Hollywood has a behind-the-scenes helper you might not expect

For more than a century American film-makers have called in the army for help. The DoD works with around 140 films and television programmes each year; most are reality series, game shows and documentaries. They supply props and expertise on the condition that they get some say over the script. In 2023 the Pentagon helped Jimmy Kimmel, a comedian, appear to parachute into the Academy Awards from a fighter jet in a nod to “Top Gun: Maverick”, one of many macho blockbusters the DoD has helped make. Instalments of the Marvel, “Transformers” and “Fast and Furious” franchises also worked with the DoD. It is a long-running tradition. The first film to win an Oscar for best picture, “Wings” (1927), was made with help from the DoD’s predecessor, the Department of War.