss the event with military officials, and the studio reportedly has reserved hundreds of rooms in Waikiki for visiting journalists.
The film was shot at Pearl Harbor, Schofield Barracks and other Oahu military installations, with assistance from the Pentagon.
Disney's official movie web site -- pearlharbor.com -- opens with the screen showing a Sky King radio. Access to the page is by "tuning" the dial.
The wartime tale of romance is set against the backdrop of Japan's surprise attack. It stars Ben Affleck as Lt. Rafe McCauley, Josh Hartnett as Danny Walker and Kate Beckinsale as nurse Evelyn Stewart.Rafe and Danny both fall in love with Evelyn. Prior to the attack and the United States' entry into the war, Rafe does what he can to develop his fighter pilot skills. The Royal Air Force needs pilots, and Rafe needs experience. So Col. James Doolittle (Alec Baldwin) arranges for Rafe to go to England.
In the meantime, Evelyn is assigned to work at the Naval Hospital at Pearl Harbor, where Danny is a pilot, and the two become romantically involved.
Affleck, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Beckinsale are expected to attend the Hawaii premiere, sources said.
For trivia buffs wondering how Affleck's character handles the horror of the attack, the actor said in a recent interview, "I do cry, but only for a moment. Men didn't cry in the '40s."
Affleck, who studied American history in college, described the film as "a sociopolitical epic tale speaking to these larger themes of innocence in America, the price of war, the sacrifice a generation made."
Another Web site prominently featuring the film is cinemenium.com, which got hold of the book "Pearl Harbor: The Movie and the Moment" to be released in May by Disney's Hyperion Press.
The 160-page book, written by Linda Sunshine, contains 160 four-color photos and will sell for $35. The book contains "candid shots, storyboards, sketches and maps." There also are articles and sidebars detailing the making of the movie, information about special effects and music, interviews with Pearl Harbor survivors, and profiles of major war figures.
The cinemenium.com site shows several color photos from the film, including nurses working at Pearl Harbor at the time of the attack, torpedo explosions, close ups of the stars, and a photo of the overturned hull of a destroyer.
Another Pearl Harbor book to be released in conjunction with the film is Basic Book's "Pearl Harbor: The Day of Infamy -- An Illustrated History" by naval historian Dan ven der Vat. The book, $39.95, goes on sale May 15. It includes 250 images, specially commissioned paintings, maps and dimensional diagrams. The foreword is by John McCain.
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