David Simon's latest project, Generation Kill, premiered last night on HBO. Based on Evan Wright's book, the seven-part mini-series follows a battalion of Marines through the first 40 days of the Iraq War. I can just imagine the sigh of relief coming from some local politicos and civic cheerleaders now that Simon has set his sights beyond Baltimore. In fact, Generation Kill marks the first time Simon (pictured above, in blue shirt) has filmed outside the region, and it took him all the way to Africa, which he noted in the essay he wrote for our February issue. I recently followed up with a few questions via email.

Where did you film in Africa?

Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique.

Had you been there before?

I had been to South Africa in 2000 for a couple weeks to do a writing seminar for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. I saw a lot of Johannesburg and Soweto, and went gambling in Sun City with David Mills, my co-instructor, who cannot pass up a casino. I also went to a game park, but other than that, it was mostly a working trip.

How was it getting out of your comfort zone (if such a thing exists)?

In terms of visiting Africa, I felt comfortable enough, having been there before. In terms of filming, it was rather amusing to me. Until this project, I didn't shoot a mag of film outside of the Baltimore area, and then, do I spread my wings to film in New York, or L.A., or Chicago or Vancouver? Nope. Swakopmund, Walvis Bay, Upington, Maputo, Johannesburg. Life is strange.

In what ways was it more difficult than filming in Baltimore?

The crew in Baltimore is stronger and comfortable shooting in the manner that we do television, but we had some remarkable talents and characters in many of the departments in Africa. Nine languages were spoken on the set, but communication was somehow not too much of a problem. No malaria outbreaks and catering was actually pretty good overall. But then, I was there for prep and the first weeks of filming and then at the end for the last six weeks. Ed Burns worked the entire shoot including more than two months in Upington, which is, say, the Witchita of the Northern Cape of South Africa, but without the charm. I am told that when the charter took off from Upington Airport for Maputo, a great, spontaneous cheer filled the plane.

How was it easier?

Except for Maputo, which has a nightlife, it's easier to keep track of actors in a place like Swakopmund or Upington because, well, there isn't much to do.

How does Generation Kill fit, thematically, with your previous work?

It's a different project. Viewers might sense some consistency in the manner that the Marine Corps is depicted as an institution, and how it operates as a bureaucracy -- all of that may echo The Wire. But read the book by Evan Wright. We followed the events in Iraq to the letter and depicted a dynamic that was explicit to Evan's journalism. Some may say that Simon and Burns grafted their worldview from The Wire to Generation Kill, but they'd be wrong. We took someone else's prose journalism, shaped it carefully and accurately for long-form film, and fired up the cameras.

Maybe, just maybe, we said some universal things about institutions when we made The Wire. And these universalities are evident elsewhere.

What's next?

Treme. A story set in the musical culture of post-Katrina New Orleans. The title is that of a historic and predominantly black neighborhood just back of town from the French Quarter. We have a green light from HBO on the pilot but will have to wait until next summer to know if we are to film the first season.

Photo courtesy of Paul Schiraldi/HBO