When last seen, Steven C. Barber had just decided to defer buying a Lexus. Instead, he invested his savings in a Variety “for your consideration” ad to boost his 2012 film Until They Are Home, about the recovery of military remains from the World War II battle of Tarawa.
Barber still doesn’t have that new car (and the film got no Oscar nominations). But he does have another cinematic labor of love on his hands — a new documentary that reminds us, of all things, that the United States military has been a significant contributor to sound journalism through its in-house publication, Stars and Stripes.
Called The World’s Most Dangerous Paper Route, the film is directed by Matthew Hausle and counts Barber among its producers, through his Vanilla Fire company. To be clear, the documentary is authorized and supported by Stars and Stripes, which provided its budget...
Barber still doesn’t have that new car (and the film got no Oscar nominations). But he does have another cinematic labor of love on his hands — a new documentary that reminds us, of all things, that the United States military has been a significant contributor to sound journalism through its in-house publication, Stars and Stripes.
Called The World’s Most Dangerous Paper Route, the film is directed by Matthew Hausle and counts Barber among its producers, through his Vanilla Fire company. To be clear, the documentary is authorized and supported by Stars and Stripes, which provided its budget...
- 12/28/2018
- by Michael Cieply
- Deadline Film + TV
I only met R. Lee Emery once. It was brief, it was bold and it was great. I had just finished my first film, “Return to Tarawa,” which featured Ed Harris and recounted the bloody Battle of Tarawa in 1943, and I was able to give him a DVD in Las Vegas. He was very polite and thanked me for my service to America. I was in shock that he said that to me, and it has stayed with me ever since.
Yesterday, the final red carpet was rolled out for R. Lee, most known for his iconic role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 1987 tale of the United States Marine Corp, “Full Metal Jacket.”
It was a perfect blue sky and sunny southern California morning, as I drove out to the Simi Valley funeral home where Gunny was in perfect peace in his dress blues in a gorgeous flag-draped mahogany casket.
Also Read: R Lee Ermey, 'Full Metal Jacket' Actor, Dies at 74
In death, he looked very much like he did in life, with his white Marine gloves holding tightly onto a Heath candy bar, and the ribbons on his dress blues shining as brightly as the California sun. I saluted him and said “Godspeed, Marine.”
I was joined by Kevyn Major Howard, who played Rafterman in “Full Metal Jacket,” along with Tim Colceri, who played the door gunner with the catchphrase “Get Some!” Both men were somber and traded stories about their time on the set with Kubrick and R. Lee.
“R. Lee was clever,” Colceri told me. “The part of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman was originally mine,” he went on to say with a laugh. R. Lee convinced Kubrick to let him train on set with the crew, and it became apparent very quickly that R. Lee had done some serious preparation, and Kubrick decided to put him in the part instead.
Also Read: Is There More to 'The Shining'? 'Long Cuts' of Kubrick Film up for Auction in Italy
Photo: Steven C. Barber
“It worked out fine,” Colceri said. “I have been in 60 movies, and everyone remembers my lines from the chopper flight as the gunner with Rafterman and Joker. R. Lee was more clever than I was, and he deserved the part,” he said. “I am just here to say goodbye, as a friend and a Marine.”
Howard, who attended the service with with his family, said his work on “Full Metal Jacket” has allowed him to live his dream of going around the country to promote his Fueled by the Fallen charity that displaces and races memorial cars for fallen military members and public safety personnel. “Today was Gunny’s last escort,” he said.
A special detachment of the Marine Honor guard gave a final salute to Sgt. Ermey, closed the casket and rolled it to the waiting hearse, with the Usmc crown and anchor on both front doors.
Also Read: 11 Iconic Stanley Kubrick Scenes in Honor of Kubrick Day, From 'Spartacus' to 'The Shining'
We arrived at a church in Palmdale, 200 people along with 12 Marines in dress blues, and a bagpiper blew the Marine Corps anthem for a final goodbye. A poem was read and 12 doves released, before the casket was carried into the church.
After producing two films about the Marines’ work in the Pacific, I was honored to be part of saying goodbye to this iconic and incredibly loved U.S. Marine and Hollywood legend. R. Lee Emery will always be on TV, a smartphone or a website, 24/7, for the rest of humanity.
“Outstanding” and Semper Fi, Marine.
Read original story A Final Salute to Us Marine and Hollywood Legend R Lee Ermey (Guest Blog) At TheWrap...
Yesterday, the final red carpet was rolled out for R. Lee, most known for his iconic role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s legendary 1987 tale of the United States Marine Corp, “Full Metal Jacket.”
It was a perfect blue sky and sunny southern California morning, as I drove out to the Simi Valley funeral home where Gunny was in perfect peace in his dress blues in a gorgeous flag-draped mahogany casket.
Also Read: R Lee Ermey, 'Full Metal Jacket' Actor, Dies at 74
In death, he looked very much like he did in life, with his white Marine gloves holding tightly onto a Heath candy bar, and the ribbons on his dress blues shining as brightly as the California sun. I saluted him and said “Godspeed, Marine.”
I was joined by Kevyn Major Howard, who played Rafterman in “Full Metal Jacket,” along with Tim Colceri, who played the door gunner with the catchphrase “Get Some!” Both men were somber and traded stories about their time on the set with Kubrick and R. Lee.
“R. Lee was clever,” Colceri told me. “The part of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman was originally mine,” he went on to say with a laugh. R. Lee convinced Kubrick to let him train on set with the crew, and it became apparent very quickly that R. Lee had done some serious preparation, and Kubrick decided to put him in the part instead.
Also Read: Is There More to 'The Shining'? 'Long Cuts' of Kubrick Film up for Auction in Italy
Photo: Steven C. Barber
“It worked out fine,” Colceri said. “I have been in 60 movies, and everyone remembers my lines from the chopper flight as the gunner with Rafterman and Joker. R. Lee was more clever than I was, and he deserved the part,” he said. “I am just here to say goodbye, as a friend and a Marine.”
Howard, who attended the service with with his family, said his work on “Full Metal Jacket” has allowed him to live his dream of going around the country to promote his Fueled by the Fallen charity that displaces and races memorial cars for fallen military members and public safety personnel. “Today was Gunny’s last escort,” he said.
A special detachment of the Marine Honor guard gave a final salute to Sgt. Ermey, closed the casket and rolled it to the waiting hearse, with the Usmc crown and anchor on both front doors.
Also Read: 11 Iconic Stanley Kubrick Scenes in Honor of Kubrick Day, From 'Spartacus' to 'The Shining'
We arrived at a church in Palmdale, 200 people along with 12 Marines in dress blues, and a bagpiper blew the Marine Corps anthem for a final goodbye. A poem was read and 12 doves released, before the casket was carried into the church.
After producing two films about the Marines’ work in the Pacific, I was honored to be part of saying goodbye to this iconic and incredibly loved U.S. Marine and Hollywood legend. R. Lee Emery will always be on TV, a smartphone or a website, 24/7, for the rest of humanity.
“Outstanding” and Semper Fi, Marine.
Read original story A Final Salute to Us Marine and Hollywood Legend R Lee Ermey (Guest Blog) At TheWrap...
- 4/26/2018
- by Steven C. Barber
- The Wrap
It feels downright unpatriotic to criticize Until They Are Home, a well-meaning but pedestrian documentary that deals with gut-wrenching subject matter. Steven C. Barber’s film concerns the stirring mission of the Joint Pow/Mia Accounting Command—Jpac for short—to retrieve the bodies of hundreds of American servicemen killed in the Battle of Tarawa in 1943, representing one of the bloodiest skirmishes of World War II. Video: Jon Hamm, Kelsey Grammer's Pre-Hollywood Jobs Were All About 'Asses and Elbows' More than 1,000 soldiers were killed in the struggle, which happened so quickly that they were buried in mass graves
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- 8/30/2012
- by Frank Scheck
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Award-winning filmmaker Steven C. Barber ("Return To Tarawa") has a new documentary making its debut this Memorial Day. "Until They Are Home" focuses on the search for the remains of U.S. Marines who were killed in the World War II Battle of Tarawa, and it features a major co-sign: Kelsey Grammer narrates.
The film is a sequel to "Return to Tarawa: The Leon Cooper Story," which was narrated by Ed Harris. That documentary centered on Cooper, who at 93 is one of the last remaining survivors of the battle. Tarawa was a fortified Japanese compound in the Pacific (currently part of the Republic of Kiribati). During "Return," Cooper and the film crew discovered that the island is still littered with live ammunition.
"Until They Are Home," naturally, focuses on what comes next. In 2010, the Joint Pow/Mia Accounting Command (Jpac) team went back to Tarawa to recover the remains of Marines and bring them home.
The film is a sequel to "Return to Tarawa: The Leon Cooper Story," which was narrated by Ed Harris. That documentary centered on Cooper, who at 93 is one of the last remaining survivors of the battle. Tarawa was a fortified Japanese compound in the Pacific (currently part of the Republic of Kiribati). During "Return," Cooper and the film crew discovered that the island is still littered with live ammunition.
"Until They Are Home," naturally, focuses on what comes next. In 2010, the Joint Pow/Mia Accounting Command (Jpac) team went back to Tarawa to recover the remains of Marines and bring them home.
- 5/25/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
A filmmaker plans to make a documentary to prove that a Colorado father is innocent of the charges against him. Richard Heene, better known as "Balloon Boy Dad," began serving his jail sentence last week after he "pleaded guilty in November to a felony count of attempting to influence a public servant," as reported by CNN. Heene claimed in October that his son was floating over Colorado in a runaway balloon, inciting a riot of media coverage. The boy was actually safe at home the whole time, and said in an interview about his parents: "You guys said we did this for the show."
Steven C. Barber told The Associated Press that he believes Heene "really thought" his son was in the balloon and is planning a documentary, Balloon Boy: Guilty Until Proven Innocent, to prove his point. Barber appeared briefly on Access Hollywood soon after the incident to defend his longtime friend Heene,...
Steven C. Barber told The Associated Press that he believes Heene "really thought" his son was in the balloon and is planning a documentary, Balloon Boy: Guilty Until Proven Innocent, to prove his point. Barber appeared briefly on Access Hollywood soon after the incident to defend his longtime friend Heene,...
- 1/19/2010
- by Peter Martin
- Cinematical
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