Bigelow 'wanted realism and authenticity'

Kathryn Bigelow has said that she used the experiences of former Iraq war reporter Mark Boal to make new war movie The Hurt Locker authentic.

The director told The Guardian that she was able to benefit from the "profound" experience that screenwriter Boal brought to the project.

Bigelow said: "The idea was to make the movie as realistic and authentic as possible. We had the great benefit of Mark Boal's first-hand observation from his embed in Baghad in 2004.

"Just a day in the life of a bomb tech in Baghad at that time is certainly inherently dramatic. These are men who arguably people who have the most dangerous job in the world. They're walking towards what you and I and perhaps the rest of the world would run from."

She added: "What really attracted me was the psychology. These are men who, in America certainly, it's a volunteer military, so these are men who are there by choice.

"Yet it's an unimaginable courage that they must possess in order to do what they do on a daily basis, 10, 12, 15 times a day. At the same time they're saving lives, hundreds, maybe thousands of lives. So it's pretty admirable."

> Click here to read our interview with Kathryn Bigelow