The Jerry Bruckheimer film “Pearl Harbor” hit all of its projected earnings this weekend, and Americans are over $75,000,000 patriotic.

Opening a WWII film Memorial Day weekend provided the basis for hundreds of canned-coverage news stories. From the kitchy 1940s fashion to hunky Ben Affleck’s set memories, network affiliate 5 o’clock news coverage was choked with stories on the upcoming premier in Hawai’i. Opening day provided the opportunity to parallel the sacrifices of war veterans with the fictional multi-million-dollar movie premier. News desks across the country responded to press releases promising a viewer-friendly story about the making of a movie on the last war Americans could all agree about.

And according to every bit of coverage, this was all done by the “history buff” team of Director Randall Wallace and Producer Jerry Bruckheimer – the men who brought you “Armageddon.”

Millions were spent on special effects