BIGELOW PENS OP-ED PIECE TO DEFEND ZD30

Director Kathryn Bigelow has again attempted to deflect criticism of the torture scenes depicted in her film, Zero Dark Thirty, emphasizing her previous declaration that “depiction is not endorsement.” Writing in the Los Angeles Times, Bigelow commented, “Confusing depiction with endorsement is the first step toward chilling any American artist’s ability and right to shine […]

SENATE TO PROBE FILMMAKERS’ ACCESS TO CIA SECRETS

While some conservative lawmakers and commentators have praised the Zero Dark Thirty filmmakers for making a convincing case that the use of torture was justified in tracking down Osama bin Laden, several have also expressed concern that the film may have revealed too much about the inner workings of the CIA. Several liberals have also […]

STRONG LIMITED DEBUT FOR ZERO DARK THIRTY

Opening in limited release, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty was the clear weekend winner on a per-theater basis. The movie, the object of attack by some critics for its suggestion that torture — or “enhanced interrogation” as its supporters euphemistically refer to it — played a valid role in the manhunt for Osama bin Laden, […]

CONTROVERSY MAY HAVE FUELED ZERO DARK THIRTY TICKET SALES

The controversy over the waterboarding scenes in Zero Dark Thirty has not hurt the film at the box office. TheWrap.com reported today (Thursday) that playing in five theaters on its opening day in New York and Los Angeles, the Kathryn Bigelow feature took in an estimated $124,848 — or an average $24,969 per theater, making […]

ZERO DARK THIRTY WINS SEASON’S FIRST FILM AWARDS

Launching the movie awards season, the New York Film Critics Circle has named Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty the best film of 2012. Bigelow also received the award for best director, and the trophy for cinematography went to the film’s Greig Fraser. Also receiving three awards was Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln, which won for screenplay (Tony […]

TRADE PAPERS REVIEW ZERO DARK THIRTY

Judging from early trade reviews, director Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty is everything that her Hurt Locker was: a harrowing drama that is likely to receive overwhelming praise from critics, earn numerous awards — even, perhaps, a heap of Oscars — but bomb — no pun intended — at the box office. The raid on […]

DID CIA GIVE FILMMAKERS CLASSIFIED INFO ABOUT BIN LADEN RAID?

The conservative government watchdog group Judicial Watch charged on Tuesday that the Obama administration gave Oscar-winning filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal classified information and gave them access to government officials for their film about the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011. The group posted what it claimed were 153 pages of […]

BIN LADEN FILM BLASTED BY CONSERVATIVES

Conservative commentators have denounced plans to release a movie about the hunt for Osama bin Laden next October 12, just before the presidential election. On his BigHollywood blog, Andrew Breitbart remarked on Wednesday that the scheduled release date “is THE elephant in the room. … There’s no logical reason to release the film on that […]

THEATER OWNERS GAIN BACKING FROM DIRECTORS IN VOD FIGHT

The National Association of Theatre Owners has mustered an impressive list of movie directors and producers to back the exhibitors’ efforts to persuade the movie studios to abandon their plans to roll out premium video-on-demand on cable, satellite, and the web. On the same day that DirecTV introduced its own Home Premiere package with Just […]

WHAT HAPPENED TO DIVERSITY AT OSCARS?

Despite the fact that last year’s Oscars presentations featured several non-white and female nominees, this year’s list of top nominees conspicuously excludes them. While last year’s winner for best film went to The Hurt Locker, which was co-produced by Kathryn Bigelow, who also won a best director Oscar for the film, not one woman was […]