The Second Civil War is a satirical/comedy film made for the HBO cable television network and first shown on March 15, 1997.Directed by Joe Dante, the film is a satire about anti-immigrant sentiment in the United States.The film also stars James Earl Jones, Elizabeth Peña and Denis Leary as reporters for a CNN like cable network, ("NN"); Phil Hartman as the U.S. President, James Coburn as his chief political advisor, and William Schallert as the Secretary of Defense.