Hollywood is all about fake. That is what movies are – fake
depictions of a fake reality that only exist in the mind of
scriptwriters, directors and a usually gullible audience. (Disclosure: I
do like some movies.)

Hollywood has never been shy of plagiarizing. Every idea, tale of
cinematographic trick that made a splash somewhere – and is thereby a
potential money generator – will get copied again and again. Every
successful make gets a remake. And another one.

In 2015 the promoting host of the Miss Universe franchise “misread” the name of the winner. He announced
“Columbia” when the chosen winner was “Philippines”. After he few
minutes he “corrected” himself. That “mistake” brought a lot of
additional media attention – and financial value – to the event owner.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the U.S. marketing
and lobby organization of the movie makers, hands out some yearly
rewards arranged to promote specific movies or persons in the movie
business. The academy award ceremony is a rather boring event but it
gets a lot of hype and media attention (and thereby generates lots of
advertisement revenue).

To further increase its value this years event plagiarized
the idea of the Miss Universe promoters. One of the hosts announced the
wrong winning movie for some category and then reversed himself to
announce a different “real” winner. It was a “mistake” just as surely as
Hollywood’s latest movie was a description of real life.

Those without memory went into the desired frenzy, the insiders yawned. “Oh, that clumsy fake again.”

One of this years prices went to a fake “documentary” about a fake “rescuer” group which makes and distributes fake videos, staged photos and fake victims of the war on Syria. These al-Qaeda propaganda sidekicks, the White Helmets, are a British disinformation operation
that is financed by more than $100 million of U.S. and UK taxpayer
money. Its general task is to convince the “western” public that the war
on Syria is justified because of the “cruelty of the Syrian government”
which the fakes intend to establish in the mind of its consumers.

Hollywood never was shy of taking government money to promote war on this or that country or “enemy”. The Pentagon’s liaison office in Hollywood finances many movies.
If there are some tanks needed and military heroes in a script the
Pentagon will organize the props, real tanks and soldiers, at no cost –
provided of course that it can read and “correct” the script the way it
sees fit. The makers of “Top Gun” need planes, air craft carriers and
lots of explosions? No problem at all and at no costs to the producers.
In exchange military recruitment staff will wait to trap moviegoers when
they leave the theaters. Congress will happily pass the money for more
useless planes.

An Academy Award reinforces the message a production carries and
gives the people behind the message additional value. The marketing
companies that create and run the “White Helmets” will surely receive a
few extra millions for yesterday’s Oscar promotion.

Hollywood is all fake. The wrong winner is announced and al-Qaeda
gets an Oscar. “No harm done,” the promoters of such fakes might say.

Except to the people of Syria. For them the destruction and death promoted by the fancy people in Los Angeles is all too real.