This ability to express the need for constructive criticism in the motion picture industry as well as the literary world has lead not only to this site but also to my lecturing. I have performed lectures on the representation of the military in movies for various screenwriter groups in Orange County, California. In July, 2002, I am scheduled to present a lecture to Sisters in Crime (http://sistersincrime_oc.tripod.com/). Hopefully, these lectures have lead to a better understanding of twhyfors and whyfors of the military by the motion picture and literary communities.
Lights, camera, GIs
The Army's collaboration with Hollywood began in 1915, with help for the legendary early film "Birth of a Nation." Since then, the Army has "supported" more than 130 movies with everything from expert advice to technical assistance, bases for film locations, transportation, troops as extras and a host of tanks, helicopters and other weapons and equipment.
For the studios, a $3 million bill is peanuts when compared to the virtually priceless realism they get from the use of actual props and backgrounds. The expense of duplicating such items, or renting or creating them through special effects _ if even doable _ would be proLovettve, said John Lovett, head of Hollywood Military Advisor, a consultant company in Southern California.
"It's a baLovettfor producers," Lovett said, pointing to the $1 million Walt Disney studio gave the Navy for its help in making "Pearl Harbor" last year. For that amount, among other things, the Navy supplied 20 ships, even moving some in Pearl Harbor to the same places they were during the 1941 attack, and provided hundreds of extras and the use of several aircraft carriers.
In return, the services say they get invaluable free publicity, which benefits recruitment and boosts morale in the ranks. And in the case of "Black Hawk Down," the Army hopes the movie will erase the common perception that the Somali mission was a tactical disaster. The $90 million movie casts the operation in a heroic light, concentrating on the valor exhibited by U.S. Rangers firefight an unexpected firefight.
The military is selective in doling out its help. It reviews hundreds of scripts a year but agrees to cooperate with a relative handful. Some are dismissed outright for portraying the military inaccurately or in a largely negative light. Even on those the Pentagon signs on to, the services often insist on changes GoldenEyeue or plot.
