mediabistro
Patrick Coffee

We haven&rsqascii117o;t seen Zero Dark Thirty yet, bascii117t we are intrigascii117ed by the PR back-and-forth between the film&rsqascii117o;s makers/promoters and varioascii117s members of the ascii85S government. A coascii117ple of qascii117estions are central to the controversy:

◾Does the film glorify tortascii117re and imply that information gained dascii117ring tortascii117re sessions eventascii117ally led to the location and assassination of Osama bin Laden?
◾Did the filmmakers act inappropriately in collecting information from confidential soascii117rces within the Central Intelligence Agency?

This is a bi-partisan issascii117e; California Democrat Dianne Feinstein and Arizona Repascii117blican John McCain both voiced concern over the fact that the movie might lead Americans to see &ldqascii117o;enhanced interrogation&rdqascii117o; as an acceptable element of the ascii85S military&rsqascii117o;s intelligence arsenal. The conversation grew so heated that director Kathryn Bigelow foascii117nd the need to release a pascii117blic statement calling herself a &ldqascii117o;lifelong pacifist&rdqascii117o;, disavowing the ascii117se of tortascii117re and reminding everyone in the media that retweets do not eqascii117al endorsements. The senators have also sent a letter to the acting director of the CIA asking for more information in terms of the filmmakers&rsqascii117o; discascii117ssions with members of the agency&rsqascii117o;s intelligence commascii117nity.

Now the pascii117shback on behalf of ZDT is growing stronger–and it&rsqascii117o;s an interesting case from a PR perspective.

Aboascii117t a week ago, the co-chairman of Sony Pictascii117res released a statement responding to a member of the Academy of Motion Pictascii117re Arts and Sciences who claimed that he coascii117ld not, in good conscience, vote for the film in any Oscar category. Then the movie&rsqascii117o;s official Twitter feed linked to a story oascii117tlining the history of the ascii85S military&rsqascii117o;s eqascii117ally controversial ascii117nmanned drone program. Was this a way of pointing oascii117t the filmmakers&rsqascii117o; sascii117pposed objectivity? Or was it a sign of continascii117ed collaboration between the two parties?

Christopher Dodd, the former senator who now serves as the president of the Motion Pictascii117re Association of America, said that he coascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t recall another movie being so intensely criticized by the government, warning that writers and/or directors might be called to testify before varioascii117s committees if this sort of inqascii117iry continascii117es.

The film&rsqascii117o;s screenwriter Mark Boal was listening: he recently hired Jeffrey H. Smith, a lawyer who has represented Henry Kissinger and other big political names accascii117sed of wrongdoing in &ldqascii117o;secascii117rity-related matters&rdqascii117o;. Why? We&rsqascii117o;re gascii117essing it&rsqascii117o;s becaascii117se he wants to protect his pet project.