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So Many Experts. So Little Time.

© John Lovett

My main argument against most of the Hollywood types who say that, "it's too expensive to film it with the right weapons, or correct uniforms, or what have you," is that if you have the time and money to get the starlet's hair just right you have the time and money to get the weapons, uniforms, etc. correct. I still argue this whenever meeting up with producers of a cheaper nature. However, the longer I spend in this industry the more I realize that the world is filled with "experts." Each of these "experts" has their own opinion about how something should be done.

For a couple of years now, I have moderated a Chat Board at http://hollywoodnetwork.com/Lovett/chat/.... During that time, I have been questioned by numerous writers on military subjects and have responded the best I could. I have gotten almost 450 queries from various individuals. I have also received and welcomed the comments by numerous other service and prior service military members on their answers to the questions. Understand this, I am not paid to moderate that chat board. For me, it is a work of love and dedication.

As I am not paid, my answers tend to be short and to the point. I will also tell the questioner where he or she can go find the answer rather than telling the complete answer. I will also cut off discussion when they go too far astray of the purpose of the board: to help the Hollywood community. In the process of answering questions, I have been argued with, verbally attacked, and generally told I should "lose the ego." All these comments have come from people in or around the military.

What I do not want to happen is for this chat board to turn into an unmoderated military Internet discussion group. Unfortunately, what I have seen happening is that a chat board dedicated to the Hollywood community becoming a military discussion group with each individual's opinion expressed loudly and verbosely.

I am understanding the frustration felt by Hollywood types who produce military movies. If you produce a war movie of any era, you get the "experts" coming out of the woodwork. The comments work like this: "In my unit, we did such and so this and that way." In other words, whatever happened in their unit at that moment in time was indicative for the military as a whole. If you are a producer, set designer, art director, or other professional, you listen to all the various opinions with an air of incredibility. You then go off and make the film the way you wanted to originally.