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It might seem odd for the US government to officially sanction Black Hawk Down, given that it's about one of the biggest disasters of the post-Vietnam military. The Pentagon apparently wanted the story of the Battle of Mogadishu told accurately, because they provided training to the actors, authentic equipment, and technical assistance.
However, they didn't want it told TOO accurately, because US military officials insisted the film's writers make one major change: removing Army Ranger John Stebbins, a company clerk drafted into combat, from the story. Why the alteration to the historical record? Because Stebbins is serving a 30-year sentence in federal prison for raping a child. Ewan McGregor wound up playing a version of Stebbins, but with a different name and backstory.
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The filmmakers behind Zero Dark Thirty had unprecedented access to the CIA files related to the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden. The level of cooperation between the film's producers and the government ran from access to classified documents to expensive dinners with high-level operators to screenwriter Mark Boal attending a classified CIA ceremony as part of his research.
But the military's cooperation came with a catch: the film had to portray torture as beneficial, effective, and crucial in the death of the mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. They also had access to the script and were able to veto or approve creative decisions. The back-and-forth led to a Justice Department investigation that was dropped the day after the 2013 Oscars, when Zero Dark Thirty didn't win any major categories.- Photo:
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As part of its cultural offensive against Godless Communism, the CIA helped fund a British animated adaptation of the George Orwell classic. But they stipulated that any trace of heroism, intelligence, or sympathy be erased from the characters, lest the audience have too much affection for quasi-communists.
As such, the ending of the film was radically altered from that of the book, with the cynical donkey Benjamin leading a revolt to retake Manor Farm - showing the triumph of the individual over collectivism.- Photo:
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Government involvement in military-themed entertainment isn't a new phenomenon. In fact, it goes all the way back to 1927, with the Army Air Corps advising on the filming of World War I air combat epic Wings. When initial air combat scenes proved unsatisfactory, director William Wellman appealed to Washington for help making their elite pilots look good.
The Army Air Corps, in turn, provided a large number of planes and pilots from its top fighter squadrons, many of whom appeared in the final version of the film. Though Wellman clashed with the military advisers provided for the film, the Army Air Corps was reportedly extremely pleased with the result. Hollywood was as well - Wings was a huge hit and won the first ever Oscar for Best Picture.- Photo:
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Government law enforcement agencies are used so often as either a villain or hero in entertainment that one, the FBI, has an entire unit devoted to making sure it's portrayed positively and accurately. But FX's '80s spy drama The Americans has a special connection to the CIA, as one of the show's creators, Joe Weisberg, is a former CIA agent.
As such, the Agency approves every script for the show, lest Weisberg accidentally reveal something that's still classified, or give away too much about Agency secrets. They actually have the right to censor anything they find objectionable, but don't appear to have asked for anything to be removed... that we know of.- Photo:
According to Charlie Wilson's War screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, it was former Congressman Charlie Wilson himself who asked that the film, about the congressman and a CIA agent selling weapons to anti-Soviet forces in Afghanistan, have its ending changed. Wilson reportedly didn't want audiences to believe that his actions led to the forming of Al Qaeda, which masterminded the 9/11 attacks.
Sorkin intended the film to end with Wilson witnessing the attack on the Pentagon, but both Wilson and star Tom Hanks wanted to go with a happier ending that only hinted at the attacks to come.
