Wait, Barack Obama and Kathryn Bigelow are vying for an Oscar? I'm confused.

Barack Obama really wants to win an Academy Award. To have his shot to walk across that stage and surprise Halle Berry with deep smooch the way Adrien Brody did all those years ago. In fact, he wants it so bad he's willing to give Oscar winning director and writer of The Hurt Locker, Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, highly classified information in order to do it. And if he happens to get re-elected in the process, that's just gravy.  Ok, so maybe none of that is really true, but you wouldn't know if it you read some of the blogs out there, or skimmed Maureen Dowd's op-ed in the New York Times. In it, she claims that the Obama administration is granting Bigelow and Boal access to top level info for their film based around Seal Team Six, the ones who finally bagged and killed Osama Bin Laden, in order to help his re-election in 2012. The film has been set to open on October 12th 2012. But let's start from the beginning.
We first started hearing rumblings about Bigelow's film back in January. In the works for years, well-connected writer Mark Boal had been piecing together the story surrounding Seal Team Six, at the time just another unit working the war in Afghanistan. The project got an unexpected bump in notoriety when the Bin Laden thing went down, and Boal scrambled to add the big 40 minute firefight into the script. The film, rumored to be titled Kill Bin Laden, was also said to be starring Joel Edgerton(Animal Kingdom), although it appears he may have dropped out.

So fast forward to this week, and Maureen Dowd's rather snarky column bashing the Obama Admin. Hey, I could write an even longer piece bashing them myself, but hers was particularly unfounded and baseless. Her claims that Obama is granting the filmmakers inside info in order to use the film as enhancement for his campaign is just a fraction of her story, and I confess when I skimmed it(I never read her stuff straight through, sorry), I paid no mind of it. But then representative Peter King, Charman of the House Homeland Security Committee(and he of the Muslim witch hunts) started barking about wanting an investigation into the supposed leaks. If you venture into the stinky bathroom of right wing blogs, you'd think Obama and Bigelow met in a smoke filled room and passed around wads of cash underneath a poker table.

The President's spokesman, Jay Carney, blasted the media for their reporting on the story, as he should. And then Bigelow and Boal issued their own statement:

“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.”

Not exactly a denial, but they're completely correct in their claim that there is "no basis" to suggest the movie will paint Obama as some sort of hero. First of all, Dowd's column is pure conjecture. It's all sizzle and no steak. Not a lick of sourcing to back up her claims. Another thing, and maybe most people don't think about this stuff, but Boal is one of the most connected writers in Hollywood. An investigative journalist by trade, he used his sources to tremendous effect on The Hurt Locker, and is likely tapping those same connections now. You also have to remember that literally dozens of books about the President and politics in general come out every single year. You think all these authors get their information out of thin air? The government helps out when possible, and then there are obviously sources within who are more than happy to spill a few secrets.  It's the nature of the beast. What makes this one story such a big deal?

From my perspective it's obvious. The killing of Bin Laden spiked the President's poll numbers in a way nothing else has. It's one thing all Americans seem to be happy with, and if a film on that very issue gives the President a bounce in the polls right before the November elections, well then certain political Partys are going to do everything they can to throw cold water on it. Embroiling it in scandal(a Peter King specialty) is one way to do just that.

Whatever the case may be, this is all good news for Bigelow and Boal's film. As if it didn't have enough heat, it's going to be the center of attention not only in Hollywood but in the political landscape as well. Filming should be kicking off in the coming weeks.