Movies about war: even more important than war itself! The Army has never been able to quite get this whole Iraq business to go well, but it's damn sure not going to sit back and allow moviemakers to make their films about this Iraq business without the extensive input and assistance of the US Army. They've always used their leverage-cooperation in filming-to try to influence movie scripts. But they're having a darned hard time with this most recent crop of war movies, which seem to present the Iraq war as big problem. The military's problem with films like In The Valley Of Elah or Redacted? They're just not nuanced enough, you see:

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for nuance," [Lt. Col. J. Todd Breasseale, the Army's liaison to Hollywood] said. "What sells a script to a studio is an easy concept, like 'This guy is crazy because he has been at war.' 'Easy, I love it,' the executive says."

Wow, are executives that easy? I have an idea for a movie, in that case!

Iraq war movies as a group have not done well at the box office. Film critics have speculated that moviegoers see enough of war on the news or don't care to watch films about an ongoing conflict. The Army suggests another possibility: The public is rejecting films that feel didactic or inauthentic.

"The public does not deal too well with being preached at," Breasseale said.

The US Army: No Preaching.

[LAT]