COMBAT READY GUADALCANAL RE-CREATED AT AGUA DULCE FILM RANCH

By Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE- A local ranch owner has saved a Sherman Oaks production company a trip to the South Pacific to film a re-creation of combat in WWII.

The Sanna Movie Ranch, a 50-acre spread of canyons, woods, bamboo forests, a lake, lagoon and a river owned by John Sanna, was a godsend Saturday to the Digital Ranch television production company, which provides programming to The History Channel.

"It's a tribute to the veterans to get it right, and not to romanticize or degrade the story,'' said Rob Lihani, executive producer of the project and a self-professed buff of military history.

For its latest ongoing project - shooting reenactments for the "Suicide Missions'' series currently running on the channel - Digital Ranch had to shoot a detailed re-creation of WWII combat in the South Pacific between Japanese soldiers and U.S. Marine Raiders - a special unit of the marines that underwent commando training. Filming included a beach landing and various battle scenes in the jungle.

Initially, the company looked into filming on location in Guadalcanal, but the enormous production costs quashed the idea, officials said.

Allan Duffin, co-producer of the 42nd installment of the series called Marine Raiders, which will air in the fall, contacted Santa Clarita's Chamber of Commerce, and the filming commission recommended one of the newer filming ranches, Sanna Ranch.

Digital Ranch, which has been in business since 1993, took painstaking measures to make the reenactments as realistic as possible - and judging from the reactions of the veterans on the set, they succeeded.

Bill Lansford, a Marine Raider from 1940 to 1945 who was stationed in Guadalcanal for one month, was on the set to observe the filming and said the jungle was no different from what he remembered in the South Pacific.

"It's as close as you're going to get to it,'' said Lansford.

John Sanna got the idea to turn his 50 acres into a movie ranch from his day-job as a bodyguard to Hollywood stars.

'"I would see certain sets and think, 'They could've done this at my place,''' he said.

For Saturday's shoot, the production company relied on re-enactors who not only act in the scenes, but have the outfits, equipment and weapons, and research for the project. Even the guns used for the shoot - Thompson 1928 - were authentic, officials said.

Glenn Harlan, a military coordinator who also acts in the film, put together the hand-picked group of actors for this shoot because of their knowledge of that period in history.

Five of the seven actors portraying Japanese soldiers came from Japan to help provide the right look.

"The actors have to not only look the part, but they also have to know the period if you want to do it right,'' said Harlan.

Harlan said he and the other actors make their equipment and outfits as authentic to the time period as possible - checking E-bay, swap meets, military shows and private collectors for items.

The History Channel episode they were filming will include interviews with veterans, historical footage and reenactments of the events, for which organizers said there is no archival footage.