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December 17, 2004
Hollywood (Finally) Goes To War

The Guardian (UK) reports in today's edition that Harrison Ford has signed onto a project depicting the Battle of Fallujah based on a book coming out in the spring. This film would be the first Hollywood has produced that looks at the Iraq War, an odd omission noted by several prominent entertainment figures including Roger L. Simon:

Hollywood has joined the war. Universal Pictures announced yesterday that it is to make The Battle for Falluja. To prove it is serious, it has enlisted Indiana Jones himself, actor Harrison Ford, to help defeat the insurgency. The film - Hollywood's first foray into the second Iraq conflict - is due to go into production next year and will be based on a yet-to-be-finished book, No True Glory: The Battle for Falluja by Bing West, a former marine, politician and now war correspondent.

The movie and book take as their starting point the killing of four civilian contractors in Falluja and the ensuing decision to order an assault on the city by US marines. That first assault, which was abruptly stopped by the White House, was led by General Jim Mattis, who will be played by Ford.

Hollywood has been oddly reluctant to make movies based on the war effort, so the choice of No True Glory is rather unusual. West has reported on the Iraq War in pro-Western tones. One would have thought that the first movies on Iraq Phase II would have been similar to the one movie it produced on Iraq Phase I, Three Kings, a cynical and anti-Western look at the war to drive Saddam out of Kuwait. The Guardian dryly notes that it's "unlikely that the plight of the Iraqis will figure too prominently in Hollywood's take on the subject."

It's progress. Apparently some decision-makers in Hollywood have discovered that a majority of Americans support their government and the effort to liberate Iraqis, and the attempt to transform Southwest Asia from a terrorist production facility into a region of democratic stability. Let's hope they make the kind of movie that tells the truth rather than produce a Trojan horse for anti-war activists.

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at December 17, 2004 10:34 AM

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» Who Will Play the Enemy? from Mark the Pundit
Via The Captain's Quarters, we learn that Hollywood is making a movie about the Battle of Falluja. It is based on the (not yet published) book No True Glory: The Battle for Falluja and will star Harrison Ford. Knowing Hollywood's... [Read More]

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