It's a wonderful life as Hollywood enlists its heroes
to lift the spirit of America
Oscar winner's rousing montage of film clips is just what the president
ordered
Duncan Campbell, 12/18/01
The Guardian
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It has a cast of thousands of the best known actors in the world and will be seen by millions of cinemagoers this weekend. In the sort of opening that every film producer dreams of, a celebration called "The Spirit of America" will become the most visible contribution so far by Hollywood to the war effort. The three-minute film features clips from 110 American movies that its creator, the Oscar-winning director Chuck Workman, feels celebrate the essence of the United States. It begins and ends with scenes from the 1956 western, The Searchers, starring John Wayne. While the Spirit of America was neither commissioned nor paid for by the White House, it has won the backing of Karl Rove, President George Bush's senior adviser, who has had a series of meetings with leading lights in the entertainment industry to enlist their services in support of the war against terrorism. Mr Rove has urged the film and television industry to come up with ideas that would boost morale at home and improve the image of the US abroad. Workman, who has chosen the clips, won an Oscar in 1986 for a short film, Precious Images, about the history of cinema. He said many of the films, such as Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts, feature a "reluctant hero" and that this is symbolic of the US's current role in the war against terrorism. Workman said yesterday that he wanted the movie to celebrate the US "in all its diversity". This means showing "some sort of defiance", he said, and "not a great interest in power, not a great interest in money. He said the clips he had chosen reflected a diverse view of American life, much of it through film-makers who had originally come to Hollywood as immigrants. The film contains many of the best-known movies ever made, such as Citizen Kane, High Noon, Some Like It Hot and Singin' in The Rain, as well as some obvious choices such as Pearl Harbour, The Patriot and True Grit. But it also has films that might seem less in tune with a flag waving patriotism, such as Malcolm X, and Born on the Fourth of July, the story of Ron Kovic, the Vietnam war veteran who became a leading anti-war protester. Workman said none of the actors whose permission had to be sought for use in the film had turned him down and that many had been very supportive of the idea. He had chosen some of the classic lines from movies, such as the scene in Network when Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch, says: "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this any more!" The famous line from The Grapes of Wrath is also used: "Wherever there's a fight so hungry people can eat, I'll be there, I'll be everywhere." But Workman said that his intention was to show as wide a range of films as possible rather than obvious choices. "I wasn't trying to find scenes that would fit. When you add up all the images - from a spunky Mary Pickford to Ben Affleck as a heroic soldier, you feel the changing, enduring and endlessly interesting American character," he said. He has chosen to bookend his tribute with the John Ford classic, The Searchers, about a Confederate war veteran, played by John Wayne, who pursues the native Americans who have killed his brother and sister-in-law and kidnapped their daughter. Workman has already made some well-received films: Superstar about the pop artist Andy Warhol, which was shown at the London Film Festival, and The Source, about the beat writer Jack Kerouac. He is a specialist at montages, which are often used during Oscar ceremonies. He had been asked to make the film by the producer Michael R Rhodes. It has been financed to the tune of $100,000 and assisted by individual donors and companies such as Kodak, Dolby and Technicolor, and the various writers, directors and actors unions. "The idea for the film came about in response to the events of September 11," said Rhodes. "We wanted to find a way to pay tribute to the indomitable American spirit, to find a way for people to feel good again." Even Nato has a part to play in getting the film shown, although this is the National Association of Theatre Owners, rather than the outfit currently headed by Lord Robertson. The president of Nato, John Fithian, said yesterday: "It's a picture that emphasises the values that most Americans consider important... it's about being an American without resorting to propaganda. "Americans may look, think and act differently but we all share a common spirit. We may not know every actor or every movie, but we do recognise a common feeling. Chuck's film makes us laugh at ourselves, cheer the underdog, and share someone else's grief or joy." He said that inclusion of the clip from Born on the Fourth of July was "part of the freedom being celebrated". The Spirit of America, said Fithian, was a gift from Hollywood to American moviegoers and will be shown for as long as they show enthusiasm for it. There are no plans at present, he said, for showing it outside the United States. Hollywood has been responding to requests from the White House to boost American morale and improve the country's image abroad in other ways. The stars of the new film Ocean's 11 - a remake of the 1960 Frank Sinatra movie - visited American troops in Turkey last week and a concert tour for US troops in Germany, featuring Jennifer Lopez, Kid Rock and Ja Rule, will be shown on MTV on New Year's Day. Some film-makers in Los Angeles see the current relationship between Hollywood and the White House as a mutual back-scratching function, with President Bush seeking to win over the normally pro-Democratic entertainment community while Hollywood wins brownie points which it may be able to employ later in its relationship with the government. The rather trickier task of winning hearts and minds outside the US now awaits. President Bush has appointed Charlotte Beers, the former chairman of ad agencies, J Walter Thompson and Ogilvy and Mather to work on this task. It seems less likely that the image of John Wayne will be recruited for this effort. Cast of thousands: The list in full
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