The Netflix feature film “A House of Dynamite” tells “a vastly different story” about the U.S. government’s capability of repelling a nuclear attack than real-world testing suggests, according to an internal government memo obtained by Bloomberg.
The movie, directed by Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”) and written by former NBC News president Noah Oppenheim (“Jackie”), depicts how the U.S. government might respond to an incoming nuclear ballistic missile headed for Chicago. The secretary of defense (Jared Harris) expresses shock that the missile defense system, which cost $50 billion, has just a 50% chance at successfully shooting down the missile — and, indeed, in the film, the system fails to do its job.
A Missile Defense Agency memo, reportedly dated Oct. 16, however, states that current interception technology has “displayed a 100% accuracy rate in testing for more than a decade.”
The memo was generated to “address false assumptions, provide correct facts and a better understanding” of the current system, according to the Bloomberg report, so that leadership at the agency “has situational awareness and is not ‘surprised’ by the topic, which may come up in conversations or meetings.”
To the credit of whoever authored the memo, it does account for dramatic license, stating that “the fictional interceptors in the movie miss their target and we understand this is intended to be a compelling part of the drama intended for the entertainment of the audience.” But it goes on to assert that current testing tells “a vastly different story” than what is depicted in the movie.
Representatives for Netflix, Bigelow and the U.S. military did not immediately respond to requests for comment. On the Oct. 12 episode of “CBS Sunday Morning,” Bigelow said that the filmmaking team did not work with the military in a desire to be “more independent.”
“But that being said, we had multiple tech advisers who have worked in the Pentagon,” she said. “They were with me every day we shot.”
At the “House of Dynamite” Los Angeles premiere in early October, Bigelow told Variety that she was hoping the film would “certainly begin a conversation” about nuclear threats and attacks.
“We live in a very combustible world and bringing awareness to that is a very positive step forward,” she said. “My hope is that we begin to move into a world toward non-proliferation and reducing the nuclear stockpile. These are lofty aspirations, I know, but nonetheless.”
Marc Malkin contributed to this story.
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