The controversy over the assistance provided by the Obama administration in the film "Zero Dark Thirty" refers to the long history of ties between the Pentagon and Hollywood. Republicans accuse today the U.S. Department of Defense have delivered state secrets to the film's director, Kathryn Bigelow.
To promote the main achievement of President Barack Obama in the fight against Al Qaeda, the Defense Department has been accused by Republicans of having opened its doors to Kathryn Bigelow for her film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden . In short, they used Hollywood as a means of propaganda.
But except for a 45-minute meeting between the director, the writer and the head of special operations at the Pentagon, Michael Vickers, for an "overview", the film has not benefited from the collaboration of Defence, responsible Phil Strub. This is the boss of the cell Pentagon responsible for liaising with the film industry.
When a producer wants to reduce costs and bring some authenticity to a film featuring the military, he appealed to the Pentagon. "What we ask is to send us the script and what he expects from us," explains Mr. Strub.
Censorship or influence
Most often, it is a technical support to bring realism to a character in uniform or military action but also granting access to military installations or to provide tanks, aircraft or ships that appear in the film. Most importantly, the Pentagon requires control over the script.
This right of feeds accusations of censorship, or at least undue influence on production, including the author David Robb in his book "Operation Hollywood".
"They make us prostitutes because they want us to adopt their point of view. Most movies are the army recruiting posters," quips in this book director Oliver Stone in which the Pentagon has refused his assistance "Platoon" and "Born on July-4" on the war in Vietnam.
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