Filmmaker Marine fights Hollywood stereotype

[unhappycamper]

Filmmaker Marine fights Hollywood stereotype
By Bryan McKenzie - The Daily Progress
Posted : Friday Jan 4, 2008 12:07:18 EST

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.— Filmmaker Scott Mactavish’s new documentary depicts courage and character among American military personnel in a response to what he calls Hollywood portrayals of American troops as rapacious, homicidal sociopaths.

“God and Country,” which is now ready for distribution, “corrects the general consensus of the military as guys who have no other recourse in life,” according to Mactavish. He said films such as “Redacted,” “The Valley of Elah” and “Stop Loss” portray American troops as “blood-thirsty thugs.”

“It’s part of Hollywood’s (thought pattern) to put out that message, and maybe that’s because they haven’t had much contact with the military and the people in it,” said Mactavish, a veteran who served in the Cold War and Gulf War era. “I wanted to disprove that and contradict what Hollywood filmmakers like Brian De Palma seem to believe: That American soldiers are rapists and murderers.”

Mactavish’s company, Mactavish Films, has produced a variety of videos and films, including “Summer Running: The Race to Cure Breast Cancer” with Albemarle County resident Sissy Spacek. Mactavish worked on commercial movie crews, including on “The Crow,” before creating his own production company.

“God and Country” includes segments from military humanitarian efforts in Djbouti, Belize and Guatemala and efforts by crews on the Navy hospital ship Comfort. Also included in the film is a segment on Cpl. Bradley T. Arms, who was killed Nov. 19, 2004, in combat in Fallujah, Iraq.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/01/ap_filmmaker_080104/



uhc comment: Another movie I'll skip. . .