Pentagon investigating Bigelow's Bin Laden movie
Officials have launched an investigation into reports suggesting Oscar-winning moviemaker Kathryn Bigelow and her screenwriter partner Mark Boal received classified information while they were researching their new Osama Bin Laden film.
Hours after Warrior star Joel Edgerton was confirmed as the new film's leading man, America's deputy inspector general for intelligence and special programme assessments, Patricia A. Brannin, revealed an investigation was underway following concerns raised last year (11) by New York politician Pete King.
King raised the issue in August (11) after reading an article about
Bigelow and Boal in the New York Times, in which columnist Maureen
Dowd suggested the pair was given access to "top-level access to
the most classified mission in history".
In a statement obtained by the Los Angeles Times, King writes, "The
leaks that followed the successful Bin Laden mission led to the
arrests of Pakistanis and put in danger the mission’s heroes
and their families.
"Privately, individuals in the intelligence and special operations
communities expressed support for my request for a probe. I look
forward to an update on the investigation and actions taken thus
far."
When King first raised the issue in August, White House spokesman
Jay Carney called his claims "ridiculous", stating, "We do not
discuss classified information."
Executives at Sony, the film company behind Bigelow's new Bin Laden
film, have yet to respond. The movie is scheduled for a December,
2012 release.