Osama bin Laden film trailer: Zero Dark Thirty

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This article titled “Osama bin Laden film trailer debuts online” was written by Ben Child, for guardian.co.uk on Tuesday 7th August 2012 12.41 UTC

The first trailer for Kathryn Bigelow’s forthcoming film about the killing of Osama Bin Laden has debuted online.

Now titled Zero Dark Thirty, the drama from the double Oscar-winning director of The Hurt Locker features a high-profile cast including Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Duplass, Kyle Chandler and Mark Strong. It centres on the US Navy Seal unit that raided Bin Laden’s compound in northern Pakistan on 2 May last year on the orders of US president Barack Obama, killing the al-Qaeda leader in a covert operation.

Bigelow had been planning a film about the hunt for Bin Laden long before last year’s events. She and her screenwriting partner Mark Boal, who also won two Oscars for The Hurt Locker, were therefore first out of the block in terms of bringing the story to the big screen. Other projects were at one time said to be under way with involvement from George Clooney and perennial historical controversialist Oliver Stone, though neither has yet entered production.

Bigelow told Entertainment Weekly the film’s title was a military term. “[It means] 30 minutes after midnight, and it refers also to the darkness and secrecy that cloaked the entire decade long mission,” she said.

Boal added: “I’m fascinated by people who dedicate themselves to really difficult and dangerous things for the greater good. I think they’re heroic and I’m intrigued by them. I’m fascinated by the world they inhabit. I personally want to know how they caught bin Laden. All I can do is hope that it interests other people.”

Zero Dark Thirty is due out on 19 December, just after this year’s US presidential election. The timing is designed to allay fears from Republican politicians that the movie might influence voters by portraying Obama in a flattering light. Bigelow’s project drew flak from the US right earlier this year after it emerged that the president’s administration shared information with the production team. New York congressman Peter King, chair of the house homeland security committee, has questioned whether it was right to share “confidential” details.

Boal, a former freelance war journalist, denied there was any political motivation behind the film’s release in his interview with Entertainment Weekly. “There’s no political agenda in the film. Full stop. Period,” he said. “A lot of people are going to be surprised when they see the film. For example, the president is not depicted in the movie. He’s just not in the movie.”

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