‘Excited to take this on’

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Zero Dark Thirty (the title is military jargon for the dark of night, as well as the moment — 12.30 am — when the Navy SEALs first stepped foot into the Abbotabad compound that served as the hideout for Osama Bin Laden) is Kathryn Bigelow’s most ambitious production to date.

Kathryn answers a few quick questions about the film, which stars Jessica Chastain.

When did you start the project?
I started this project six years ago, with a very different ending, until one day President Obama announced that “the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama Bin Laden” and that was the time when we started talking to sources. It was all based on a firsthand account, so it felt very vivid, very vital and very immediate which was very exciting for me, as a filmmaker.

What made you take it up?
We discovered that the centre of the real life operation was a young female CIA officer, who was so courageous… I was excited to take it on.

So is the movie about her?
It is not just about her, but it is based on the interviews done with the real female CIA officer.

How did she feel about it?
A lot of people involved in it were proud of what they did, but did not want to talk about it. There’s a bit of fear because this film might change the way things are look upon.

Who’s the movie dedicated to?
The movie is dedicated to the victims of 9/11 and their families. It is dedicated to the people who gave up their lives for the operation.