Hollywood begins to go to war

A Hollywood makeup artist says she is providing special camouflage makeup to the US armed forces. They want it odorless, easy to remove - and they want it now, says a report in Canada's National Post.

It's just a tiny aspect of the effort being made by the American entertainment industry to do its part in the war on terrorism. Last week a group of 40 Hollywood executives, chaired by industry spokesman Jack Valenti, began meeting to discuss what can be done. Early ideas, according to a report in Variety, include producing public-service announcements and documentaries that would explain Islam to Americans and American values of free speech and democracy to foreigners. Mr. Valenti has emphasized that the White House is not being offered any control over the content of films themselves.

Meanwhile, the star-studded cast of the caper movie "Ocean's 11," among them George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, and Brad Pitt, will visit a US military base in Turkey to show their movie sometime before it opens in the US Dec. 11. Jay Leno, the host of NBC's "Tonight Show," earlier announced plans to entertain troops overseas in December. And the movie "Behind Enemy Lines," opening today, was shown aboard the USS Carl Vinson in the Arabian Sea over Thanksgiving. Part of the film had been shot aboard the Vinson.

Variety also reports that MTV International is trying to figure out ways it can promote dialogue between American youths and those in Muslim countries. And veteran action-film producer Menahem Golan told Reuters that "Rambo IV," starring Sylvester Stallone, is in production with a rewritten script that takes into account Sept. 11.

The world of fantasy is waking up to the world of current events.

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