Please send this message to the Group Members – thanks very much!

OurTvSpace New Media Fellow Program for Screenwriters!  $10k Stipend!

OurTvSpace just announced its 2009 New Media Fellow program – a fellowship for
writers with OurTvSpace – an exciting and growing Digital Network!  Very
exciting!  We have Brandon Martinez - a New Media Agent at Abrams Artists
Agency, Marc Hustvedt - the Co-Founder of Tubefilter – the leading authority on
episodic web television - and the International Academy of Web Television (the
governing body of the exciting Streamy Awards which honors excellence in online
programming), and Scott Anderson, Head of the Harvard Square Script Writers, on
the Selection Committee Team.  Doug Kirkpatrick, an Entertainment Attorney and a
Founder of OurTvSpace, is also on the Committee!  We have included the Press
Release - see electronic link below!

OurTvSpace Website:  http://ourtvspace.com/otsonline/

Electronic Link to Press Release:  
http://www.prlog.org/10218601-ourtvspacecom-launches-call-for-entries-for-its-ne\
w-media-fellow-program-for-writers.html

Please let us know if you need any additional information!  E-Mail us at: 
Fellowship@...!  Check out More Details Too at
www.NewMediaFellow.com!

Please Help Spread the Word!  Thanks!

Members,

The Military and The Media has moved to Talk Shoe at
http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?
masterId=25134&talkCastId=25134 .

Please join John and Tom there starting 29 Apr 07 and following
every  Sunday at 1:00 pm Pacific time.

The call in number is (724) 444-7444 Talkcast ID: 25134.

We will be discussing the military and the entertainment and news
media and how they relate, and sometimes don't relate.

John also hosts LA Screenwriter Talk Shoe on Thursdays at 8:00 pm
Pacific at http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?
masterId=24113&talkCastId=24113 .

Please join us.

Thanks

John Lovett

All group members are invited to the second The Military and The
Media blog radio broadcast.

We will be discussing COL (ret) Austin Bay's article on the Left in
disarray as well as listeners other topics.

We have also invited several Hollywood folks as well as military. In
particular, James Dunnigan of StrategyPage has been invited.

As always, members can download The Military and The Media podcasts
at
http://hmaguy.libsyn.com/ or subscribe using your own podserver.

The time for this event is 1300 HRS 28Jan 07. Use the following URL
to get the phone number and other information.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The_Military_and_The_Media

Thanks

John Lovett

All group members are invited to the first The Military and The Media
blog radio broadcast.

We have invited Tucker Smallwood and he has accepted.  Look him up on
IMDB.  A wounded Viet Name veteran he has become a noted actor working
in Hollywood playing distinctly military parts.

We have also invited several Hollywood folks as well as military.  In
particular, James Dunnigan of StrategyPage has been invited.

As always, members can download The Military and The Media podcasts at
http://hmaguy.libsyn.com/  or subscribe using your own podserver.

The time for this event is 1300 HRS 21 Jan 07.  Use the following URL
to get the phone number and other information.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/The_Military_and_The_Media

Thanks

John Lovett

Lee Russell, a member of this group and a Tech Adv who worked on
projects like Platoon, Casualties of War, and Tour of Duty (among many
others) passed away suddenly November 18th of 2006.  Lee was also a
Veitnam Vet (67-68), a combat engineer.    He was a very good friend
of mine and will be missed.

BradLaGrange

Members,

The HMA Guy now has his own podcast.  Well, that goes along with the
new site.

Please go to http://www.hmaguy.org/ to look at the new site.

Also, go to http://www.hmaguy.org/hmapod.html to download the latest
podcast.  You can also go to your favorite podcatcher and type The
Military and The Media.

If you have a mp3 file ready to go and are advertising your latest
project, please contact me.

Good hunting.

John Lovett
hmaguy@...
714-323-1375

I know it's been a looooong time, but there is a new posting on the
LiveJournal site.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/hmaguy/

Also, spammers will be BANNED and their membership deleted.

Cheers,

John Lovett

Gentle Readers,

We have a couple of new members – thanks for joining.  Hopefully,
you can contribute new discussions to the group.

Just a reminder – The HMA guy has a new blogger site at
http://hmaguy.blogspot.com/  and a new livejournal site at
http://www.livejournal.com/users/hmaguy/ .

Read.  Enjoy.  Leave a comment.

John Lovett

[John Lovett]
[Chief Consultant]
[The Hollywood Military Advisor]
[hmaguy@...]
[http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7906/]
[Phone: 714-323-1375]

Okay Gentle Readers,

I found a place where I post a article or two or three and take
feedback as well as answer questions.  Hopefully, this site will
suffice until I can arrange for a permanent site for The HMA.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/hmaguy/

Thanks

John Lovett
714-323-1375

Sad to say, Suite101 - Military Movies is no more. Due to a lack of
pay on the publishers part and subsequent lack of interest on my
part, the site has been archived. However, a new and improved site is
available on Blogger.com http://hmaguy.blogspot.com/ . While the site
will have selected articles from Military Movies, I am leaving the
site open to articles written by guest writers. The rules are simple:
write a prospectus of what you want to write and I will say yes or
no. If yes, you send me your insightful, well written, and correctly
spelled article and get published on a blog. Please, no attachments
unless I request. Thanks.

John Lovett
The Hollywood Military Advisor
hmaguy@...
714-323-1375

: Ref 3887. Ref 3886. - Are you suggesting that British, Canadian and
: Soviet Forces are somehow inferior just because they don't meet
: your standards? Don't you think that the other forces around the
: world are happy that 9mm pistols meet their spec's - that it can at
: least stop a man/woman? A STTU instructor concedes to this in one
: of his books (can't remember which - apologies -Lonsdale circa.
: 2002?) - that .45 and 9mm don't matter as long as there is
: sufficient stopping power?

NO I am NOT. I suggested QUITE the OPPOSITE! I wrote:

The 9mm pistol problem only occurs with US forces, since in most
other countries nothing much is expected of the pistol anyway. The
British military and police are still using the Browning HP, and NATO
and much of the rest of the world use either 9mm or the smaller
Soviet 9mm Makarov chambered weapons.

------------------------------------------------------------------

That is, it is ONLY the United States that has a problem (is
concerned with) the combat effectiveness of pistols. Other countries
do not see any problem and have no such concern. This is in spite of
the fact that their soldiers and police might operate in similar
conditions and against similar adversaries. Yet no other country has
made so many studies and devoted such design effort to pistols and
pistol ammunition as has the US.

Now, why is this? Partly this is the result of many competing arms
manufacturers in the US. A lot also comes out of American law-
enforcement experience. Compared to some other Western countries,
America is a fairly violent society. The USA certainly has no
monopoly on violent felons, homicidal ex-husbands and vicious
criminal gangs, but here we have more of them and they are better
armed. They are more likely to shoot police officers or innocent
civilians and need to be "put down" with precision and economy of
force. (i.e. don't shoot up the neighborhood.)

In most of the world's militaries, a pistol is simply a badge of
authority. For the police, it is a symbol that they are they are
authorized the use of deadly force to maintain order. There is a
secondary function, of course, of self-defense, but this is of little
consequence.

Two examples. In the 1990's the Swedish military discovered frame
damage to many of the Lathi pistols they had issued to officers since
WW II. The US faced the same problem in the 1980's with M1911's. The
US held a big competition and finally adopted the M9 Beretta. The
Swedish solution was to issue 7.65 Browning pistols from 1908, still
in Reserve inventory. It was JUST a symbol.

Then there is the example of Israel, a modern nation facing a serious
day-to-day terrorist threat. Almost all of its citizens, male and
female, are military veterans or Reservists, yet few have ever
handled a pistol. The reason? The pistol in pretty ineffective as a
weapon and is not much issued or taught. An actual terrorist incident
will be responded to with military force, up to and including tanks
and helicopter gunships. So who needs a pistol? Maybe a traffic cop?

In any case, the US has devoted a lot of time, money and competing
technical expertise to making its pistols and ammunition effective
combat weapons. Other countries don't, seeing no need. Their Special
Ops Teams can hit targets as well as ours can, with whatever pistols
they have. Aside from that, the philosophy is that their officers and
weapons' crews are better off fighting their units or keeping their
weapons going that trying to be Wild-West gunfighters.

The US has, however, adopted no less than FIVE different pistols at
the same time: M9, M11, P226. Mk23 and MEU (SOC).

From a military POV, this is like (IMHO) issuing five different
bayonets for the same rifle, each with its own advantage.

I HOPE this will make my opinion clear?

LER

--- "Jason Hart" <staff@b...> wrote:
>  They also say that the KE
> weapon (5.56mm) will be accurate to 1000m with the sight.

1k? As if. Be lucky to go 500m with that stubby little barrel. Even
if you do hit the f'er the round's too slow to fragment even at the
muzzle. Hope Big Green gets the heavy 5.56 loads fielded before that
POS gets some mothers son killed.

Members,

I now have a stable phone number 714-323-1375.  The email address is,
as always, HMAGUY@....

Give a ring or send a message.  Love to hear from you.

John Lovett

New Articles at Suite101 - Military Movies.

The article "The Justified State" has been published on Suite101.
This article is a riposte to John Pilger's article "The Rogue State."

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/93602

John has written a guest article "Hollywood and the Nuclear Age" for
Suite101 site The Cold War.  He will be following up this article
with
similar articles in the following months.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/6213/92795

We are now up to 3143 posts on The Hollywood Military Advisor Chat
Board.  Up over two hundred posts from February 2002.

http://hollywoodnetwork.com/Lovett/chat/board.html

If you have not seen the Q & A there, check it out.

Remember that this Yahoo Group is for you to discuss the military,
the
movies, or just about anything you would like in any form you would
like.

If anyone wants to write a guest article about the military and the
movies for Suite101, please contact me. Get your name in print.

Read. Enjoy. Leave a comment or two.

Thanks

John Lovett
[Phone: 714-278-9737]

New Article at Suite101 - Military Movies.

The article "A Personal View of Military Movies" is a short tale of
how and why I don't watch war movies.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/89725

We are now up to 2909 posts on The Hollywood Military Advisor Chat
Board.  http://hollywoodnetwork.com/Lovett/chat/board.html  If you
have not seen the Q & A there, check it out.

Remember that this Yahoo Group is for you to discuss the military,
the movies, or just about anything you would like in any form you
would like.

If anyone wants to write a guest article about the military and the
movies for Suite101, please contact me.  Get your name in print.

Read. Enjoy. Leave a comment or two.

Thanks

John Lovett

[Phone: 714-278-9384]
[Page: 800-946-4646, Pin# 1722580]

This time I have two articles for your perusal at Suite101 - Military
Movies.

The article "So, You Want to Be a Military Advisor for the Movies?
Part II" is a cautionary tale for those who want to work in Hollywood.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/82318

The article "Stereotypes, the War Movie, and Hollywood" speaks to
certain stereotypes and their prevalence in the movies.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/86906

If anyone wants to write a guest article about the military and the
movies, please contact me.

Read. Enjoy. Leave a comment or two.

Thanks

John Lovett

[Phone: 714-222-2460]
[Page: 800-946-4646, Pin# 1722580]

SCREENPLAY WANTED FOR FILMING:

Perkins Productions is looking for a screenplay to
produce. There is no pay, but credit and a copy of the
completed film will be provided. Description is as
follows:

We are looking for a romantic comedy/romantic drama
short screenplay, between five and 25 pages. (We do
have plans on filming a feature length film in the
near future. Those scripts may also be submitted, but
please note them separately from the shorts.)

There should be a male and female lead, in their 20’s.
No other restrictions on characters.

We do not want: nudity, graphic violence, incestuous
situations, or extremely excessive vulgar language. If
your script includes any of these, but you are willing
to let us edit it, by all means please submit it.

Our goal is to enter this film into various film
festivals. We cannot accept screenplays that have been
previously produced.

Submit your screenplay in Word format, please. Other
submissions will be accepted, but this is our
preference. Include your contact information and any
relevant information you would like us to know
concerning the script (if it has won any awards, why
it was written, what it means to you, etc.).

Email your screenplay to Melanie Fairlight at
ScreenplayFairlight@.... Submissions accepted
when emailed by November 30, 2001.

Please complete the following cover sheet and submit
it with your screenplay.

For more information, please contact:
Melanie Fairlight Clifton or Stephen W. Perkins at
PerkinsProductions@....

We look forward to reading your screenplays!

UPON ACCEPTANCE, ALL NORTH AMERICAN SERIAL RIGHTS WILL
BE HELD BY PERKINS PRODUCTIONS.

(this message will also be attached in Word format)

SCREENPLAY SUBMITTED BY:

Name:
Phone:
Cell phone/pager:
Email:
Address:
Other Contact Information:

SCREENPLAY INFORMATION:

Name of Screenplay:
When Written:
Author(s):
Number of Pages:
Number of Characters (break down by leads, supporting,
and extras):
Log line:
Brief synopsis:
Has this screenplay ever been submitted and/or chosen
for anything else?
Other notes:


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Make a great connection at Yahoo! Personals.
http://personals.yahoo.com

The Hollywood Military Advisor is quoted by the Associated Press!!!

Read the complete article at Suite101
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/75242

My wife told me I should raise my rates.  I told her that I don't
think the mortgage is going to paid off anytime soon.

John Lovett

[John Lovett]
[Chief Consultant]
[The Hollywood Military Advisor]
[http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7906/]
[Phone:  714-222-2460]
[PAGE: 800-946-4646 PIN#1722580]

As ListBot will cease free operation as of August 2001, all future
correspondence will occur here.

This month's article on Suite101 is "Why Do Some People Hate War
Movies" http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/73847 .

Next month's article is going to be on the subject of Hollywood and
stereotypes.

Read.  Enjoy.  Write a Message or two.

John Lovett

[John Lovett]
[Chief Consultant]
[The Hollywood Military Advisor]
[http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7906/]
[Phone:  714-222-2460]
[PAGE: 800-946-4646 PIN#1722580]

A hearty welcome to all new members.  The mailing list now has 18
members and growing.  Whooaaa!

There is a new article and a book review at Suite101 - Military
Movies.

              Article

              SURVIVOR, COMBAT MISSIONS and the "Reality" Wars

              http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/62483

              and

              Book Review

              The Salzdorf Wellspring

              http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/63906

              Read.  Enjoy.  Leave a comment or two.

              Thanks

              John Lovett

              [Phone:  714-222-2460]
              [Page:  800-946-4646, Pin# 1722580]

There is a new article at Suite101 - Military Movies.  The subject is

              Gladiator and History

              http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/62311


Also read installment II on Media and the Vietnam War

              http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/58294

My April article for Suite101 will be SURVIVOR, COMBAT MISSIONS, and
the new "reality" wars.  Or, how you can be kicked out of a
producer's office because you were never a SEAL.

              Read.  Enjoy.  Leave a comment or two.

Remember that the Military Advisor at eGroups
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/militaryadvisor is available for
discussion of military/media/grousing issues.

                           Thanks

                           John Lovett

              [Phone:  714-222-2460]
              [Page:  800-946-4646, Pin# 1722580]

The Hollywood Military Advisor got honorable mention in The Christian
Science Monitor.  Read the article posted at

http://www.csmonitor.com/durable/2000/07/14/fp1s4-csm.shtml

Read John's newest article at Suite101 - You Might Be a Soldier, If .
. .
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/military_movies/43514 .

The Hollywood Military Advisor needs more contacts.  Help us out
here.
   If you know someone you think would be interested invite them to
join.  It's free.

As always.

John

[John Lovett]
[Chief Consultant]
[The Hollywood Military Advisor]
[http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7906/]
[714-222-2460]

There is a new article at Suite101 - Military Movies "Hollywood
Fights
The Facts."

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3220/41585

Enjoy the read.  Leave a comment or two here or at Suite101.

John Lovett

One can make a good war film and not have it realistic. 
Or, one could make a realistic war film and not have it good. 

 

This is the new article being posted to Military Movies_Suite101 on
Tuesday, 2 May 00.

Before you give this a read, I would like to thank Geoff Topping for
his information on THE MUMMY.  Interesting reading.

How Do I Make A Good And Realistic War Movie?

This was a question posted to The Hollywood Military Advisor Chat
Board (http://hollywoodnetwork.com/Lovett/chat/board.html) Ref 1336.
How do I make a good and realistic war movie?

My answer was Ref 1337. Ref 1336 - Well, you have asked the $64,000
question. Part of your answer can be found in the articles I have
written from Suite101 - Military Movies
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/military_movies .  Another part
of your answer is to read the scripts for and watch war movies of
good reputation. A further part of the answer is to read novels
written about war. At the core, to make a good and realistic movie,
any kind of movie, you need to be honest and have integrity towards
the story and characters. Good luck on your movie. JL.

Yeh, I fudged.  I admit it.  I was tempted to suggest to the
questioner that the two issues; good and realistic, were mutually
exclusive.  One can make a good war film and not have it realistic.
Or, one could make a realistic war film and not have it good.  Maybe,
that was just the cynic in me?

Interestingly, this person asked the core question that makes both
the chat board and this e - magazine site exist.  More specifically,
can Hollywood make war films that are good and realistic?  The answer
to that question can be found by answering these two separate
questions "How realistic?" and "How good?"

While watching History and Hollywood on the History Channel over the
weekend regarding U-571, one the commentators mentioned that the
American submarine used for the movie was a S-Boat manufactured prior
to the war.  Win one for the good guys.  Not having seen the film, I
cannot comment on the rest of the historical accuracy's or
inaccuracies but with that one big effort the producers did well.

When two ex - submariners, one German the other American, were asked
specific historical questions about the movie they said that this or
that could not have been done.  Yeh, I guess.  However, without this
or that being done you don't have a movie.

A movie such as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN certainly has its historical and
continuity mistakes, but the film can be said to be both well done
and realistic.  Other war movies such as 84 CHARLIE MOPIC could be
said to be realistic, but lacked production values.

How good is good?  How realistic is realistic?  I guess I go back to
what I gave as my answer.  As a writer/director/producer, you have to
be honest to your story and give the viewer something that as real as
you can make without compromising the story you want to tell.  If the
swivel bail hooks on the helmets are not the right design for the
period, don't let that stop you from creating a good story.

Hello everyone,

Greetings from the UK.

I'm 24 and a film propmaker, but hopefully I will soon gain an
apprenticeship to a theatrical armourer in the UK. I'm glad to see
that this list is operating and I look foward to future discussions.

I don't know if you blokes would be interested but I recently spoke
with Andrew Fletcher, a British armourer who worked on the Lebel
rifles that were used in 'The Mummy' and were subsequently hired to
Simon Atherton.

This is taken from an article I have written about the work of
British armourers/ gun wranglers and is due to be published in a
forthcoming edition of the special effects publication 'Sci-Fi &
Fantasy Models International'.

Andrew Fletcher: However in the case of a weapon that hasn't
often been used, it will usually go through a restoration period
prior to use.

If it a weapon is chambered in an obsolete or rare calibre, say a WW1
8mm Lebel rifle, then we will use the closest thing available. In the
case of the Lebel, we used Russian 7.62mm x 54. However, the rifle
operates from a tube magazine, so it requires a full length round to
operate.

The blanks we utilised were full length and crimped, but were only
produced in Yugoslavia. After all the troubles there, they were no
longer available, so we had to use blanks with shorter cases.

This meant an alteration to the Lebel magazine, so that it
wouldn't double feed two rounds at the same time.

We later found that we could adapting an existing case to meet our
needs. This is typical of the changes that are forced upon us.

----
Geoff Topping

Some parts I liked.  Some, I was incredulous.  (Just to set you
straight, I cheered when he ordered the return fire - to the
consternation of fellow moviegoers).

Maj Biggs a hero?!? Hardly.  More than willing to turn a blind eye to
the gov't cover up in order to further his career.  As a prosecuter it
is your duty to investigate all facts of the case.

1st, when the CO landed at the embassy, he wouldn't have had to go
looking for the ambassador - one of the Marine Security Guards at the
embassy would have escorted him to the ambassador.

2nd, the CO wouldn't have gone after the flag himself, he'd have sent a
detail (but, I think this is excusable for action in the story line).

3rd, by the standard rules of engagement, once one of my men had TAKEN
fire, much less been hit, I'd have ordered return fire.  Hell, once the
helos took fire, it was a hot LZ.

4th, the fact that a government flack (cabinet secretary, no less) just
loses his cool and makes a rash decision to hang out the people at the
scene, just made me gag.  I'm still sick to know that it still (really)
occurs.

5th, no Marine Security Guards testifying at the trial.  What the hell?

6th, complete Article 32 investigatin, my ass.  Where was the forensic
evidence?  How about the physical evidence of the angle of the shots
into the embassy facade - surely that would have shown fire from the
ground/crowd.

7th, Dale Dye's Division Commander role should have fell on his sword to
defend his subordinate.  That he didn't shows the Div CO wasn't worthy
of his two stars.  Unfortunately, this is all to common today, even in
the USMC.

Finding the NVA officer wouldn't be that big a deal.  The US actually
has several military teams operating in Vietnam now on MIA discovery.
Getting him to testify, THAT's the big deal.

Jason Hart wrote:

> I must say that the first impression I had of the movie was that it
> was very irrisponsible.  The only one worth rooting for was Maj.
> Biggs.  Maybe someone who has been shot at can give me some guidance,
> but I thought that the actions of everyone involved showed the Marine
> Corp in a very poor light.
>
> Dale's Div Cdr was bullied.
>
> CDR 24th MEU "special ops capable" didn't clean up his mess, ie
> confiscate weapons etc.
>
> And how in the heck did they find a guy from VN last seen 30 years ago
>
> (and not even so much as searched for ID) in a week?
>
> I am amazed that the DOD cooperated with them.
>
> Could have been a good story.  They picked the wrong guy to help with
> it....should have been you John.
>
> Jason Hart
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> Community email addresses:
>   Post message: militaryadvisor@onelist.com
>   Subscribe:    militaryadvisor-subscribe@onelist.com
>   Unsubscribe:  militaryadvisor-unsubscribe@onelist.com
>   List owner:   militaryadvisor-owner@onelist.com
>
> Shortcut URL to this page:
>   http://www.onelist.com/community/militaryadvisor

I must say that the first impression I had of the movie was that it
was very irrisponsible.  The only one worth rooting for was Maj.
Biggs.  Maybe someone who has been shot at can give me some guidance,
but I thought that the actions of everyone involved showed the Marine
Corp in a very poor light.

Dale's Div Cdr was bullied.

CDR 24th MEU "special ops capable" didn't clean up his mess, ie
confiscate weapons etc.

And how in the heck did they find a guy from VN last seen 30 years ago
(and not even so much as searched for ID) in a week?

I am amazed that the DOD cooperated with them.

Could have been a good story.  They picked the wrong guy to help with
it....should have been you John.

Jason Hart

This article appears in this month's U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings.
Due to copyright constraints, I am not publishing the entire article,
but enough so that you can get a good read.  Pay particular attention
to what Mr. Webb says about the military technical advice given to
the movie.

If some of you out there are also members of the ListBot service, you
will get this article twice.

The entire article can be read at
http://www.proceedings.org/Proceedings/Aritcles00/webb.htm .

Interview: James Webb

On the eve of the premiere of the new Paramount Pictures movie, Rules
of Engagement, the film€  '²s creator, executive producer, and
co-writer
talked recently at his office overlooking the Iwo Jima Memorial in
northern Virginia with Naval Institute editor Fred L. Schultz. The
self-described iconoclast discusses the machinations of Hollywood and
its prevailing attitudes toward the military, his service as
Assistant Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the Navy, the gap
between civilian and military cultures, and his opinions about the
current condition of military leadership.

Proceedings : Obviously, the subject of rules of engagement plays
heavily on the readers of this magazine. How did the new film, Rules
of Engagement, come about?

Webb: I conceived the idea in 1989, when Scott Rudin began producing
after having been president of production at 20th-Century Fox. He had
read Bob Timberg€  '²s article in Esquire, which was the seminal
article
for his book, The Nightingale€  '²s Song. We had a discussion that
boiled
down to the notion of military loyalty. Timberg€  '²s article had
struck
him, when it mentioned that, although I did not particularly like
Oliver North, if I€  '²d been working in the White House at the time
of
the Iran-Contra activities, I would not have let him do what he did.
This led to a discussion of Marine Corps loyalty, as opposed to what
you see in the civilian world. I made a comment that basically
was: "In the Marine Corps, loyalty means you will die for somebody
even if you don€  '²t like them." He said, "You know, there€  '²s a
movie in
that."

Proceedings Why do you think the public is so ignorant about what a
combat commander has to go through?

Webb: The level of ignorance is extremely high. A big part of that is
because Hollywood has become, in many ways, the articulator of our
culture€  '·-to ourselves and to the world. Right now, 60 percent of
the
money Hollywood makes is in international sales. If you look at the
films that have been done about the U.S. military-€  '·anything after
World War II-€  '·they are simplistic on these issues, and they are
not
positive. You see a repetitive theme, either about the corruption of
U.S. military leaders or the depiction that Americans just shoot
things up, without restrictions.  Proceedings Based on what we€  '²ve
heard, that is extraordinary in the movie business. Maybe they did
realize that they were going to alienate the Marine Corps, a major
portion of the potential audience.

Webb: Probably the most unfortunate occurrence in the shooting of the
film was that Dale Dye was technical adviser. In my view, he should
have been more loyal to the Marine Corps and backed me on what I said.

Proceedings You€  '²ve been a vocal critic of military leadership,
and you
were especially tough in your 1996 speech at the Naval
Institute€  '²s
Annual Meeting. I€  '²m sure you remember that. Has anything changed
since then?

Webb: Yes, I remember. Let€  '²s back up to that speech. The biggest
problem at the time was the cascading effect of the Navy€  '²s
leadership€  '²s failure to defend its culture after the Tailhook
incident. In 1992, I wrote a piece for the New York Times, basically
saying that the problem wasn€  '²t the Navy€  '²s culture. The
problem was
the admirals who were standing there saying we have a flaw in the
culture, or who were allowing the civilian process to say that we had
a corrupt culture.  If that were true, if the Navy€  '²s culture was
permanently flawed and that was what caused Tailhook, then every one
of those guys should have resigned. And if the culture wasn€  '²t
structurally flawed, if this was an isolated incident that happened
on one part of a hotel, where some people got out of hand, then they
should have spoken up, and the whole thing might have taken a
different turn. You tell me that what happened in a mosh pit at a
Woodstock celebration last summer was less notorious than what
happened at Tailhook? That was much more notorious. There were actual
rapes in the mosh pit at Woodstock €  '²99. But where were the media?
Proceedings What would you say your biggest accomplishment was in your
public service?

Webb: It€  '²s hard to say. I was a committee counsel for four years
in
the Congress, and that was a time when veterans€  '² issues were
extremely
visible. I think probably the most important thing that I did was to
create the legislation that countered the Carter discharge
program.Proceedings Why did you decide to leave public service and go
into literature and filmmaking?

Webb: From the time I left the Marine Corps, I€  '²ve done both. I
have an
unwitting career. Actually, I wrote my first book after my first year
in law school. It was a small book on Micronesia and American
strategic interests in the Pacific.  So I just became fascinated with
writing and started Fields of Fire.

Proceedings Do you have the same type of relationship with the
filming of Fields of Fire as you had with Rules of Engagement?

Webb: Having learned how Hollywood operates and feeling how important
the Vietnam story is, especially because it€  '²s never been done
right,
I decided to do Fields of Fire outside the studio system. It€  '²s
harder. But if you sell a story or a novel into the studio system,
into what they call "development," they own it; they own it
creatively, they own every one of those characters, and they can do
anything they want. All they have to do is pay you out.

Proceedings What advice would you give to young people who are
contemplating a military career?

Webb: First of all, I think you€  '²ve got to make that decision for
yourself.  My son just turned 18 and is very interested in going into
the Marine Corps. I€  '²m really proud of him for that. But, at the
same
time, if he were doing it purely because somebody else wanted him to,
then he would be in the wrong place.  And the question always has
been whether they are inspired, whether the leadership and the nation
will convince them that what they€  '²re doing is important. Napoleon
said that there are no bad regiments; there are only bad colonels.

John Lovett
Chief Consultant
The Hollywood Military Advisor
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Set/7906/
714-222-2460

To those of you who read my articles at Suite101, please note that
the address has changed to
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/military_movies .  So, change
your bookmarks.

Here is the newest article at Suite101 - Military Movies.  Read.
Enjoy

Is it the Reel World or the Real World?


Currently, I am taking a seminar on screenwriting from an
accomplished screenwriter.  A producer friend asked me, "As a
produced screenwriter, why would you need to take a course on
screenwriting?"  My reply was that I am also an accomplished trap and
skeet shooter but I also take courses on how to improve my skills.
Every little bit helps.

One of the major discussions in this screenwriting class has been
about the difference between the reel world and the real world.  One
thing this screenwriter keeps talking about is, "Don't let your moral
compass get in the way of the story."  As a writer, I can agree with
that statement.  As a consultant, I try to get the right "feel" to a
movie.

For me, the real world versus reel world dichotomy is one that I
struggle with every day.  For example, a producer came to me and
asked me to bid on the use of tanks for the filming of a parade for a
movie.  What period, I asked?  They said, oh, we just want to film a
parade scene and need a tank.  I persisted, what period I asked;
World War II, modern, what?  They did not care, just a tank.  So, I
bid out a working Korean War vintage M46.  The discussion about the
uniforms and weapons all went about the same direction.  Ultimately,
I bid out BDUs for the extras, M16s, the M46, and various vehicles
including a M3 Half-track.  As my teenage daughter would say, "Am I
bad?"

Consider, movies are entertainment.  While they should be as close to
existing historical knowledge as possible, sometimes getting
everything perfect is beyond the monetary capabilities of the movie
company.  So should we, as viewers, just dismiss the movie out of
hand because the soldiers carried M1903A1 Springfields instead of
M1903A3 Springfields?  My feeling is no, story will overcome the
difficulties.  However, others take the opposite view.

In a discussion with a friend in the aerospace industry, he told me
that MISSION TO MARS was completely spoiled for him because of the
little robot explorer shown in the beginning of the film.  He is
absolutely convinced that NASA would never build something that
looked like a tinker toy.  I am not so sure about that, but the real
point is why did he let that incident ruin the rest of the movie for
him?

I have seen internet pages dedicated to the factual and historical
mistakes found in SAVING PRIVATE RYAN.  Did these individuals find
the movie less enjoyable because of the mistakes?  Well, they had to
have watched the film a healthy number of times to find all the
mistakes.  So, I guess they enjoyed something about the movie.

To further complicate the argument, I have stated in the past and
continue to state that if the producer has the money to ensure his
favorite starlet's hair is just right he has the money to ensure the
basic factual and historical integrity of the film is right.
However, to paraphrase President Abraham Lincoln, you can't please
all the people all the time.  Due to economics, politics, and a
number of other 'ics, no matter what you do as a producer, writer, or
military advisor, you cannot win all the battles.  You just try to
win enough.

As far as the reel world and the real world argument goes, I can only
say that I pick my battles and hope to win some.  For example, I
recently ended a project where I did additional military dialog such
as radio communications and background noise.  The movie had already
finished filming (film lock in movie parlance), but needed help.
Since there was film lock, I could in no way go back and have re -
filmed the scenes where the supposed U.S. soldiers in incorrect
uniforms with incorrect weapons could be changed.  At least in this
case, the producer was willing to listen to my comments and promised
to work with me next time.

John