ZERO DARK THIRTY Loses Oscar So Senate Calls Off Investigation

There was a moment in time when Zero Dark Thirty looked to be a frontrunner in the Oscar race. I don't know that it was ever going to win, but it was a player for sure. And then the torture stuff started, with people who hadn't seen the movie claiming it promoted the practice. And then people began claiming it wasn't completely accurate*. And then the Senate got involved, first with John McCain and Dianne Feinstein criticizing the film and finally with the Senate Intelligence Committee starting an investigation into whether secrets were illegally divulged to screenwriter Mark Boal.

All of this kneecapped the film in the awards race; what had been a frontrunner (and what remains my #1 movie of the year, and a film that will be remembered decades hence) was now just happy to be there. And that's not even taking into account the snubbing of director Kathryn Bigelow, who wasn't nominated for Best Director. The finale: Zero Dark Thirty walked out of the Dolby Theater with just one Oscar, for Sound Editing. And that was shared, in a very rare tie. 

Today Reuters is reporting that the Senate Intelligence Committee is closing their investigation. Yes, the day after the film, tainted by controversy, loses at the Oscars is the day the Committee decides to quit investigating. And get this - they're not taking any further action. The investigation, it must be assumed, turned up nothing at all. It was all just noise, timed to hobble the film at the Oscars and possibly the box office. With that job done, the charade can finally end and everybody can stop paying attention.

Am I a conspiracy nut? Not usually, but the timing of this... man, it makes you think, huh? The Oscar campaign world is dirtier and dirtier every year, and the idea of a rival studio throwing some money at key Senators to create a kerfuffle seems actually fairly small-time in the grand scheme of political misbehavior. Hell, this probably happened just as a favor, something to be paid back during the next election cycle. 

* as opposed, I guess, to the 100% true Argo.