HBO and Bright House Networks to Host Tampa Bay Premiere of HBO Documentary Film 'ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ' on Friday, September 7 at Mahaffey Theater

HBO and Bright House Networks to Host Tampa Bay Premiere of HBO Documentary Film 'ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ' on Friday, September 7 at Mahaffey Theater

Documentary Film Features St. Pete Native, Marine Corporal Michael Jernigan, Who Will Attend With His Family

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Aug. 28 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- HBO and Bright House Networks will co-host the Tampa Bay premiere of ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ on Friday, September 7, at an invitation-only screening event at St. Petersburg's Mahaffey Theater at The Progress Energy Center. Marine Corporal Michael Jernigan, a native of St. Petersburg, is featured in the documentary film and is confirmed to attend along with his family.

Three-time Emmy(R) winner James Gandolfini returns to HBO with the documentary special ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ, his first project after "The Sopranos" -- and the first production for his Attaboy Films. Debuting SUNDAY, SEPT. 9 (10:30-11:30 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO, the documentary about wounded Marines and soldiers surveys the physical and emotional cost of war through memories of their "alive day," the day they narrowly escaped death in Iraq.

In a war that has left more than 27,000 wounded, ALIVE DAY MEMORIES looks at a new generation of veterans. For the first time in American history, 90% of the wounded survive their injuries, but a greater percentage of these men and women are returning with amputations, traumatic brain injuries and severe post-traumatic stress. More than half these injuries are too severe to permit a return to active military service.

Gandolfini, who has visited the troops in Iraq on behalf of the USO, serves as executive producer. In ALIVE DAY MEMORIES he interviews 10 soldiers who reveal their feelings on their future, their severe disabilities and their devotion to America. Their first-person stories are augmented by harrowing footage from the war-torn streets of Iraq, and from embedded cameras in the vehicles of the soldiers, which was shot when they were injured, as well as disturbing video of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) bombings released by insurgents, and soldiers' personal home videos and photographs.

The soldiers who speak with Gandolfini on a sparse New York soundstage range in age from 21 to 41; six are from the Army and four are Marines. Their injuries range from triple amputees to severe traumatic brain injury to blindness.

"Everybody makes a big deal about your 'alive day,' especially at Walter Reed," comments Sgt. Bryan Anderson. "And I can see their point that you'd want to celebrate something like that. But from my point of view, it's like, 'OK, we're sitting here celebrating the worst day of my life. Great, let's just remind me of that every year'."

First Lt. Dawn Halfaker says, "I think people come away from the war wanting to feel that they made a difference, wanting to feel like their sacrifice, or their time, or their energy was worth it. War is horrible. I don't like the sounds associated with it, the smells I associate with it. But I'm glad I did it."

"The fight doesn't stop when you get home. In our cases, it's just begun," says Corporal Jake Schick.

Interviewees include:
* Cpl. Michael Jernigan, 28, U.S. Marine Corps, Weapons Platoon, Easy Co.
Alive Day: Aug. 22, 2004.
* Sgt. Bryan Anderson, 25, U.S. Army, 411th Military Police Co. Alive
Day: Oct. 23, 2005.
* Sgt. Eddie Ryan, 22, Marine Sniper Team-Reaper 6. Alive Day: April 13,
2005.
* Spc. Crystal Davis, 23, U.S. Army, 54th Engineers, Bravo Co. Alive Day:
Jan. 21, 2006.
* First Lt. Dawn Halfaker, 27, U.S. Army, 293rd Military Police. Alive
Day: June 19, 2004.
* Pvt. Dexter Pitts, 22, U.S. Army, 10th Mountain, Alpha Co. Alive Day:
Jan. 2, 2005.
* Cpl. Jonathan Bartlett, 21, U.S. Army, Infantry Regiment Air Assault,
Delta Company. Alive Day: Sept. 25, 2004.
* Staff Sgt. Jay Wilkerson, 41, U.S. Army, Multinational Security Command.
Alive Day: March 28, 2006.
* Cpl. Jacob Schick, 24, U.S. Marine Corps, 1/23rd Marines, Bravo Co.
Alive Day: Sept. 20, 2004.
* Staff Sgt. John Jones, 29, U.S. Marine Corps, 1/7th Marines, Charlie
Company. Alive Day: Jan. 3, 2005.

Michael Jernigan is a retired U.S. Marine who was wounded in a road side bombing in Iraq in August 2004. He is a St. Petersburg native and a 1997 graduate of St. Pete High School. Michael's recovery process was long and full of many challenges; taking 16 months for him to finally leave the Marine Corps and move back home. He is currently attending college in northern Virginia and hopes to graduate in a few years.

ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ is a multi-platform event. The documentary will be available on HBO On Demand from Sept. 10 through Oct. 8, and will be streamed on hbo.com beginning Sept. 10. In addition to streaming the entire film, hbo.com will feature extensive soldier profiles, including personal videos and blogs, as well as exclusive portraits by acclaimed photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. HBO Video releases the film on DVD Oct. 23.

ALIVE DAY MEMORIES: HOME FROM IRAQ marks HBO Documentary Films' third production focusing on the war in Iraq, following the Emmy(R) and Peabody winner "Baghdad ER" and "Last Letters Home: Voices of American Troops from the Battlefields of Iraq."

For Attaboy Films: executive producer, James Gandolfini; co-executive producer, Alexandra Ryan; associate producer, Trixie Flynn. For HBO Documentary Films: executive producer, Sheila Nevins; supervising producer, Sara Bernstein; directed by Jon Alpert and Ellen Goosenberg; produced by Ellen Goosenberg; produced and photographed by Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill (whose previous credits include "Baghdad ER"); edited by Paula Heredia.

Source: HBO

CONTACT: Carmen Argamasilla, +1-305-446-6695, or +1-305-491-3051, or
carmen@redfoxpr.com, for HBO

Web site:

http://www.hbo.com/

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