Random Behind The Scenes Stories From The Making Of 'Band Of Brothers' (12 items)

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  (#9) Jeep Provided Hundreds Of Vehicles And Promotion

  In making Band of Brothers, HBO struck a mutually beneficial arrangement with Jeep. Product placement by the network and a large marketing campaign on the part of the vehicle's parent company, Daimler Chrysler, doubled the media exposure for both in the build up to and during broadcast of the show.

  HBO's marketing campaign incorporated the Jeep logo. Advertisements and media boasted, "The Jeep brand is honored to celebrate the men of Easy Company... And all those who served in WWII." Jeff Bell, vice president for marketing at Daimler Chrysler at the time, indicated, "There are over 1,000 prominent appearances by Jeeps in the 10 hours." 

  For their part, Daimler Chrysler and Jeep invested in six commercials set to air on network television during the run of the show. The commercials incorporated footage from the miniseries, shots of Utah Beach in Normandy, and historic and contemporary Jeeps alike. 

  While Jeep was featured heavily, the inclusion of their products, according to HBO marketing executive Eric Kessler, "organic to the story, and integral part of the war." This is true, given that the vehicles were widely used by US forces starting in 1941.
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  (#8) The Ardennes Forest Was An Indoor Set In An Aircraft Hangar

  While an entire village was constructed at the Hatfield Aerodrome, a nearby hangar served as home to a mock version of the Ardennes Forest. As the site of the Battle of the Bulge, fought during the winter of 1944 and 1945, the Ardennes Forest in Band of Brothers necessarily needed to appear as cold and bleak as it had during WW2. 

  Building the Ardennes Forest meant bringing in hundreds of pine trees. Additional trees were made by the props department, crafting foam, cardboard, and fiberglass into trees that could be moved and even destroyed onscreen. 

  In order to create the winter, the set-crew on Band of Brothers used snow made out of paper - so it wouldn't melt under while filming. In the end, more than 300,000 pounds of paper were used. 
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  (#12) There Were 500 Speaking Roles And Thousands Of Extras

  The numbers associated with Band of Brothers - extremely high when it came to budget - were equally lofty when it came to almost every aspect of production. To make Band of Brothers, eight directors and seven writers worked with roughly 500 members of the cast who had speaking parts.

  Extras exceeded 10,000 in number, while costumers acquired 2,000 military uniforms (German and American) alongside 500 pairs of Corcoran jump boots - worn by paratroopers in the 1940s. Combat scenes required 700 authentic, period-specific weapons (and 400 props), ranging from rifles to pistols to machine guns.

  To ensure authenticity, the costume department also had 12,000 vintage outfits worn by actors playing civilians.

  In contrast to the historical items used, production also required extensive computer-generated elements. More than 700 visual effects shots were created for Band of Brothers and, at times, the color of the show was digitally adjusted to reflect the type of image captured by a camera during the 1940s.
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  (#6) 12 Different Towns Are Actually All The Same Set In England

  Band of Brothers was shot over eight months in 2000, most of which found the cast and crew filming in Hertfordshire, England. Exterior sets were created on 12 acres of land - a small section of 1,100 acre lot at the Hatfield Aerodrome near the town of Hatfield. 

  The various towns and villages in which Easy Company finds itself throughout the show were, in fact, one village set that was reconfigured and redressed to represent towns in several countries. Recreated towns included Bastogne, Belgium; Eindhoven, Netherlands; and Carentan, France. 

  A nearly mile-long river was also created at Hatfield, while Hambledon in Buckinghamshire and an airfield in Essex were used for some scenes in the show. 
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  (#3) The Cast Reunites Every Year On The Anniversary Of Their Boot Camp

  To prepare for the show, the main cast of Band of Brothers completed a 10-day bootcamp (actor Ron Livingston, who played Captain Lewis Nixon III, kept a video diary of the experience.) 

  Forty actors participated in rigorous physical training at the direction of Captain Dale Dye. During the 18-hour days, cast members were called only by the names of their characters. 

  Bootcamp began with a morning runs at 6 am, followed by time dedicated to learning general orders, familiarization with weapons and munitions, map and compass training, and comparable military-based exercises. During the camp, the actors took part in activities that would ultimately give them the skills to play paratroopers on screen. 

  Nights were spent on guard duty, during which the actors experienced sleep deprivation, while the overall intent of the experience was to build camaraderie among the group and create relationships that corresponded to real emotional dynamics in combat. 

  The bootcamp left an indelible mark on those who participated. After the series was completed, cast member Michael Cudlitz (who played Denver "Bull" Randleman) began hosting reunions of sort at his home. Reportedly, as of 2011, "People fly in from all over... Even now, I don’t think there’s anyone that wouldn’t drop anything to help each other out, and that’s a rare thing in Hollywood."
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  (#11) Easy Company Veterans Returned To France For The Series Premiere

  The series chronicling the lives and actions of the men who served in Easy Company invited veterans from the outfit to the premier in 2001. Held at Utah Beach in Normandy - where Easy Company landed on June 6, 1944 (D-Day) - the premiere reunited nearly all of the remaining members of the group - flown to Paris via a plane chartered by HBO in partnership with American Airlines. Veterans unable to make the trip to Normandy were transported to screenings in the United States. 

  Attendees met their on-screen counterparts and took part in a memorial service prior to watching part of the 10-episode series, all of which took place amid temporary tents and screens built during the month prior to the debut.

  After the premiere, Easy Company veterans offered their reactions to what they'd seen. Edward "Babe" Heffron, played by Robin Laing, thought, "It captures what we went through. The scene in the plane before we jumped, it was just like that." William Guarnere, depicted by Frank John Hughes, acknowledged, "You've got 45 guys here, and everyone will have seen the war from a different point of view. You can't be perfect. But I'd say it is as accurate as possible."

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