Today on AirTalk, we'll discuss the latest developments in the manhunt for ex-LAPD officer Christopher Dorner, whose wallet was found with an yet-unidentified body in the remains of yesterday's fire. We'll also consider the focuses of President Obama's State of the Union address and the response from Republican Marco Rubio. Later, screenwriter Mark Boal joins Larry to speak about his Oscar-nominated film, "Zero Dark Thirty."
The questions still surrounding Christopher Dorner
It appears as if the manhunt for Christopher Dorner is finally over. Dorner, an ex-LAPD cop, published a manifesto with names of his targets online, before wreaking havoc in the Southland. He is connected to four homicides, an attempt to steal a boat, firing on personnel from several different law enforcement agencies, carjacking, and holding innocent people hostage.
The drama met a fiery end at a cabin outside of Big Bear Lake that Dorner allegedly holed himself up in. After a lengthy standoff with the police, resulting in the death of a deputy from Riverside, the cabin (which did not belong to Dorner) burst into flames. Due to the heat, ammunition which Dorner had been stockpiling began to explode. Then, law enforcement had to play a waiting game, as the cabin was still too hot to enter and investigate even after the shooting had stopped. Once possible, the cabin was entered. An unidentified body was found, as well as several possessions belonging to Dorner.
While it is likely that these are the remains of Christopher Dorner, the LAPD and those targeted in his manifesto are waiting for scientific confirmation before making an official statement. While it seems like this story is coming to an end, there are still mysterious aspects to the case and several questions left unanswered. For instance, how was Dorner able to effectively hide in plain sight in Big Bear Lake? How long will it take for his body to be identified?
What tactics were law enforcement and Dorner using during this prolonged manhunt? What’s going to happen to the $1 million reward? And how do you explain the support Dorner received, mainly online, during this past week? With what looks like Dorner’s spree coming to an end, do you finally feel safe?
Guests:
Phil Willon, Inland Empire bureau chief for the Los Angeles Times, in Big Bear
Ben Bergman, KPCC Reporter
Mary Ellen O'Toole, Former Senior Criminal Profiler for the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Fellow, American Academy of Forensic Sciences
Frank Stoltze, KPCC Reporter, in Big Bear
Mary Plummer, KPCC Reporter, at the funeral of Riverside officer Michael Crain
David Schmid, Author, “Natural Born Celebrities: Serial Killers in American Culture;” Professor of Cultural Studies (and more) in the English Department of SUNY, Buffalo
Recapping the State of the Union
President Barack Obama pitched new ideas to stimulate the economy, urged bipartisan approaches and emotionally called for legislative movement on gun control. The president continued to hone in on climate control, and laid out ideas for improvements in education.
Still, economics played a major role in each subject he discussed. Plans for new programs and investments were accompanied by statements about how the U.S. could save money for the future and assurances that new plans would not increase U.S. debt. The speech, which started on what some have called a campaign-esque note, ended with an emotional appeal for gun control reform, and a personalized vocalization that everyone should “have a simple vote.”
In his response to the presidential State of the Union, Republican Senator Marco Rubio called for the end of tax increases. He also urged the president to consider the middle class, who he said would suffer in the wake of deficit spending and restricting free enterprise.
Which of President Obama’s plans seem most feasibly executable? Are the president’s economic promises out of reach? How does the Republican response affect your perspective of the State of the Union?
Guests:
Jonathan Wilcox, Republican Strategist; former speech writer for Governor Pete Wilson
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist; former senior Obama advisor in 2008, who now runs the Los Angeles office for the Dewey Square Group
Obama lays out ambitious economic to-do list - but can it be done?
In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama oozed confidence and determination as he laid out his plans to boost the economy, create jobs, foster education and scientific progress and give a hand up to strapped middle class families. “We can get this done,” he repeated several times. But can we?
Universal preschool, increasing the minimum wage, repairing bridges and creating technology institutes might seem like no-brainer solutions to some; to others, they’re pie in the sky, impossible goals in the face of our current debt crisis. In his response, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said that Obama’s overarching message amounted to solving every problem by having Washington “tax more, borrow more, and spend more.”
What did you think of the president’s ideas? Are they realistic, affordable or even doable? Does his speech give us reason to be optimistic, or is Obama dreaming the impossible dream?
Guests:
Jared Bernstein, Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, formerly Chief Economist and Economic Adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, and a member of President Obama’s economic team
Phillip Swagel, Professor at University of Maryland, visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and Senior Fellow at the Milken Institute
'Zero Dark Thirty' writer Mark Boal on the film's torture controversy
The controversial and highly reviewed "Zero Dark Thirty" follows the life of CIA officer Maya for ten years as she tracks data and learns torturous interrogation techniques in search of Osama Bin Laden. Many film critics have praised this movie, and it has been nominated for and won an impressive resume of awards.
However, angry protesters in the film industry and in Washington D.C. have serious issues with "Zero Dark Thirty" portraying torture as government’s effective way to obtain information.
The film's journalist-turned-screenwriter Mark Boal joins Larry to talk about the research involved in creating this movie and responds to attacks of being pro-torture. Also, perhaps Boal can relate to his character, young CIA officer Maya, in working on something for years and in moments, wondering if all that time was wasted.
Initially Boal and director Kathryn Bigelow worked for two years on a film about the unsuccessful capture of Bin Laden. When Bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, Boal and Bigelow needed to scrap their movie and begin again on an up-to-date script.
However, like Maya, that time was not wasted and much of his research and interviews led to the creation of "Zero Dark Thirty." In addition to firsthand accounts of the manhunt, Boal also relied on his own experience as a journalist in Iraq.
Where does fact meet fiction? As a journalist and screenwriter, did Boal have a hard time mixing the two together? What does Boal want you to take away from his movie? How does Boal respond to accusations of being pro-torture?
Interview Highlights:
On the issues that come with making a film about current events:
"The filmmaking was a pleasure, the politics that accompany making a movie like this, regardless of what you do, that's where it becomes less fun and a little more of a job. I think anyone who's made a topical film has had these issues. I know Michael Mann had them on "The Insider," and Steven Spielberg faced them when he made "Munich," but from the very beginning the film was a political football. Before I even started writing the screenplay we were being characterized by the right wing as an Obama campaign commercial. This was before I'd even written a word, I didn't even know what the story was going to be… Some of that comes with the territory, that's what happens when you make a movie about current events."
On the criticism that "Zero Dark Thirty" shows torture as leading to Osama Bin Laden's death:
"The film has been mischaracterized, those scenes don't show torture as producing valuable information. If anyone has seen the film and comes to that conclusion I think that's a political misreading of the film, completely. If you see the film and say 'torture is part of this story,' that's because it's historically true. I think we did a good job capturing the essence of its role in the hunt. We certainly didn't show every incidence of people being abused. The CIA, let's face it, a man was beaten with a flashlight, we didn't show that in the movie because even though it's a horrible tragedy, it didn't have anything directly to do with the hunt for bin Laden."
On defending the depiction of torture in "Zero Dark Thirty":
"Is there anybody on this planet who thinks that Abu Ghraib was a figment of our imagination? Or that thinks black sites weren't part of this history? That happened, and the fact that we came under political attack for depicting it, that's politics. But the movie is depicting a slice of American history and I think it's depicting it in a way that captures the essence of what happened honestly…I think some of the criticism is misguided because we don't advocate these policies, we don't approve of them, but we're storytellers. It's our responsibility, just like Steven Spielberg did a story about the Holocaust, it was his responsibility to depict the horrors of that."
On how he and Katherine Bigelow made sure to be as truthful as possible:
"Of course we tried to be as honest as we could. Who would go into a movie like this knowing there's going to be the scrutiny there is, knowing the importance, knowing the deep underlying fissures in our political system on the policy issues and try to play fast and loose? You'd have to be out of your mind to do that."
On the multiple channels that led to Osama bin Laden's death:
"I think that what led to Osama Bin Laden's death is the work of thousands of people over the course of 10 years. We depict some of them. There were many different places that the information came from. Some of it came from the detainee program. A lot of it came out of good old fashioned sleuthing, detective work, some of it came out of electronic surveillance. There's a whole host of methods, but at the end of the day what the movie is really about that there's a cerebral cortex involved here. It's about human beings who took all this information, coming from many different sources, piecing it together and eventually tracking down Osama Bin Laden's compound. I don't think you can say that torture led to Osama Bin Laden, I don't think that's true. There's no really one thing that did it."
Guest:
Mark Boal, Writer and Producer of Oscar-nominated “Zero Dark Thirty;” Writer and Producer of Oscar-winning, “The Hurt Locker”