You can understand why a studio might like the idea, as a big, spectacular World War II movie, shot in 3D, would undoubtedly have dollar sign lighting up in their eyes, as they envision three-dimensional air battles, ships exploding and men running around with guns.
That seems to be logic behind Warner buying Bruce C McKenna’s pitch for The Battle Of Midway, which unsurprisingly will be about the turning point in the war against Japan, which took place June 4-6, 1942. It doesn’t hurt either that McKenna was a producer and writer on HBO’s The Pacific, scripting seven of the 10 episodes, which shows he has plenty of knowledge and experience with the material. And it seems they’re planning things on a massive scale, as even without a script, the budget is expected to come in at around $200 million.
Midway was vital in war against Japan, with the Imperial forces attacking the island in the hope of taking this important staging post. However the Americans fought back, sinking four of Japan’s aircraft carriers and a heavy cruiser, and ending the superiority of the Japanese Navy (which had been massively strengthened by the US losset as Pearl Harbor, six months before).
The movie is currently being fast-tracked, with McKenna asked to get the first draft of the script ready in eight weeks. The speed may be because they want to release the movie around the time of the 60th Anniversary in 2012, although we’ll have to wait and see. However with 3D so hit and miss at the moment, rushing a movie like this could be the worst thing possible.