FORT BENNING, Ga., (Oct. 22, 2014) -- Fort Benning got a little taste of Hollywood Oct. 16, as four of the stars of the new film Fury, as well as the film's director, came here for a special screening of the film.
Fury is set in April 1945 during World War II. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theater, a battle-hardened sergeant commands a Sherman tank and its five-man crew on a mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, and with a rookie Soldier thrust into their platoon, the crew faces overwhelming odds in its attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
Brad Pitt plays the tank's commander, Staff Sgt. Don "Wardaddy" Collier. He said it was an honor to bring the film to Soldiers at Fort Benning.
"We talked about this early on in the shoot - wouldn't it be great if we could do this?" Pitt said. "We had so much respect getting to portray these guys. It became very important to us. It's everything to be here today."
David Ayer, the film's director, said he was thrilled to be screening the movie for current military members.
"When you meet military personnel or people who are serving, sometimes I wonder if people in the military understand how special their lives are and how much they sacrifice," Ayer said. "No one is going to tell me to pull my kids out of school and sell my house as a civilian. That dedication to that life and having a lifestyle where words like honor and dedication actually mean something is special. You don't get it out there on civilian streets.
"The history here at Fort Benning is incredible, and it's an absolute honor (to be here). So many warriors and so many heroes came out of this facility, and the fact that it is now the home of the Armor... is a great connection to the movie."
Michael Peña, who plays Cpl. Trini "Gordo" Garcia, said being at Fort Benning reminded him of the sacrifices Soldiers make.
"My parents were immigrants who came to this country looking for the American dream, and (Soldiers are) the ones keeping it strong," he said. "It's kind of unbelievable. You can be nothing but thankful."
Ayer said he made the film in an effort to give general audiences a better understanding of the hardships Soldiers encountered during World War II, something he gained from several Family members who fought in the war.
"That generation of men, they didn't talk about their experiences, but they brought it home," Ayer said. "I think you have to be in a military Family to understand what I'm saying by that. It made me curious to understand what they saw and what they experienced. ... (Fury is) a day in the life of a military unit, a day in the life of a five-guy tank crew just trying to stay alive in real bad circumstances."
Pitt was the first to sign on to star in the film, which he attributed to the quality of the script.
"I'm a fan of war films, and I hadn't really seen a film that dissected the life of a tank crew," Pitt said. "But, more than that, it was a story about a Family dealing with the horrors of war. It didn't sugarcoat it in any way for me, and so I said yes. Then, it became three months of preparation, training and getting to understand ... a little bit of what these guys put forth as far as body and mind. It was a profound experience."
Part of that preparation included a boot camp that the crew attended together.
"I know it sounds a bit gimmicky to stick actors in boot camp, but ... I was just impressed with the structure of it all because it really worked to break us down and put us back together with a common cause," Pitt said. "It kept us wet, kept us cold, kept us hungry and at the end of it, we were really tight. We've loved each other since, and we began to see the flag in a different way. We saw the flag through the Soldiers' eyes, and it became a different experience."
Ayer said the boot camp was key to forging the chemistry between the actors that is seen on screen.
"More than anything, to make this film, it was about getting these actors to bond in a short amount of time so they felt like a military unit in the field," he said. "It's that brotherhood and sisterhood. It's unique. It really is like Family, and just like Family, it can build you up or tear you down. There are no secrets, nowhere to hide and nowhere to run. That's how it had to feel. They finish each other's sentences now, so the chemistry on that screen is believable and very real."
In addition to the boot camp, the actors were also trained as a tank crew, and used a late-war Sherman tank during filming.
Peña, whose character is the tank's driver, attended six weeks of tank driving training in preparation for his role.
"It's one of those things where it's easy to learn, but it's hard to get good at it," Peña said. "It took me a while, but I was driving quite a bunch. In the movie, when you have Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf up on top of the turret, it's nerve-wracking. Sometimes in World War II, they only had a week to learn. It was a crash course, both literally and figuratively. It was a tough job, but it was one that had to be done."
In addition to the actual M4 Sherman, a set was also built to recreate the interior of the tank while allowing for space for camera crews.
To create the interior, the art department scanned the interior of the real tank, then enlarged it by 10 percent. From the scan, they built a set from a box metal frame with a resin fiberglass coat. To create flyaway walls that would allow for camera placement, 42 pieces were able to float in and out.
Logan Lerman, who plays Pvt. Norman "Machine" Ellison, said the confined space soon became comfortable for the crew.
"It's claustrophobic at first, but we spent thousands of hours in that tank," Lerman said. "It became home pretty quickly. You adapt. The tank became my living room. Everyone had their spot that became theirs."
Pitt, meanwhile, said the tank's interior took some getting used to.
"If you get into an M4, you'll see it isn't really made for human beings," Pitt said. "There's nothing ergonomical about it. You learn to find your little comfort space between the bolt and the turret ring. You know to keep your limbs in when the turret is spinning so you don't lose an arm or something."
Fury opened Oct. 17, and finished No. 1 over the weekend at the U.S. box office with an estimated total of $23.5 million.
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