Can Hollywood make a good movie about Iraq?

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Harrison Ford may lead charge in Falluja movie

LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Producers at Universal Pictures are developing what would be Hollywood's first feature film about the war in Iraq, with actor Harrison Ford ready to portray a U.S. general in the movie, the studio said on Friday.

The combat drama would be based on the upcoming book "No True Glory," an account of the battle for Falluja by Bing West, a Marine veteran and former U.S. assistant defense secretary now covering the war as a foreign correspondent, a studio spokesman said.

A Universal-based production company, Double Features, recently optioned movie rights to the book, which will be adapted by West and his son, Owen, a veteran Marine rifleman. The book is due out in May from Bantam, a unit of the Random House publishing company.

Although Ford, 62, is "attached" to the project -- Hollywood parlance for a loose commitment to star in the film if it gets made -- he is not under contract, the studio said. And Universal has only given the go-ahead for development of a screenplay. No money has been earmarked for production yet.
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with all the anti war reteric going on in Hollywood, can they make a good movie about Iraq?
 
Well that movie would suck. Nothing special happened in Iraq. No one would think it was heroics either because they got invaded for no reason.

The only recent time good war movie that actually had meaning was Black Hawk Down
 
Can they produce a good movie about Iraq? Probably not, they will probably pack as much anti-war stuff as they can. The point would probably be:

"war is bad, this is bad, look how bad it is, see we told you"

eh who knows, but I'm surprised they're trying to sell tickets off of it so soon. But then look at all the WWII movies back in the day.
 
A movie about the war in Iraq....hmmm....if only they depict the lives of Iraqi ordinary civilians and Coalition troops.
 
the following are my ideas for war movies:

Vietnam, a story about soilders with Dog's... i saw a great documentary on this, and there could be an awesome movie... would be a good character build-up in the movie, from when the soilder is assigned to the dog how they form a bond, these dogs actually saved lives, and the movie could show it, to the point where the US left vietnam, and left all the dogs... but here is where the interesting part lies... the soilder could go back and free the dog that saved his life (the troops were not allowed to take the dogs, in the documentary you see the soilders cry because they had to leave their dog, very emotional). that would be the general story, throw in lots of vietnam action in the form of patrols (would be great action, because thew dogs and their care takers were main targets, and even had bounties on their heads...)

another story, could be based on the book "dawn of war" by howard blum, which is about the Yom Kippur war. it could be based on two real life friends. yossi and shmulik... their story is great that hollywood wouldnt need to change anything... imagine this one scene, where 7 tanks fend of hundreds... and every one of the 7 tanks is destroyed, but the commander escaped by flying out of his cupola when both his tank and the enemy tank hit each other at the same time.
that book is amazing, the stories in there are simply made for hollywood.

could also try some sort of story of a CIA agent who fights along side the kurds in afghanistan. small skirmishes and battles, but could be made interesting with the right storyline...

i agree with BHD being an awesome movie... i like as much realism as possible though. and thus would prefer people who fit the parts rather than big name actors. except for the first idea, where i would recommend tom hanks, only he could play such a part successfully as saving private ryan prooved.
 
yikes geez
i recognise some peoples need for patriotic material in order to feel good but geez, the fighting is still going

my vote: straight to video!!
 
I think that historically accurate movies should be encouraged. Why? Because it motivates people to go and read about it.
I think they should make a movie about the killings in Rwanda... not just from a small point of view of a hotel owner, but including what was going on with the Peacekeepers... I think especially with the events of the peacekeepers. I don't think it'll have a problem with finding an audience... I think most war movies which are made with a decent budget get good viewings.
 
What about behind enemy lines?
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Possibly one of the worst military movies I've seen. Just the final scene frustrated the hell out of me (the shootout/rescue on the ice). I hated it for it's stupidity and inaccuracy. Also tiny little details like the rescue group soldiers having painted their faces with cam cream, but necks, hands and ears as white as rice. I wanted to yell at the TV throughout the entire flick.
 
A war movie about Iraq? I think that it would be too soon to make it to be politically correct right now. I think that's why there hasnb't been a feature film about 9/11 yet, although, they did make a movie about the rescue of PFC Jessica Lynch.
 
AussieNick said:
I wanted to yell at the TV throughout the entire flick.
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im sure we could make a VERY long list of stupid things that people do in "military" movies

band of brothers was the last decent military themed show i have seen

my pet peeve is people running around with their fingers on the trigger, even when there is no one in sight
#2 is people not confirming a kill before moving on. im not sure if this is standard practice but i know i would do it, i dont want to be shot in the back!!
#3 endless magazines/not showing changing magazines
 
The thing with Behind Enemy Lines is that the pilot has an amazing ability to dodge a massive barrage of automatic rifle fire, and yet manages to kill several enemies with his pistol as he runs. What ever training they gave that guy, they need to give it to everyone. They'd have a Zero casualty rate, and a 100% success rate.
 
lol
he must have been taught to fire the pistol by the same guy who taught Jack Bauer, James Bond and Austin Powers.

i hear its an elite school and invite only....
 
my ideas are hella original.. and yes i agree with hating war inaccuracy like the face paint... one part i did not like about saving private ryan was when they started throwing morters with their hands... maybe its possible, but its just too hollywod.

this problem extends to hollywood fight scenes, hollywood is still in kung fu era. face it, that s&$% does not work in real life, not a single kung fu practitioner has won a fight in a major organization for years and if he did it wouldnt be because of his style but because of his athletic ability. hollywood should really rent some UFC's and PrideFC's.
 
there was a great movie on iraq (well, the first one)

3 kings. fantastic. esp fooling the garrison into thinking saddam was coming to kill them.

ace
 
Thing is, in UFC etc. situations, Kung Foo and a lot of martial arts are already placed in a disadvantageous situation. This is especially true of competition martial arts which in many cases, long time practitioners become so accustomed to the rules of the martial arts tournaments that it becomes a part of their muscle memory. This puts them at disadvantage ... pretty much everywhere.
Also, in UFC etc. the opponent will roughly know your abilities. So when a smaller guy with Kung Foo experience walks in, his ability to surprise his opponent, which is absolutely KEY for anyone small, is lost.

rocco said:
my ideas are hella original.. and yes i agree with hating war inaccuracy like the face paint... one part i did not like about saving private ryan was when they started throwing morters with their hands... maybe its possible, but its just too hollywod.

this problem extends to hollywood fight scenes, hollywood is still in kung fu era. face it, that s&$% does not work in real life, not a single kung fu practitioner has won a fight in a major organization for years and if he did it wouldnt be because of his style but because of his athletic ability. hollywood should really rent some UFC's and PrideFC's.
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chewie_nz said:
there was a great movie on iraq (well, the first one)

3 kings. fantastic. esp fooling the garrison into thinking saddam was coming to kill them.

ace
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yeah thats a good film...but its not really about the war...its about the ''3 Kings'' stealing saddams gold

was that film based on a true story btw?
 
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