Mark_Harris

I can think of a lot of documentary filmmakers who put themselves in danger in battle zones already. But I can't imagine a situation in which the Defense Dept. would ask Hollywood filmmakers to help. We're in such a different world now, and there are so many more ways for people to get news about a war...

For me the biggest research surprises came when I was working on the book, and they were mostly contained in the letters these five directors wrote back to their wives or loved ones. I got a great sense of them as people thrust into a situation in which they'd never imagined they'd find themselves. Also, seeing the "outtakes" from John Huston's staged "San Pietro" at the National Archives was revelatory in terms of having a glimpse of how a great director developed his technique.

It was Gen. George Marshall's idea to use Hollywood directors instead of journalists or the makers of newsreels. He admired the storytelling skills of Hollywood directors--he had seen how much emotion their movies could spark in audiences during the Depression--and he thought they could bring some of those narrative skills to their war work. He felt their passion would come across to both homefront moviegoers and new recruits.

I'm not sure what it is NOW, but here's a confession: Before I started research on the book, I had never seen Casablanca! That's a pretty big omission, don't you think?!

On so many levels, you have the wrong Mark Harris.