USA: U.S. MILITARY ADVISER CAPTAIN DALE DYE TRAINS ACTORS TO BECOME SOLDIERS FOR "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" AND OTHER HOLLYWOOD FILMS

Record ID: 387863

  • Title: USA: U.S. MILITARY ADVISER CAPTAIN DALE DYE TRAINS ACTORS TO BECOME SOLDIERS FOR "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" AND OTHER HOLLYWOOD FILMS
  • Date: 27th October 1998
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 27) (RTV-DEVALL) DALE DYE SAYING (SOUNDBITE ENGLISH ) "EVERY DIRECTOR, AND HE IS, AFTER ALL, THE COMMANDING GENERAL, HAS A VISION. HE HAS A WAY HE SEES THINGS, AND IF IT'S NOT REALITY, I CAN TRY TO DISABUSE HIM OF THAT NOTION, BUT, I'M ALWAYS GONNA LOSE SOME FIREFIGHTS, BUT THE WAY I SEE IT, IT'S BEST TO WIN THE WAR EVEN
  • Embargoed: 11th November 1998 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES AND FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVADVCW8T5HRHY15DO399XGNVL35
  • Story Text: With Steven Spielberg's "Saving Private Ryan" now filling movie theatres around the world, one of its most important behind-the-scenes collaborators is hard at work on his next project.On Tuesday, October 27, former United States Marine Captain Dale Dye was training a new batch of actors how to look, act, speak, walk, talk and fight like real soldiers, just like he did for Tom Hanks and his co-stars in Spielberg's World War II epic.
    Ever since "Saving Private Ryan" opened to universal acclaim for its realistic portrayal of military life in World War II, Dye has become one of Hollywood's hottest and most sought-after military advisers.Everyone from Tom Hanks to Tom Cruise have gone through his gruelling regime of training and learning about the grim reality of combat.
    In addition to "Saving Private Ryan," Dye taught Hanks how to throw a hand grenade for "Forrest Gump" and Tom Cruise how to search a Vietnamese hut for "Born on the Fourth of July."
    In fact, that film's director, Oliver Stone, gave Dye his start in show business when he hired him as military adviser for his Oscar-winning film "Platoon." Since then, Dye has gone on to work on most of Stone's films, including "Heaven and Earth," "Natural Born Killers" and "JFK" as well as the films "Starship Troopers," Brian DePalma's "Casualties of War"
    and "Outbreak."
    Although he left the United States Marine Corps in 1982, the six foot two-inch tall Dye remains a lean, mean fighting machine at the age of 53.His new mission is to inject some realism into what he thinks are the stereotypical and inaccurate treatments the military received from Hollywood in the past.
    In all, he spent 21 years in the Marines and collected three Purple Hearts and a bronze star in Vietnam.So when a director hires him to turn actors into soldiers, they're getting the real thing.
    The workout can last anywhere from a couple of days to more than a week.The daily routine includes 5 AM wakeups and seven kilometre runs, overnight stays in foxholes and sleeping outside in the rain, and a diet consisting entirely of field rations, all while being verbally harassed by Dale Dye.
    His newest project is a made-for-television movie called "The Port Chicago Mutiny" which will air on the NBC television network next spring.It was this project he was working on in Los Angeles on October 27.
    Dale Dye was born in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1964.He served in Vietnam in 1965 and 1967 through 1970, surviving 31 major combat operations.After leaving the military in 1982, he worked for a year as an editor at "Soldier of Fortune" magazine before heading to Hollywood on the advice of a friend.
    Once he was there, he heard another Vietnam vet named Oliver Stone was making a film called "Platoon" and he called Stone at home.Not long after, he was on his way to the Philippines to advise the production.
    Dye was so convincing there, that he won a small part in the film and he has since had small roles in 25 other movies, including "Saving Private Ryan."
    He also runs his own company, called Warriors, Inc., which has a small staff of ex-military men who provide technical advisory services to the entertainment industry worldwide.
    They include performer training, research, planning, staging and on-set advisory for directors.
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