Wes Tooke Popular Books

Wes Tooke Biography & Facts

Midway is a 2019 war film about the Battle of Midway, a turning point in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The film was directed by Roland Emmerich, who also produced the film with Harald Kloser, and was written by Wes Tooke. The film stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Tadanobu Asano, Darren Criss, and Woody Harrelson. The film was a passion project of Emmerich's, and he had trouble getting financial support for the film before finally raising sufficient funds and officially announcing the project in 2017. Much of the cast joined in 2018, and filming began in Hawaii. Some filming also took place in Montreal. With a production budget of $100 million, it is to date one of the most expensive independent films of all time. Midway was theatrically released by Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment in the United States on November 8, 2019 and received generally mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visuals but criticized the screenplay. The film was a box office bomb, grossing only $126 million worldwide against the $100 million budget. Plot In December 1937, Lieutenant Commander Edwin T. Layton, an American naval attaché intelligence officer, is warned during a state function in Tokyo between the United States Navy, British Royal Navy, and Imperial Japanese Navy by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto that, because 80% of Japan's oil is imported, if the US were to threaten their oil supply then the Japanese would have no choice but to wage war. On December 7, 1941, during World War II, following the US's decision to cut off Japan's oil supply, the Japanese launch a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, forcing the US to enter the war. Admiral Yamamoto, with the support of Rear Admiral Tamon Yamaguchi, proposes an audacious plan to invade Midway Island using the four available Japanese carriers of the "Kido Butai", but the Japanese Army overrules them. In February, naval aviator Lieutenant Richard "Dick" Best and the Air Group of the carrier USS Enterprise launches raids against the Marshall Islands. In April, after Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle's raid on Tokyo, Yamamoto, Yamaguchi, and Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo are permitted to carry out their plan to attack Midway. In May, following the Battle of the Coral Sea, Layton, along with Joseph Rochefort and his cryptography team, use signals intelligence to intercept Japanese messages about an operation against an objective identified only as "AF". Layton and his team believe that "AF" is Midway Atoll, while Washington believes it to be a target in the South Pacific. The newly appointed commander-in-chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, remains skeptical. To prove their theory, Layton instructs Midway to send an unencrypted message stating they are suffering from a water shortage. The Japanese pick up this signal and send an intercepted message about water shortages on "AF," confirming "AF" to be Midway. Hoping to mount his surprise attack, Nimitz orders the aircraft carriers USS Hornet and Enterprise to be recalled from the Coral Sea and demands that the damaged USS Yorktown be repaired in 72 hours for combat operations. Halsey is placed on shore leave due to shingles and is temporarily replaced by Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. On June 4, the Japanese launch an air raid on Midway. Initial attempts by US land-based aircraft to strike the Japanese fleet carriers fail, though Nagumo is shaken when a crashing American bomber narrowly misses the bridge of the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi in an apparent ramming attempt. The submarine USS Nautilus tries to attack the fleet and is chased off by the Japanese destroyer Arashi. American squadrons attack the Japanese fleet without success, and a surviving crew member George H. Gay Jr. in the water, though the persistence attacks disrupt the fleet from launching their counterstrike. Upon spotting the Arashi from the air, Wade McClusky correctly infers the destroyer is rushing back to the fleet and leads his planes to follow its course. Arriving to find the Japanese Combat Air Patrol at low level due to the previous attacks, the dive bombers reduce the Japanese aircraft carriers Kaga, Sōryū and Akagi to burning wrecks. Nagumo is persuaded to transfer his flag while Yamaguchi, aboard the sole remaining carrier, Hiryu, launches a strike that succeeds in crippling Yorktown, but Enterprise and Hornet successfully cripple the Hiryu in response. Admiral Yamaguchi chooses to go down with his command along with the Captain, as Hiryu is scuttled. Yamamoto orders a general withdrawal. At Pearl Harbor, Rochefort intercepts the Japanese order to withdraw and passes it to Layton, who informs Nimitz. Best is discharged from the Navy for his lung problems, incurred due to the use of faulty breathing apparatus during the battle, and returns home to his wife and daughter. Cast Allies Japanese Civilians Production Development On May 23, 2017, it was reported that Roland Emmerich would be directing the World War II film Midway. Due to its potential lofty budget (with estimates putting its needed cost at $125 million), Emmerich had trouble getting the film greenlit. When no major studio would bankroll the project, he cut down on potential battle sequences and turned to individuals for the funds, resulting in $76 million; he then got an additional $24 million in equity, mostly from Chinese investors, resulting in the film's $100 million budget. It is one of the most costly independent films ever made. Emmerich had previously attempted to mount the film at Sony Pictures in the 1990s, with William Goldman becoming interested in the project. However, as with the final rendition, executives balked at the proposed $100 million budget ($152 million by 2019 inflation), and Emmerich moved on to direct The Patriot. Harald Kloser also produced the film. The Naval History and Heritage Command of the US Navy were involved in both the writing and production of the film. Casting In April 2018, Woody Harrelson and Mandy Moore joined the ensemble cast for the film. In July 2018, Luke Evans was cast in the film to play Lieutenant Commander Wade McClusky, who was awarded the Navy Cross for his role in the Battle of Midway. Robby Baumgartner was hired as cinematographer. August saw the additions of Patrick Wilson, Ed Skrein, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Tadanobu Asano, Dennis Quaid, and others to the cast. Darren Criss, Alexander Ludwig, and Brandon Sklenar were cast in September. Filming Filming began on September 5, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was also shot in Montreal, Quebec. In November 2018, it was announced that VFX company Scanline VFX will be the main VFX vendor, and that Pixomondo had signed on to provide additional visual effects. Release The film was released on November 8, 2019, Veterans Day weekend. Marketing A teaser poster for the film was released on June 4, 2019, which was also the 77th anniversary of the Battle of .... Discover the Wes Tooke popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Wes Tooke books.