FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  AUGUST 16, 2001

Contact Patrick Tremblay, ptremblay@asomf.org (910) 483-3003 ext. 229

HBO CELEBRATES THE AIRBORNE, AUGUST 17 & 18

Premiers BAND OF BROTHERS Miniseries at Museum

FAYETTEVILLE, NC.  Home Box Office (HBO) has chosen the museum to promote its upcoming miniseries Band of Brothers.  The 10-part series, based on the best selling book by Stephen Ambrose, follows a company of paratroopers (E company, 506^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101^st Airborne Division) from activation through combat in Europe during WWII.  The men depicted in the work, like all airborne soldiers during the war, deployed from Ft. Bragg, the Army installation bordering Fayetteville. 

THE CONNECTION

HBO production personnel approached Dr. John Duvall, the museum’s Director of Education and Programming, over a year and a half ago (well before the museum opened) to assist with technical background materials for the production.  Dr. Duvall sent a great deal of information, including photocopies of rare original training manuals and regulations.  Then last October the Army Public Affairs Office at the Pentagon contacted museum personnel to invite them to a meeting with HBO concerning the promotion and premier of the series.  The meeting never happened, but the museum continued to pursue HBO and eventually secured a meeting at the museum through the local Time Warner Cable office. 

“Getting HBO to the museum was the hard part.  Once they were in the museum they were in awe, as everyone is,” says Patrick Tremblay, Marketing Manager for the museum. “The story the museum, Fayetteville, and Ft. Bragg tells is the exact story that HBO is trying to promote.  It’s a natural fit, and a perfect time for us.”  HBO agreed to two days of events at the museum, an invitation only premier of Band of Brothers on August 17^th and a promotional day open to the public on August 18^th. 

The dates fall during the most important time of the year for the museum and for the airborne.  August 16^th represents the first anniversary of the museum and the 61^st anniversary of the first U.S. Army parachute jump.  The Airborne Heritage Day celebration had been planned since last year, and with the addition of the HBO events, makes for three exciting days at the museum.  Getting the attention of a major media power such as HBO is a coup for the museum and the Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg area, and it comes on the heels of Ft. Bragg being named an Army Community of Excellence and Fayetteville an All-American City.

THE PREMIER

The Band of Brothers will premier on HBO on September 9^th, with a limited number of preview screenings being held prior to that date.  The first was held on June 6^th, the anniversary of D-Day, on the beaches of Normandy, France.  The only other locations of military significance are Toccoa, GA (where the 506^th trained), Ft. Campbell, KY (current home of the 101^st Airborne (Air Assault) Division) and Fayetteville.  Ft. Bragg and nearby Camp Mackall were the stateside home of the 101^st Airborne and the four other original airborne divisions during World War II.  The only airborne division that remains today is the 82^d Airborne, still stationed at Ft. Bragg.  “It’s terrific that HBO has recognized the importance of this area.  This is a story about paratroopers, and that story wouldn’t be complete without Fayetteville,” says Dr. Duvall.  The miniseries will air weekly on HBO for ten weeks. 

Those lucky enough to be invited to the museum’s Yarborough-Bank Theater for the screenings will see a few minutes of the first episode, the entire second episode, and about twenty minutes of scenes from the remaining eight episodes.  There will be two screenings, one at 3:45 PM and a second at 6:45 PM, with a reception sponsored by the museum and HBO in between the two.  Invited guests include city, county and Ft. Bragg officials, major museum donors, select soldiers from Ft. Bragg, and many of the museum’s volunteers.  Other screenings will take place in major cities including Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Chicago and Dallas. 

THE PUBLIC EVENT

For those who don’t have the opportunity to attend the premier, HBO returns to the museum the next day as part of its Urban Bus tour.  The multi-media Bus travels the country stopping at significant areas to promote HBO’s original programming and special events.  The event will run from 10 AM – 2 PM, and will include doughnuts, soft-drinks, pizza and prizes, as well as music and Band of Brothers and HBO related giveaways. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

·         Airborne & Special Operations Museum:  Patrick Tremblay (910) 483-3003 ext. 229/ ptremblay@asomf.org, or www.asomf.org.  

·         HBO:  Loraine Ponteres (212) 512-7641

·         HBO’s Band of Brothers: www.hbo.com/band

·         HBO’s Urban Bus Tour: www.hbo.com/urbanbus  

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