Hbo generation kill cast6/30/2023 ![]() Brad Colbert (Alexander Skarsgard), known as "Iceman" for his steely battle demeanor, fusses over his younger charges like a mother hen. Josh Ray Person (James Ransone) belts out Avril Lavigne songs as he drives the Humvee Sgt. Much of "Generation Kill" is devoted to showing the individual Marines in their environment. "We're not going to take you down a dark alley and say, 'Well, we're leaving you.'" ![]() "There is something there, if you stick with it," Burns said. Those unfamiliar with military jargon might be initially put off by the lack of exposition in "Generation Kill," an approach that Simon and Burns used in "The Wire." Terms fly without explanation: "Assassin Actual" (the radio call sign for Alpha Company's commander), "Oscar Mike" (which means "on the move"). Eric Kocher, one of the Marines profiled in the book. ![]() The ensemble cast went through a boot camp run by Staff Sgt. HBO sought to preserve the authenticity Wright captured in the book, shooting in the deserts of southern Africa over nine months. I was like, 'Wow, this really happened.'" "I remember after we got to Baghdad, one day we were going over the Humvee, looking at all the bullet holes, and it was the first time I felt kind of sick. "A lot of my persistence in staying there, I chalk that up to my infinite capacity for denial," he said. Wright, who wrote the screenplay with Burns and Simon, said he probably wouldn't have accompanied the unit if he had known how dangerous it would be. Witnessing it all is Scribe, a journalist based on Wright, who rides in the back of the lead Humvee, ducking fire. "The growing awareness these Marines had for what they were responsible for and how little they could control is heartbreaking," Simon said. Much of the narrative is driven by the conflict between the enlisted men and their commanding officers, whose frequently dubious calls put the Marines and civilians alike in danger. The series spotlights the Marines' "Get some!" battle cry, as well as the dark humor they use to cope with war. "Generation Kill" puts viewers at eye level with the battles fought by Bravo Company's 2nd Platoon, framing the story as a long, dusty road trip punctuated by moments of terrible violence. They lacked basic supplies such as batteries for their night vision goggles and lubricant for heavy guns. They drove lightly armored Humvees that many of the Marines didn't even have a license to operate. ![]() In "Generation Kill," a seven-part miniseries that premieres tonight on HBO, the camera remains trained on the young Marines of 1st Recon's Bravo Company, elite fighters who specialize in sneaking behind enemy lines.īut 1st Recon was assigned a role for which the battalion had little preparation: leading the charge through the most dangerous terrain in Iraq to divert attention from the main invasion. And that's the POV of this book - (the military) is just another institution." "If you watch 'The Wire,' you know I have a natural affinity for middle management and labor, as opposed to upper management. "I thought it was some of the best war reporting I'd read," Simon said. When the cable network decided to make a miniseries out of Wright's book, Simon and Burns signed on to produce it. His ground-level reporting resonated with writers David Simon and Ed Burns, who produced "The Wire," HBO's urban street crime drama. "I didn't know what 1st Recon was, but if all of these reporters look so jealous, it must be a good spot," Wright recalled thinking.Īs it turned out, he had an upfront view of some of the most perilous fighting in the early days of the war as 1st Recon traversed Iraq's Fertile Crescent and reached Baghdad, usually the northernmost American military unit in the country.Īlong the way, Wright documented the excitement, self-doubt and disillusionment that buffeted the young Marines as they confronted hidden enemy fighters and inflicted civilian causalities, a story he told first in Rolling Stone and then in his 2004 book, "Generation Kill." When Wright, then a correspondent for Rolling Stone magazine, was picked to ride with the special forces unit, the other reporters gathered at the Kuwait Hilton to find out where they would be embedded "looked at me with sheer hatred and envy," he said. NEW YORK - Evan Wright had no idea what he was getting into when he was assigned to travel with the Marines 1st Reconnaissance Battalion in the first weeks of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. ![]()
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