MPAA

The Office of War Information’s Bureau of Motion Pictures was the US government’s first formal office for liaising with Hollywood...

One of the Pentagon's consistent bugbears when it comes to movie scripts is swearing. Whether it is from the mouths of military or civilian characters, the DOD doesn't like those ████ing cuss words. But why not? Given their various political and PR concerns why is bad language such a problem? Compared to executing prisoners of war or digging gold teeth out of the mouths of dead soldiers, a quick ████ or ██████████ seems trivial.

In 1994 the Chinese government first allowed Hollywood films to be distributed within the country.  Since then the US and China have been in a near-constant state of negotiations over import quotas, profit sharing and market access.  In 2007 the US brought a case before the World Trade Organisation, arguing that Chinese protectionism was preventing […](Read more...)

MPAA President Jack Valenti maintained a long and friendly relationship with various branches of the US government, not least the Department of Defense.  He also harbored lifelong ambitions, including to be buried among America’s military heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.  The DOD recently released correspondence between Valenti and then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, showing […](

For movie censors, crime is perhaps the most complex issue to make decisions about. They want the public to be alert to the possibility of crimes happening, and respectful of law enforcement institutions. But entertainers and audiences want dramatic, ambiguous villains and stories of institutional corruption and hubris.

In April 1983 MGM sent a priority cable to CIA headquarters, inviting director Bill Casey to a special screening of their new feature War Games, starring Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy. The private screening was hosted by the MPAA building in Washington D.C., and even more surprising than the invitation is that the notoriously secretive Casey said yes. (Read more...)

Spook squad, bitcoin bubble and the West Virginia quiet zone + this day in history w/“Catch A Falling Star” and our song of the day by The New Pornographers on your Morning Monarchy for March 14, 2017.

I recently acquired some decades-old Pentagon directives and instructions. These documents formed the basis for DOD policy in their engagement with the entertainment industry, establishing a range of conflicting criteria for the military's liaisons with film and TV producers.

While I have written about 1973 thriller Scorpio before, documents made available on the CIA CREST database shed new light on this, the first movie to film at Langley. The CIA were not just spying on media coverage of the film as it developed but also had assets within the MPAA keeping an eye on things.(Read more...)

In 1953, in the early weeks of the Eisenhower administration, the CIA conducted an operation to alter the content of Hollywood films to help promote positive images of America to foreign audiences.