CATCH-22 Private Screening

Recently, I and my wife went to the WWII Museum in New Orleans to see a private screening of the first episode of the new Hulu miniseries. It is co-produced by George Clooney and he directed two of the six episodes. He also plays a minor character - Scheisskopf. Scheisskopf, as well as several other characters, did not appear in the movie. Since the miniseries is three times as long, it clearly will cover more of the book. For those of you who were put off by the nonlinear structure of the movie and the book, the miniseries is in chronological order. Probably a decision aimed at the comfort of the masses. Based on the first episode, it appears the project is well done. The cast is mostly unknowns, with the exceptions of Clooney, Kyle Chandler as Cathcart, and Hugh Laurie as de Coverley (another character that does not appear in the movie). I am sure the young cast is competent, but they will have to go a long way to match the movie. The episode evidenced realistic depiction of the missions, something that CGI allows over the original. They only had access to two B-25's, but the formation scenes are seamless. If you enjoyed the book, or don't want to have to read it, it looks like it will do the trick. It should be a boon to the summer reading students. Just be aware that the book is partly chosen by your English teacher because of Heller's style as well as his satire.

After the screening there was a panel discussion featuring a co-writer (Luke Davies) and three actors - Rafi Gavron (Arfy), Graham Patrick Martin (Orr), and John Rudnitsky (McWatt). Considering they were at the WWII Museum and there were veterans in the crowd, it was nice that the lads made it clear that their experience of making a movie at an Italian resort was not comparable to that of the B-25 crews.

I'll try to watch the series soon and post on it.  Stay tuned.

Here is my review of the book and the movie.