The elite Navy SEALs have long operated in secrecy, but that changed with their publicized role in taking out Osama Bin Laden.
Now, their public profile is about to get even bigger with active duty Navy SEALs about to hit the big screen. Some San Diego based SEALs are traveling around the country for premiers and screenings of the Movie "Act of Valor."
It's the first Hollywood film to portray U.S. Navy SEALs, played by real active duty SEALs.
"Act of Valor's" film makers hope to set the record straight on what SEALs are really like.
"What really blew us away once we met the guys was how much they'd been misrepresented by Hollywood.
It was almost a crime - they had these guys somewhat twisted up between Rambo and terminator dudes”, said director, Mike “Mouse” McCoy.
"These guys are humans - they're normal guys they just do extraordinary things. But they are husbands and they're fathers and they're people that continually get educated,” said director, Scott Waugh.
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Four years ago, the U.S. Navy partnered with the "Bandito Brothers" on a film project to improve awareness of the SEAL community. That effort resulted in this movie.
"We're telling an action narrative with all of the real guys, with real operational planning done by the teams, with stories of valor that happened on the battlefield being re-portrayed in this film", said McCoy.
While the story is fiction, scenes were shot during real training missions, many near San Diego. The Bandito Brothers built sets and added assets, and then shot scenes in one fluid motion while the SEALs ran operations.
"What we would give them was - here is your target that you need to hit- how would you do it?” asked Waugh.
Now that it's a wrap and starts premiering this week, the Bandito Brothers hope "Act of Valor" will both honor the SEALs and offer a glimpse into their humanity.
"This is the real guys - this is the first time the world's ever gonna see them in action,” said McCoy
The Commander of the Naval Special Warfare community supports this film, and you can see some of our local San Diego SEALs on the big screen when "Act of Valor" hits theaters on Feb. 24.
