CIA director slams Kathryn Bigelow's 'Zero Dark Thirty'

The director of the CIA has come out to dispute the validity of Kathryn Bigelow's upcoming drama Zero Dark Thirty.

The film stars Jessica Chastain as a CIA analyst on the search for Osama bin Laden, and purports to be an accurate retelling of the events that led to Bin Laden's capture and execution.



Controversy has surrounded the Golden Globe-nominated film, which suggests that extreme torture was used to finally locate Bin Laden.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, CIA Director Michael Morell has now spoken out against the facts of the film, claiming that it takes "significant artistic licence", and is "not a realistic portrayal of the facts".



In a public letter to CIA personnel, Morell wrote: "The film creates the strong impression that the enhanced interrogation techniques that were part of our former detention and interrogation programme were the key to finding Bin Laden. That impression is false."

He added: "The film takes considerable liberties in its depiction of CIA personnel and their actions, including some who died while serving our country. We cannot allow a Hollywood film to cloud our memory of them."

Zero Dark Thirty is scheduled for release in cinemas on January 11 in the US and January 25 in the UK.

Watch a trailer for Zero Dark Thirty below: