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 […]

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 […]

DOES ZERO DARK 30 MAKE CASE FOR WATERBOARDING?

Films based on real people or real events inevitably stir up controversy between the filmmakers and those who claim that reality has been stage-managed for dramatic effect. Even before its release, Zero Dark Thirty is embroiled in controversy over the seeming suggestion that an al-Queda captive while waterboarded provided information that eventually led to the […]

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 […]