A standing room only crowd watched history unfolding as the Pentagon opened its doors to premiere a very personal film for the military: the new HBO Documentary Film WARTORN 1861-2010. The film chronicles the history of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the eyes of American servicemen and women, and their families.

It was a poignant evening as the families featured in the film walked their own red carpet to share their experiences with PTSD. The film is executive produced by James Gandolfini and HBO Documentary Films President Sheila Nevins. Ms. Nevins attended the premiere, along with filmmakers Jon Alpert, Ellen Goosenberg Kent, Matthew O’Neill, Lori Shinseki and Sara Bernstein.

Opening remarks were made by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen, U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey, Jr. and HBO Co-President Richard Plepler. A special panel discussion followed the screening to bring attention to the serious efforts of the military and the Veterans Administration to help fix these problems. The panel was moderated by Doug Wilson, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs and Tammy Duckworth, Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs| Department of Veterans Affairs. Panelists included General Peter Chiarelli, U.S. Army Vice Chief of Staff; Dr. Kathleen Chard, Director PTSD and Anxiety Disorder Division | Cincinnati VA Medical Center; Lt. Col. Gregory E. Harbin (Ret.), Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom; Paul “Buddy” Bucha, Medal of Honor Recipient; Gregory Goldstein, Headquarters Marine Corps Combat and Operational Stress Control Program Manager.

The audience included the Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, the First Lady’s Chief of Staff Susan Sher and Darienne Paige, White House liaison.

WARTORN 1861-2010 premieres on HBO this Veteran’s Day: November 11, 2010.

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Tom Hanks feels for the “poor slobs” of the White House Press Corps.

The Academy Award winning actor said as much while checking out the old Pony Express espresso machine he bought in 2004 for the hardworking men and women of the Fourth Estate after noticing they didn’t have a proper source of java.

Hanks couldn’t resist visiting the press room last month to see if the coffee maker was still there while at the White House for a special screening of HBO’s “The Pacific” with President Barack Obama.

Director Steven Spielberg and Hanks are Executive Producers of the ten-part WWII miniseries now airing on HBO.

Hanks showed off the coffee maker to pal Spielberg, along with their wives, actresses Rita Wilson and Kate Capshaw. He also promised to send the press corps a new one after declaring that “this one is on its last legs.”

Well, despite a question of ethics jokingly raised by veteran CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller (to which Hanks replied: “It’s just a gift — it’s not like it’s a pizza oven.”) Hanks has made good on his promise: a shiny new coffee maker and personal note from the actor were delivered this afternoon.

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HBO’s The Pacific Honors Veterans in D.C. from whcinsider on Vimeo.

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Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks brought their new HBO mini-series, “The Pacific,” to the White House for a screening with President Obama. The mini-series begins this Sunday on HBO and tells the story of the Marines in the Pacific Theater during WWII.

Pete Souza took this shot of Obama, Spielberg, Hanks and other guests in the Family Theater in the White House.

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

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Wanda Sykes, the bawdy-humored comedian who will emcee this year’s White House Correspondents Dinner, has just landed a late-night network talk show on Fox for her often jaundiced, R-rated take on the world.
 
Starting this fall, Sykes — who once lived near D.C. and whose first job was with the National Security Agency — will enter the white male-dominated landscape of late-night TV talk shows, hosting her own on the Fox broadcast network. The hour-long yakker, as the trade papers like to call talk shows, will be topical, focusing on politics and pop culture and regularly featuring guests as well as spots Sykes will do outside of the studio, according to news reports on April 1 (yes, April Fool’s Day — but Fox confirmed the reports). Read more…

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