Posted on 06/15/2007 4:58:04 AM PDT by RedRover
NORTH CASTLE
At just age 26, Andrew McLaren has already had many roles in his life - soldier, bodyguard, playboy and, most recently, family man and political candidate.
The North Castle man is now trying his hand at another venture - acting.
He's starring in "Battle for Haditha," a film scheduled for release in January. It is based on allegations that Marines killed 24 Iraqis - including women and children - during a 2005 rampage in that Iraqi city.
"I kind of wanted to live a full life and do whatever I wanted to do," McLaren said recently about his rather unique résumé.
For McLaren, a former model, this is his first major role in a film, and his experience in the military helped him land the part.
"He had some combat experience in Iraq, and he and the other guys that were in the military give it a little credence as far as reality is concerned," said Gordon McLaren, Andrew's father and a Vietnam War veteran. "They've all been there. They've all seen it."
Andrew McLaren was a Marine for several years, which included a 2003 mission to Liberia to guard the U.S. Embassy during that country's civil war. He also served in Iraq, hunting for improvised explosive devices on the streets of Baghdad and helping to train members of the Iraqi army.
For his service, he received the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal, according to his honorable discharge papers.
McLaren returned from Iraq in 2005, but he soon went back to the war zone as an employee of the Blackwater USA private security firm. He said he earned top dollar guarding senators and Bush administration officials and even the president on one occasion.
The work of contractors like Blackwater has sparked controversy over the role of the private sector in war zones, with some critics charging they're mercenaries whose work exists outside normal legal oversight.
McLaren bristles at any suggestion that Blackwater employees are soldiers for hire. They're highly trained government contractors, he said.
"I was a certified special agent over there. We're not mercenaries," McLaren said. "We have authority from the U.S. government and we go through a strict vetting process."
The job is very dangerous. Part of the work included providing armed escort duty for U.S. officials going outside of Baghdad's relatively secure "Green Zone."
The work is also very lucrative. McLaren said he earned about $200,000 in eight months last year, money that allowed him to return to the U.S. periodically and enjoy a playboy lifestyle in Manhattan, driving around in a Ferrari and Lamborghini he rented. He also outfitted his own Lexus convertible with television sets, a DVD player and new rims.
But there came a time when the money and the job lost their allure, and McLaren wanted to settle back in this country with Melissa Garcia, a model he met at a fashion show in 2004.
"I had this great thing at home waiting for me, so that's why I left that job," McLaren said.
They married in October, about a month after he returned from Iraq. Melissa McLaren recalled recently that when she spoke to Andrew while he was in Iraq, she could sometimes hear mortar shells exploding in the background.
"It was a big ordeal every time I had to hang up the phone with him and not know when I was going to be able to speak to him next," she said "The money wasn't worth it. His life was more important."
McLaren returned to the U.S. in August and the couple moved out to California in September so she could pursue her modeling career and he could try out acting.
One day, McLaren noticed an ad in LA Weekly that said military men were wanted for a movie, but the ad didn't specify what it was about.
McLaren said he and hundreds of other hopefuls auditioned for 12 parts in the film. After several call-backs, he landed the role of Capt. Sampson - who heads a unit of Marines that's struck by a roadside bomb, killing one of them.
McLaren said his character is based loosely on a real-life Marine company commander, Capt. Lucas McConnell, who is facing charges in the incident.
The investigation into what happened at Haditha continues. After the bombing, enraged Marines killed the Iraqis, according to press reports. Several Marines have been brought up on murder charges, and four other officers have been accused of failing to investigate war crime allegations or covering them up, according to press reports.
"Battle for Haditha," filmed in Jordan, is the latest movie from British director Nick Broomfield, whose other films include "Kurt & Courtney," a 1998 documentary about Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain, who took his own life in 1994 at age 27, and his wife, singer Courtney Love. He also made "Biggie and Tupac," a 2002 documentary about the unsolved homicide cases of rap artists Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.
Broomfield was busy recently with post-production work on "Battle for Haditha" and could not be reached for comment. A trailer from the film was recently shown at the Cannes Film Festival.
The trailer is chilling to watch. After a bomb set up by insurgents blows up a Humvee, a Marine is shown shooting Iraqis who have their hands up.
McLaren said he was initially concerned about how the movie would portray the military. In the end, however, he said it shows what it's like to be in combat and the realities soldiers face during war.
"The movie is told from an equal playing field - from the Iraqis' point of view, the insurgents' point of view and the Marines' point of view," McLaren said. "There's no black or white in this movie, it's all just a (messed) up situation for everybody."
He's also posted comments on an online forum for military service members asking them to keep an open mind about the film.
"We represented the Corps in a positive light. ... We would never sell out our fellow Marines for 15 minutes of fame," McLaren wrote. "This movie is far from liberal propaganda, and is the most accurate portrayal of the War on Terror yet."
During a recent interview, McLaren wore a "Battle for Haditha" T-shirt, which covered a tattoo on his shoulder of the World Trade Center. He also has images of cherry blossoms with skulls in the middle on his right arm. On his left arm is a tattoo of the Marine Corps eagle, globe and anchor symbol.
He and Melissa are expecting a baby in about four months. The couple and their 5-year-old daughter live with McLaren's parents in North Castle. McLaren attended Byram Hills High School for two years and graduated in 1999 from Avon Old Farms School, a private school in Avon, Conn.
McLaren said he hopes the "Battle for Haditha" leads to more roles. If he can't pursue an acting career, he has a backup plan. He's attending the New York City Police Academy next month.
He's also planning to run for a seat on the North Castle Town Board under the banner of the Veterans for Improvement Party. McLaren, who describes himself as a moderate Republican, acknowledges the odds of him winning a seat are daunting, but said he views the post as another chance to serve his country.
"I really, really want to get my voice out there," McLaren said.
Hello, I’d like to provide some insight on the upcoming film.
Number one, it is fiction, total fiction. It is based on a true story in the same sense that movies like Titanic are based on true stories, ie very loosely.
Second, there were a few former marines in the film, but the bulk of the cast were not. Some had some prior military service from another branch, others were just actors.
If people are going to watch the movie to see an acurate portrayal of what happened in Haditha, they will not see it in this film.
If people are going to watch it to see a good story that involves people from different walks of life, then they will like this film.
Personal views and political views aside, and looking only at a film as a form of art and entertainment, this film will do a great job. It is a moving story, but a story is all it is. Inspired by true events, but fictionalized for the sake of the art.
I cannot speak for McClaren, or how he feels about the film or his role in the film, but from my perspective the film takes no sides. Both the insurgents, and the Marines come off as both sympathetic, and as bad guys.
Looked at it as an art form and a form of entertainment, and nothing more.
I don’t feel that this film, regardless of how it portrays the Marines, should impact the trials of the real Marines.
While the court of public opinion can be swayed by uninformed and uneducated individuals who get their facts from Hollywood, I expect Marines who serve on a court martial jury would have enough good sense to judge a case based on fact, rather than a scene they saw in a movie.
There's a brief article and audio clip at the link.
In the audio clip, he says basically the same thing as McLaren...
"[The movie] means a lot to me. First of all, it's Marine Corps. I almost died for the Marine Corps. So everything I do, I want to be sure I represent the Marine Corps in the correct way."
Tell it to Frank and his family, pal.
Haditha is real place. An incident took place there involving real Marines.
The film depicts enraged Marines shooting unarmed civilians.
The film dramatizes John Murtha’s “and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood” speech.
Is Murtha getting a “based on a story by” credit?
The director is not promoting the film as fiction. He’s said there was a massacre in Haditha, and “many Hadithas” have taken place in Iraq.
Marines and their families have had their lives destroyed because the likes of Tim McGirk at Time magazine and John Murtha wanted to turn Americans against the war. And now this movie.
Hollywood will love it. Enjoy the fruits of your betrayal.
Hey everyone is entitled to their opinion. I think as more press is done on the film, and the release date nears, you will see more articles promoting it as a work of fiction.
As far as enjoying the fruits of my betrayal goes, who exactly have I betrayed?
WOW! I never thought of Marines dying as an art form or entertainment.
I don't prefer to talk of betrayal but the Marines involved in this incident are going through hell. They and some of their families are mortgaging their homes and cashing in retirement plans so they can have the best possible defense they can afford.
I suppose I might put it in terms of the appropriateness of releasing a movie of an event where legal proceedings are still in progress and those accused are under a great deal of stress because of the possible loss of their freedom.
You gave me a good idea JAZ...how about the Marines that “star” in the film donate their earnings to their brothers’ legal expenses.
That would seem like an excellent and very appropriate gesture on their part, Lily.
Great, we will rob Peter to pay Paul.
Pinging the list to get y'all's opinion on the idea that lilycicero came up with as to the *stars* of the upcoming Haditha movie donating earnings to the defense funds of the Haditha Marines. You might want to start reading at post #61.
Feel free to post your opinions.
“The character I play is kind of like me,” says the 24-year-old actor, a Philadelphia native who now lives in Sherman Oaks. “He’s a good Marine. But he watches his friend die and he just loses it. He kills a bunch of people.”
Wow... That tells me all I need to know about this piece of shit.
Semper Fi (unless someone offers you a movie gig)
NYleatherneck
>I don’t feel that this film, regardless of how it portrays the Marines, should impact the trials of the real Marines.<
The timing, itself, is bad. Coming during our conflict in Iraq is suspiciously anti-American, if it puts the Marines in a bad light. And it probably will impact, to a large degree, public opinion, which is, no doubt, the purpose of the film.
OOPS, looks like he left out "uneducated". Poor misled, uneducated slobs. (yes, I am clenching my teeth.)
I think you have much more faith in the motives behind this film and the media in general. They will use this film to bludgeon the Marines and-- in one broad brush-- all troops. It will be heralded as "a gritty portrayal, based on the real events...." I doubt that in the advertising of this film the word "fiction" will be used to promote it at all. Of this, there is little doubt in my mind.
I would love to be wrong.
You haven’t given me any insight into the film other than that you are using your creativity and making money off of an incident that has harmed the Marines and their families who are involved in it, as well as the military in general. The name of the film is “The Battle for Haditha”? There is your number one mistake, there WAS a Battle for Haditha and people will relate that battle to the one in your film, whether yours is based on fiction or not. You have already stated one of the characters is based “loosely” on a real Marine involved. There is your number 2 mistake, saying it is based on a real person. You have Marines shooting Iraqis with their hands in the air? There is your number three mistake, that didn’t happen and doesn’t happen. I am certain there will be many more mistakes. Yes of course those on the jury or the IOs would be smart enough to know how to do their job, thank goodness for men like them, but you are taking a real incident, calling it by it’s real name and the general public who doesn’t know any better will think your story is based on true facts and is not a work of fiction. People go watch a movie WITH their personal beliefs and WITH their political views. They don’t leave it at the door. ALL your movie will do is fan a fire and show a negative bias against those who are defending YOUR right to make a movie like this. You are not doing any one any favors with this film, other than the ones who will be getting the paychecks and the royalties. If you want to do it right, then do your research, spend some times in the sandbox, wait until the hearings are over, get the facts RIGHT about how the military operates in a war zone, spend some time with Marines who do not fit into the stereotype that it sounds to me like you have of them - boy will YOU be surprised when you do that! - change the name of the film, and IF you are a thoughtful and caring person, give the profits to the defense funds for the Marines involved in the incident. Nothing worse than someone making a buck off of other people who have no say in the matter, who were doing their jobs as the professionals they are, just so you can show off your artistic talents. That it is people like these, the Haditha Marines, that you are portraying, makes it even more contemptable to me because it is men like this that have defended this great country for over 200 years. I believe YOU have an agenda and YOUR politcal beliefs are most DEFINITELY being brought to this film. There is no gray area when it comes to good and evil. You are attempting to mesh them together. It will not work even with your best intentions.
Lots of art is “fiction” (e.g., the novel ‘The Thin Red Line’ by James Jones or the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’); however that doesn’t stop that fiction from being represented to the public as a “true” and “faithful” portrayal of reality -— in fact, that pretense to reality is one of the selling points which helps attract an inexperienced public to such fiction. This is exactly what the trailer to this POS film does when it is stated that it is based on true events. To say that ths is a fiction and will be perceived as such by the audience is specious, to say the least. This film will communicate a political message as intended by the director and, in the process, will besmirch a group of Marines (and, by implication, ALL Marines) who were carrying out lawful orders in the exact manner prescribed by the infantry manual covering such assaults.
Well, actually, the subject manual advises the preferred approach is to stand off about a half a mile and level the place with tank or artillery fire, which of course would have had the same effect on the “innocents” inside. That’s why you see in films and photograph of US forces entering towns in Germany at the end of WWII that the “smart” Germans have hung white sheets out of every widow to indicate there will be no armed resistance from that house.
Of course this film will be prejudicial to the fair processing of the charges against the accused Marines! Your argument that a jury of Marine officers will see beyond it misses the pont. The film is prejudicial and it must be presumed to adversely affect the rendering of justice no matter who is on the jury and no matter whether it can be shown that any particular juror is so affected or not! One should err on the side of protecting the accused no matter how galling that sometimes is.
Face it, you just want to see some fine Marines pilloried without just cause. I feel sorry for you.
The problem is YOU'RE pimping it as the truth.
YOU know it's a hit piece on these Marines, as will anyone who watches the trailer, but you're willing to sell out these Marines for a buck.
BTW, to your chicken$hit statement on military.com that no one can challenge your intentions unless they were there, YOU WERE NOT AT THAT BATTLE, YOU DIDN'T TAKE FIRE IN THAT AMBUSH, AND YOU AREN'T FACING A LIFE SENTENCE, SO YOU STFU!!!!
Seems to me the UNBIASED and RESPONSIBLE thing to do would be to wait until the hearings/trials are over. So much has come out just in the past week that exonerates these Marines and shows the “went on a killing frenzy out of anger” theory TRUMPED UP BY THE MEDIA AND A SENILE CONGRESSMAN to be completely bogus.
For instance, we now know the “budding journalism student”, I mean “human rights advocate” who provided the tape to TIME was actually known by Marine Intelligence to be part of the insurgency. They couldn’t say that before because (for obvious reasons) it was classified. We now know that the forensic evidence (little things like blood spatter patterns, photos, etc.) provided by THE PROSECUTION proves the Marine version, rather than the insurgent/TIME/Murtha version to be the truthful one.
We know Marines that day were expecting as many as 20 attacks, possibly involving a WHITE CAR (also classified until recently). We know that AK-47’s were recovered along with a suitcase with a variety of different passports. Now tell me, why would an “innocent” family (who had their children stay home from school and cover their ears because they KNEW the IED was going to go off) in a known insurgent stronghold need AK-47’s and fake passports? I’m sure they just wanted to escape the “evil American military” to the safe and free paradise of Syria.
There’s no way possible to give a complete, accurate portrayal without waiting for the outcome. Thus, your movie gives credence to a MYTH that’s helping to destroy the lives of these Marines (even when exonerated things like this movie will keep the myth alive), but I guess you’ll have the unique “honor” of being to Iraq what Apocalypse Now was for Vietnam. Granted, I am not a biased observer, but I admit my bias.
You say you care about the military and yet you star in a movie that keeps the myth alive and whose writer can’t even be bothered to wait for an outcome to see if perhaps, just perhaps the Marines might be telling the truth. Maybe a reporter, shopping for a “military slaughters civilians” story (an insurgent’s dream) who breaks bread with the Taliban and thinks they’re a swell bunch of fellows (well, except for that whole oppression, rape, beating and stoning to death of women thing), is so biased, he was fine with publishing a barely researched but sensational and mostly wrong story. Maybe a congressman who lies about having met with military brass about that day in Haditha before declaring those Marines “killed in cold blood”, just might lie about other things too.
The Marines take HONOR, COURAGE & COMMITMENT very, very seriously. They are highly disciplined and part of their training involves NOT panicking or flying into a rage when a buddy dies. Buddies die in Iraq all the time. Marines have consistently been sent to the worst, most violent areas in Iraq. Haditha is one of those places. These were experienced Marines in a VOLUNTEER military who knew exacty what they were getting themselves into. Marines in Fallujah and Haditha are no different than the Marines in Iwo Jima. They will do their job with pride and honor and bravery. And if a comrade falls, he won’t be left behind. But he’s certainly not going to dishonor his brother’s sacrifice by killing for revenge. Bet that doesn’t appear in your movie.
Cindie
That WOULD be the unbiased and responsible thing to do, but we know that is not what the film intends. This is intended to anger the American people, to rage against our military, and to demoralize our troops. To call this a POS would actually be a compliment--it is beneath that. I am so thoroughly disgusted I could scream.
Brava!--to everything you said! And so well, I might add!
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