- Oscar winners Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal got access to classified information to help make ‘Zero Dark Thirty’
- White House reminded filmmakers it wanted to ‘have visibility’ in the film so it could bask in the glory of bin Laden’s death
- Film was originally set to premier before the election, though Sony pushed back release date amid controversy
Critic: Montana State Senator Ryan Zinke is a former Navy SEAL Team 6 member
From MailOnline, By Daniel Bates, 29 August 2012 – The Obama administration gave its full backing to the official film version of the raid to kill Osama bin Laden in apparent attempt to give the President a pre-election boost.Newly released documents and emails show that as far back as June last year the CIA thought ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ would be a ‘winning horse’ and gave classified briefings to director Kathryn Bigelow.The film’s screenwriter Mark Boal also was allowed to make ‘deep dives’ into sensitive information to shape the script as intelligence officials developed a back-slapping and chummy relationship with him.
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Propaganda: Critics say President Barack Obama was hoping to film would help him capitalize on ordering the raid that killed Osama bin Laden — and bolster his reelection chancesThe revelation is likely to further anger the Navy SEALs who carried out the raid, some of whom are already furious with Obama for trying to claim too much credit for the assassination of the al-Qaeda leader.
In one email a senior CIA official boasted: ‘I can’t tell you how excited we all are about the project’ — and apparently vows to keep quiet about free tickets to the premiere.
The White House got in on the act as well, making it explicit it wanted to ‘have visibility’ so it could bask in the glory.
Zero Dark Thirty was originally set for release before the election in November, potentially giving President Obama an unfair boost to his popularity.
But following an outcry the release date was moved back until after the poll, even though trailers have already been released by Sony.
The new documents show discussions taking place before the row erupted and were unearthed after a Freedom of Information request by Judicial Watch, a right wing website.
Political: Obama has used the death of bin Laden in his reelection campaign and cited it as a reason he should be given another four years in officeIt claims they should have been released months ago but were only made public now after it filed a lawsuit.
The haul includes emails between the Pentagon, the CIA, top White House officials along with Bigelow and Boal, who were behind the Oscar winning war drama ‘The Hurt Locker.’
They make clear that once Obama had decided to support the film, little would stand in the way of making sure it was a success — and that he wanted part of the action.
On June 15 last year, an email from Benjamin Rhodes, Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, mentions that Deputy White House Press Secretary Jaime Smith emphasised that the White House was ‘trying to have visibility into the UBL (Usama bin Laden) projects.’
Five days later Boal emailed CIA director of Public Affairs George Little thanking him for ‘pulling for him’ at the agency because it made ‘all the difference.’
Little responds: ‘I can’t tell you how excited we all are (at DOD and CIA) about the project…PS – I want you to know how good I’ve been not mentioning the premiere tickets. 
‘
Swift: Bigelow (right) began filming her movie in late February — less than a year after bin Laden’s deathOther CIA colleagues were also on board — in an email on June 7 last year, CIA spokesperson Marie Harf wrote to a colleague: ‘I know we don’t pick favorites but it makes sense to get behind a winning horse…
‘…Mark and Kathryn’s movie is going to be the first and the biggest. It’s got the most money behind it, and two Oscar winners on board.’
The ‘first’ referred to the fact that it was going to come out before this year’s election.
Another internal CIA memo dated July 14 last year from Harf talks about how Boal has been doing ‘deep dives’ of information.
It reads: ‘Kathryn is not interested in doing the deep dives that Mark did; she simply wants to meet the people Mark has been talking to.’
Other emails from Pentagon Public Affairs chief Douglas Wilson show that it had given briefings to Bigelow and Boal and that US Defence Secretary Robert Gates ‘shared … admiration for their previous film efforts.’
Tommy Vietor, a National Security Council spokesman, dismissed the significance of the documents and said they just showed ‘filmmakers trying to do their homework.’
Thank you so much for posting this article. There is evidence as well that Ms. Bigelow lied not only to the Federal Government and made them look like fools in the end product, but that she lied in a recent interview on CBS, claiming she “never had access to classified information.” Really? Both Ms. Bigelow and Mr. Boal overtly bragged about having based their movie on classified information in a multitude of entertainment news articles to drum up a Hollywod buzz. Now they’re backstepping, worried that they might be investigated for treason. For example: http://www.thewrap.com/deal-central/column-post/megan-ellisons-annapurna-finance-bigelow-boals-next-23903 …
Published: January 14, 2011 @ 2:23 am
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By Jeff Sneider
“Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures will fully finance Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal’s follow-up to “The Hurt Locker,” reports Variety.
Plot details are still scarce, but with good reason. Not only is Boal still writing the screenplay, but he obtained classified information while researching the project, which is based on the true story of a U.S. military black ops mission, the ramifications of which are still being felt around the world.”
Also… http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1…/hurt-pair-next-pic.htmlCached
Jan 14, 2011 – (The Hurt Locker’s Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal)”>’Hurt’ pair’s next … the Los Angeles-based shingle headed by Megan Ellison, daughter of … The film took shape after Boal obtained classified information while … (THE BTCKLOT): Magazine article from: Daily Variety Bart, Peter June 6, 2011 700+ words …”
But recently Ms. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57557772/director-kathryn-bigelow-denies-receiving-classified-information/#postCommentsBigelow gave this interview denying what they had bragged about when announcing their project in a “race to get there first!’
Please do not allow these two unethical filmmakers to get away with these lies. It undermines our national security to allow people without security clearances access to classified information — leaks that got a Seal Team member killed — then they about-face and make the Government look bad. Lying without any consequence. Forget all of their self-congratulating mockery of critics and their spin that this so-called “controvery”is “helping them”. Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal should be investigated as any citizen would for gaining access to classified information, bragging about it, then lying to the Government and the public about ever having had this information.
Add to that Ms. Bigelow’s shady ties to a former Hezbollah fighter-turned-actor who changed his name and reportedly brought the idea for this film to Ms. Bigelow based on another film that had not been made yet. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. There is no such thing as a “former terrorist”. This actor boasted about how many people he had killed while fighting for Hezbollah in Beirut for years.
There MUST be some regulation over the actions of the slef-proclaimed “Hollywood elite”, who seem to believe that the law does not apply to them. Nor do they care about the backlash against the U.S. from Zero Dark Thirty, already showing up in chatter all over the world. Apparently all that matters to them is how well they do “at the Box Office”.