HBO's wartime miniseries "Pacific" sets sail

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "The Pacific," HBO's ambitious follow-up to its Emmy-winning World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers," has begun production in Australia.

Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Hanks' production partner, Gary Goetzman, are back as executive producers. The miniseries is slated to debut in 2009.

Jon Seda, originally cast in a supporting role, has been tapped to play one of the three central characters, John Basilone. The "Homicide: Life on the Street" veteran replaces the previously cast Val Lauren.

The 10-hour "Pacific" tracks the intertwined odysseys of three U.S. Marines -- Robert Leckie (James Badge Dale), Basilone and Eugene Sledge (Joe Mazzello) -- across the vast canvas of the Pacific, from the first clash with the Japanese in the jungles of Guadalcanal to the triumphant return home after V-J Day.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter