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So, You Want to Be a Military Advisor for the Movies? Part II

© John Lovett

In So, You Want to Be a Military Advisor for the Movies? Part I (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/mili... I listed some reasons why someone would want to be a movie military technical advisor (MTA). I also stated that if you are lucky, you get paid. Note: that last sentence was not sarcasm. Keep in mind, I have worked for some large studios and have been promptly paid for my services. In a number of cases, I was paid the day the services were rendered. This sordid little cautionary tale is for those wishing to do business in Hollywood and the pitfalls of dealing with certain individuals.

In April of this year, a Mr. M. called me up from a software gaming manufacturer pouring sweet honeyed words into my ears. No, I'm not going to state the name of the manufacturer. I uphold my contracts and agreements. Also, I do not want a specious lawsuit. However, I can tell you this software manufacturer produces the computer games Life and Death, Code Blue, and Emergency Room. Wining and dining me, he told me I was the only person that could guide his company through the development and production of a military oriented new game production. The money he mentioned was more than twice my normal fees. Of course, I said yes.

This producer authorized me to got get people with military backgrounds as extras. I contacted 1LT Kristian Sorensen (USAR) of Alpha Company Casting (http://www.alphacompany.com/). A true professional, he was able lay on several individuals who could act as actual medics for the required digital photography. He also told me to find all the U.S. military help I could. Contacting the Military Assistance Group, Los Angeles, I worked at getting a local medical battalion's assistance on technical issues.

Because the medical background of the game was beyond my understanding, I went out and hired a retired Navy enlisted SEAL medic to write the scenarios or cases. A good and honorable man, he was distinctly out of his element at the writing of these scenes. I was required by this software company to not only re - write his material into something fictionally coherent but put all the material into their unique EXCEL format.

Sometime in May timeframe, I was contacted by this software company that there was a new producer on the project. She was the owner of the company. Not particularly helpful, she told me where the cases had to be re - written in their format and specific tools and specific phraseology included. She also told me that I was only to be paid for those cases accepted for production. That one comment should have given me a big clue about this company. Being somewhat dense headed, I blithely continued re - writing the old and the new cases. And no, I was not doing any consulting.