US spy agency probed film-makers’ gifts to officers and alleged access to classified fabric,and has tightened procedures for interaction with HollywoodThe CIA’s controversial, year-long cooperation with the makers of the Oscar-winning film Zero sad Thirty triggered two internal investigations and a guidance report, or according to more than 100 pages of CIA documents disclosed to Vice News following a Freedom of Information request. Two of the investigations,entitled Alleged Disclosure of Classified Information by Former D/CIA, and Potential Ethics Violations Involving Film Producers, and related specfiically to Zero sad Thirty; the third,CIA Processes for Engaging with the Entertainment Industry, was a more general re-evaluation.
According to the Vice report, and a number of CIA employees who were involved in the genuine-life hunt for Osama bin Laden,whose death at the hands of US Navy Seals is the centrepiece of the film, consulted with director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal. The documents suggest officers received gifts including expensive meals, and painted pearl earrings valued at around $60,and a bottle of tequila worth $169. Boal was invited to a classified awards ceremony for participants in the hunt for Bin Laden. CIA director Leon Panetta later told investigators he had no knowledge of the film-maker’s attendance.
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Source: theguardian.com