Second Gulf War comes alive on HBO

Media News

New Delhi, January 06, 2010

From HBO’s unparalleled original productions kitty comes yet another extra–ordinary offering - GENERATION KILL, a seven-part HBO mini-series focusing on the first 40 days of the 2003 Iraq war also known as Second Gulf War from the perspective of a group of elite U.S. First Reconnaissance (Recon) Marines at the spearhead of the invasion.

Based on the award-winning non-fiction book of the same name by Evan Wright, GENERATION KILL is a candid and realistic retelling of the early weeks of the military campaign from the point of view of the guys on the ground: the non-commissioned officers and platoon-level commanders who led the way to Baghdad.

GENERATION KILL focuses on the men on the ground, a portrait rarely seen in film or television. At the forefront and often working in uncertain conditions with little protection except their lightly armored Humvees, the Marines faced indicators of what was to come for the invasion: insufficient supplies, conflicting orders, cryptic combat strategy, unknown enemy, insurgency and civilians caught in the middle. The men of Bravo Company and their sister company Alpha adapted with skill, resolve, subversive humor, stoicism and occasionally blind faith.

Real events are depicted. Real names are used. Real Marines on the set helped maintain the production’s authenticity. As much as possible, GENERATION KILL employs the precise dialogue reported by Wright, a Rolling Stone correspondent assigned to the First Recon’s Bravo Company’s Second Platoon during their last weeks in Kuwait. Every effort is made to recreate Wright’s account of the Marines riding from the Kuwait border into the slums of Baghdad.

An ensemble cast of up-coming stars is introduced in GENERATION KILL: Alexander Skarsgård (HBO’s True Blood) stars as Sgt. Brad "Iceman" Colbert; James Ransone (HBO’s The Wire) plays Cpl. Josh Ray Person; Lee Tergesen (HBO’s OZ) is Evan "Scribe" Wright; Jon Huertas (Hot Tamale) plays Sgt. Tony “Poke” Espera; and Stark Sands (Day of the Dead) plays Lt. Nathaniel Fick. Eric Kocher, Jeffrey Carisalez and Rudy Reyes, real Marines from the First Recon Battalion who were featured in Wright’s book, also serve as cast members and advisors.

GENERATION KILL is executive produced and co-written by David Simon and Ed Burns (The Wire). Simon and Burns also share co-writing credits with Evan Wright, the erstwhile Rolling Stone journalist who also served as a consulting producer throughout the production and editing of the mini-series.

GENERATION KILL therefore tells the story of the young Marines physical and emotional journey into the heart of Baghdad in those initial weeks, and how the war reveals to be much more complicated, problematic and tragic than anyone had contemplated. A frightening firsthand account of these remarkable men, of the personal toll of victory, and of the brutality, camaraderie and bureaucracy of a new American war – GENERATION KILL will air every Saturday at 11:00 AM only on HBO.

For further information, please contact:

IPAN Hill & Knowlton

Arpita Bhatia

Tel: 011- 42492100

E-mail: abhatia@ipanhillandknowlton.com