Comment

Comment by Burbia on September 24, 2019 at 8:35pm

ROI: Does the Pentagon Fund Movies?

The only money that changes hands goes from the producers to the government, not the other way round.  The producers pay the costs incurred by the military to provide them with the shots they need – whether it’s 200 uniformed extras assaulting a beachhead or an F-22 taking off and flying around.

However, there some ambiguities and questionable accounting practices that muddy the waters a little.  The reports from the military entertainment liaison offices repeatedly use the acronym ROI – Return On Investment (not Radio On Internet). 

But if no money is provided by the Pentagon then what does ROI mean in this context?

So while the DOD does not invest money in films in a simple, direct way they do expend a lot of resources in maintaining their entertainment liaison network, and can find inventive ways to minimise the costs to producers for productions they are particularly keen on.  This is, of course, contrary to their own directives and contrary to federal laws, as well as potentially being a violation of the US Constitution, which prohibits the government from supporting speech it approves of and not supporting speech it disapproves of.

But I doubt that congress will be looking into this any time soon.

https://www.spyculture.com/roi-does-the-pentagon-fund-movies/