Almost a year to the day, back on 10.23.12, HBOWatch reported that a companion piece to the HBO Miniseries BAND OF BROTHERS and THE PACIFIC was on the development table. Then on 01.19.13 we announced that that third miniseries was a go. It would be called MASTERS OF THE AIR and it is based on the book of the same title by Donald Miller. The film will focus on the air war and bombing campaign over Nazi Germany and will feature the missions of one particular squadron air force – The Mighty Eighth. The author, who is also the screenwriter (pictured) is quoted as saying –
“If you will, it’s a BAND OF BROTHERS in the sky where the guys stick together through love and leadership and there’s a lot of camaraderie in the planes. It’s a very personal story.”
A bit of PR buzz has generated now about the work out of Pooler Georgia. It is the location of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. At a special event veterans shared their thoughts about the war and the excitement of the film project. Evidently they also shared their stories with Miller as he also stated that interviews with the veterans are being conducted to help flesh out the script.
Here is a local news broadcast, courtesy of NBC’s WSAV3 out of Savannah, Georgia about the event at the museum.
WSAV: News, Weather, and Sports for Savannah, GA
HBOWatch will keep its eye on the prize as HBO Miniseries: MASTERS OF THE AIR continues to develop.
36 comments
I am a veteran of the MIghty Eighth and flew 25 combat missions. I was interviewed by the author at a 8TH AF reunion for this book. Somehow a quote from me appears but the message printed was not at all what I reported.
“We combat flyers relied on pills for relief from the pressure”. I never said that nor did my combat flyers ever take pills.
LARRY G
I’m happy for that. When Band of Brothers was aired and seeing its great quality I hoped they would do a similar series on WW2 aviation. Spielberg’s father fought in WW2 flying some missions in a B-25 in the CBI theater. Well they are finally doing it. I hope they don’t abuse CGI. There are several B-17s, P-51s around. Their next project should be WW2 naval warfare in the Pacific, based on a destroyer.
Excellent
Is some filming going to take place in England?
Since you asked I checked my sources only to reveal that there is no new news about this project. We will post when we hear something regarding MASTERS OF THE AIR
Is it still in development? It’s so quiet about it…
Noting to confirm at this time. We we keep you posted. But remember, good quality work takes time.
Why on the picture there is a polish mig 17? it was developed after the war by russians!!! americans F… yea!!!
It is there because it looked cool and we have no knowledge here of military aircraft of any sort. The error was been pointed out here before, but we left this one in as a point of discussion for the post.
Whenever current news surfaces about this miniseries we will get accurate representation to accompany posts. We promise.
the mighty 8? does that mean we might see the charlie brown and franz stigler incident?
Can’t wait. My father was 447th BG 710th Sqdn and his last mission, 30 total, is documented in this back. German ME262s and last B17 to be shot down was 447th.
“…one particular squadron – The Mighty Eighth.”? Where do these loser ‘writers’ come from?
Not sure what your problem is with that sentence… looks good to me.
The Mighty 8th isn’t a squadron it is an air force. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighth_Air_Force#World_War_II_.281944.E2.80.931945.29
Thank you ! I’ve been waiting for someone to point that piece of news out to the author by now . It’s not even close .. There are several squadrons in a bomb group such as the bloody 100th bg . Then several groups make up a bombardment wing and then finally several “wings” of bombers and usually several fighter wings as well make up what was then referred to as an air ” force ” during the Second World War . Many smaller air forces such as the 8th the 9th and the 15th made up the larger group that was then called the Army Air Corps or Army air forces.
So u see referring to the 8th as a squadron would be like referring to the 21st army group (the entire dday assault force) as a platoon assaulting normandy .
Although it’s likely the author doesn’t understand what the problem would be there either!
Sorry that I am not a Military History buff or an aviation expert. I guess we will all have to get over it.
You, my friend, are the “loser” here… Obviously you don’t have a clue that The Mighty Eighth” refers to an Army Air Force squadron who flew countless missions over Germany in WWII. Go get a book and read!
Haha wow the guy who wrote this article is clueless.
An American series advertised with Polish Air Force Logos. I hope the people making it won’t make the same mistake as those writing this article. I also hope they do not try to put across that the Americans were the only good pilots of WW2.
1. I just wanted a graphic of a military fighter
plane. I never claimed any knowledge or enthusiasm for such vehicles. I’m sorry it was not the right choice.
2. Haven’t you seen BAND OF BROTHERS and/or THE
PACIFIC by now? If you have I cannot see how you could have just questioned their attention to detail and accuracy.
3.. Why do you think stories about WWII are still
being told? There are thousands of stories that can be told and not one cinematic venture can depict it all. Just because the show may not favor a nationality or squadrons or general, etc. does not make it a bad work; it just means the production chooses to focus on one aspect and tell it correctly. Nor is it a dishonor to exclude them; some editorial decisions must be made.
Bravo for Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Outstanding!
Include more British actions & achievements
Why….
Hate to nitpick but it’s the 101st Airborne.
Should also point out that Band of Brothers was co-produced by the BBC and featured a lot of British actors… Not that I think that merits more British involvement in the story as it’s obviously historical.
His LBC
This is him
My fathers last mission, 30th is documented in this book. 447th BG, ME262s. Can’t wait!
I hope Lt. William (Bill) Couch, WWII B17 Bombadier & POW, makes a cameo in the production. I’m sure his interview at Pooler, GA was compelling.
Hopefully, the narrative will not be sugar-coated and the production not made PC.
War IS hell and this needs to be accurate. History non-purified.
Neither Band of Brothes or The Pacific were sugar-coated in any way, so why do you think this will be any different?
Let the hype begin. :)
As in all those German civilians who couldn’t even smell what the ovens were cooking in all those concentration camps? Who created the monster of a Nazi terror state? War is hell…get a hankie and go cry in the corner….
With your way of reasoning, _everyone_ is guilty of how the german state turned out and deserve the death penalty? Even children? You don’t know anything about what people did or did not do. Typical yankee comment from your side. Everything is not black and white.
Well you certainly know little of history if you didn’t know that modern warfare means every citizen of a nation who starts a war suffers the consequences. Especially when it involves worship (or blind obedience) of Adolph Hitler and his gang – that created a German state bent on domination of other nations and genocide of those not Aryan enough. Your posts reflect a complete naivete or way too much modern namby-pamby political correctness. Neither basis for your post can be applied to a time when WWII was seen as black and white – whether blanket bombing of cities (as if you seem to overlook the bombing of London by the Luftwaffe before a single allied bomb fell on a German city) or the atom bomb used in Japan.
Get educated or restrain your ignorance…
*Adolf
Woohoo! It’s happening!