So my wife and I are on vaction in Homer Alaska, having dinner out on the Spit , when who should sit down next to us but R. Lee Ermey. Who you ask? Well you youngsters may know him as the Sargent on MailCall on the history channel but his most classic role was Gunnery Sargent Hartman in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket. Take a look at his dialog from this movie a see if you don't think it's one of the best roles in movies ..ever, you unorganized grabastic pieces of amphibian ****! (caution: PG 13 + rated) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/quotes
Wow! That's a guy I'd love to have some beers with. Was he as much of a trip as I would imagine he is?
He's a helluva guy. He came to visit the amphib I was on during my little time in the Balkans. He's just as Semper Fi in real life as he is on TV and the movies. Hoo-rah!
He was there with 3 fishing buddies, they had been out for Halibut all day. There were about 16 people in the dining room , all but 2 were men,and we all recognized him, oorah!. He was cordial but a little more subdued than you would think from his screen persona. They all drank dark beer and ordered the Alakan King Crab. He talked a lot of fishing with the guys on the table opposite from his group. He was directly behind me so I just greeted him as he sat down and left him alone. If I could have word for worded some of Sgt. Hartman i would have but it's been a long time since I has seen it.
Dude that is so sweet! You should have gone up to him and said, "What is your major malfunction numbnuts? Didn't mommy and daddy show you enough attention as a child?" On second thought, probably not a good idea.
His first film was "Boys of Company C" which was pretty much the source for the Full Metal Jacket character.
I wonder how much of Sgt. Hartman was written and how much was improvised? Was he a Drill Sargeant during his real tour...Bamma? Was your DI really like Hartman?
Gene, If you go to the internet movie database site and look up trivia for "Full Metal Jacket", you will find all kinds of interesting things such as these: - Former US Marines Drill Instructor R. Lee Ermey was hired as a consultant on how to drill USMC style. He performed a demonstration on videotape in which he yelled obscene insults and abuse for fifteen minutes without stopping, repeating himself, or even flinching - despite being continuously pelted with tennis balls and oranges. Director Stanley Kubrick was so impressed that he cast Ermey as Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. - Ermey was involved in a jeep accident during the making of the movie. At 1am he skidded off the road, breaking all of his ribs on one side. He refused to pass out, and kept flashing his car lights until a motorist stopped. In some scenes, he does not move one of his arms at all. - According to director John Boorman, Stanley Kubrick wanted to cast Bill McKinney in the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. However Kubrick was so unsettled after viewing McKinney's performance in Deliverance (1972) that he declined to meet with him, saying he was simply too frightened at the idea of being in his presence. - To make Gunnery Sergeant Hartman's performance and the recruits' reactions as convincing as possible, Modine, D'Onofrio and the other actors playing recruits never met Ermey prior to filming. Kubrick also saw to it that Ermey didn't fraternize with the actors between takes. Great sig by the way!
No pic of Gunny but this is our 30th Anniversery Day in Homer. The Spit is a glacial moraine that sticks 5 miles out into Ketchemak Bay in Homer. It's part industrial port, part Coney Island, part RV park and part hippie crash park. This is at the very end where there is a great restaurant. Glaciers: What most people go to Alaska for: [ What we went for:
Texans represent! That looks beautiful Gene. RM95's Fiancee spent a good part of her childhood in Alaska. From the way she describes it, I can't wait to visit!
"Davis!" (That's Joker) "4212 - Basic Military Journalism...Basic Military Journalism? Do you want to be an office pinky?" "No, sir!" "Are you a writer?" "I wrote for my high school newspaper sir!" "Jesus Christ, you're not a writer, you're a killer!" "A killer, yes, sir!" When he finishes, Gerheim says "Today you people are no longer maggots. Today you are Marines. You're part of a brotherhood. From now on, until the day you die, wherever you are, every Marine is your brother. Every Marine will be ready to give his life for you, and you will be ready to give yours." "Most of you will go to Vietnam. Some of you will not come back. But always remember this: Marines die - that's what we're here for. But the Marine Corps lives forever - and that means you live forever." Script of Full Metal Jacket http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/doc/0065.html What a hell of a movie. Kubrick was a genius, and Hartman nailed the role he was born, and trained, to play.
He was a real DI, but he never made it to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant until the USMC made him an honorary one. My DI was very similar, but he was very sarcastic. That was even worse than the yelling.
I lived in Valdez, Alaska in 1984, 1985. Absolutely beautiful. I highly, HIGHLY recommend Valdez to anyone going up there. The entire city is surrounded by Mountains, and Ocean from the Sound. I can even recommend some fantastic Mountain climbing that only the "locals" know about.
