Hollywood has once again come to Beaufort, or more specifically, Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot, where the process of making Marines will soon be the subject of a pilot for NBC's newest military drama series.

 Production officials with "Semper Fi" met with the media Wednesday to introduce the stars of the new show and discuss the production schedule which begins Sunday.

 A project of NBC Studios and Dreamworks Television, the series will focus on the lives of young male and female Marines as they proceed through boot camp and into their tours of duty.

 Producer Jim Uhls said Dreamworks creator Steven Spielberg wanted to do a show about young Marines and their place in today's military after making his award-winning "Saving Private Ryan."

"We're just pleased to be able to bring the magic of what happens at Parris Island to the screen," he said.

 Executive producer and director Michael Watkins said, "It's extremely exciting to be able to come to Parris Island to tell the story of what happens here in the creation of honorable young men and women."

 Watkins, whose credits include co-producer of "The X-Files" and "NYPD Blue," said that since arriving at Parris Island he'd become "enamored" with the Corps' traditions and the training process.

 "I think it's already been very much a growth process for most of us," he said.

 The seven young actors and actresses around which the series revolves agreed.

"My respect for the Marine Corps and what goes on here has gone up 10,000 percent since I got here," said Michael Pena, who will play one of the recruits, Lupe Cepeda.

"They don't make men and women, they make Marines."

 Pena, whose credits include NBC's "Profiler" and "NYPD Blue," is joined on the cast by Vicellous Reon Shannon, whose credits include a starring role in "The Hurricane" opposite Denzel Washington; Scott Bairstow from "Party of Five" and "The X-Files"; Steve Burton, who won a daytime Emmy Award for his Jason Quartermaine on "General Hospital"; Bianca Kajlich from the movie, "10 Things I Hate About You"; Alex Burns, whose credits include modeling for Tommy Hilfiger and DKNY; and Tammy Townsend, who has played on "Felicity" and "Walker, Texas Ranger."

 While the actors have had less than two weeks to experience some of what recruits learn in 12 weeks, they'll be receiving off-set instruction from three Parris Island drill instructors, Gunnery Sgts. Ondra Armstead and Ann Hubbard and Staff Sgt. Joseph Reconnu.

 The three declared the actors willing candidates.

 "We've been very much impressed with their interest in making sure things were done correctly," said Armstead.

The Marine Corps worked with the producers during the script-writing phase of the project and welcomes the film-makers to the depot, according to spokesman Maj. Bryan Salas.

 "Parris Island promises only one thing, the opportunity to be a Marine, and we feel the transformation of young Americans into Marines is a compelling story which we are glad to share," he said.

 Salas said routine training of the approximate 5,000 recruits at Parris Island will not be interrupted by the film schedule.

 "They probably won't even know there's filming taking place," he said.

 The production company has set up shop in a vacant barracks of the Third Battalion with a schedule that calls for work to be concluded at Parris Island by late May. After that, shooting will continue in other locations, including Camp Pendleton, Calif., the producers said. The filming at Parris Island is not open to the public, officials said.

 When scouting locations, Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was also considered but for accuracy, Parris Island was chosen for the recruit training scenes, said Watkins.

 "We wanted to go for accuracy and since Parris Island trains both men and women, this was the place to be," he said. "Besides, Parris Island is legendary."

 All local shooting will take place on the depot but members of the production staff are staying in town, which increases the economic impact made by the production on the community, said Jeff Monk with the S.C. Film Office.

 "Right now, we don't know what that dollar impact will be but it's safe to say one-third of the production budget goes into the local economy," he said.