Iraq war bombs at the box office
A movie with Streep and Cruise and directed by Redford...how could that miss?
It's one thing to make war movies, it's another to make them while our troops are still on the battlefield. Most of the popular Vietnam war movies didn't come out until after it was over.
Another indication that the Iraq War has gone on too long..........
From San Francisco Chronicle: "Jabbar Magruder is an active duty Army National Guard sergeant who served 11 months in Iraq. He was hoping that stateside Americans would get a glimpse of what the war was like when several dramas featuring the Iraq conflict either in the foreground or the background hit theaters this fall.
Few have. Despite A-list casts -- including Robert Redford, Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones -- and generally good reviews, Iraq war-related dramas tanked this fall at the box office....."America doesn't want to deal with Iraq, period," Army National Guard sergeant Jabbar Magruder said. "And that's what a lot of veterans, no matter what their position on the war, are finding when they come back home." [..]"
I haven't seen the movies mentioned, nor do I know their 'politics'...but their poor performance indicates the public's mood: We're fed up with the Iraq war and we won't shell out any money to go see more about it.
Pew polls two thirds of us wanting out of that war NOW.
People go to movies to escape reality for an instant and be entertained. They want a break from war, they'll spend money on 'escape' movies...like "Beowulf" or "Enchanted" ...or one of those silly Christmas movies that Tim Allen always does.
Besides, America likes movies about "feel good" wars, like WWII, we like to see movies where the bad guys lose and the good guys win. Maybe people think that hasn't happened yet in Iraq....and 90 minutes of war angst is only entertaining to a small minority.
Please don't confuse these comments with not supporting our military. The troops are dedicated to doing their jobs, they've done everything they've been asked to do and more.
But these movie people should realize that you don't make a movie about contemporary events that are scaring people.
You have to wait, until you can show the morality or the immorality of the story.
We don't want movies about the Iraq war...we want to end the dang thing.
I'm reminded of a quote years ago by some director, or actor... who said something to the effect that people go to the movies for three reasons...to laugh, cry or get [an erection].
