Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Plot Synopsis[]
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden (Ricky Sekhon) after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Male Deaths[]
- Ricky Sekhon [Osama Bin Laden/UBL/Usama Bin Laden]
Female Deaths[]
- Nour Alkawaja [Abrar's Wife]
- Jennifer Ehle [Jessica]
- Jessica Collins [Debbie]
Trivia[]
- The movie was originally about the unsuccessful decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden. The screenplay was completely re-written after bin Laden was killed.
- The climactic sequence devoted to the raid on Osama's compound runs about 25 minutes, only a few minutes less than the real-life SEALs assault.
- James Gandolfini sent a note to Leon Panetta before the film came out, writing, "I'm very sorry about everything. I apologize. You're like my father, so you'll find something to be angry about, but please let me know." Months later, as the film was in the middle of awards season in early January, screenwriter Mark Boal told Gandolfini, "Leon Panetta would like your phone number because he doesn't know how to get in touch with you." The actor replied "He's the head of the CIA! He can't find me? Come on, really?!"
- The bizarre, four-lens night vision goggles worn by SEAL Team Six are, in fact, authentic. They are cutting-edge GPNVG-18 (Ground Panoramic Night Vision Goggles), manufactured by L-3 Warrior Systems. The extra lenses provide more peripheral vision to the operator.
- Originally conceived as a project about the battle of Tora Bora, Mark Boal completely re-wrote the script after Osama bin Laden was shot and killed. It took him five months and he was not paid for the re-write.
- The man who killed bin Ladin, Robert O'Neill, wrote in his autobiography "The Operator" that the real life CIA operative that Jessica Chastain portrays was the bravest woman he has ever met.
- The stealth helicopters used in the actual mission were heavily modified Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawks. Anti-radar cladding, like that of the F-117 stealth fighter, helped them avoid detection by Pakistani air defenses, and the extra blades in the main rotors and tail rotors produced less noise than the standard rotors.
- "Osama bin Laden" is frequently called "UBL" for "Usama bin Laden". There is no standard system for transliterating languages that use non-Latin alphabets, such as Arabic or Pashto, into English. Since the events of September 11, 2001, "Osama" has been the most common rendering of his first name in the American press, but "Usama" has been more common in the intelligence community.
- In the film, Leon Panetta is visibly pleased when Maya uses the word "motherf****r" during an official CIA briefing. In real life, Panetta's prolific use of profanity is well known.
- Screenwriter Mark Boal had to share his script with CIA officers, and they removed a scene where a drunk CIA officer fires an AK-47 into the air from a rooftop in Islamabad. Furthermore they removed the use of dogs from the torture scenes.
- Jessica Chastain's agents originally declined the role of Maya. Producer Megan Ellison, who had worked with Chastain on Lawless (2012), gave Kathryn Bigelow Chastain's phone number so she could personally offer her the role. Chastain accepted.
- This movie depicts a high-level CIA official (known in the film as "The Wolf" and played by Fredric Lehne) as a devout Muslim. This corresponds with a March 24, 2012, Washington Post article titled "At CIA, a Convert to Islam Leads the Terrorism Hunt," which (pseudonymously) profiles "Roger," the chief of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center, and identifies him as an adult convert to Islam.
- Chris Pratt went through vigorous training and boot camp to prepare for his role. He has also partaken in the famous "O-Course" in the Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, but gave up when he attempted to swim through cold water.
Gallery[]
Nour Alkawaja
Ricky Sekhon
Posters[]
