‘War Game’ Filmmakers Caution About Potential Rise In Extremism – Contenders Documentary

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The documentary War Game films a simulation of a military coup after a disputed presidential election. The 2024 election ended decisively in favor of Donald Trump, who will take office in January. Directors Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber filmed the scenario designed by Vet Voice Foundation CEO Janessa Goldbeck in which a fictional president, not then-candidate Joe Biden, deals with the contested election.

Goldbeck said at Deadline’s Contenders Documentary event that even though the 2024 election was not contested like the 2020 election, experts in both political parties remain concerned about future violence.

“Veterans are particularly targeted for recruitment into extermist groups because of our cross-partisan appeal on both sides of the aisle,” Goldbeck said. “The No. 1 threat to safety and security of Americans for the last several years identified by the Department of Homeland Security has been domestic extremists, with an emphasis on right wing Christian nationalism. I think it’s very important that, even though we are a nonpartisan organization, to be able to call out things that exist.”

Retired Marine Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman also consulted on the scenario and appears in the film. At Contenders, Vindman expressed concern to Deadline’s Matthew Carey that reservists could be weaponized by future presidents. He added that scenarios like Goldbeck’s war game help the military and government “figure out where the weaknesses and the strengths are.”

“I think what we realized is that there is a vulnerability with extermists within the ranks,” Vindman added. “It’s our duty and obligation as folks that focus on veterans and defense issues and national securiy to examine these issues and figure out where the vulnerabilities are and how to harden ourselves against those challenges.”

Gerber and Moss filmed the scenario on January 6, 2023, the two-year anniversary of the Capital riot. Former Montana Gov. Steve Bullock plays fictional President John Hotham. Retired Army Officer Wesley Clark, former North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp and former Alabama Sen. Doug Jones are among actors in the scenario. Gerber hopes Bullock’s portrayal of a president who considers reasonable options sets a positive example for future leaders.

“Folks can then realize what a reasoned, rational president is capable of in terms of listening, in terms of process,” Gerber said. “Democracy is a process at the end of the day. It’s not just about results. It’s a process. I think our film is a rallying cry for reasoned leadership.”

The Insurrection Act becomes a focal point of Hotham’s response. The 1807 law empowers a president to deploy the military and National Guard in the event of an insurrection, on the state or federal level. Goldbeck said exploring the Insurrection Act makes War Game relevant to any future administration.

“We wanted to design an exercise that really got to the heart of what that authority is for a president to have and use, what it would mean if members of the military engaged in political conflict or political violence,” Goldbeck said.

Moss said he and Gerber were pointed to Goldebck’s exercises by three former generals sharing an article about past war games in the Washington Post. The generals wanted Moss and Gerber to investigate extremism in the military. The filmmakers agreed that the war game provided a way to discuss fraught political issues.

“We’re a little traumatized by our political discourse,” Moss said. “This approach, Janessa’s exercise, the participation of people across political spectrum was really inviting to me and I hope inviting to audiences. It’s playful in form. It’s also really serious but I think it gives us some critical distance to think about these profound questions, the erosion of norms, the military and its relationship to our civil political leadership.”

Check back Monday for the panel video.

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