Upcoming WW2 Sub Movie "USS Seaviper"

[Seminole]

like real U-boat men, spent many months in a cramped, unhealthy atmosphere

the pallor of men who seldom saw the sun

Hmmmmm....now, just who does that remind me of????


Hey...Maybe most of us can get parts in the movie!

[Carl Lyons]

Here is a press release that is going out for our team's appearance on CBS this Sunday. Wish us luck as we'll be discussing the movie and the USS Drum Documentary.

Regards,
Carl Lyons
Seaviper the Movie and USS Drum Documentary



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


July 18, 2008

VILLANI-ROCKHILL PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Seaviper440@comcast.net
www.seaviper.net

Seaviper the Movie and USS Drum Documentary on
CBS Sunday, July 20, 2008!

Tim Large (Chief of the Boat: Frank Keenan), Michael Jacques (British POW
Frederick Grey) and Director, Ralph Villani will appear on West Palm Beach, CBS
Affilliate WPEC Channel 12’s “Morning News” Sunday, July 20, 2008 to discuss
Villani-Rockhill’s upcoming feature film USS Seaviper and USS Drum Documentary.

South Florida based, Villani-Rockhill Productions in co-operation with Statusfilms,
Shoreline Production Services, Saturn Sound Studios and TC Video will film eight
scenes from the upcoming feature film, USS SEAVIPER, a World War II
submarine combat film in south Florida. The story is about a U.S. submarine that
discovers uranium on an island occupied by Japanese and German soldiers in the
south Pacific, while the Navigational Officer and Chief of the Boat struggle for
power, and USS SEAVIPER is hunted and depth charged by a Japanese destroyer.

A documentary about the USS Drum Submarine including interviews from World
War 2 Submarine Veterans is also being produced in co-operation with Battleship
Memorial Park in Mobile, Alabama. Three of the USS Drum World War 2
Submarine Veterans featured in the Drum Documentary currently reside in south
Florida.

The movie’s core, crew members are residents of south
Florida:RalphVILLANI/DirectorProducer;MikeTEUTSCH/SpecialFXCoordinator;
Jon SCHELLENGER/Director of Photography; Rob NORRIS/Producer- Chief
Sound Mixer; Jane VEREEN/Line Producer; Greg JOCOY/Data Specialist; Bob
Lutjen/Lighting Design; Jose HERRERA/Assistant Director of Photography; and
Alejandro MEJIA/Assistant Sound Mixer. The script was written by Lynanne
ROCKHILL, who also is a south Florida resident. Submarine Veteran Tom
BOWSER and Museum Curator Lesley WATERS are the consultants on the
ground in Mobile.

For more information on SEAVIPER the movie or the upcoming USS DRUM
documentary, visit us online at www.seaviper.net.
Press release courtesy of
SEAVIPER, LLC.
###

[snakeyez]

Thanks for that update!

Here's the website for WPEC in Florida: http://www.cbs12.com/

[Doolittle81]

Hopefully the interview can be put up for on-line viewing, after the fact...on vimeo or youtube for example.

[Faamecanic]

Originally Posted by Woody34

Besides Schindler's List name one american WWII movie that was actually a good movie? I'll watch Das Boot for the 100th time.

Late to the party, and maybe this was said already...

HBO films...the series Band of Brothers... may not be a 2 hour movie (its like a 14 part mini-series) was EXCELLENT. for those that havent seen it...it follows a group of us 101st (I think) Airborne, Easy Company, from training, to being positioned in the UK, through D-day, and the end of the war.

Great thing is each episode was introduced with the actual guys (to include thier squad leader (2nd lt) who eventually became thier company commander). who fought in the battles.... VERY cool for realism, as well as very sobering when the soldiers found Berknau (spelling?) concentration camp near the end.

[Carl Lyons]

The station said they would give us a copy, will post it on our site as soon as we get it.

Regards,
CL

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Faamecanic

Late to the party, and maybe this was said already...

HBO films...the series Band of Brothers... may not be a 2 hour movie (its like a 14 part mini-series) was EXCELLENT. for those that havent seen it...it follows a group of us 101st (I think) Airborne, Easy Company, from training, to being positioned in the UK, through D-day, and the end of the war.

Great thing is each episode was introduced with the actual guys (to include thier squad leader (2nd lt) who eventually became thier company commander). who fought in the battles.... VERY cool for realism, as well as very sobering when the soldiers found Berknau (spelling?) concentration camp near the end.

Seconded on the Band of Brothers and I'll add Tora, Tora, Tora and Bridge on the River Kwai.

[Sailor Steve]

1) Read the thread.

2) Find a good war movie that has NOT already been named three times.

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

1) Read the thread.

2) Find a good war movie that has NOT already been named three times.

So Sailor Steve was all like and then I was all like but then, I apologized for just skimming the thread before replying which was pretty of me, and then we went out for drinks and that made everything all

[Carl Lyons]

Guys,

We've posted a little featurette behind the scenes for the CBS deal on Sunday. Enjoy it. Be nice we still have another 18 months worth of work on this. I promise we'll get actors with dirty faces and beards on there soon. This doesn't say anything about the documentary in it. We'll most likely have snippets from interviews up this week I'll keep you posted. They'll discuss the Drum Doc Sunday on CBS, we'll post the interview as well.

go to www.seaviper.net

CL

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

So Sailor Steve was all like and then I was all like but then, I apologized for just skimming the thread before replying which was pretty of me, and then we went out for drinks and that made everything all

I should have put in a :p but I forgot so but sometimes it's fun to play the and now I'm all :rotfl: but after the I'm feeling kind of .

[Doolittle81]

Originally Posted by Carl Lyons

... I promise we'll get actors with dirty faces and beards on there soon. This doesn't say anything about the documentary in it...
go to www.seaviper.net

A cautionary note concerning the lower right actor/picture"Ralph Villani": I'm sure your ex/retired Navy advisors will agree with me that you would never have seen a Vice-Admiral (three-stars) badly needing a shave, let alone intentionally sporting a beard, trimmed or otherwise. Crewmembers on a sub, okay...sure...absolutely....but, never an admiral, even if on board a Flagship in hostile waters for weeks or months on end....not before, during or after WWII....and continuing through today. (In the 19th century the situation was different) If anyone can post a picture of a bearded WWII three-star, I'll eat my words/opinion, of course.


Also, please don't take my input as being overly negative...I'd just suggest that you will want to try your best to avoid obvious 'historical' mistakes such as the above...and/or other 'immersion killers'. In that regard, neither of your actors playing Japanese soldiers has the ethinc appearance of being Japanese. One appears ethnically chinese and the other possibly hispanic(?). I'll admit, I've lived on and off for many years at a stretch in Japan, China, and SouthEast Asia, etc..and travelled extensively in Asia over several decades...and speak Japanese and Mandarin... So, I'm almost certainly way TOO sensitive/picky and this 'mis-casting' of 'foreigners' in US movies has been a disappointment to me for a long, long time.

These comments are just offered with the best of intentions as one man's perspective/advice. Please don't take offense.

Looking forward of course to seeing your TV interview, and the movie itself.

[Carl Lyons]

Well said,

As you know Japanese actors are difficult to find in this neck of the woods. So it's something we're definitely struggling with. Finding WW2 Japanese Fighting gear is no easy task either. As to the "amount of Japanese" in the 2 guys we've cast, your synopsis may be correct. We are toying with idea of adding a nasty combat scene on the island and finding gear and casting are our 2 major barriers there.

With regard to the admiral we had a 30 year navy vet. Not sure of exact rank. Let's call him mid-level management, on the set and he seemed to think the beard was a non issue. I would love to get these immersion killers solved. I'm in full agreement with u that we don't want any preventable distractions. Obviously, it's a movie and different people had different experiences. We've got subvets on the boat in Alabama as well doing there best to keep us in line. It's definitely a struggle trying to decide which way to lean when there are several views from qualified guys on both sides of the issue. It seems like every time we get an issue addressed there a 10 more thoughts on it.

If you can recommend some kind of comprehensive layman's guide we'd be open. We have done tons of research and we have modern as well as WW2 subvets in FL and AL advising on this. We welcome your continued input, we'll do the best we can.

Kindest Regards,
CL
Seaviper the Movie
USS Drum Documentary
www.seaviper.net

[Carl Lyons]

Hey all here is a link to an article one of the guys posted with regard to some scenes being filmed for Seaviper the movie in S. Florida. Give it a look.

Regards,
CL

http://tc.yourhub.com/Jupiter/Storie...ry~509934.aspx

[Kloef]

A cramped unhealthy atmosphere?

U.S subs had airconditioning and fresh food.....i think that mostly goes for other submarine services but not the U.S one,although being aboard a sub is allways a drag.


Ok,so a movie about the U.S.S Drum.
And they are making the inside pretty again,well i wish they would do something about the bow hull section and the starboard torpedotube door,since they are missing and rusted away.

Hell ,if somebody would pay my ticket and get me into a local machine shop i would do it myself voluntarely!!