Live From Baghdad (Almost)
The war in Iraq isn't over, but Hollywood already wants to restage it.
Studios are commissioning scripts for movies about the war and the events that led up to it. Big names have lined up behind some of the projects. Former Sony Pictures Chairman John Calley has hired a screenwriter for a movie based on former White House antiterrorism adviser Richard Clarke's book, "Against All Enemies." One of Universal Pictures' top producers has hired a writer for a movie about Gen. Jim Mattis, who led the 2003 assault on Fallujah, and Harrison Ford has expressed interest in starring. And Roberto Benigni, who won a best-actor Oscar for his role in the 1997 concentration-camp drama "Life is Beautiful," is finishing a comedy about a love-struck Italian poet stranded in Iraq at the beginning of the U.S. invasion.
In recent decades, Hollywood generally has waited until a war's outcome is settled before tackling its stories. Francis Ford Coppola released "Apocalypse Now" in 1979, six years after U.S. combat units left Vietnam. Two fictional movies set against the 1991 Gulf War, "Courage Under Fire," and "Three Kings," didn't appear until 1996 and 1999, respectively. "It takes time before there is a consensus" about whether a war was a good thing, says Terry Press, head of marketing at DreamWorks, which co-produced 1998's World War II drama "Saving Private Ryan." "Whenever you have a consensus, you have an audience. Otherwise, it's a big question mark."
But then came the "Fahrenheit 9/11" effect. Hollywood found that issues and drama about American involvement in wars -- and foreign policy in general -- can make for good box office. Michael Moore's documentary took in $119.2 million at the U.S. box office, making it the 17th-ranked picture of the year. (It went on to reap a strong $103 million in ticket sales overseas.) Another documentary related to Mideast politics, "Control Room," about the pan-Arab satellite news channel Al Jazeera, garnered positive reviews, brought in a profitable $2.6 million at the box office and has sold more than 100,000 DVDs. Next month, another documentary, "Gunner Palace," about a filmmaker's sojourn with American soldiers at an abandoned palace in Baghdad, will open nationwide in about 50 theaters. Small independent studio Palm Pictures is distributing it.
FILM REVIEW
? See Joe Morgenstern's review of "Turtles Can Fly"
Today, a fictional film set in Iraqi Kurdistan, about a teenager on the eve of the American invasion of Iraq, opens in New York and Los Angeles. IFC Films plans to distribute "Turtles Can Fly," an Iraqi-Iranian co-production, in other U.S. cities in months to come.
The Mideast-related stories are "simply great drama," says Basil Iwanyk, a producer based at Warner Bros. who has three Iraq war-inspired movies in various stages of development.
Mr. Iwanyk's projects include one drawn from the stories of novices interrogating prisoners in Afghanistan. A second is based on the true story of a journalist for London's Sunday Times who was enjoying the good life on assignment in California when his editors suddenly ordered him to Iraq to travel with a U.S. Marine unit.
Built-In Audiences?
Mr. Iwanyk says that regardless of their views of the war, Americans are heavily invested in what's going on in Iraq -- and that suggests built-in movie audiences. "This is the first time in my life that people know the name of the secretary of defense," he adds.
Iraq is also the setting for another project, this one at United Artists and championed by its president, Danny Rosett. It's based on the real-life exploits of two twentysomethings who rode into Baghdad in the wake of the city's takeover by the U.S., looking for entrepreneurial opportunities. They started printing and catering businesses and a radio station before it became too dangerous for them to stay longer. UA has hired a producer-screenwriter and is seeking a director.
Of course, many movies on the drawing board don't get major studio funding for production and distribution and never wind up on the big screen. Moreover, events in Iraq are moving quickly and could delay or scuttle many of these projects. Some executives in Hollywood look at the slow process of making a feature film -- typically about two years -- and believe it's too risky right now to commit themselves to an Iraq feature. James Vanderbilt, who's writing the adaptation of "Against All Enemies," is aware of the risks in writing in the midst of events. Already, he says, some of his material "feels dated. Things are moving so quickly."
In the movies currently being conceived, Hollywood isn't taking the relentlessly antiwar attitude that marked a string of post-Vietnam movies -- notably Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter," which won the 1978 Oscar for best picture. Producer Michael Shamberg, who is making the movie about the Fallujah battle, says the film will have "no criticism of the heroism of the Marines." However, he says, it will deal with "discovering the law of unintended consequences" of political decisions.
For Mr. Shamberg's Fallujah movie, the screenplay is being adapted from a soon-to-be-published book called "No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah," by Bing West, an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration. Mr. West is collaborating on the screenplay with his son, Owen, who served as a Marine rifleman in Iraq. "Fallujah" will focus on the Marines' involvement in the city, from the first assault on insurgents in April 2003, when U.S. forces came close to taking the city, through the second in December 2004, along with the politics and policy surrounding the battles. The film is "one of six that Harrison [Ford] is interested in doing, if it ever gets off the ground," says the actor's manager, Patricia McQueeney. Universal hasn't yet committed to financing the project, and no production date has been set.
Generating More Buzz
But the adaptation of Mr. Clarke's book -- it's generating more Hollywood buzz than any other Iraq-related project right now -- likely will be very critical of Washington. The book, published in March 2004, claims the government, especially President Bush's White House, failed to take the threat from al Qaeda seriously before 9/11. The screenwriter, Mr. Vanderbilt, whose last produced script was for a 2003 action film called "The Rundown," says: "We're not setting out to make it good guys versus bad guys."
Mr. Clarke's book ends with attacks on the World Trade Center, but Mr. Vanderbilt envisions the movie as continuing through the 9/11 commission hearings through 2003 and 2004, at which Mr. Clarke's testimony played a prominent role. Sony hasn't yet committed to the project.
For now, the next big movie about Iraq will be about the last war. Sam Mendes, the director of Oscar-winner "American Beauty," is finishing up his production "Jarhead." Based on memoirs by Anthony Swofford, a former U.S. Marine sniper in the Gulf War, "Jarhead" stars Jamie Foxx and Jake Gyllenhaal and comes out Nov. 11, in the final stages of next year's Oscar race (a sign that Universal has high hopes for the film). The film is currently shooting -- in the California desert.
伊战烽火几可银幕同步再现
伊拉克战争尚未结束，但好莱坞已经琢磨著在银幕上重现这场战争了。制片厂已经开始了前期准备工作，比如找人编写有关这场战争和相关事件的剧本。这其中就有一些大牌公司和知名人物的身影。
索尼影视娱乐有限公司(Sony Pictures)前董事长凯利(John Calley)聘请了一名编剧根据前白宫反恐顾问克拉克将军(Richard Clarke)的著作《打击一切敌人：美国反恐战争内幕》(Against All Enemies)改编电影剧本。环球影片公司(Universal Pictures)一位著名制片人也在请人编写有关马提斯将军(Jim Mattis)的剧本，马提斯将军指挥了2003年的费卢杰之战。哈里森?福特(Harrison Ford)已表示有意出演。
曾因主演有关二战集中营题材的影片《美丽人生》(Life is Beautiful)而赢得1997年奥斯卡最佳男演员奖的罗贝多?贝尼尼(Roberto Benigni)已即将完成一部伊战题材的影片，这部片子讲述的是一位热恋中的意大利诗人在美国攻入伊拉克初期被困在那里的故事。
在这些电影厂计划著未来某个档期才能上映的伊拉克题材的影片之际，同样题材的一部纪录片和一部意大利电影以及两部有关中东题材的大制作影片今年就将与观众见面。
近几十年来，好莱坞通常都是在战争尘埃落定之后才会开始构思影片。比如科波拉(Francis Ford Coppola)在越战结束6年后的1979年才推出他的名片《现代启示录》(Apocalypse Now)。
两部有关1991年海湾战争的故事片《生死豪情》(Courage Under Fire)和《三好汉》(Three Kings)分别在1996年和1999年才推出。梦工厂(DreamWorks)营销部门负责人普利斯(Terry Press)说，对于一场战争是否是正义之战，人们需要经过一段时间后才能得出公论。梦工厂是二战题材影片《拯救大兵瑞恩》(Saving Private Ryan)的联合制片方之一。普利斯说，只有（基本立场）合乎多数人的意见电影才会有观众。否则，电影的票房就要打个大问号了。
不过也有例外，比如《华氏9/11》(Fahrenheit 9/11)。好莱坞发现，有关美国卷入战争及美国的总体对外政策的电影往往能收到很不错的票房。麦克尔?摩尔(Michael Moore)执导的这部纪录片在美国的票房收入达到了1.192亿美元，在2004年的票房排行榜上排到第17位。该片在海外也获得了1.03亿美元的不俗票房。
另一部中东政治题材的纪录片《战争控制室》(Control Room)讲述的主角是阿拉伯卫星新闻频道半岛电视台(Al Jazeera)，该片好评如潮，拿下了260万美元的票房收入，并已卖出10万多张DVD。下个月，纪录片《炮火下的宫殿》(Gunner Palace)将在全美50家影院上映。该片记录了一位电影导演在巴格达一座宫殿的废墟附近与一批美国士兵相处的日日夜夜。该片是由小型独立电影厂Palm Pictures拍摄的。
今天有一部在伊拉克库尔德地区拍摄的故事片在纽约和洛杉矶上映，影片描述了一位少年在美军攻入伊拉克前夜的经历。IFC Films还计划未来几个月在美国其他城市发行这部由伊拉克人和伊朗人联合制作的《会飞的乌龟》(Turtles Can Fly)。
华纳兄弟公司(Warner Bros)制片人伊万雅克(Basil Iwanyk)说，有关中东题材的故事都会卖座。目前伊万雅克有三部与伊拉克战争有关的影片正在制作之中。
其中有一部是根据初次担任阿富汗战犯审讯官的人员的故事拍摄的。还有一部是根据伦敦《星期日泰晤士报》(Sunday Times)一名记者的真实故事改编的。这名记者本来正在加利福尼亚执行采访任务，生活非常愉快，但突然接到编辑的通知，要他赴伊拉克跟著一支海军陆战队小分队随军采访。
天生票房甜果
伊万雅克说，不管美国人对战争持怎样的态度，他们对伊拉克发生的事情都很感兴趣，这意味著有关伊拉克的电影有大量的潜在观众。他说：“在我的记忆里，这是第一次有许多美国人都知道美国国防部长的名字。”
伊拉克也是联美影片公司(United Artists)一部影片的背景，该片由公司总裁罗塞特(Danny Rosett)钦定。这部根据真人真事拍摄的影片讲述了两位二十多岁年轻人的勇敢行为。这两位年轻人在美国人接管巴格达之后进入这座城市寻找商机。他们创办了印刷和餐饮公司，并建了一座无线电台。后来随著时局的发展，巴格达越来越危险了。联美公司已经为该片雇佣了制片人和编剧，目前正在物色导演。
当然，有很多计划拍摄的影片找不到大型电影厂投资制作和发行，因此永远也不会出现在银幕上。而且，伊拉克局势瞬息万变，很有可能让这些拍摄计划不得不推迟甚至最终夭折。
一些好莱坞人士认为，制作一部影片通常需要两年，而伊拉克的局势尚未稳定，如此漫长的过程使得眼下投入伊拉克题材影片的制作显得太冒险了。正在改编《打击一切敌人》的范德比特(James Vanderbilt)对这一点有著清醒的认识。他说，他已经感到有些素材已经“过时了，事情发展得太快了”。
在那些正在构思的影片中，好莱坞并不像在一系列越战影片中表现得那样，抱著无情的反战立场。越战影片这一特色的代表作是获得1978年奥斯卡最佳影片奖的《猎鹿人》(The Deer Hunter)。正在拍摄有关费卢杰之战影片的制片人萧伯格(Michael Shamberg)说，他们的影片没有批评美国海军陆战队英雄主义行为的内容。不过他说，影片将展现政治决策所产生的非决策者本意的后果并探讨其中的规律。
萧伯格的这部有关费卢杰战役的影片剧本改编自不久即将出版的一本新书──《虚妄的光荣：费卢杰之战》(No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah)，该书作者威斯特(Bing West)是里根政府时期的国防部部长助理。目前威斯特正和他的儿子欧文?威斯特(Owen West)合作改编剧本，欧文曾作为海军陆战队队员在伊拉克服役。
这部影片将集中表现陆战队在费卢杰的活动──从2003年4月美国军队即将占领这座城市时陆战队对伊拉克抵抗分子的第一次打击，一直到2004年12月在该市的第二次重大战役，同时还表现了围绕战斗的政治活动。据哈里森?福特的经纪人麦奎尼(Patricia McQueeney)说，这部影片是哈里森目前有意出演的6部影片之一，如果该片最后能投拍的话。环球影片还未承诺为该片出资，拍摄日期也未确定。
引起大震动
根据克拉克的书改编的电影在好莱坞引起的震动比其他任何一部伊拉克题材影片都要大，它很可能会大大刺激华盛顿。克拉克的书是2004年3月出版的，书中称政府特别是白宫人士在“911”事件之前未能认真处理来自基地组织(al Qaeda)的威胁。该片编剧范德比特说，他们不准备把它拍成一部好人与坏人斗争的故事。范德比特任编剧的影片包括2003年出品的故事片《丛林奇兵》(The Rundown)。
克拉克的书最后只写到2001年世界贸易中心(World Trade Center)被袭事件。但范德比特的计划是将影片延续到2003、2004年的“911”事件听证会，在听证会上，克拉克的证词发挥了突出作用。索尼公司目前也尚未决定是否投拍该片。
眼下，最新一部与伊拉克有关的影片是关于上一次伊拉克战争的故事片《锅盖头：海湾战争老兵记事》(Jarhead)。该片即将杀青，导演是曾因《美国丽人》(American Beauty)获奥斯卡最佳导演奖的门德斯(Sam Mendes)，剧本根据曾参加海湾战争的海军陆战队狙击手斯沃福德(Anthony Swofford)的文集改编，主要演员有杰米?福克斯(Jamie Foxx)和杰克?格林哈尔(Jake Gyllenhaal)。该片将于11月11日、即明年的奥斯卡奖参赛影片截止期前上映。（由此来看，环球影片对该片期望很高啊）。目前该片正在拍摄，不过不是在伊拉克，而是在加利福尼亚的沙漠地区。
