Hollywood Got Inside Scoop on bin Laden Raid

The White House, CIA, and Pentagon all gave special access to Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow to help with her movie about Osama bin Laden's death, according to documents obtained by the conservative Judicial Watch. In one interview, Undersecretary of Defense Mike Vickers tells Bigelow that top admirals can't talk because it would set "a bad example if it gets out," but that she could interview a SEAL Team 6 operator, who would "give you everything you … would get from Adm Olson or Adm McRaven."

Screenwriter Michael Boal was also allowed to visit CIA headquarters, where he saw a mockup of the Abbottabad complex. "We're trying to keep [Boal's] visits at HQs a bit quiet," a CIA spokesman says in one email. "I'm sure you understand." Conservatives say the documents show that the Obama administration gave out secret info to help create a flattering film. The visits took place last summer—just weeks, Politico points out, after Robert Gates warned of the dangers of leaking details of the raid. (More Kathryn Bigelow stories.)