Name Occurs Before Title
Offscreen Credit
Print Viewed By AFI
Title:
Zero Dark Thirty
Production Company:
First Light
Annapurna Pictures
Production Text:
A Mark Boal Production
Distribution Company:
Columbia Pictures
(A Sony Pictures Entertainment Company)
Release Date:
2012
Premiere Information:
Los Angeles and New York openings: 19 Dec 2012
Production Date:
began 28 Feb 2012
Duration (in mins):
157
MPAA Rating:
R
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Physical Properties:
Sd:
Dolby Digital in selected theatres; Datasat Digital Sound; SDDS Sony Dynamic Digital Sound
col:
Lenses:
Panavision camera and lenses
Producer:
Mark Boal
(Prod)
Kathryn Bigelow
(Prod)
Megan Ellison
(Prod)
Greg Shapiro
(Exec prod)
Colin Wilson
(Exec prod)
Ted Schipper
(Exec prod)
Jonathan Leven
(Co-prod)
Matthew Budman
(Co-prod)
David A. Ticotin
(Assoc prod)
Tabrez Noorani
(Line prod, India unit)
Pravesh Sahni
(Assoc prod, India unit)
Director:
Kathryn Bigelow
(Dir)
Colin Wilson
(Unit prod mgr)
David A. Ticotin
(1st asst dir)
Ben Lanning
(2d asst dir)
Sarah Hood
(2d asst dir)
John Mahaffie
(2d unit dir)
Udayan Baijal
(2d unit 1st asst dir)
Ananya Rane
(2d unit 2d asst dir)
Yanal Kassay
(2d asst dir, Jordan unit)
Tarek Afifi
(2d 2d asst dir, Jordan unit)
Scott Robertson
(1st asst dir, Jordan unit)
Jonas Spaccarotelli
(2d asst dir, Jordan unit)
Rajeev Mehra
(Unit prod mgr, India unit)
Writer:
Mark Boal
(Wrt)
Photography:
Greig Fraser
(Dir of photog)
Simon Tindall
(2d unit dir of photog)
Ryley Brown
(Addl photog)
Duraid Munajim
(Addl photog)
John Watters
(1st asst cam)
Jake Marcuson
(1st asst cam)
Henry Landgrebe
(1st asst cam)
Tom Wilkinson
(1st asst cam)
Beisan Elias
(2d asst cam)
Paul Snell
(2d asst cam)
Perry Evans
(Gaffer)
Richard Pattenden
(Best boy elec)
Mark Clark
(Elec)
Kurt Kornemann
(Key grip)
Jeff Bettis
(Best boy grip)
Ian J. Hanna
(Dolly grip)
Jonathan Olley
(Unit photog)
Britt Cyrus
(Digital imaging tech)
Eduardo Eguia
(Digital imaging tech)
Robert May
(Digilab tech)
Piers Leighton
(Digilab tech)
David Bird
(2d asst cam, Jordan unit)
Tanya Marar
(2d asst cam, Jordan unit)
Hosni Baqqa
(Gaffer, Jordan unit)
Jamie Mills
(Elec, Jordan unit)
Ron Shane
(Rigging gaffer, Jordan unit)
Raymond Mills
(Practical elec, Jordan unit)
Mohammad Isam
(Practical elec, Jordan unit)
Iain Lowe
(Elec rigger, Jordan unit)
Paul Garratt
(Elec rigger, Jordan unit)
Mohammad Abu-Shawish
(Best boy grip, Jordan unit)
Firas Dehous
(Best boy grip, Jordan unit)
Brian B. Malone
(Key rigging grip, Jordan unit)
Chris Linaker
(Unit photog asst, Jordan unit)
Bidhan Chanda
(Best boy grip, India unit)
Ramesh Sadrani
(Gaffer, India unit)
David Sinfield
(Elec best boy, UK unit)
David McAnulty
(Key grip, UK unit)
Simon Finney
(2d unit cam op)
Ben Wilson
{Mus crew}
(2d unit cam op)
Adam Coles
(2d unit 1st asst cam)
Chris Bain
(2d unit 1st asst cam)
Richard Jakes
(2d unit 2d asst cam)
Sebastian Barraclough
(2d unit 2d asst cam)
Gary Martinez
(2d unit video assist)
Mark Evans
(2d unit gaffer)
John Marzano
(Aerial cam op - Jordan, Aerial unit)
Adam Dale
(Aerial cam op - Jordan, Aerial unit)
Steve North
(Ground aerial coord - Jordan, Aerial unit)
David Francis
(Wescam tech - Jordan, Aerial unit)
Justin Webber
(Eclipse tech - Jordan, Aerial unit)
Kevin La Rosa
(Aerial coord/Cam pilot - U.S., Aerial unit)
David Nowell
(Aerial dir of photog - U.S., Aerial unit)
Slate in Jordan
(Grip and elec equip provided by)
Pictorvision
(Eclipse, Cineflex and Wescam cam systems provided by)
Art Direction:
Jeremy Hindle
(Prod des)
Roderick McLean
(Supv art dir)
Ben Collins
(Art dir)
Chris Kitisakkul
(Graphic artist)
Rhys Ifan
(Art dir, Jordan unit)
Samer Raie
(Asst art dir, Jordan unit)
Dilip More
(Art dir, India unit)
Gurubaksh Singh Raj
(Graphics, India unit)
Film Editor:
Dylan Tichenor
(Ed)
William Goldenberg
(Ed)
Brett M. Reed
(1st asst ed)
Chris Patterson
(1st asst ed)
Harry Yoon
(Visual eff ed)
Patrick J. Smith
(Asst ed)
Brian G. Addie
(Asst ed)
Lara Khachooni
(Asst ed)
Banner Gwin
(Asst ed)
Set Decoration:
Lisa Chugg
(Set dec)
Maudie Andrews
(Asst set dec)
Michael Standish
(Prod buyer)
Warren Stickley
(Prop master)
Roy Chapman
(Prop master)
Mitch Niclas
(Chargehand dressing)
Matthew Broderick
(On-set props)
Colin Ellis
(Props)
David Fencl
(Armorer, Jordan unit)
Khalil Hareb
(Asst armorer, Jordan unit)
Samy Keilani
(Const mgr, Jordan unit)
Samir Zaidan
(Asst const mgr, Jordan unit)
Maye Nufal
(Const coord, Jordan unit)
Brian Morris
(Scenic painter, Jordan unit)
Dean Dunham
(Scenic painter, Jordan unit)
Karim Kheir
(Prop buyer, Jordan unit)
Nasser Zoubi
(Prop buyer, Jordan unit)
Abdul Qader Miqdadi
(Signwriter, Jordan unit)
Sunil Chhabra
(Prop master, India unit)
Yogender Kumar
(Propman, India unit)
Samudrika Arora
(Set dec buyer, India unit)
Muffin Green
(Prop master, UK unit)
Malcolm Roberts
(Const coord, UK unit)
Costumes:
George L. Little
(Cost des)
Dan Lester
(Asst cost des)
Darion Hing
(Cost supv)
Tracey Millar
(Key cost)
Helene Belanger
(Set cost)
Valerie Belegou
(Set cost)
Melanie Turcotte
(Ager/Dyer)
Setareh Samavi Ewazi
(Set cost, Jordan unit)
Fikreyyeh Abu Khait
(Seamstress, Jordan unit)
Mohammad Mustafa
(Cost asst, Jordan unit)
Nabil Khoury
(Cost asst, Jordan unit)
Riyaz Ali Merchant
(Cost supv, India unit)
Music:
Alexandre Desplat
(Mus/Mus comp and cond/Orch)
The London Symphony Orchestra
(Mus performed by)
Phil Cobb
(Solo trumpet)
Kudsi Erguner
(Ney)
Levon Minassian
(Dudek)
Vincent Segal
(Elec & acoustic cello)
Dominique Lemonnier
(Violin/Score prod)
Sam Okell
(Rec and mixed/Sd eng )
Alexandre Firla
(Addl rec)
Studio Acousti Paris
(Addl rec at)
Abbey Road Studios London
(Rec at)
Studio De La Grande Armee Paris
(Mixed at)
Gerard McCann
(Score mus ed)
Peter Clarke
(Auricle op)
Xavier Forcioli
(Score coord)
Sylvain Morizet
(Orch)
Jean-Pascal Beintus
(Orch)
Nicolas Charron
(Orch)
Romain Allender
(Programming)
Dan Marocco
(Programming)
Norbert Vergonjanne
(Mus prep)
Claude Romano
(Mus prep)
Richard Ford
(Mus ed)
Oliver Hug
(Addl mus ed)
John Bissell
(Mus supv)
Sound:
Paul N. J. Ottosson
(Sd des/Sd supv/Re-rec mixer)
Ray Beckett
(Sd mixer)
Peter Murphy
(Boom op)
Francisco Fernandez
(Sd asst, Jordan unit)
Gary Dodkin
(Sd mixer, 2d unit)
Jamie Hardt
(Sd eff ed)
Lee Gilmore
(Sd eff ed)
Robert Troy
(Dial ed)
James Simcik
(ADR supv)
Mark Pappas
(Foley ed)
John Sanacore
(Foley mixer)
Alex Ulrich
(Foley artist)
The Final Word
(Loop group)
Ryan B. Juggler
(Asst sd ed)
Donnie Saylor
(Sd intern)
Fred W. Peck, III
(Re-rec)
Sony Pictures Studios Culver City, California
(Post sd facilities provided by)
Special Effects:
Richard Stutsman
(Spec eff supv)
Blair Foord
(Spec eff on-set coord, Jordan unit)
Paul Vigil
(Spec eff tech, Jordan unit)
Ernie Lanninger
(Spec eff tech, Jordan unit)
Ernst Gschwind
(Spec eff tech, Jordan unit)
Wolf Steiling
(Spec eff tech, Jordan unit)
Neil Corbould
(Stealth helicopter spec eff supv, Jordan unit)
David Brighton
(Spec eff workshop supv, Jordan unit)
Stuart Heath
(Spec eff workshop supv, Jordan unit)
Kieran Reed
(Senior tech, Jordan unit)
Timothy Stracey
(Senior tech, Jordan unit)
Colin Umpelby
(Senior tech, Jordan unit)
David Poole
(Senior tech, Jordan unit)
Image Engine
(Visual eff)
Chris Harvey
(Visual eff supv, Image Engine)
Jeremy Hattingh
(Visual eff plate supv, Image Engine)
Geoff Anderson
(Visual eff prod, Image Engine)
Stephen Garrad
(Visual eff exec prod, Image Engine)
Victoria Mowlam
(Visual eff coord, Image Engine)
Stephen Chan
(Visual eff on set matchmover, Image Engine)
Barry Poon
(Asset supv, Image Engine)
Moriba Duncan
(Modeller, Image Engine)
Tomoka Matsumura
(Modeller, Image Engine)
Muhammad Marri
(Texture artist, Image Engine)
Andy Martinez
(Texture artist, Image Engine)
Peter Rabel
(Rigger, Image Engine)
Lee Alexander
(Lead matchmover, Image Engine)
Denny Bigras
(Anim, Image Engine)
Sebastian Weber
(Anim, Image Engine)
Paul Faulkes
(Eff artist, Image Engine)
Andy Feery
(Eff artist, Image Engine)
Sam Hancock
(Eff artist, Image Engine)
Sam Hancock
(Anim, Image Engine)
Matthias Lautour
(Lighting/Look development lead, Image Engine)
Nicolas Chombart
(Lighting artist, Image Engine)
Brian Burritt
(Lighting artist, Image Engine)
Jason Gross
(Lighting artist, Image Engine)
Jackie Mills
(Roto lead, Image Engine)
Jesus Lavin
(Lead compositer, Image Engine)
Thijs Noij
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Reuben Barkataki
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Eric Ponton
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Jim Parsons
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Sigurjon Gardarsson
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Ricardo Quintero
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Gwen Zhang
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Jean-Francois Houde
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Vicki Silva
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Chun-Ping
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Sam Johnston
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Jayme Vandusen
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Ian Plumb
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Matt Yeoman
(Composite artist, Image Engine)
Marco Iozzi
(Matte painter, Image Engine)
Kent Matheson
(Matte painter, Image Engine)
Arch 9 Films
(Visual eff)
Jeremy Burns
(Compositing supv, Arch 9 Films)
Craig Crawford
(Compositor, Arch 9 Films)
XY & Z Visual Effects
(Visual eff)
Mike Uguccioni
(Visual eff supv, XY & Z)
Jamie Baxter
(Compositor, XY & Z)
Trinh Baxter
(Compositor, XY & Z)
BLT: AV, Inc.
(Title des)
Make Up:
Daniel Parker
(Key make-up and hair des)
Lesley Smith
(Key make-up and hair artist)
Natasha Nikolic-Dunlop
(Make-up and hair artist)
Mahmoud Karajogly
(Hairdresser, Jordan unit)
Yelka Gutierrez
(Make-up artist, Jordan unit)
Nada Al-Agha
(Asst make-up artist, Jordan unit)
Virgina Holmes
(Key make-up/Hairdresser, India unit)
Renata Gilbert
(Key make-up/Hair artist, 2d unit)
Production Misc:
Mark Bennett
(Casting)
Richard Hicks
(Casting)
Gail Stevens
(Casting)
Luca Kouimelis
(Scr supv)
Steven Brigden
(Transportation coord)
Steev Beeson
(Prod controller)
Ruba Kharuf
(1st asst accountant)
Brenda McClellan
(Payroll accountant)
Compuhire
(Computer playback)
Rebecca Farhall
(U. K. casting assoc)
Colin Jones
(U. K. casting assoc)
Charley Medigovich
(U. S. casting assoc)
Brooke Nasser
(Asst to Ms. Bigelow)
Barrie Rice
(Loc security)
Angela Quiles
(Prod supv, Jordan unit)
Philippa Naughten
(Prod mgr, Jordan unit)
Shereen Baddour
(Prod secy, Jordan unit)
Mohammad Al-Ahmad
(2d asst accountant, Jordan unit)
Lara Atalla
(Casting, Jordan unit)
Fawaz Al-Zoubi
(Picture car coord, Jordan unit)
Garo Youmjian
(Picture car asst, Jordan unit)
Ali Mahmoud Al-Khlaelah
(Picture car asst, Jordan unit)
Jamal Al Adwan
(Loc mgr, Jordan unit)
Gabaah Naw Afleh
(Unit mgr, Jordan unit)
Mitchell Hall
(Tech adv, Jordan unit)
Marwan Abbadi
(Military liaison, Jordan unit)
Fadi Sweiss
(Transportation capt, Jordan unit)
Carlos Castillo
(Catering chef, Jordan unit)
United Arab for Tourism Investment Co.
(Catering furnished by, Jordan unit)
Seher Latif
(Casting, India unit)
Jerome Butler
(Dial coach, India unit)
Kaushik Guha
(Prod mgr, India unit)
Rakesh Singh
(Mumbai coord, India unit)
Rahul Soni
(Delhi coord, India unit)
Rajesh Dham
(Loc mgr, India unit)
Bhawani Singh
(Transportation capt, India unit)
Pradeep Arora
(Travel coord, India unit)
Trilok Nowlakha
(Picture vehicles, India unit)
Rajiv Kampani
(Catering head, India unit)
India Take One Productions
(Prod services (India) provided by, India unit)
Nick Fulton
(Loc mgr, UK unit)
Charlie Simpson
(Unit mgr, UK unit)
Harry Serjeant
(Prod coord, UK unit)
Peter Dudgeon
(Post prod asst)
Trevanna Post, Inc.
(Post prod accounting services)
Dee Schuka
(Post prod accountant, Trevanna Post)
John Weber
(Asst accountant, Trevanna Post)
The Angellotti Company
(Pub)
Irwin M. Rappaport
(Prod legal services)
Stone Management, Inc.
(Production placement)
Adam Stone
(Product placement coord, Stone Management)
Cat Stone
(Product placement coord, Stone Management)
Flying Pictures
(Aerial services provided by)
Stand In:
Stuart Thorp
(Stunt coord)
Rob Young
(Asst stunt coord)
Jason Dettle
(Stunt rigger)
Lauren Shaw
(Stunt performer)
Joseph Beddelem
(Stunt performer)
Mustapha Touki
(Stunt performer)
Othman Ilyassa
(Stunt performer)
Gaelle Cohen
(Stunt performer)
Todor Petrov Lazarov
(Stunt performer)
Elitsa Razheva
(Stunt performer)
Roza Dimitrova
(Stunt performer)
Marina Jordanova
(Stunt performer)
Radka Snimki
(Stunt performer)
Svetoslav Rangelov
(Stunt performer)
Emil Tonev
(Stunt performer)
Color Personnel:
Company 3
(Digital intermediate)
Stephen Nakamura
(Col, Company 3)
Annie Johnson
(Digital intermediate prod, Company 3)
Joe Ken
(Digital conform, Company 3)
Paul Carlin
(Digital conform, Company 3)
Deluxe
([Col by])
Music Text:
Song Text:
"Pavlov's Dogs," written by Charles Maggio, Keith Huckins, Andrew Gormley, Nick Forte and Chris Laucella, performed by Rorschach, courtesy of Gern Blandsten Records; "Pyaar Hai Tumse," written by Amir Jamal, Nasir Hussain, Nasir Ali Nasir, performed by Amir Jamal, courtesy of Kamlee Records Limited, by arrangement with The Orchard; "Move Ya Body," written by Full Force, Lionel Bermingham, Elijah Wells, Cordel Burrell, Natalie Albino, Nicole Albino and Luis Diaz, performed by Nina Sky featuring Jabba, courtesy of Universal Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises, contains sample of "Coolie Dance Rhythm" by Cordell "Scatta" Burrell, courtesy of Greensleeves Records Ltd., license arranged by Fine Goldproductions L.L.C.; "Need You Now," written by Hillary Scott, Joshua Kear, Dave Haywood and Charles Kelley, performed by Lady Antebellum, courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville, under license from EMI Film & Television Music; "Night Song," written by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan & Michael Brook, courtesy of Real World Records; "Rise Up (Featuring Tom Morello)," written by Senen Reyes, Louise Freese, Demrick Shelton Ferm and Thomas Morello, performed by Cypress Hill Feat. Tom Morello, courtesy of Capitol Records, L.L.C., under license from EMI Film & TV Music; "Murder (2012)," written by Jimmy Gnecco, performed by Ours, courtesy of Miseryhead Music, by arrangement with Revolution Songs.
Source Text:
Music Composer:
Natalie Albino
Nicole Albino
Lionel Bermingham
Cordel Burrell
Luis Diaz
Demrick Shelton Ferm
Full Force
Nick Forte
Louise Freese
Jimmy Gnecco
Andrew Gormley
Dave Haywood
Keith Huckins
Nasir Hussain
Amir Jamal
Joshua Kear
Charles Kelley
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Chris Laucella
Charles Maggio
Thomas Morello
Nasir Ali Nasir
Senen Reyes
Hillary Scott
Elijah Wells
Cast:
Jessica Chastain
(Maya)
Jason Clarke
(Dan)
Joel Edgerton
(Patrick - Squadron Team Leader)
Jennifer Ehle
(Jessica)
Mark Strong
(George)
Kyle Chandler
(Joseph Bradley)
Edgar Ramirez
(Larry from Ground Branch)
And
James Gandolfini
(C.I.A. director)
Chris Pratt
(Justin - DEVGRU)
Callan Mulvey
(Saber - DEVGRU)
Fares Fares
(Hakim)
Reda Kateb
(Ammar)
Harold Perrineau
(Jack)
Stephen Dillane
(National security advisor)
Jeremy Strong
(Thomas)
J. J. Kandell
(J. J.)
Detainees on monitor:
Wahab Sheikh
Alexander Karim
Nabil Elouahabi
Aymen Hamdouchi
[and]
Simon Abkarian
Interrogators on monitor:
Ali Marhyar
Parker Sawyers
Akin Gazi
[and]
Derek Siow
Mohammad K
(Cargo ship detainee)
Henry Garrett
(Bagram guard)
Homayoun Ershadi
(Hassan Ghul)
Darshan Aulakh
(Pakistani detention center guard)
Navdeep Singh
(Faraj courier)
Yoav Levi
(Abu Faraj Al-Libbi)
Sukhdeep Singh
(Pakistani guard at Marriott)
Musa Sattari
(Humam Khalil Al-Balawi)
David Menkin
(Case officer)
Scott Adkins
(John)
Eyad Zoubi
(Zied)
Julian Lewis Jones
(Blackwater guard)
Christian Contreras
(C.I.A. security)
Lauren Shaw
(Lauren)
Zachary Becker
(Embassy tech)
John Antonini
(Analyst at embassy)
Jessica Collins
(Debbie)
Fredric Lehne
(The Wolf)
Ashraf Telfah
(Kuwaiti businessman)
Jonathan Olley
(Tech from Ground Branch)
Ben Lambert
(N.S.A. tech)
Manraaj Singh
(Rawal caller)
Tushaar Mehra
(Abu Ahmed)
Daniel Lapaine
(Tim - Station chief)
Udayan Baijal
(Guard at Maya's apartment)
Mark Duplass
(Steve)
John Schwab
(Deputy national security advisor)
Martin Delaney
(Assistant to national security advisor)
Nabil Koni
(Pakistani doctor)
Anthony Edridge
(General in hangar)
John Barrowman
(Jeremy)
Jeff Mash
(Deputy director of C.I.A.)
Taylor Kinney
(Jared - DEVGRU)
Siaosi Fonua
(Henry - DEVGRU)
Phil Somerville
(Phil - DEVGRU)
Nash Edgerton
(Nate - DEVGRU EOD)
Mike Colter
(Mike - DEVGRU)
Frank Grillo
(Squadron commanding officer)
DEVGRU operators:
Brett Praed
Aron Eastwood
Heemi Browstow
Chris Scarf
Barrie Rice
Rob Young
Spencer Coursen
Chris Perry
Alex Corbet Burcher
Robert G. Eastman
Tim Martin
Mitchell Hall
[and]
P. T.
Pilots:
Alan Pietruszewski
Kevin La Rosa, II
Michael David Selig
[and]
Ben Parillo
Christopher Stanley
(Admiral Bill McCraven)
Hadeel Shqair
(Abu Ahmed's wife)
Noureddine Hajjoujou
(Abrar)
Nour Alkawaja
(Abrar's wife)
UBL wives:
Malika Sayed
Rida Siham
Moula Mounia
[and]
Zalfa Seurat
Tarik Haddouch
(Khalid)
Ricky Sekhon
(UBL)
Mark Valley
(C-130 pilot)
Summary:
On September 11, 2001, commercial airplanes crash into two World Trade Center towers in an attack orchestrated by terrorist organization, al-Qaeda. Two years later, somewhere in the Middle East, Dan, an American agent for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), interrogates Ammar. Dan accuses Ammar, an al-Qaeda operative, of wiring $5,000 to a hijacker who took part in the September 11 attacks, and demands information on the "Saudi Group," a terrorist cell associated with al-Qaeda. Ammar remains mum, prompting Dan to torture him via waterboarding. At the U. S. Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan, Dan's new colleague, Maya, recently arrived from Washington, D. C., settles into her new office. After Dan updates the embassy's station chief, Joseph Bradley, on his progress with Ammar, he suggests to Bradley that Maya might be too young for their mission; however, Bradley says she has a reputation for being "a killer." That day, Dan joins Maya in a meeting with fellow agents Jessica, Thomas, J. J., and Jack, to discuss their terrorist targets. Jessica reports that Abu Faraj al-Libbi is the new "number three" under Usama bin Laden, al-Qaeda's leader, and mentions a recent sighting of someone who may have been bin Laden near Tora Bora, Afghanistan. Maya rejects the idea that bin Laden is in Afghanistan, as she believes he has changed his pattern of hiding in Tora Bora since the U. S. invaded the country. One day, Dan provides Ammar with food and drink after he has been subjected to loud, harsh rock and roll music while hanging from his wrists. Despite Dan's benevolence, Ammar continues to withhold information, so Dan humiliates the detainee, putting a collar around his neck and walking him like a dog before cramming him into a wooden box. On May 29, 2004, in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, twenty-two people, mainly foreigners and non-Muslims, are shot and killed by al-Qaeda terrorists, and Dan laments that Ammar did not warn him about the attack. When Maya reminds Dan that Ammar has been sequestered and therefore does not know whether or not the attack took place, the two sit down with Ammar for lunch and thank him for providing them with the information to thwart the incident at Khobar. They convince Ammar that he provided key information about the impending attack but suggest that he forgot about telling them due to lack of sleep. In turn, Ammar offers a couple of terrorists' names, including Abu Ahmed, with whom he operated after the September 11 attack. At a secret CIA "black site" in Gdansk [Danzig], Poland, a terrorist prisoner identifies Abu Ahmed in a photograph and tells Maya that Ahmed was a messenger between bin Laden and al-Libbi. On July 7, 2005, in London, England, a city bus is blown up in another terrorist attack. Meanwhile, Maya goes to a detention center run by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and learns from a detainee that Ahmed disappeared after September 11, just like bin Laden. Maya interrogates al-Libbi after he is caught, but he denies Ahmed's existence, telling Maya she is thinking of someone else. Maya watches as al-Libbi is tortured and, later, informs Dan that al-Libbi is withholding. Dan announces his plans to leave the Middle East and work at CIA headquarters in Washington, D. C. Before he leaves, however, he warns Maya to be more prudent with torture methods as politics are changing and oversight committees will soon come to police the black sites. On September 20, 2008, at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Maya meets Jessica for dinner. As Jessica asks about Maya's private life, a bomb explodes, sending everyone in the restaurant to the ground. Although Jessica and Maya escape, a television news report later states that the Marriott was destroyed by a truck bomb. Back at the embassy, Jessica tells Bradley about a mole in the al-Qaeda organization named Humam Khalil al-Balawi. She says al-Balawi is a Jordanian doctor and she has reason to think he is trustworthy, but Bradley remains suspicious of the man. When Jessica gets word that al-Balawi will not leave al-Qaeda territory, she agrees to sit down with him at Camp Chapman, a U.S. military base in Afghanistan. On the day of their meeting, December 30, 2009, al-Balawi detonates a bomb inside Camp Chapman, killing Jessica and seven other CIA operatives. Meanwhile, Maya gets word that Ahmed was killed in 2001, according to a detainee who claims to have murdered him. Debbie, a CIA analyst, provides Maya with a file on Ibrahim Sayeed, a man whose picture closely resembles that of "Ahmed," although his appearance is slightly different. Sayeed has several brothers, sparking Maya's belief that the photograph they have of "Ahmed" is actually one of Ahmed's brothers. Persuaded by Maya that Ahmed may still be alive and an important link to bin Laden, Dan obtains $200,000 and travels to Kuwait City, Kuwait, where Ahmed's mother lives. Dan buys a Lamborghini for an informant in order to get Ahmed's mother's phone number. Once the number is obtained, Maya monitors the mother's calls and deduces that Ahmed is traveling frequently and using payphones to keep his whereabouts secret. On May 1, 2010, a terrorist attack is thwarted when a car bomb is found, undetonated, in New York City's Times Square. Maya fights with Bradley for more backup on the search for Ahmed and Bradley tells her she needs to redirect her focus onto threats in the homeland and American terrorist cells. Arguing that his reputation could be ruined if he ignores this lead, Maya asks for safe houses in Rawalpindi and Peshawar, Pakistan, and four CIA ground operatives in each city. Once Bradley agrees to support the mission, Jack provides Maya with a cell phone that is linked to a newly purchased cell phone that may belong to Ahmed. Maya briefs a group of CIA operatives, including Bradley, suggesting that Ahmed is living near Rawalpindi and leaving his house in order to make calls. In Rawalpindi, ground operative Larry and his colleague, Hakim, follow Ahmed's cell phone signal as the alleged terrorist makes calls from busy marketplaces around town. One day, Pakistani protestors gather around the embassy to protest against Bradley after a drone strike in Pakistan, and Bradley prepares to leave Islamabad. When Larry's team takes a photograph of the man they believe to be Ahmed, Maya confirms the photograph and requests an even larger team. She considers Abbottabad, Pakistan, as a possibility for Ahmed's residence, as al-Libbi stayed there briefly in 2003. Soon after, several men attempt to shoot Maya outside her home, but she is unscathed, thanks to the bulletproof glass in her car. In Abbottabad, CIA agents find Ahmed's gated compound, heavily protected by thick walls and blacked-out windows. Fifty-two days later, the CIA watches the compound with aerial surveillance while Maya expresses her irritation that nothing has happened as yet. Steve, a CIA analyst, tells Maya that he spotted two males, three females and seven children outside the two houses in the compound and believes another family is living there. The CIA makes several attempts to get inside the compound undercover, but nothing works. One-hundred days after the compound's discovery, the U. S. President wants to hear options for the invasion of the compound. At Area 51, a military base in Nevada, Maya and her colleagues examine stealth Black Hawk helicopters that have never been used. Maya announces to several operatives of DEVGRU, the U. S. Naval Special Warfare Development Group, that bin Laden might be living in the house with Ahmed and that the Black Hawks will be used to invade the property. Maya tells the CIA director that she is one-hundred percent sure bin Laden lives in the compound, although others tend to believe the chance hovers around sixty percent. On May 11, 2011, at Forward Operating Base in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Maya receives word that the invasion of the Abbottabad residence has been approved and will take place that night. The DEVGRU team flies to the compound in two Black Hawk helicopters, one of which crashes as it lands. In the dark of night, the DEVGRU team splits up into groups, using infrared goggles to navigate as they approach the two houses on the property. After Ahmed is shot and killed through the door to the guesthouse, his wife and children are ushered outside as the unit moves further inside. In the main house, DEVGRU operatives shoot another man and his wife on their way to find bin Laden. After they explode a barrier to the upstairs, they shoot another man and find two women hiding, as well as a room full of files and computers. In a room with two more women, a member of the DEVGRU team shoots a man that might be bin Laden and takes photographs of him. Clearing the women and children, the DEVGRU team ransacks the house, taking hard drives and files, as well as bin Laden's corpse, to awaiting helicopters. As they fly away, the DEVGRU men blow up the downed Black Hawk. Back at the base, Maya examines the corpse and provides visual confirmation that it is bin Laden. Later, departing on a plane alone, she cries.
Subject Major:
Government agents
Middle East
Search and rescue operations
September 11 terrorist attacks, 2001
Terrorists and terrorism
United States. Central Intelligence Agency
Subject Minor:
Afghanistan
Bombs
Bribery
Buses
Eavesdropping
Embassies
Espionage
Explosions
Hideouts
Hotels
Investigations
London (England)
Marketplaces
Military bases
Military intelligence
Muslims
Nevada
New York City
Officers (Military)
Pakistan
Poland
Secret agents
Surveillance devices
Torture
United States. Presidents
Washington (D.C.)
World Trade Center (New York City)
Note:
Kill Bin Laden
was a working title for the project, as stated in a 13 May 2011
HR
article.
The film begins with a title card containing the written statement, "The following motion picture is based on first hand accounts of actual events," followed by a title card stating, "September 11, 2001."
End credits contain "Special Thanks" to the following organizations: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India; Administration of Union Territory of Chandigarh; Chandigarh Police; PEC University of Technology Chandigarh (formerly Punjab Engineering College); Royal Film Commission, Jordan; and Pinewood Shepperton Studios. Producers also thank the following individuals and organizations: 5.11, Inc.; Apple; Atlantic Signal; Cyalume Technologies; Daniel Winkler; Ducati; Garmin; General Dynamics; Inert Products; K9 Storm; Leatherman Tool Group; London Bridge Trading Company; Modern Warfare, LLC; Ops-Core; Salomon; Suunto; Thales Communications; VT Miltope; Wendy Abney; Roeg Sutherland; Bryan Lourd; Brian Kend; Darin Friedman; Brian Siberell; Sally Willcox; Alan Wertheimer; Warren Dern; Kevin Huvane; Spencer Coursen; Bill Duchene; and Glover Park Group. End credits also contain the written statement, "Photos provided by Getty Images," followed by the following acknowledgement: "Video and audio clips provided by ITN Source, AP Archive, T3Media/CBS News, ABCNews Videosource, Fox News Archive, ITN Source/Reuters, Outpost Films, NBC Universal Archives."
A 14 Jan 2011
DV
article reported that Annapurna Pictures would finance the film, and a 25 May 2011
HR
news item announced that Columbia Pictures would handle the U. S. release, with principal photography set to begin early summer 2011. Director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal had been working on a bigger budget film for Paramount Pictures, titled
Triple Frontier,
but due to scheduling difficulties, the pair decided to shoot
Zero Dark Thirty
first. According to the 13 May 2011
HR,
the budget would be $20-25 million; however, a 16 Mar 2012
HR
article later reported that the production cost $35 million.
According to production notes from AMPAS library files, the screenplay originated in 2006 as a story about the failed attempt to capture Osama bin Laden in Tora Bora, Afghanistan. In 2011, however, when the project was in pre-production, bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. military and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operatives in Abbottabad, Pakistan, thus prompting Mark Boal to rewrite the script. Certain bits of dialogue in
Zero Dark Thirty,
including actor Mark Strong's line, "Do your jobs, bring me people to kill," were taken directly from reports of real-life CIA meetings.
Although filmmakers planned to begin principal photography in Jordan, they were forced to leave during pre-production for undisclosed reasons, according to the 16 Mar 2012
HR
article. Filming began 28 Feb 2012 in India, where the PEC University of Technology in Chandigarh doubled for the U.S. embassy in Pakistan. Due to the large crowds that would arrive to watch the cast and crew work, production would sometimes set up "fake shoots" to draw onlookers while the actual shooting would take place elsewhere. Filming eventually moved to Jordan, where bin Laden's Abbottabad compound was recreated by production designer Jeremy Hindle and built by locals from a village near the Dead Sea who would have similar building styles to those in Pakistan. Construction lasted six months, with an additional six weeks of "painting, texturing, layering, cracking, [and] breaking" different parts of the compound to achieve a "lived-in look."
Arri Alexa digital cameras were used throughout the production. Bigelow described the cameras in production notes as "wonderfully sensitive to light," and the resulting visual texture as "faintly granular...yet [with] a color latitude that can create a very dense, saturated, lush images."
To recreate the stealth "Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters" that were utilized in the Abbottabad mission, Hindle studied "various sketches and photographs" that appeared after the raid and worked with helicopter and avionics experts to approximate the top-secret aircraft. The production helicopters were made in London from fiberglass and steel and shipped in pieces to Jordan for assembly. For a sequence in which one of the Black Hawks crashes, a helicopter was hung from a 200-foot crane so that it could spin with actors and cameramen inside.
As announced in an 11 Aug 2011
LAT
article, Peter King, a Republican Representative from New York and chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, called for an investigation into
Zero Dark Thirty,
believing that the filmmakers were given classified information by the government as part of their research and concerned that the film would reveal too much about the top-secret operations used in the Abbottabad raid. According to a 6 Jan 2012
LAT
brief, King's suspicions were incited by a 6 Aug 2011
NYT
article written by Maureen Dowd that touted the "top-level access" that the filmmakers had been given to "the most classified mission in history." King was also concerned about the planned release of the film three weeks prior to 6 Nov 2012 might influence the U. S. presidential election. (The release date was later moved to 19 Dec 2012, as mentioned in the 24 May 2012
DV.
) According to a 30 Nov 2012
DV
article, a "watchdog" organization called Judicial Watch requested email correspondence between the filmmakers and the White House and found that four operatives from the CIA and a Navy SEAL were interviewed by the filmmakers with the government's help; although the interviews were not inherently a breach of the Freedom of Information Act, a representative from the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press expressed suspicion that the filmmakers were privy to information that was not released to the public. A congressional hearing took place, as reported in the 21 Jun 2012
HR,
and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified that "no unauthorized disclosures" had been made to the
Zero Dark Thirty
filmmakers.
Critical reception was largely positive. Bigelow's direction and the film's realistic approach to storytelling were lauded by several reviewers, including Manohla Dargis of
NYT,
who, in her 18 Dec 2012 review, described it as "a seamless weave of truth and drama" and "the most important American fiction movie about Sept. 11." Actress Jessica Chastain also received high praise for her starring role.
Zero Dark Thirty
was named one of AFI's Movies of the Year and Jessica Chastain received a Golden Globe award for Best Performance by an Actress in Motion Picture - Drama. The film also received Golden Globe nominations for the following: Best Motion Picture – Drama; Best Director – Motion Picture; and Best Screenplay – Motion Picture. On 10 Jan 2013,
Zero Dark Thirty
was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Picture; Actress in a Leading Role (Jessica Chastain); Film Editing; Sound Editing; and Best Original Screenplay. The film won National Board of Review awards in the following categories: Best Film; Best Director; and Best Actress (Jessica Chastain). It was also named the Best Film of 2012 by the New York Film Critics Circle, who named Bigelow as Best Director and Greig Fraser for Best Cinematography.
Note Credits:
Geographic location:
Chandigarh India
Geographic location:
Jordan
Source
Date
Page
Daily Variety
6 Dec 2010
p. 1, 50.
Daily Variety
14 Jan 2011
p. 1, 58.
Daily Variety
24 May 2012.
Daily Variety
26 Nov 2012
p. 1, 13.
Daily Variety
30 Nov 2012.
Hollywood Reporter
13 May 2011.
Hollywood Reporter
25 May 2011.
Hollywood Reporter
2 Mar 2012.
Hollywood Reporter
16 Mar 2012
pp. 7-8.
Hollywood Reporter
21 Jun 2012.
Hollywood Reporter
29 Jun 2012.
Los Angeles Times
3 May 2011
Section D, p. 1, 6.
Los Angeles Times
11 Aug 2011
Section AA, p. 1, 4.
Los Angeles Times
6 Jan 2012.
Los Angeles Times
27 May 2012.
Los Angeles Times
14 Jun 2012.
Los Angeles Times
14 Dec 2012.
Los Angeles Times
19 Dec 2012
Section D, p. 1.
New York Times
26 May 2010.
New York Times
18 Dec 2012
p. 1.
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