Hollywood has been caught between Republicans and Democrats over the planned filming of a movie to describe the killing of Osama bin Laden.
The report by New York Times last Saturday on the planned filming of a movie by Hollywood on the historic killing of Bin Laden by U.S. Navy Seals Special Forces on May 2 has touched off a fierce battle between the White House led by a Democratic president and the Republicans who control the U.S. Congress.
Maureen Dowd reported in the New York Times that "the moviemakers are getting top-level access to the most classified mission in history from an administration that has tried to throw more people in jail for leaking classified information than the Bush administration."
Following the publication of the report, Peter King, Republican Congressman from New York and chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security, has called for an investigation on the type of cooperation the Obama Administration has been providing to the filmmakers.
King wrote in a letter to Inspector General Gordon S. Hedell: The Administration's first duty in declassifying material is to provide full reporting to Congress and the American people, in an effort to build public trust through transparency of government. In contrast, this alleged collaboration belies a desire of transparency in favor of a cinematographic view of history.
According to the New York Times, Sony Pictures has begun producing a film about Osama bin Laden raid by Mark Boal and Kathryn Bigelow who are the Oscar-winning writer and director of 'The Hurt Locker.'
The mission to kill bin Laden is the most classified in record of the U.S. history, and this is considered as the only high point of the Obama administration in comparison with other segments like joblessness, partisan bickering, sluggish economy, gridlock, rating slip, all negative for President Barack Obama.
However, many Republicans have denied credit for the Obama administration for the capture of Bin Laden.
Behind the fight over the film is Republicans' concern that Bigelow's movie, Killing bin Laden, will probably win Obama more voters at the last minute before the U.S. presidential election in November 2012.
Killing bin Laden is scheduled to be released by Sony Pictures on Oct. 12, 2012.
It is reported that the movie was already in the works when the U.S. Navy Seals Special Forces shot bin Laden dead in Pakistan on May 2. Boal has since rewritten the screenplay in light of the real-life final act.
Bigelow has denied claims that she was given access to classified details about the killing of bin Laden in the hope that her forthcoming movie on the subject would paint President Obama in a positive light before the 2012 presidential election.
Bigelow and Boal have released a joint statement regarding their project to deny the accusations:
"Our upcoming film project about the decade long pursuit of Bin Laden has been in the works for many years and integrates the collective efforts of three administrations, including those of Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, as well as the cooperative strategies and implementation by the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency."
"Indeed, the dangerous work of finding the world's most wanted man was carried out by individuals in the military and intelligence communities who put their lives at risk for the greater good without regard for political affiliation. This was an American triumph, both heroic, and non-partisan and there is no basis to suggest that our film will represent this enormous victory otherwise."
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney responded to King's accusation in this way:
"When people, including you, in this room are working on articles, books, documentaries or movies that involve the president, ask to speak to administration officials, we do our best to accommodate them to make sure the facts are correct," he told reporters.
"That is hardly a novel approach to the media. We do not discuss classified information. And I would hope that as we face a continued threat from terrorism, the house committee on homeland security would have more important topics to discuss than a movie," Carney said.
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