SAN DIEGO -- Cast and crew members of "Olympus Has Fallen" visited the base theater aboard Naval Base San Diego for a sneak preview of the movie March 16.
The guests, including Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Rick Yune, director Antoine Fuqua, and executive producer Peter Schlessel, took a bus tour of the base; visited the Arleigh-Burke class guided-missile destroyers USS Kidd (DDG 100) and USS Gridley (DDG 101); and spoke with the theater audience before the 5 p.m. showing.
The sneak preview shown on base is a way for various Hollywood elements to show their support for the military and give something back to the Sailors.
"They come to us," said Capt. Winton Smith Jr., Naval Base San Diego commanding officer. "When you have people like producer Peter Schlessel and director Antoine Fuqua who have such a tremendous appreciation for what the military does and the sacrifices we make; it makes my job easy. Folks like that reach out to the military, they give us the opportunity for things like this sneak preview and we gladly accept them."
The actors were given a small glimpse of shipboard life during their visits to Kidd and Gridley, and spoke to the theater audience about the impact of the trip.
"I love being here with you guys," said Yune. "Being aboard the ships and seeing the loyalty, camaraderie, and sense of mission and purpose you guys have is really awesome. That is really very rare to find in life. We tried to find that same passion in 'Olympus Has Fallen' and when you guys see it, I hope you feel the same way. Thanks so much for what you guys do."
The military sneak preview is made more significant by the plotlines tied to recent historical events.
"This movie is going to resonate loud and clear with the military people in the audience and their families," said Smith. "It is about a terrorist attack on the White House, and when you see a movie like that it's like re-living 9/11 for all of us in uniform. We have a tremendous appreciation for the sacrifices it takes to defend our freedoms, so it is really an honor to be able to have this movie aboard this base so we can preview it."
