[STARMAN 352ND]

I have heard now it won't come out till 2009..
Fliming was to start in May 2008 but who knows whats going on.
JP

[MoMo]

The controversy goes on .............................from the New Zealand Listener :

The pooch in The Dam Busters plays a pivotal role. Pity about the name.

Peter Jackson is remaking The Dam Busters (1954) – a story of tragedy and triumph in World War II. Everyone is asking what he’s going to do about the dog’s name. The pilot hero of the picture, Guy Gibson, had a dog called “Nigger” both in the movie and in real life. In wartime England the word was common: the dog that acted as Nigger in the movie was even called Nigger; Agatha Christie published her book Ten Little Niggers in 1939. It seems so strange to us now that it was socially acceptable then to show such disrespect for other races.
You might think this isn’t a big problem; just ditch the pooch, right? But as Jackson has said, he is in a “damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t” situation. The dog’s role in the movie is pivotal, because there is no love interest in The Dam Busters. The closest the film gets to a love story is the relationship between Gibson and his dog. And the radio code word for success during the operation is also – you guessed it – “nigger”. How big is the dog’s role? Here are the 12 mentions of Nigger in the original The Dam Busters movie:
1. “Nigger! Come on boy, come on Nigger!”
2. “Come on Nigger, come on old fella.”
3. “Come on Nigger, come on boy!”
4. “Stay there, Nigger.”
5. “I found Nigger outside. Can I stand him a beer?”
6. “Hello Nigger old boy, what are you doing here?”
7. “Hello Nigger! No, not in here old boy. Go on.”
8. “Hello Nigger old boy, what are you doing ’round here?”
9. “Nigger is the code word for a breach in the Moehne dam.”
10. “I’m sorry sir, it’s Nigger, he’s been run over. He’s dead.”
11. “You know that Nigger was killed this afternoon, don’t you?”
12. “It’s Nigger! It’s gone!”
Jackson’s real problem isn’t that the word “nigger” is offensive (though there is no doubt that it was and remains a nasty, derogatory term); the problem is that today it is funny. The word is an amazing example of the fluidity of language. A word that was derogatory but acceptable to mainstream society became a word that was taboo, and now has been reclaimed (as “nigga”) by popular African-American culture.
Perhaps no word in our language has been debated so hotly for so long. The Americans have been in a complete tizzy over it for years. It appears on the obscene-word list of most American newspapers, only written as “n****r”. David Howard, a Washington DC city official, resigned in 1999 after using the word “niggardly” (in its fiscal sense) in front of African-Americans who were offended – even though it is etymologically un-related to the word “nigger”. Dead Nigger Creek in central Texas was changed to Dead Negro Creek, and although they might have slightly missed the point with that revision, it is part of a movement in the US to completely obliterate the word. To hear it in The Dam Busters in its old context is strange, jarring and inappropriately humorous.
If Jackson is hoping to milk laughs from the classic World War II story of triumph over the Third Reich then he is in for a rich vein: “I say, will one of you chaps feed my Nigger some chunky chow?” should tear the place up. Perhaps the lead role will be played by Chris Rock, and the remake will be called Dambusters? Damn Straight!
My prediction is that there will not be a dog called Nigger in Jackson’s remake. Even at the time of the film’s original release American audiences saw it with “Nigger” overdubbed to “Trigger”. Changing the name will be true to the spirit of the movie, if not to the letter of history. Original audiences would not have laughed every time the dog’s name was mentioned; modern audiences will – some nervously. I guess one solution would be to leave the black dog in the film, but to rename it “African-American”.
Whatever Jackson decides to do, there is a lesson in this for all of us. It’s a cool idea to have a pet with a controversial name so that when they make the movie of your life they have a big problem. It’s like playing a practical joke on the future. That’s why I’ve named my dachshund Internal Combustion Engine (Petrolhead, for short). It’s not very offensive now, but in 50 years they won’t believe it was ever socially acceptable.

[MoMo]

The Script Writer's view :

Stephen Fry: Dambusters


IT’S one of the best British films ever made.
Classic 1950s war movie The Dam Busters told a story of heroism and sacrifice against the odds.
It starred Richard Todd as Wing Commander Guy Gibson and Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis, inventor of the bouncing bomb.
Now a 2008 version – Dambusters – is to be filmed, directed by Peter Jackson, with a screenplay by Stephen Fry.
I touched on the story in last month’s blog on Stephen here.
There’s also a flavour of the project in today’s MEN feature interview with Mr Fry – back this Sunday in ITV1’s Kingdom – here.
But for those interested in the production, here’s what Stephen had to say in full about Dam Busters, old and new:
“The Dam Busters is one of the best war films ever made – in its own way, perfect. And we will never unmake it by making ours.

“There are things that we can bring to the screenplay that were not available for the Mike Anderson version.
“They were either still secret, for example the actual nature of the bomb itself.
“There was an element to it, the fact that it had to revolve at 500 revolutions per minute, backwards – a back-spin, infact. Some of the other details of its technology were still government secrets.

“And also the nature of the danger and the death, the appalling destruction of so many lives during the raid.
“It was too close. It was only 10 years after the raid that they made the film.
“There were too many sons and daughters, widows and brothers and sisters and parents of young men who had died in horrible ways, to show how they died.
“It’s not that one wants to be gory about it, but I think part of the heroism and the courage of those bomber crews needs to be told properly for us to understand their astounding sacrifice and their extraordinary skill.
“Having met some of the survivors who are still with us – there are not many left, as you can imagine – and having been in a Lancaster bomber and tried to move around in one, my admiration for these people just cannot be overstated.
“And that’s true of Peter Jackson and everyone at WingNut, his production company, who are trying to make this film.
“It starts with an unreserved and schoolboy, if you like, adoration and admiration for these extraordinary people.
“There are things we can do. We can really make people feel they’re in the air far more.
“We can make them live the nature of the raid itself, that May evening in 1943 which was extraordinary. Everything you learn about it makes it more remarkable.
“Also the great achievement of Barnes Wallis, the fights he had. Again, there was a bit more tact in the Anderson film about some of the pig-headedness of the original leaders of Bomber Command who were convinced it wasn’t going to work.
“We can just be more honest about the kind of opposition he met, without making pointless assaults on the character of noble Air Marshals.
“So there is a lot going for it. It’s 54 / 55 years since that first film was made.
“So I think there is justification for it, although of course it is always a risk.
“It’s worth knowing that if you say to America ‘Dam Busters’, no-one knows what you’re talking about. It’s only in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain that it’s probably one of the best known films ever made.
“Though I think a lot of fans of George Lucas know that he used the final reel, as it were, of Dambusters, almost shot for shot in the attack on the Death Star in the original Star Wars movie. IE The fourth Star Wars movie, if you want to be pedantic about them.
“Where they go down into the canyon and release the mine – it’s based on entirely on Dam Busters, and he’s been quite honest about that.”

[MoMo]

Another snippet of news :

Peter Jackson helms The Dam Busters

When David Frost obtained the rights to the classic film The Dam Busters I was pretty concerned, I really thought that a classic and powerful movie was going to be destroyed in a remake of special effects and hidden modern day issue subtext. However looks like I could be wrong with the amazing news that Peter Jackson is to helm the project.
According to Digital Spy:

According to The Mail on Sunday, Jackson recently filmed one of the last surviving Lancaster bombers. A source told the paper "It was clear just how much he knew about warplanes. We believe the footage is to help his special effects team. "Peter has been in contact with the old crewmen, who are well into their 80s. I believe he is helping to create a memorial to the New Zealand airmen who flew bombers, including those who died in the Dam Busters mission."

Apparently we're looking at a $100million budget remake, and with Jackson at the helm I have to say I'm looking way more positive than I was before. This could turn out to be an amazing remake, and something I would love, a look back to the older war movies.

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by MoMo

The controversy goes on .............................from the New Zealand Listener :

Well, if the revisionism advocates succeed in changing the dog's name, what's next? Are they going to try to force Joseph Conrad's estate to re-write his classics, like Heart of Darkness and The Nigger of the Narcissus?

[MoMo]

I was just watching the History Channel's documentary about the Dambuster raid. They use the word in it. They have to mention that the dog was killed shortly before the raid, casting a shadow over Operation Chastise and adding dramatic texture to the history.

I found out for the first time that only one Upkeep bomb had been tested, fully armed, before the operation. Now that's real optimism for you.

48% casualties. That's real guts for you.

[MoMo]

Delays, delays, delays!

Now we know why there has been a lack of news on this picture. It looks as if this movie has been delayed by the Hollywood scriptwriters' strike.

However, this may not be true. There may be other reasons. Stephen Fry is a great guy, but he is also volatile and can be rather " eccentric ". Several years ago he was due to start in a London West-end production, playing the lead part, when he took fright and took a powder.

He disappeared and was found days later in France.

Let's hope that he hasn't legged it !

Fry resumes work on Dambusters screenplay

The Press | Saturday, 15 March 2008

British writer and comedian Stephen Fry is back at work on a third draft of his screenplay for Peter Jackson's remake of The Dambusters after being delayed by the United States writers' strike.


Fry also had interviewed squadron members of the famous raid and production staff had visited locations in Britain and Germany where the World War 2 events took place.


Jackson is producing the remake of the classic war movie, to be directed by special effects expert Christian Rivers, and has commissioned Fry to write the script.


Fry revealed details of his scriptwriting on his internet blog and podcast.


He said he spent time last year "zooming around England meeting old survivors of the original raid and people connected with survivors" as research for a second draft of the script.


The British raid on German dams in 1943, using a specially developed "bouncing bomb", was portrayed in the original film.


Fry told a British newspaper that the remake would be able to tell more about the raids because state secrets had been revealed since the 1954 film was made.
"There were things that we can bring to the screenplay that were not available for the original version ... for example, the actual nature of the bomb itself'


"And also the nature of the danger and the death, the appalling destruction of so many lives during the raid. It was too close. It was only 10 years after the raid that they made the film," he said.


"Having met some of the survivors who are still with us - there are not many left, as you can imagine - and having been in a Lancaster bomber and tried to move around in one, my admiration for these people just cannot be overstated."

[MoMo]

REMEMBER, FIVE YEARS AGO :

It was on the night of May 16/17 in 1943 that Wing Commander Guy Gibson led 617 Squadron in a raid on the Mohne, Eder and Sorpe Dams in the Ruhr Valley, Germany's industrial heartland. Descending to within a few feet of the water the Lancaster bombers unleashed a bouncing bomb that breached the dam walls.
It was the first strategic precision bombing raid. For the British public the daring exploits of 617 Squadron have become the stuff of legend, helped along by a classic film, countless books and a documentary or two.

"The Dambusters raid will always be an important part of the story we are telling here and there has been a lot of interest building up around the anniversary," said the Museum's marketing officer, Ajay Srivastava, "over the last few weeks we've had hundreds of enquiries."
Visitors can already view an example of a Lancaster bomber in the museum's extensive hangars, but this weekend they will also be treated to films, interactives and even a re-enactment that tells the story of the raid and the work of Barnes Wallis, the bomb's inventor.
"We will have re-enactors wearing the uniforms of the day and in person they will take groups of visitors up to a briefing room where they will re-enact the pre-mission briefing," explained Ajay.

It is hoped visitors will enter into the spirit of the occasion and interact during the briefing by asking questions.
For those of a more reserved nature the newly refurbished permanent Dambusters exhibition has also reopened in time for the anniversary and features a centrepiece mock up of Barnes Wallis' original office with rarely seen archive footage of the period.

Visitors can also make a close inspection of a full scale bouncing bomb with the original catapult that launched it and take in a specially made film about the raid.
The cylindrical bombs developed by Barnes Wallis had to be dropped from 60 feet to skip into the dam face before rolling down it to explode at a depth that triggered a pressure fuse. The pilots had to judge the critical release point by using dual spotlights whose beams converged vertically at 60 feet.
The destruction of the dams caused widespread flooding and interrupted industrial production at a critical point during the war, but it came at a high cost. 8 of the 19 Lancasters failed to return, 53 aircrew were killed and just 3 survived to be taken prisoner.

[MoMo]

LOOK JIM...YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO GO !

Link : Metheringham Area News

Dambuster Lecture 26 March 2008

After service as a navigator in the Royal Air Force Captain Creighton became a Senior Captain on independent airlines with 36,000 flying hours. He is a fellow of the Institute of Navigation and is the Organiser and Chief Judge of the Top Nav competition.

At the Metheringham Airfield Visitor Centre - in the old gymnasium - on Wednesday 26th March 2008 at 7.30pm. Admission: Members free, Visitors £3.00 including Refreshments. Children Free.
Enquiries to: Friends of Metheringham Airfield, Westmoor Farm, Martin Moor, Metheringham, Lincoln LN4 3BQ. Tel: 01526 378270

[MoMo]

Still time to go Jim !

Dambusters

Saturday 3 May 2008 to Monday 5 May 2008 (3 days)

• 12 noon, 2pm & 3pm

This belongs to

• Family

Where

• Imperial War Museum
  Lambeth Road
  
  

Meet an actor in role and find out about the development of the bouncing bomb.
Discover what it was like to take part in the famous Dambuster's Raid that took place over the German industrial heartland on the night of 16 May 1943.