Anti-War Movies Failing at Box Office
BECK: I love this one, because the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I believe we can now confidently say that Hollywood is officially insane. According to "USA Today," 26 movies with substantial political themes have been wide released over the last 20 years and, adjusted for inflation, four of them have made over $100 million. Apparently, nobody in Hollywood cares. They care more about their message than money, because they`re back this weekend with Robert Redford`s "Lion for Lambs." Oh, I wonder how our soldiers are going to look in this one. It`s a U.S. film about the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. It`s likely going to make "Fahrenheit 9/11" seem balanced. Scott Bowles, he is the "USA Today" movie editor. Scott, what does it take for Hollywood to get the message that we don`t want to see movies that America sucks?</s>SCOTT BOWLES, MOVIE EDITOR, "USA TODAY": Well, you know, the irony of all of this is that the messages that are in a lot of these movies mirror, to some degree, what we`re seeing in polls. I mean, certainly "Lions for Lambs" is taking a look at the war and whether we should be there, and that`s a question that Americans are asking. What they don`t seem to be able to gauge is America`s appetite for that subject matter, which is waning. I mean, if we are watching it 24 hours a day on news channels like CNN, people are going to be a lot less likely to spend ten bucks...</s>BECK: I think you misread it here, as well. Look, America doesn`t want to be in a losing war. America -- we`re not losers. We`re winners. And when you show us, "Oh, my gosh, look how evil we are. We`re fighting this evil war and we`re all losing. And we`re going to -- you know, body bags are going to start" -- nobody`s interested. I mean, I want to have popcorn. I want to enjoy myself. I think -- try this on for size. There`s no difference between good and evil in the war that we`re fighting right now and "Spider-Man" or "Transformers." That is about good and evil. But the good guys win. What`s the difference?</s>BOWLES: Well, the difference is that you`re talking about real issues here. The same way that, when you do a movie about someone`s child getting hit. We have a lot of depressing movies that come out, and people don`t go to see them...</s>BECK: Then explain the success of "24."</s>BOWLES: "24" is a thriller. The same as "The Bourne Supremacy," which also touches on terrorism and touches on some of those issues but does well because it puts entertainment ahead of -- ahead, essentially, of news events.</s>BECK: OK. Maybe that`s what it is. Maybe we can agree. Maybe we could agree on this -- that it is -- it is entertainment above message. Nobody wants to see a message, whether it is a good message or a bad message. We want to be entertained. And we also would like to see the good guys win and occasionally us to be the good guys. Will you agree with that?</s>BOWLES: Well, certainly people do want to see that. But that doesn`t mean that that`s the only message that has to be sent out there. I mean, come on. If you`re looking at Hollywood films, 95 percent of the good guys win. That`s why Hollywood makes the kind of money that it does. But that doesn`t mean that that`s the only message you have to write about. I mean, just as we have the right to say whatever we want on this show, Hollywood has the right to make any kind of other movie that it wants to.</s>BECK: Oh, nobody`s saying that they shouldn`t be doing what they`re doing. I`m just wondering when anybody who cares about the almighty dollar in Hollywood is going to say, "You know what? Maybe we should stop this." But...</s>BOWLES: If you look at those numbers, 26 in 20 years is not many.</s>BECK: Yes, I know. But the ones that are coming out now are being beaten by the Rock. But that`s a different story.</s>BOWLES: True.</s>BECK: Scott, thanks a lot. Now, NBC has gone green this week. So I figured we should do something special for the environment here on the Glenn Beck program. Stick around. Find out.