Kathryn Bigelow defends authenticity of ‘House of Dynamite’ after Pentagon criticism
Kathryn Bigelow, the filmmaker who recently debuted “A House of Dynamite,” responded to criticism from the Pentagon after portions of the movie alleged that the country’s nuclear weapon detection systems can only stop a threat 50 percent of the time.
In response to the film, the Pentagon distributed an internal memo slamming its veracity.
Defense officials described the movie as “compelling” and “intended for the entertainment of the audience,” while denying it’s reflection of real-world testing, which tells “a vastly different story,” according to a report from Bloomberg.
Bigelow and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim told The Hollywood Reporter their research proves the accuracy of events depicted in the film and added that they are glad the movie is driving discussion among top leaders.
“It’s interesting. In a perfect world, culture has the potential to drive policy — and if there’s dialogue around the proliferation of nuclear weapons, that is music to my ears, certainly,” Bigelow said in an article published Tuesday.
Oppenheim agreed and said any information perceived as questionable can be disputed by the community of defense officials.
“As we see it, it’s not a debate between us as filmmakers and the Pentagon. It’s between the Pentagon and the wider community of experts in the space,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Reporting from The Atlantic and statements from Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) claim that the nuclear missile defense system does, in fact, have a 50 percent chance of accuracy if given 30 minutes to detect an incoming attack.
“Director Kathryn Bigelow’s new thriller, ‘A House of Dynamite,’ is not simply a gripping film — it is a wake-up call. The movie dramatizes, in real time, the terrifying 30-minute window between the launch of a nuclear missile bound for the U.S. and its impact,” Markey wrote in a Monday op-ed for MSNBC.
“In doing so, the film exposes a brutal truth that too many decision-makers and policy experts in Washington refuse to admit: Long-range missile defense will not protect us. Our only real path to escape nuclear catastrophe lies in reducing global arsenals,” he added.
Bigelow said defense experts were their “North Star” while directing the film.
“I just state the truth. In this piece, it’s all about realism and authenticity. Same with ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ and same with ‘Hurt Locker’ — even though ‘Hurt Locker’ was obviously a work of fiction, and this is a work of fiction. For me, these are pieces that lean in hard on realism,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
“You’re inviting an audience into, say, the battle deck of [U.S. Strategic Command]. That’s a place that’s not easily accessible, and so you want it to be authentic and honest. That’s my goal, and I think we achieved it,” she added.
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