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Kathryn Bigelow is happy A House of Dynamite <\/em>is sparking conversations.<\/p>\n That\u2019s her initial \u2014 and genuinely enthusiastic \u2014 response to The Hollywood Reporter <\/em>when asked about Bloomberg<\/em>\u2019s recent report<\/a> that the Pentagon sent out an internal memo about her film, criticizing its depiction of the United States\u2019 nuclear missile defense system. The movie\u2019s view is based on Bigelow and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim\u2019s extensive research and interviews with experts: They depict with startling detail how, with less than 30 minutes from detection, officials can best, if ultimately insufficiently, respond to an incoming attack, with the current U.S. system able to stop a nuclear missile roughly 50 percent of the time. (\u201cA coin toss,\u201d as the refrain in the movie goes.) Per Bloomberg<\/em>, the Pentagon counters that its systems \u201chave displayed a 100 percent accuracy rate in testing for more than a decade.\u201d<\/p>\n More from The Hollywood Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n Writers like The Atlantic<\/em>\u2019s Tom Nichols, who visited the set for the film, have already disputed<\/a> the Pentagon\u2019s apparent claims. Officials including Massachusetts Sen. Edward J. Markey have gone public praising the film<\/a> for raising nuclear awareness \u2014 and getting it seemingly right. The Pentagon has complicated the conversation over the level of accuracy in A House of Dynamite<\/a><\/em>, which has premiered to strong numbers on Netflix as the streamer\u2019s No. 1 film, with 22.1 million views in its first three days, per the company.<\/p>\n But Bigelow and Oppenheim welcome the debate. In an exclusive conversation with THR<\/em>, they reflect on the movie\u2019s success so far, lessons learned from the controversy around Bigelow\u2019s Oscar-winning Zero Dark Thirty<\/em> and why they feel confident in their depiction.<\/p>\n I want to get right into it and ask you, Kathryn, about this Pentagon memo that Bloomberg <\/em>first reported on. What is your reaction to it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n KATHRYN BIGELOW <\/strong>It\u2019s interesting. In a perfect world, culture has the potential to drive policy \u2014 and if there\u2019s dialogue around the proliferation of nuclear weapons, that is music to my ears, certainly.<\/p>\n What are your feelings around the fact that they did internally decide to respond to the movie and take some level of issue with your depiction of our missile-defense system? Why do you think that they chose to do that?<\/strong><\/p>\n NOAH OPPENHEIM <\/strong>There\u2019s no way for us to get in the minds of the folks who wrote that memo, but as Kathryn said, both of us are thrilled to see a conversation happening between policymakers and experts about how to make the world a safer place. So if the film was a catalyst in some way for that larger conversation and dialogue, that\u2019s one of the reasons why we made it \u2014 to trigger that kind of conversation.<\/p>\n Do you worry, though, that this will challenge the credibility of the film? How do you feel about the fact that they\u2019re taking a stance that opposes, to some degree, what you depict in the film?<\/strong><\/p>\n OPPENHEIM<\/strong> <\/strong>As we see it, it\u2019s not a debate between us as filmmakers and the Pentagon. It\u2019s between the Pentagon and the wider community of experts in the space. Senator Edward Markey or retired general Douglas Lute; journalists like Tom Nichols and Fred Kaplan, who\u2019ve covered this issue for decades; the APS, which is a nonpartisan organization of physicists \u2014 these are the folks who are coming out and saying what we depict in the film, which is that our current missile defense system is highly imperfect, is accurate. On the other side of that conversation, you have the Pentagon apparently asserting that it\u2019s 100 percent effective. We believe all those experts who\u2019ve told us that the system is more like a coin toss like we depict in the film, but we\u2019re glad all these folks are having the debate and the conversation.<\/p>\n The Pentagon also apparently noted you did not consult them while making the movie. Kathryn, you\u2019ve said you felt it was important to keep this film independent. Can you talk about why, in light of this response?<\/strong><\/p>\n BIGELOW<\/strong> <\/strong>It\u2019s the best course of action, to consult with all of the experts that we did. We had extraordinary tech advisers on this film, and then they were our North Star.<\/p>\n OPPENHEIM<\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong>I\u2019m a former journalist, you\u2019re a journalist. I think it\u2019s safe to say that folks who are not currently serving in government are often more free to speak their minds and to give you an accurate picture, as opposed to trying to advance any particular agenda. So relying on folks who recently served in the Pentagon, recently served in our intelligence agencies in the White House \u2014 we feel pretty confident in the accuracy of the picture that they gave us.<\/p>\n Kathryn, <\/strong>Zero Dark Thirty <\/em><\/strong>obviously elicited a ton of response and controversy from government officials and experts. Were there any lessons learned, or wisdom gleaned, from that experience in terms of how to operate in the aftermath of the release of these films, which speak so directly and potently to our real world?<\/strong><\/p>\n BIGELO<\/strong><\/strong>W <\/strong>I just state the truth. In this piece, it\u2019s all about realism and authenticity. Same with Zero Dark Thirty<\/em> and same with Hurt Locker<\/em> \u2014 even though Hurt Locker <\/em>was obviously a work of fiction, and this is a work of fiction. For me, these are pieces that lean in hard on realism. You\u2019re inviting an audience into, say, the battledeck of STRATCOM. That\u2019s a place that\u2019s not easily accessible, and so you want it to be authentic and honest. That\u2019s my goal, and I think we achieved it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to the public commentary from experts that you mentioned, Noah, what have you heard from people about the film as it\u2019s soared on Netflix over the past few days?<\/strong><\/p>\n OPPENHEIM<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong>It\u2019s been really gratifying that the folks who know the subject the best have told us that they feel like we\u2019ve captured it accurately and that this is the world that they have been examining for all their careers.<\/p>\n BIGELO<\/strong><\/strong>W<\/strong> <\/strong>To be honest, nuclear weapons have been shrouded in silence for several decades now. It\u2019s my opinion that this was a conversation that needed to happen.<\/p>\n This movie has struck such a chord since it premiered. It\u2019s been at No. 1 on Netflix for the past few days. Do you think that\u2019s partly why it\u2019s resonated \u2014 the fact that it is something that has been shrouded in silence, as you say?<\/strong><\/p>\n BIGELO<\/strong><\/strong>W<\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong>Very much so. It\u2019s grappling with the idea that we\u2019re surrounded by 12,000 [nuclear] weapons. We live in a really combustible environment, hence the title \u2014 we live in A House of Dynamite<\/em>. The unthinkable \u2014 it\u2019s time to address it and, in a perfect world, begin discussions about reducing the nuclear stockpile.<\/p>\n OPPENHEIM<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> <\/strong>It is extraordinary, the power of the Netflix platform in terms of its ability to reach an audience all over the world and drive a conversation. The number of people who\u2019ve watched the movie just in these first few days, it\u2019s beyond our wildest expectations, and you\u2019re seeing a conversation about this not just in the United States, but all over the world, because Netflix has that kind of global reach. Hearing from people in my past life as a journalist, hearing from friends and family all over the world whose attention has been turned to this very important issue so that they\u2019re coming out of the movie and saying, \u201cWow, Kathryn Bigelow sure can make a compelling thriller,\u201d and, \u201cI was on the edge of my seat for two hours,\u201d and also, \u201cI\u2019m thinking about this really critical policy issue for the first time in a long time\u201d \u2014 the combination of those two things is pretty great.<\/p>\n Kathryn, how about for you? This is your first streaming movie. Are you online? Are you tracking the discourse?<\/strong><\/p>\n BIGELO<\/strong><\/strong>W<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> (Laughs<\/em>.) I mean, I\u2019m receiving texts and emails [from] all over the world. It\u2019s really very profound. The reach is extraordinary, but more importantly, the story, the concept, the subject is what\u2019s really inspiring conversation and feedback and trepidation \u2014 in a good way. In other words, this is a conversation. That is a long time coming. We have in February the beginning of the negotiation for the START Treaty, and I\u2019ve heard from one gentleman who will be involved in that negotiation, who\u2019s seen the movie twice \u2014 and would like to see a meaningful impact in that negotiation.<\/p>\n There\u2019s so much talk about the ending, the uncertainty that it very intentionally leaves viewers with. Have you followed the way that people are sitting with it and debating it?<\/strong><\/p>\n OPPENHEI<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong>M <\/strong>Kathryn and I wanted the movie to invite the audience to lean in the end, to not kind of give anyone an easy out or tie it up with a bow. We wanted to instigate reflection and conversation, and we both give a lot of credit to Netflix for letting Kathryn make the movie that she envisioned from the very beginning. As the ending is driving people to talk more about this subject, it\u2019s exactly what we hoped for.<\/p>\n BIGELO<\/strong><\/strong>W<\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong><\/strong> I tend to start films with a question, or I certainly have recently, anyway. With Hurt Locker,<\/em> it was: What is the methodology of the insurgency in Iraq and the bloodiest part of the war? In Zero Dark Thirty<\/em>, why did it take 10 years to find Osama Bin Laden? In this one, the film in itself poses a question that then gives the audience an opportunity to answer.<\/p>\n Best of The Hollywood Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n Sign up for THR’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Kathryn Bigelow is happy A House of Dynamite is sparking conversations. That\u2019s her initial \u2014 and genuinely enthusiastic \u2014 response to The Hollywood Reporter when asked about Bloomberg\u2019s recent report that the Pentagon sent out an internal memo about her film, criticizing its depiction of the United States\u2019 nuclear missile defense system. The movie\u2019s view … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/I-Just-State-the-Truth-Exclusive.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8011,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8009\/revisions\/8011"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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