berg executive-produced the acclaimed
miniseries Band of Brothers for HBO, an
diers who fought in the European theater
during World War II. As that project con-
cluded, Hanks and Spielberg were already
talking about showing the other side of
America's participation in the war via the
battles in the Pacific against the Japanese. In
addition to the letters the power duo re-
erans asking them to bring their story to life,
Spielberg's interest in the venture was per-
sonal because both his father and uncle
fought in the Pacific. One of the writers of
Band, Bruce C. McKenna, was also already
thinking along similar lines.
about tackling the Pacific war next. "I said,
`Please, if you ever do, I'd love to write you a
"Eighteen months later, I got a phone call
from Tom Hanks who wanted to know if I
was interested in working on The Pacific. I
tried not to seem too eager." McKenna sat
down with Spielberg, Hanks and Hanks' pro-
ducing partner at Playtone, Gary Goetzman,
to discuss the project in March 2003.
Hanks recalls. "And we had to ask ourselves,