This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
'Hurt Locker' Creators On Explosive New Thriller
Listen
20:00
Director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal collaborated on <em>The Hurt Locker,</em> a thriller about an Army bomb squad in Iraq.
(
Franco Origlia
/
Getty Images
)
Screenwriter Mark Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow join Fresh Air to discuss their collaboration on The Hurt Locker, a combat movie about an Army bomb squad that roams Iraq in search of explosives to defuse.
The film — which won four awards at the 2008 Venice Film Festival — stars Jeremy Renner as a cowboy-ish leader addicted to the adrenaline rush of war. In his summer movie preview, NPR's Bob Mondello called The Hurt Locker "the first smart war movie in quite a while to have a leading role that could've been played by John Wayne."
Boal researched the film by embedding with a real bomb squad in Iraq. The Hurt Locker is his first screenplay; previously Boal wrote the short story that inspired the movie In the Valley of Elah, about a young Iraq War veteran who is discovered brutally murdered in New Mexico.
Bigelow's directorial credits include Point Break, Blue Steel and K-19: The Widowmaker. She has also directed episodes of the TV shows Homicide: Life on the Street and Wild Palms.
Copyright 2022 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air. 9(MDA1OTI3MjQ5MDEyODUwMTE2MzM1YzNmZA004))
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
