Gary Thompson: Director enjoys studio support for 'Stop-Loss'

THERE'S NOTHING unusual about seeing movie ads during the NCAA tournament, but there was definitely something unusual about the TV ads for "Stop-Loss."

This is a movie, after all, that centers on the Iraq war, a subject that's killed the commercial performance of movies like (Oscar-nominated) "In the Valley of Elah" and "Redacted," and probably hastened others to DVD.

Locally, studios have screened Samuel L. Jackson's "Home of the Brave" and John Cusack's "Grace is Gone" for critics, only to abandon plans for regional release.

"Stop-Loss," though, is so far living something of a charmed life, and director Kim Peirce couldn't be happier about the robust studio support.

"I've been thrilled with the roll-out. They've taken me on a 22-city tour, with special screenings in each city. They're putting a lot of time and money into this, and it's been phenomenal," said Peirce, whose last movie, "Boys Don't Cry," won an Oscar for Hilary Swank.

"I've already seen a ton of TV spots, I saw them run during 'Saturday Night Live,' and the posters are everywhere. Right now, everything seems very good," said Peirce (a Harrisburg native, though raised in Florida).

So how did her war movie pass muster in gun-shy Hollywood?

Peirce said part of the reason is she has no political agenda, and was determined from the outset to make a movie that moviegoers wanted to see, a truthful movie about experiences of our soldiers.

"Back then, nobody in Hollywood considered this 'difficult' subject matter. I was working on this project long before any of those other movies came out. I was sort of ahead of the curve, and no one was really paying attention to this," she said.

And those who were paying attention, her backers at Paramount and MTV Films, were enthusiastic supporters.

"The people at MTV Films were adamant. They said if you make a movie that speaks to our audience, we're going to present it," said Peirce.

That demographic would include her half-brother Brett, who enlisted immediately after 9/11 and served in Iraq. He inspired her to make a soldier's-eye view of the YouTube generation's experience in combat, and in fact showed her a "treasure trove" of firsthand video shot by soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan (some of which shows up in the movie).

Peirce was enthralled by the amateur video reporting, and by something Brett mentioned to her - the stop-loss policy that allows the president to extend, involuntarily, the contracts of soldiers who'd fulfilled their presumed commitment.

Though Peirce had initially thought of using soldier-shot footage to make a documentary, the stop-loss program immediately struck her as the stuff of gripping drama. In her research, she'd begun to see two types of soldiers - those who re-enlisted out of sense of duty to fellow soldiers, and those forced to go back because of stop-loss provisions. A story drawing a contrast between the two took shape, and now forms the heart of "Stop-Loss."

"I think that's why the studio has been so supportive. From the beginning, this was pitched as just a good drama, an engaging story - a band of brothers, but with a young cast specific to the time we're writing about," Peirce said.

Ryan Phillippe has the lead as a decorated hero who balks at returning to Iraq under the stop-loss provisions. When he goes AWOL, his gung-ho best pal (Channing Tatum) comes looking for him. Abbie Cornish is the girl in the middle - the love triangle, attractive cast and road movie format (set to a pop tune soundtrack) no doubt reassured execs at Paramount.

"I really think people will respond to this movie. I think they'll like it. But in any case, I'm already thrilled with the response I've gotten from soldiers, from the families of soldiers. They're saying, 'Thank you for making an authentic movie.' " *