Atten-shun! At ease, soldiers.

It was a gathering of all the young dudes and all the old dads at the premiere of “Flags of Our Fathers” at AMPAS in Beverly Hills.

Producer/director Clint Eastwood, producer Steven Spielberg and screenwriter Paul Haggis stood at attention with Paramount honcho Sumner Redstone on the red carpet. Better watch out, guys, he’s tough. If your box office body count isn't high enough, he might toss you off the lot.

Despite not-so-flag-waving reviews of Eastwood’s first film in his patriotic WWII epic two-parter, Monday's audience response to the potential Oscar-running film was loudly enthusiastic and quietly respectful. But maybe nobody really wanted to “make his day.”

Two “Flags” stars Neal McDonough and Barry Pepper, who served in Spielberg’s other war epics, “Band of Brothers” and “Saving Private Ryan,” did  their red carpet duty. Also showing up for inspection: Joseph Cross, Timothy Olyphant, Paul Walker, Adam Beach and Eastwood’s son, Kyle Eastwood.

But Ryan Phillippe was MIA. Maybe he didn’t want to battle the rumors about his troubled marriage to Reese Witherspoon. Nyah,I’m sure he had a really good excuse to miss the big night.

He could have been on location in Morocco or Texas shooting “Stop Loss” (also known as the Untitled Kimberly Pierce Project). Phillippe stars in the modern-day war drama about an American soldier who returns from Iraq and refuses to return when ordered to go back.

Now there’s a war movie whose time has come.

Photo Credits: Two old war horses, Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg band together at the LA  premiere of  "Flags of Our Fathers. "
Lester Cohen/WireImage