When Hollywood isn’t busy making remakes of old movies or film adaptations of original novels or comic books, it generally looks to real-life history in search of inspiration for the next box office blockbuster. Think about what’s playing in theaters at this very moment: “The Fighter,” starring Mark Wahlberg, follows the life of former boxer “Irish” Micky Ward, who in real life, won the WBU Light Welterweight championship in 2000 as depicted in the film, and “The King’s Speech,” starring Colin Firth, followed King George VI in his quest to overcome a stammering problem with the help of unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush).

And then there’s “Justin Bieber Never Say Never 3D.” Yeah … that’s a thing.

Inevitably Hollywood will get its hands on collective accounts from the events in Egypt and repackage it into a feature-length film, but from what perspective will such a movie be told? It could document Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in his rise to power, gradual corruption and inevitable downfall, or it could follow a group of Egyptian citizens in their outrage and action as a result of Mubarak’s leadership. It could focus on the social media aspect in how Egyptians organized their protests through Facebook and Twitter before the government shut down Internet and text messaging services, or it could highlight the former conditions of Egypt and the Tunisian influence that dispelled the notion of fear among its people, culminating in the country’s own version of the “Million-man March.”

It could even follow journalists in their determination to get the story out of the country despite police and army seizure of cameras and recorders and numerous attacks by pro-Mubarak protesters (for reference, see Anderson Cooper).

When everything is done, the movie (let’s call it “Day of Departure”) will be released and, depending on casting, will make those involved very wealthy and very respected among the film industry, but whether or not it’ll be a riveting tale of a nation’s collective march for freedom, a dramatic account of said nation’s collapse or its misguided effort to trade one oppressive party for another will be up to the U.S. government in how involved it wants to become in Egypt in the coming weeks.

Currently, Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman has promised changes to the country’s governmental structure after meeting with “key opposition groups,” according to CNN. Several key members of Mubarak’s regime have already resigned from their respective posts, but Mubarak has yet to vacate his position despite the protesters’ collective proclaimation that it would not leave Tahrir Square until he does so. He instead opted to announce his intention to not seek another term during the September elections. Among these “key opposition groups” are representatives from the Muslim Brotherhood and six young people who claim to represent a Jan. 25 movement that sparked the protests.

In the streets, there have been constant clashes between pro- and anti-Mubarak protesters, some of which have turned deadly. Many of the anti-Mubarak protesters, according to CNN, have never heard of the Jan. 25 group that claims to lead the revolution. There have also been more somber scenes where groups of Christians have gathered, surrounded by Muslims who formed a human wall to protect them from the Egyptian army, to honor those that lost their lives during the protest.

If Mubarak remains in power until September, then things could continue to deteriorate in the country. If he leaves immediately, then another oppressive leader could seize power and put the country in the same state it was in before, if not worse.

If the country is to survive and emerge from this crisis better than it was before, then it will need some form of U.S. involvement. The U.S. must take steps to ensure that the upcoming transition is one that represents the will of the Egyptian people as a whole and not the will of any single faction wishing to seize power. If nothing is done soon, then the world could lose one if its most historical countries.