According to movie blogger Jason Apuzzo, who saw an advance screening last summer, this version of "Red Dawn" depicts the Chinese army  invading the West Coast of the United States in an apropos mission to collect on the debt we owe. Some young Americans aren't willing to give up so easily, and the Seattle-based band of "Wolverines" launches their counterattack in the name of freedom. Mr. Apuzzo, founder of the film blog Libertas, writes that the cut he saw was a "stirring, highly patriotic ode to America and its freedoms."

So... why is Hollywood meddling with what sounds like a surefire hit in the heartland?

MGM, which filed for bankruptcy last year, has partnered with distributors wary of isolating themselves from what they consider a growing market for American movies in the People's Republic of China. The Los Angeles Times reports that producers are "digitally erasing Chinese flags and military symbols" from the movie and replacing them with references to an invasion by North Korea, "an isolated country where American media companies have no dollars at stake."

A source close to the production of "Red Dawn" says these changes make the plot more credible and sophisticated, noting that the filmmakers consulted experts at the departments of State and Defense as well as non-governmental think tanks. True or not, MGM badly needs a blockbuster, and the Chinese market is one they can't afford to ignore.