28 November 2005 - 10:29am
Wishful Willis to make Iraq 'Die Hard'
Never mind that Iraqis are dying all too easily these days. Seeking to combine his pro-militarist political views with the teenage boy-focused popular entertainment centered on blowing the fuck out of things, Bruce Willis is going to make his own alternative vision of how the war on Iraq is going.
On the surface, it doesn't seem to be an ideological tract:
It will be based on the exploits of the heavily decorated members of Deuce Four, the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry, which has spent the past year battling insurgents in the northern Iraqi town of Mosul.
Personally I think any movie that realistically portrays our soldiers' stories is a good thing. How would we understand World War 2 without the hundreds of movies about that conflict and aftermath?
But Willis seems to be coming at this with an agenda.
ANGERED by negative portrayals of the Iraq conflict, actor Bruce Willis is to make a pro-war film in which US soldiers will be depicted as brave fighters for freedom and democracy.
Willis said it would be wrong for Americans to give up on Iraq just as progress was being made.
"The Iraqi people want to live in a world where they can move from their homes to the market and not have to fear being killed," he said. "I mean, doesn't everybody want that?"
The question is how. Can democracy be imposed by generous application of cluster bombs, phosphorous and heavy machine guns? What are our goals in this civil war we've unleashed? Are we doing the Iraqis any favors by making every place we occupy a target?
Willis seems to be upset that the news today does not reflect what he saw in 2003, when he toured Iraq with his rock band. (Yes, he has a rock band.)
Willis visited the war zone with his rock and blues band, the Accelerators, in 2003.
"I am baffled to understand why the things I saw happening in Iraq are not being reported," he told MSNBC, the US news channel.
Of course, 2003 was a long, long time ago.
The movie represents an interesting gambit. The movie seems to be a pro-Bush propaganda piece about a war that's vastly unpopular with Americans. But lots of people are sure to die in graphic detail, with plenty of explosions and humorous one-liners -- a Hollywood recipe for a high chance of success for the past 20-30 years.
So the real question is: If he blows the shit out of people and things, will the audiences come?
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Comments
I wouldn't worry about it. The more Willis is involved with his movies as anything other than an actor, the more they tend to suck. And the less they tend to bring in.
I direct you to his list of production and/or "writing" credits, which include the Crocodile Hunter movie, Hudson Hawk, and Hostage.
Media Girl: After reading your post regarding Bruce Willis' new pro-Iraq action movie, I couldn't help but think back to another movie that reflected the pro-Lyndon-Johnson propoganda piece about another war. That other war was in Vietnam. The movie was a John Wayne classic called The Green Berets. John Wayne led his untested Green Berets into the jungles of Vietnam who, along with skeptical reporter David Janssen, would battle the evil, heathen, Commie VCs to a hard-fought American victory. And David Janssen would glowingly report the American victory and progress in Vietnam to a increasingly skeptical American public back home. It wasn't a bad movie--as war movies go. But you could also see the sugary, sacchary, propaganda within the Green Berets. But it is interesting that here was the rugged, ideal, individual man--the ultimate macho man--John Wayne, trying to play politics in drumming up American support for the war in Vietnam through his own Vietnam war movie. And failing miserably at it. We didn't win the Vietnam War at the movies until Sly Stallon's John Rambo came onscreen, blasting away with his M60 machine gun.
So now Bruce Willis is going to take a crack at winning the war in Iraq. Have to wonder whether Willis will succeed or end up keeping John Wayne company. The only Iraq-war movie that I've seen that really shows the political mess of Iraq was The Three Kings with George Clooney and Mark Walhburg. And the Three Kings took place during the first Gulf War, when we didn't go to Baghdad and occupy the country.
...is how he was (and still is) idolized by macho men, but in real life he avoided service in World War 2.
Meanwhile, macho men have scorned un-macho Jimmy Stewart, who in real life flew with the 8th Air Force in daylight bombing missions that took appalling casualties.
And now we have W, who was hailed as a hero in the last election, who defeated John Kerry, who actually served and fought in Vietnam but was branded a traitor by apologists for Bush's own draft dodging.
Oh the ironies of macho American male politics.
Wow... all this bull just to add a comment. (Do as I'm told here though...)
As someone somewhat close to the "possible" movie that Mr. Willis may be making... Nothing is set as of yet. No one knows anything about the story Mr Willis is looking to bring to "the screen', if he does at all. Anyone's comments on this subject at this point and time are pure conjecture.
In the meantime, why not show your support and make a donation to http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/site/c.iqLTI2OBKlF/b.11... or one of the many organizations that are doing their best to help, instead of bitching. There are many guys out there that could use a HELLO (without the political crap).
I understand anyone's opinion that this was not the way to go... but we ARE there. Our boys are there, and if any of you have had a son or anyone else that is close in blood (or heart) to you, you know what I'm talking about.
Happy Holidays to you all. And Godspeed to our sons.
...is provide a name, email address and (optionally) a website in the comments field. You don't have to register. Did you run into a problem of which I should be aware?
I'm glad you're doing what you're doing. I just hope you can understand that supporting the troops and criticizing the war are not mutually exclusive -- in fact, working to end the war on Iraq, which never should have been started (after, Afghanistan is still mostly lawless, and that's where al-Qaeda actually was and is), is perhaps the best way to support our soldiers and Marines. Pretending that it is what it clearly isn't serves nobody except al-Qaeda.
My heart goes out to the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.