Jason Ritter went to a dark place on The Long Road Home.
In the eight-part National Geographic series, based on Martha Raddatz’s best-selling 2007 book, Ritter plays real-life commander Troy Denomy, who, along with his comrades, came under surprise attack in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004, now known as Black Sunday. The series doesn’t just detail the soldiers’ lives in the harrowing moments during and after the attack, but also peels back the curtain on the stressful hours their family members thousands of miles away endured not knowing if their loved ones were Ok.
Ahead of The Long Road Home finale, Ritter jumped on the phone with Et to discuss the heart-wrenching military drama and cleansing his palette with the freshman fantasy-sci fi dramedy Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.
Et: How did you initially come to The Long Road Home?
Jason Ritter: I read first the script and an outline of what it was about and where it...
In the eight-part National Geographic series, based on Martha Raddatz’s best-selling 2007 book, Ritter plays real-life commander Troy Denomy, who, along with his comrades, came under surprise attack in Sadr City, Iraq, on April 4, 2004, now known as Black Sunday. The series doesn’t just detail the soldiers’ lives in the harrowing moments during and after the attack, but also peels back the curtain on the stressful hours their family members thousands of miles away endured not knowing if their loved ones were Ok.
Ahead of The Long Road Home finale, Ritter jumped on the phone with Et to discuss the heart-wrenching military drama and cleansing his palette with the freshman fantasy-sci fi dramedy Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.
Et: How did you initially come to The Long Road Home?
Jason Ritter: I read first the script and an outline of what it was about and where it...
- 12/19/2017
- Entertainment Tonight
Tom Morello has played to millions of people in countless venues around the world, and yet a May 19 booking at a movie theater in Kansas City, Mo., could be more meaningful to him than any other.
On that night, the lead guitarist of the band Rage Against the Machine will host “Tribute to Tomas Young.” Morello and Young became close friends long before the Internet came to know Young as the gravely wounded veteran who authored a viral open letter to former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War.
Morello and Young met in 2007 when Young was making a documentary, "Body of War" and wanted to use a song by The Nightwatchman -- the name of Morello's solo act. The film documents Young's attempt to reintegrate into the United States after being shot in the leg and through the...
On that night, the lead guitarist of the band Rage Against the Machine will host “Tribute to Tomas Young.” Morello and Young became close friends long before the Internet came to know Young as the gravely wounded veteran who authored a viral open letter to former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney on the tenth anniversary of the Iraq War.
Morello and Young met in 2007 when Young was making a documentary, "Body of War" and wanted to use a song by The Nightwatchman -- the name of Morello's solo act. The film documents Young's attempt to reintegrate into the United States after being shot in the leg and through the...
- 5/15/2013
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
Raving about the city's downtown restoration to a glammed up crowd at the Clinton Library Gala, Phil Donahue gave the keynote address for the Little Rock Film Festival declaring "You look like you bought a pretty prom dress." The legendary talk show host had screened his documentary Body of War earlier in the day. Also, awards were distributed for best documentary The Way We Get By and best narrative That Evening Sun.
Festival Organizers Craig and Brent Renaud with Phil Donahue
The Way We Get ByDirector Aron Gaudet follows three senior citizens who voluntarily spend their days, with others, greeting American troops as they arrive at Bangor, Maine's airport on their way home from Iraq or on their way there. With close framed, emotional interviews Gaudet evokes a multitude of thoughts and opnions from his subjects. For example, 86 year old Bill at first appears to be winding his life down...
Festival Organizers Craig and Brent Renaud with Phil Donahue
The Way We Get ByDirector Aron Gaudet follows three senior citizens who voluntarily spend their days, with others, greeting American troops as they arrive at Bangor, Maine's airport on their way home from Iraq or on their way there. With close framed, emotional interviews Gaudet evokes a multitude of thoughts and opnions from his subjects. For example, 86 year old Bill at first appears to be winding his life down...
- 5/17/2009
- Pastemagazine.com
Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience (top photo) and Body of War (bottom photo) will be screened as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 27th annual "Contemporary Documentaries" series on Wednesday, May 13, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission is free. Directed and produced by Richard E. Robbins, the Academy Award-nominated Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience presents letters written by Us military personnel and their families who have been involved in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Directed and produced by Ellen Spiro and former talk-show host Phil Donahue, Body of War tells the story of 22-year-old Tomas Young, who volunteered to fight in Afghanistan but ended up being sent to Iraq. Three days after his arrival, he was hit by mortar fire, suffering serious injuries. Upon returning to the Us, Young tries to understand the rationale — or lack thereof [...]...
- 5/7/2009
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
On September 13, 2001, Tomas Young watched President Bush stand atop the demolished World Trade Center and promise to smoke the evildoers out of their holes. Young decided to join the army to do his part, with the expectation that he'd be sent to Afghanistan. But less than three years later, he was stationed in Sadr City with too little training and too little armor, and within five days, he caught a bullet in the spine and returned home paralyzed. He joined an organization called Iraq Veterans Against The War, and after getting married, spent his honeymoon at Camp Casey in Crawford, Tx, in support of Cindy Sheehan. Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro's documentary Body Of War cuts between Young's daily life—which involves a lot of travel, speeches, and interviews, along with a lot of medication—and the October 2002 Senate debate over the "Authorization for Use of Military Force...
- 4/10/2008
- by Noel Murray
- avclub.com
By Neil Pedley
Prom queens and street kings hold court this week at the multiplexes while the college professors of "Smart People" and "The Visitor" preside at the art houses.
"Body of War"
Talk show legend Phil Donahue hands over the mic to Iraqi war veteran Tomas Young in this hard-hitting documentary that contrasts Young's struggle to re-enter civilian life as a paraplegic and anti-war activist with archival footage of an overeager U.S. Congress and what the filmmakers view as their hasty decision to greenlight the invasion. Although the film, co-directed by Donahue and Ellen Spiro, was named best documentary of 2007 by the National Board of Review, "Body of War" has earned equal attention for its soundtrack led by two tracks from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, with all proceeds going to the non-profit organization Iraq Veterans Against The War. (Check out our interview with Spiro and Donahue.)
Opens in New York.
Prom queens and street kings hold court this week at the multiplexes while the college professors of "Smart People" and "The Visitor" preside at the art houses.
"Body of War"
Talk show legend Phil Donahue hands over the mic to Iraqi war veteran Tomas Young in this hard-hitting documentary that contrasts Young's struggle to re-enter civilian life as a paraplegic and anti-war activist with archival footage of an overeager U.S. Congress and what the filmmakers view as their hasty decision to greenlight the invasion. Although the film, co-directed by Donahue and Ellen Spiro, was named best documentary of 2007 by the National Board of Review, "Body of War" has earned equal attention for its soundtrack led by two tracks from Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, with all proceeds going to the non-profit organization Iraq Veterans Against The War. (Check out our interview with Spiro and Donahue.)
Opens in New York.
- 4/7/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
Rocker Eddie Vedder was forced to pull out of a special screening of the anti-war documentary he has partly scored at the South by Southwest festival in Texas on Thursday to nurse a sick relative back to health.
Vedder, who recorded new material for and curated the soundtrack to Body Of War, was expected to join other musical activists like Billy Bragg and Tom Morello at the screening.
When he didn't show, fans were told the rocker was caring for an ailing relative and unable to make the premiere of the film and concert.
Instead, Bragg, Morello, Serj Tankian and Ben Harper performed brief sets after the screening of the hard-hitting film, about paralysed Iraq war veteran Tomas Young.
Morello ended the rousing anti-establishment concert by performing Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land with Bragg and Tankian.
Vedder, who recorded new material for and curated the soundtrack to Body Of War, was expected to join other musical activists like Billy Bragg and Tom Morello at the screening.
When he didn't show, fans were told the rocker was caring for an ailing relative and unable to make the premiere of the film and concert.
Instead, Bragg, Morello, Serj Tankian and Ben Harper performed brief sets after the screening of the hard-hitting film, about paralysed Iraq war veteran Tomas Young.
Morello ended the rousing anti-establishment concert by performing Woody Guthrie's This Land is Your Land with Bragg and Tankian.
- 3/14/2008
- WENN
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- A matter-of-fact but pointedly critical commentary on the Iraq War, Body of War focuses on how soldiers got sent to Iraq and the shape in which they're coming back, leaving the rest to the nightly news. A crowded marketplace makes boxoffice unpredictable, but identification with a single protagonist gives "War" something to set it apart from other antiwar documentaries. It also was tapped by Toronto as the second runner-up behind Eastern Promises and first runner-up Juno as the audience award winner.
Like men of another generation who enlisted after Pearl Harbor, Tomas Young joined the Army on Sept. 13, 2001, after seeing President Bush stand in front of Ground Zero rubble and promise to hunt down those who attacked us. He expected to go to Afghanistan in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, but eventually found himself shipped off to Iraq. For about five days -- after which his unarmored vehicle was attacked, and an AK-47 round pierced his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed.
We meet Tomas shortly before his marriage to Brie, a determined woman who we see searching online for ways to help control Tomas' unpredictable bowels. Brie and Tomas' mother, Cathy, help him with large and small things during the film -- at one point, the camera watches uncomfortably while Cathy puts a catheter in her son's penis so he can empty his bladder.
Tomas' paralysis affects him in ways viewers might not expect. His body can't regulate its temperature, so he has to wear a vest filled with ice packs when going to Crawford, Texas, to appear at one of Cindy Sheehan's rallies. He gets light-headed easily, so he takes dramatic pauses while addressing a church gathering in Brooklyn. Despite the discomfort, he's determined to travel the country arguing against a war he now sees as illegitimate.
In between scenes of this campaign, filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue cut back to October 2003, when the White House made its case for invading Iraq. We hear the president make assertions we now know to be incorrect, and, damningly, we hear his talking points parroted by one senator after another while Congress debates giving him the authority to use military force. Republicans are most ardent in beating these tidbits of misinformation into the public's mind, but "War" makes a point of catching prominent figures like Hillary Clinton doing exactly the same thing. John Kerry, for his part, reports that Saddam Hussein likely will have a nuclear weapon within a year.
From the opening scenes and through to the end, the film returns to the roll call that followed this debate, mercilessly listing every senator who voted for the measure. It also returns to footage of Sen. Robert Byrd, aged but fiery, as he begs his colleagues not to give in to the power grab. Byrd has taken his share of ribbing on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart for his over-the-top oratorical style, but he comes off as a hero here, standing up for an unpopular principle and foreseeing what effects a "yea" vote would have.
The back-and-forth feels disjointed at points, but as we spend time with Tomas -- who feels he's not getting adequate care from Army doctors -- we understand. Yes, the filmmakers want to draw attention to the plight of those who come home disabled from Iraq. But they also want to move beyond the easy excoriation of President Bush and remind us, indelibly, of each legislator who gave him the keys to the car.
This movie wants to help make things better. But it also -- fervently, and for a purpose -- holds a grudge.
BODY OF WAR
Phil Donahue Enterprises/Mobilus Media
Credits:
Directors-producers: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue
Executive producer: Phil Donahue
Director of photography: Ellen Spiro
Music: Eddie Vedder, Jeff Layton
Co-producer: Karen Bernstein
Editor: Bernadine Colish
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
TORONTO -- A matter-of-fact but pointedly critical commentary on the Iraq War, Body of War focuses on how soldiers got sent to Iraq and the shape in which they're coming back, leaving the rest to the nightly news. A crowded marketplace makes boxoffice unpredictable, but identification with a single protagonist gives "War" something to set it apart from other antiwar documentaries. It also was tapped by Toronto as the second runner-up behind Eastern Promises and first runner-up Juno as the audience award winner.
Like men of another generation who enlisted after Pearl Harbor, Tomas Young joined the Army on Sept. 13, 2001, after seeing President Bush stand in front of Ground Zero rubble and promise to hunt down those who attacked us. He expected to go to Afghanistan in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, but eventually found himself shipped off to Iraq. For about five days -- after which his unarmored vehicle was attacked, and an AK-47 round pierced his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed.
We meet Tomas shortly before his marriage to Brie, a determined woman who we see searching online for ways to help control Tomas' unpredictable bowels. Brie and Tomas' mother, Cathy, help him with large and small things during the film -- at one point, the camera watches uncomfortably while Cathy puts a catheter in her son's penis so he can empty his bladder.
Tomas' paralysis affects him in ways viewers might not expect. His body can't regulate its temperature, so he has to wear a vest filled with ice packs when going to Crawford, Texas, to appear at one of Cindy Sheehan's rallies. He gets light-headed easily, so he takes dramatic pauses while addressing a church gathering in Brooklyn. Despite the discomfort, he's determined to travel the country arguing against a war he now sees as illegitimate.
In between scenes of this campaign, filmmakers Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue cut back to October 2003, when the White House made its case for invading Iraq. We hear the president make assertions we now know to be incorrect, and, damningly, we hear his talking points parroted by one senator after another while Congress debates giving him the authority to use military force. Republicans are most ardent in beating these tidbits of misinformation into the public's mind, but "War" makes a point of catching prominent figures like Hillary Clinton doing exactly the same thing. John Kerry, for his part, reports that Saddam Hussein likely will have a nuclear weapon within a year.
From the opening scenes and through to the end, the film returns to the roll call that followed this debate, mercilessly listing every senator who voted for the measure. It also returns to footage of Sen. Robert Byrd, aged but fiery, as he begs his colleagues not to give in to the power grab. Byrd has taken his share of ribbing on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart for his over-the-top oratorical style, but he comes off as a hero here, standing up for an unpopular principle and foreseeing what effects a "yea" vote would have.
The back-and-forth feels disjointed at points, but as we spend time with Tomas -- who feels he's not getting adequate care from Army doctors -- we understand. Yes, the filmmakers want to draw attention to the plight of those who come home disabled from Iraq. But they also want to move beyond the easy excoriation of President Bush and remind us, indelibly, of each legislator who gave him the keys to the car.
This movie wants to help make things better. But it also -- fervently, and for a purpose -- holds a grudge.
BODY OF WAR
Phil Donahue Enterprises/Mobilus Media
Credits:
Directors-producers: Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue
Executive producer: Phil Donahue
Director of photography: Ellen Spiro
Music: Eddie Vedder, Jeff Layton
Co-producer: Karen Bernstein
Editor: Bernadine Colish
Running time -- 88 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/19/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- I’m not sure what the previous years have churned out, but this year’s Real to Reel (Tiff's doc section) packs a wallop: either the film’s selected happen to have a muscle name among doc filmmakers attached or the docu subject will raise more than one eyebrow. Among the mix we have Phil Donahue’s Body of War – a doc that is coming to the fest with ample buzz, we have film critic Todd McCarthy’s documentary of a Cannes fest icon Pierre Rissient who makes the term 'cinephile' sound like a disease, and after a successful crossover into feature films, Kevin Macdonald looks into the mind of Gestapo commander Klaus Barbie, a.k.a the Butcher of Lyon. Here is the complete list:algerie, Histoires A Ne Pas Dire Jean-Pierre Lledo, AlgeriaFour Algerians of Muslim origin revisit the last years of their country's War of Independence, searching
- 7/31/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
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