I enjoy watching World War II movies, but I have no interest in this generation of Hollywood producers’ generally anti-war take on U.S. involvement in the Middle East. This LA Times story is a really interesting look at how the U.S. Army attempts to work with producers and walk the line of ensuring the military is portrayed fairly and deciding when to help out with a movie or when to say no thanks. As you would expect, some producers simply aren’t willing to open their minds to the Army’s point of view. Take this comment from the story, which makes absolutely no sense and shows this person’s refusal to understand that there is good and bad, success and failure in any military effort (emphasis is mine):

The problem for military officials is that some in Hollywood see their script advice as a subtle form of censorship or an attempt to spin the war.

Paul Haggis, writer and director of the Iraq war movie “In the Valley of Elah,” said he concluded that the Army was not interested in telling honest stories about the war or soldiers.

“They are trying to put the best spin on what they are doing,” Haggis said. “Of course they want to publicize what is good. But it doesn’t mean that it is true.”

Huh?

No wonder so few people bought a ticket to “In the Valley of Elah” and others like it.