The White House’s social media on Friday, posted montages of Hollywood blockbusters from ‘Iron Man’ to ‘Superman’, ‘Deadpool’, ‘Top Gun’, ‘Transformers’ among others, into real footage of military strikes on Iran.The 42-second video was posted on the White House’s official social media handle with the caption “Justice the American way.” The clip opens with a scene from Robert Downey Jr’s ‘Iron Man’ and the line “Wake up, Daddy’s home.” What follows, is a montage of clips from popular Hollywood blockbusters including Tom Cruise’s dialogue in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, Mel Gibson’s battle cry in ‘Braveheart’, Russell Crowe’s scene in ‘Gladiator’ and Keanu Reeves in ‘John Wick’. It also featured videos from popular television series, like Bryan Cranston in ‘Breaking Bad’.Besides merging the clips from the Hollywood productions, the White House also reportedly added footage released by the US military showing real strikes on various targets in Iran.
Ben Stiller reacts to Tweet
Reacting to the post, actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller called on the White House to remove the video from his movie ‘Tropic Thunder’, a satirical 2008 film about war movies that he directed and co-wrote.“Hey White House, please remove the Tropic Thunder clip. We never gave you permission and have no interest in being a part of your propaganda machine. War is not a movie,” Stiller wrote in his tweet.In a second post, the White House interspersed real war footage with a scene from video game “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” in which the player’s character is heard repeatedly saying “Ah shit, here we go again,” before footage of strikes on Iranian targets.Stiller has been vocal about his political stand. The actor-director recently shared his views about comedy facing unprecedented challenges in the current political climate. During a recent interview with Radio Times, Stiller said, “We live in a world where taking chances with comedy is more challenging.”He further added, “You’re seeing that front and center in our country. But I think it’s important that comedians keep doing what they’re doing, speaking truth to power and being free to say what they want. That’s the most important thing”.
Ben Stiller’s upcoming movies
On the work front, the actor will next be seen in the comedy film ‘Focker In-Law’. Stiller, who returns as Greg Focker will be joined by Ariana Grande, who plays Olivia Jones, Robert De Niro, Owen Wilson, Teri Polo and Blythe Danner, with Skyler Gisondo also joining the cast.
