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"Saving Private Ryan" holds a special place in the pantheon of WWII movies. Known for its bloody realism and Janusz Kaminski's Academy Award-winning cinematography inspired by photojournalist Robert Capa's pictures of the D-Day landing, the film shaped the public imagination of the war for generations. Audiences now know it as the quintessential WWII film, but screenwriter Robert Rodat found its inspiration in an entirely different era.

In the movie, three of four brothers in the Ryan family have already perished in action. U.S. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall (Harve Presnell) has determined that for the sake of morale, they can't afford...

The post The Original Inspiration Behind Saving Private Ryan Didn't Actually Come From WWII appeared first on /Film.

Actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise, who is most famously known for his portrayal of Lt. Dan Taylor in the landmark film Forrest Gump, was announced today as the 2018 Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal.

Sinise will ride in the 129th Rose Parade presented by Honda, themed “Making A Difference” and participate in the pre-game celebration of the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. Both are held on January 1, 2018.

Tournament of Roses President, Lance Tibbet, made the announcement at Tournament House in Pasadena. In his remarks, Tibbet referred to Sinise as someone making a difference in his community through his work with veterans.

“The 2018 theme, ‘Making A Difference,’ is a way to honor and celebrate all of the people in our communities, who quietly and without desire for reward or recognition, act in selfless, generous and kind ways to aid or benefit others. Gary Sinise...

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: Raise your hand if you knew that Columbia Pictures’ upcoming alien invasion film “Battle: L.A.” was based on an actual, historical event?

Put your hand down, conspiracy theorists. And take that tin foil off of your head.

As the studio ramps up for the launch of Jonathan Liebesman’s “Battle,” it’s simultaneously spreading the word that this science-fiction blockbuster, while decidedly fictional, isn’t as far-fetched as modern audiences might be led to believe.

That’s because an actual event, dubbed “The Battle of Los Angeles,” occurred 69 years ago today in the skies over Southern California. The strange occurrence took place during the night between Feb. 24-25, 1942, and they remained unsolved to this day.

Here’s what happened. The United States military was on high alert, given the fact that Pearl Harbor had been attacked months prior to this “battle.” Shortly after 2 a.

Tomorrow marks the 69th anniversary of The Battle of Los Angeles, which remains one of the strangest events of WWII and is still a mystery to this day. The event took place during the night between February 24-25, 1942. Never fully explained, these events remain shrouded in mystery and the subject of intense speculation. Beginning shortly after 2 am on February 25, and throughout the night, unidentified objects were reported over Los Angeles and the threat was so unusual that air raid sirens were sounded, and a total blackout was ordered. At 3:16 am, the 37th Coast Artillery Brigade began firing 12.8-pound antiaircraft shells at the objects – more than 1,400 shells were fired over the next 58 minutes as the objects moved south, from Santa Monica to Long Beach. “The obvious thought was that these were Japanese bombers come to attack the United States,” says UFO expert Bill Birnes, publisher of UFO magazine. “But it wasn’t.

You can bring home three action-packed classic films home in the perfection of 1080p this May. Saving Private Ryan, Escape From L.A. and K-19: The Widowmaker will all be released on Blu-ray on May 4. These discs will be priced at $29.99 apiece and you can take a look at the special features details and synopses below. We'll update this story with more of the cover art images as soon as they come in.

Saving Private Ryan

Steven Spielberg directed this powerful, realistic re-creation of WWII's D-day invasion and the immediate aftermath. The story opens with a prologue in which a veteran brings his family to the American cemetery at Normandy, and a flashback then joins Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks) and GIs in a landing craft making the June 6, 1944, approach to Omaha Beach to face devastating German artillery fire. This mass slaughter of American soldiers is depicted in a compelling, unforgettable 24-minute sequence.