Posted on 12/23/2005 6:39:07 PM PST by West Coast Conservative
During world war two American troops away from home for Christmas were entertained by Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby and the Marx Brothers. Even in Vietnam Bob Hope was guaranteed to put in an appearance. But soldiers in Iraq are more likely to get a show from a Christian hip-hop group, a country singer you have probably never heard of and two cheerleaders for the Dallas Cowboys.
Just as the seemingly intractable nature of the war has led to a growing recruitment crisis, so the United Services Organisation, which has been putting on shows for the troops since the second world war, is struggling to get celebrities to sign up for even a short tour of duty.
It is a far cry from the days following the September 11 2001 attacks, when some of the biggest names in show business, from Jennifer Lopez to Brad Pitt, rallied to the cause. "After 9/11 we couldn't have had enough airplanes for the people who were volunteering to go," Wayne Newton, the Las Vegas crooner who succeeded Bob Hope as head of USO's talent recruiting effort, told USA Today. "Now with 9/11 being as far removed as it is, the war being up one day and down the next, it becomes increasingly difficult to get people to go."
Newton said many celebrities have been wary of going because they think it might be seen that they are endorsing the war. "And I say it's not. I tell them these men and women are over there because our country sent them, and we have the absolute necessity to try to bring them as much happiness as we can."
(Excerpt) Read more at guardian.co.uk ...
Me, too. I saw him twice: Korea in '68, Guam in '71. Amazing how an hour or two could raise morale so much.
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Wayne Newton was on Fox today & did say that he is having problems getting entertainers to go to Iraq with the USO! Sad...
" Travis has been presented with a medal for all his service to the USA troops.
On Friday August 12th,2005 Travis was presented with a medal for all his service to the USA troops. Norman Mineta, US Sectretary of Transportation presented him with the medal before the concert at Vienna Virgina's "Wolf Trap". Earlier in day Travis went to 'Walter Reed Medical Center" and visited with soliders that have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan."
You can see who did go with Wayne this year at this site:
http://www.uso.org/pubs/8_16_2143.cfm
Do I think it'll ever return to that? No, but the smart money would begin to ponder what would happen if a small portion did. Who knows, they could tap into a very large segment of society that is completely hostile to Hollywood today.
Hollywood's not going back to the old ways. Movies will be targeted to a greater extent than ever, because the movies for Everyone are going to be nearly impossible to produce. Look at the trouble King Kong is having, and that was supposed to be money in the bank.
More and more specialization is what's coming, not a return to the good old days (which had just as many bad movies as the current cinema).
I agree.
One of the main problems that Hollywood has is that it doesn't know or understand "flyover country". They try to do something on the cheap while wasting megabucks on stars who alienate the customers.
I would love to see American movies, written by American writers, about Americans, made in America, with American cameramen, and American grips (whatever that might be), even if they are small budget films that are well made. Hollywood lacks originality. That is because they have closed their doors to all but a select few who have literally become hacks.
They can't produce movies that will appeal to the large markets because they don't know who they are, or what makes them tick.
Face it, there are a LOT of talented people out there who are overlooked because they don't fit the mold.
No, I don't think it'll ever go back to the old days, but smart money would look at some of the things old Hollywood did that was very successful. One of those things was talent scouts that went out into mid-America and recruited people who actually DID know what middle America is all about. The studio might not be able to demand contracts, but they could certainly "advise" new talent on how not to offend their audience.
The larger market out there isn't "flyover country" but the world. Large or small, movies now have to appeal to a worlwide audience.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2004 -- Country music star Chely Wright of "Single White Female" fame is heading to Kuwait and Iraq next week with her band to boost the troops' morale with some foot-stomping entertainment.
"I'm not a Democrat or a Republican. I'm an American," Wright told a crowd at a Labor Day weekend concert in Annapolis, Md. "And whether you're for Kerry or for Bush, what's important is that you show your support for our troops."
Singer Aaron Tippin visits Iraq to entertain troops
When Teddy and Thomas Tippin look around the Thanksgiving table today and ask why Daddy's not there, they may take solace in the news that he is hanging out with their brother-in-law, Kenneth Smith. They won't be told how perilous that situation is since Smith flies Black Hawk helicopters over the war zone.
"I don't think they'll really understand it," said Daddy, aka country singer Aaron Tippin. "They'll enjoy their turkey and know that Dad's off having fun someplace. And I will be having fun. Because I'll be with people I love, people who are defending our country."
Combat boots tapping against the concrete floor kept time with country-singer Josh Gracin's guitar during the taping of a music video at Camp Atterbury.
Scheduled to be aired in January the music-video was being taped for a new television series on Country Music Television.
A young female soldier from Lebanon, Ind., Grimes was featured on the cover of Time magazine in 2003. During her service as an Army medic in Iraq, Grimes also received public notice when she saved the lives of two Times reporters who were injured during a roadside attack.
With their rifles slung across their backs, more than a 1,000 soldiers from Ohio, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, the Carolinas and New England filled the large military warehouse turned soundstage during the taping of the video. The soldiers were all at Camp Atterbury to prepare for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, but they took a break from their combat training to participate in the video.
Several Country music stars, including Toby Keith, continued to show their support for U.S. military troops by traveling to the Middle East. Toby says he saw a different response from the Iraqi people on his latest trip.
"I was over there for 11 or 12 days, Baghdad, all over Iraq, all over Afghanistan. Last year when I went, I didn't feel like it was anything we could ever win. And, this year, in flying over the whole northern and central part of Iraq, the Iraqi people, 4 out of 5 would wave at the choppers that would fly over. So, the Iraqi people want our great boys and girls over there," he said.
In 2003, Charlie Daniels published an Open Letter to the Hollywood Bunch in defense of George W. Bush's Iraq policy. His 2003 book Ain't No Rag: Freedom, Family, and the Flag contains this letter as well as many other personal statements. During the 2004 presidential campaign, Daniels acknowledged that having never served in the military himself, he did not have the right to criticize John Kerry's service record.
Charlie Daniels performed at a USO concert at Camp Victory, Iraq on April 10, 2005
MACDILL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — Toby Keith and Darryl Worley performed for military families at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., yesterday per President Bush's request.
Bush missed the show, however, saying "one of the problems with being the president is you always end up being the last guy here." Nevertheless, he thanked them "for providing (their) talents in support of our efforts to make the world a more peaceful place."
MacDill is the home base for Central Command where all the Iraq war planning takes place.
"If Darryl Worley, Toby Keith and the Star-Spangled Banner can't get your blood boiling, you're at the wrong place," General Michael DeLong, Deputy Commander of the U.S. Central Command, said to cheers.
Worley and Keith aren't the only country stars boosting soldier morale through song. Travis Tritt will visit with the troops and families of the 24th Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Mo., on Friday.
The show, part of his "Spirit of America" tour, is one of several stops he plans on making at military bases across the country
Face it, there are a LOT of talented people out there who are overlooked because they don't fit the mold.
Also, there isn't that much undiscovered talent out there. Talented people tend to get discovered, one way or another. Look at the biographies of some of the best paid actors -- most are from "flyover country."
I disagree. It's such an old movie that people hadn't burned out on it. Remakes are popular because they're good, they flop when they're bad. Most moviegoers don't care if they've heard the story before, if it's told in a new way--The Passion wasn't exactly a new story.
One of the main problems that Hollywood has is that it doesn't know or understand "flyover country". They try to do something on the cheap while wasting megabucks on stars who alienate the customers.
I don't see this at all--what have they been trying to do on the cheap? The Incredibles? The Passion? Narnia? These are all movies that have done quite well in flyover country. If you could provide some examples I might be able to get what you mean.
I would love to see American movies, written by American writers, about Americans, made in America, with American cameramen, and American grips (whatever that might be), even if they are small budget films that are well made.
There are plenty of those movies made all the time. A grip is a blue collar guy on the set--he grabs stuff and moves it.
Hollywood lacks originality. That is because they have closed their doors to all but a select few who have literally become hacks.
I dunno about that. There are plenty of different movies coming out. There are tons of movies from different perspectives out there, you just have to look.
They can't produce movies that will appeal to the large markets because they don't know who they are, or what makes them tick.
There are plenty of movies that appeal to large markets, but there is no "Everybody" (as I term it) market. There is no One American. I mean, what kinds of movies are you thinking of as examples of the movies you want to see?
Face it, there are a LOT of talented people out there who are overlooked because they don't fit the mold.
I know some people who work in the business, and if you work hard and have talent, people don't give a crap who you vote for--they generally don't care. There are two kinds of people in Hollywood: the ones interested in what properties can make money, and the ones interested in the work, who of course also have to make money, but their passion is the work they do.
No, I don't think it'll ever go back to the old days, but smart money would look at some of the things old Hollywood did that was very successful. One of those things was talent scouts that went out into mid-America and recruited people who actually DID know what middle America is all about. The studio might not be able to demand contracts, but they could certainly "advise" new talent on how not to offend their audience.
People with talent will go to Hollywood. People aren't dragged to Hollywood--if you don't have the guts or talent to get there, no amount of romantic "little guy" passion is going to make you work there. Who are some of these people who were "scouted" who know what middle America is all about?
You've overlooked one major reason why these middle Americans you're thinking of don't watch so many movies--it's because they're watching TV shows.
Ted Nugent is mentioned further down in the article as well.
The scouting stuff was always publicity thing(lana turner) or a myth.
I think what he meant--he can correct me--is that the studios should be scouting schools for talent. But they already do that; one of my friends, a computer animator, was "scouted" (and turned them down). It happens all the time, and the results are on the screen.
I think what some want is for Hollywood to bring in more conservative talent, but you can bring a horse to water but etc. etc. etc. No one's keeping conservatives out; conservatives aren't going. (For the most part; I know some who are, and they're doing ok.)
Conservatives tend to be more well-balanced and risk averse than the arts require. What conservative would raise $200 million and invest it in a very long strip of plastic with pictures on it? What conservative would enter a profession where 99.999% of its practitioners are out of work at any given time?
At the same time, "stars" come from odd places. Brando was from Nebraska. Borgart (everyone's favorite every man) grew well off up on Park Avenue in NYC surrounded by artists etc. Nicholson was from a working class family in south Jersey (believing his mother was his sister. Yikes!)
The guy who co-financed Narnia, for one.
http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-anschutz5dec05,0,2989796.story?coll=la-tot-promo
And once again, Philip Anschutz is risking big. The Denver-based multibillionaire, who made a fortune in oil, natural gas, railroads, telecommunications and real estate, has spent $90 million — half the film's $180-million budget — to produce the screen adaptation of the children's classic "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
I do see your point, but many of the people actually risking the dollars in Hollywood are somewhat conservative.
The Nicholson story is plenty weird. But it made Jack one liberal who's against abortion to an extent-he said most abortions are about women who don't want to mess up their lunch schedules. Yikes!
Also, I don't agree that one has to be unbalanced to be in the arts. Too often artists use that pose to get away with murder, but it's the artists who are balanced and work hard who accomplish something.
good ole ted.
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