Sony Pictures, director Kathryn Bigelow, and screenwriter Mark Boal have already done a ton of damage to their own film with these intelligence-insulting claims that the current release date, set just a few weeks before the 2012 presidential election, is in no way motivated by partisan politics. Then what is it motivated by? Oscar season rolls well into December, long after the election, so it can’t be that. Sony has also claimed that that particular weekend is “the best available spot for an action-thriller on a crowded schedule.” Well, unless they’re using the Mayan calendar, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either.
If the studio and filmmakers want to begin to repair the damage they’ve created by pretending their multi-million dollar film’s release date wasn’t intended to be a multi-million dollar in-kind contribution to the Obama 2012 campaign, they need to bump the picture well into 2013. Or…
They can be honest about what they’re up to, like the “Atlas Shrugged” producers have been, and admit their desire to impact the election.
“Who, us?” just isn’t going to cut it. The good news is that someone over at Sony might be coming to their senses.
Sony’s planned October 12, 2012 release of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal’s film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden may be shifting. The New York Times on Wednesday reported that the picture may be moving from its slot – which would have fallen shortly before next year’s presidential election – to a post-election date, and possibly not until 2013.
In its report, The NYT cited two people who were briefed on the studio’s plans.
Back in August, Maureen Dowd reported the pre-election release date and pointed out that the film might boost re-election prospects for President Barack Obama by dramatizing the killing of Bin Laden.
Following that, Rep. Peter King, a republican from New York who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, voiced concerns over the White House’s cooperation with the filmmakers.
According to the story, Sony will make up their minds in a few weeks.
Though I was no fan of ‘The Hurt Locker,’ I’ve been a Bigelow champion going back to ‘Near Dark’ and love the idea of her being the one to tell this story. But whether or not the film becomes tainted as a partisan, political football is completely up to her and the studio.
Furthermore, the men and women who risked their lives to bring bin Laden down deserve better than to have their courage, duty, and sacrifice exploited in a campaign commercial.
No one loses if the the release date is moved into 2013… other than those with mercenary political motives.
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