Pentagon, CIA & China Influence Hollywood Movies

Department of Defense & CIA

According to the U.S. Defense Department, the DoD has been "working with filmmakers for nearly 100 years with a goal that’s two-fold: to accurately depict military stories and make sure sensitive information isn’t disclosed."

Each other branch of the armed forces has its own Hollywood liaison office.

The CIA also has its own division. According to the CIA, its Office of Public Affairs Entertainment Industry Liaison "works with creatives to make their scripts, stories, and other products as authentic as possible."

As of publication (April 16, 2024), the Department of Defense post, “How & Why the DOD Works With Hollywood” – written by Katie Lange and published February 28, 2018 – is the top Google search result for the phrase “Pentagon Hollywood.” However, while I personally viewed the article on April 5, when I attempted to access the article again on April 15, I was met with a 404 error page saying “page not found.”

I conducted a manual search of the DoD’s news archives, and found the same article under a different link structure. [Note: If this link is also voided, please feel free to contact me directly for access.]

Shows with Department of Defense participation include: NCIS, Hawaii 5-0, Jeopardy, The Price is Right, Ellen, Steve Harvey, Conan, and documentaries on the History and Discovery channels.

The Department of Defense has also served as a production partner on The Long Road Home and 15:17 to Paris, along with both Top Gun movies, and Lone Survivor, Iron Man, Iron Chef, James Bond, Jack Ryan, and more.

The Army first helped with a 1927 movie called Wings. The film went on to win Best Picture of the Year at the Academy Awards. The Army also collaborated on Prelude to War (Best Documentary at the 1942 Oscars) and Patton (which won seven Oscars in 1971).

When the DoD is involved, "production agreements require the DoD to be able to review a rough cut of a film, so officials can decide if there are areas that need to be addressed before a film is released."

Through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, a 2022 documentary, Theaters of War – by media scholar Roger Stahl – also found DoD participation in Godzilla, Armageddon, Black Hawk Down, multiple Mission Impossible and Planet of the Ape installments, Captain America, Karate Kid, The Mummy, Tropic Thunder, Silence of the Lambs, The Perfect Storm, Moneyball, Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Star Trek: Insurrection, Jurassic Park III, Hidden Figures, Charlie Wilson’s War, and Contact.

The Independent reports "over 1,100 [television] titles received Pentagon backing – 900 of them since 2005, from Flight 93 to Ice Road Truckers to Army Wives." Individual episodes for shows like 24 and Homeland also received Pentagon support.

China & U.S. Movies

A 2024 documentary from EpochTV – “Hollywood Takeover: China’s Control in the Film Industry” – aims to "reveal hidden secrets on how the CCP controls access to the minds of Americans through Hollywood." Highlighted films include Red Dawn, Seven Years in Tibet, The Red Corner, Mulan, and more.

Illustrating China's influence, former U.S. Attorney General William Barr has cited reports that Marvel filmmakers changed the nationality of a major character in Doctor Strange from a Tibetan monk to Celtic. Barr notes: “[E]very year at the Academy Awards, Americans are lectured about how this country falls short of Hollywood’s ideals of social justice. But Hollywood now regularly censors its own movies to appease the Chinese Communist Party, the world’s most powerful violator of human rights.”

In a thesis written by Maj. Morgan A. Martin and Maj. Clinton J. Williamson – and approved for public release by the Naval Postgraduate School – the authors note:

Hollywood has seen a dramatic increase in investment from China, with deals being valued at billions of dollars." It concludes "that when descriptions of China or Chinese characters appear in Chinese-funded American films, they are portrayed in consistent, prescribed ways that are indicative of planned propaganda.

FOIA Requests

For the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests mentioned in today's video, please see the reference list below.