National Geographic To Air Osama Bin Laden Movie This November [Video]
National Geographic is set to air director John Stockwell’s SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden on Sunday, November 4, according to Deadline. The cable network’s broadcast of the film, which chronicles the military operation that brought down the notorious terrorist, will serve as the picture’s world premiere.
The Weinstein Company acquired John Stockwell’s military drama during the Cannes Film Festival last May for around $2 million. At the time, the picture was known as Code Name: Geronimo. National Geographic reportedly work for months with the distributor in an effort to make the film more suitable for its audience.
Although it may seem a little peculiar for a motion picture like SEAL Team Six to have its debut on a cable channel, some theorize it could be an attempt by the Weinstein Company to take advantage of the buzz surrounding Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty. The historical drama, which also concerns itself with Osama bin Laden, is slated to hit theaters on December 19.
According to Collider, another theory behind the film’s unusual release is that it’s a last-pitch attempt by the Weinsteins to influence voters days before the presidential election. After all, what better way to say “Vote for Obama!” than to show a motion picture that chronicles what is considered by many to be his finest hour?
Coming Soon describes SEAL Team Six as follows:
“[The film] is based on the military incursion into Bin Laden’s compound from the perspective of a small contingent of Navy SEALS. The film takes a look inside their lives as tensions rise between them until they learn the identity of their latest target, whose code name is Geronimo.”
SEAL Team Six: The Raid On Osama Bin Laden, which debuts on National Geographic the Sunday before the election, stars Cam Gigandet, Anson Mount, Freddy Rodriquez, Xzibit, Kathleen Robertson, Eddie Kay Thomas, Kenneth Miller, Robert Knepper, and William Fichtner. The first trailer for the film has been included below.
