'Zero Dark Thirty' writer defends film (again)

Mark Boal, the screenwriter of 'Zero Dark Thirty' and another Kathryn Bigelow movie, 'The Hurt Locker,' has attacked politicians who he says have used the film  as a "publicity tool" to advance their own agendas.

In an interview with 'The Wall Street Journal' Boal refers to the recent attempt by a group of US senators to get distributors Sony to add a disclaimer to the film saying,   ''… the role of torture in the hunt for Osama bin Laden is not based on the facts, but rather part of the film’s fictional narrative."

Boal told The Journal, "Now does that mean they can use the movie as a political platform to talk about what they've been wanting to talk about for years and years and years? Do I think that [Dianne] Feinstein used the movie as a publicity tool to get a conversation going about her report? I believe it."

Responding to the large amount of criticism that the film has attracted - including that from Pullitzer Prize-winning terrorism expert Steve Coll who called it ''shoddy reporting'' - Boal also defends his journalistic right to portray events however he sees fit.

''I think it's my right, by the way, if I firmly believe that [Osama] Bin Laden was killed by aliens, to depict that. And I should be able to put on there, 'This is 100% true and anyone who doubts it is themselves abducted by aliens' ... without a Senate investigation into where I got that notion. Right? In this country, isn't that legit?"

'Zero Dark Thirty' is currently nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.