Hollywood Won’t Wait for Troops to Come Home

About a dozen films exploring America's widely debated role in Iraq and Afghanistan are set for release or in production, marking a break with Hollywood's unwritten rules for depicting an ongoing war. Most films made during WW2 were outright propaganda. And films critical of the Vietnam conflict weren't released until three years after the fall of Saigon.

Ordinarily risk averse, Hollywood apparently believes public sentiment is squarely against the Iraq war and unlikely to change, the Guardian reports. Among the new offerings is "Lions for Lambs," starring Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, who also directed. Set for November release, the movie has been labeled anti-war propaganda by conservatives, who have yet to see it. (More Hollywood stories.)