'The Report' Director on How Bush-Era Story Rings True in Trump-Era's 'Crisis of Accountability'

In Scott Z. Burns’ film “The Report,” Congressional democrats have just lost the House majority to the republicans and are now faced with a dilemma: push for the release of The Torture Report to expose the truth of the CIA’s actions in the wake of 9/11, or risk losing leverage on other meaningful legislation.

It’s a debate that echoes how democrats in both the House and Senate felt over beginning an impeachment inquiry on President Trump. But as public impeachment hearings begin Wednesday, Burns explains why the message in “The Report” is all the more poignant.

“We’re living in a time where we have a crisis of accountability. Some of that crisis of accountability is resulting from a sort of political calculus,” Burns told TheWrap in an interview. “I view it as a very cynical approach to the government that if you take a stand, that it means it will come back at you in unexpected ways.”

Also Read: In 'The Report,' Government Heroes Expose America's Torture After 9/11

He continued: “It sounds very reasonable. A lot of government is about compromise. But the democrats always seem to fall prey to this, being reasonable and, ‘okay we’ll compromise on this if we get some traction on another issue,’ but that isn’t happening on both sides of the aisle. That ends up causing us to live in a world where we’re not solving problems and we’re not holding people accountable.”

“The Report” is the true story of Daniel J. Jones and his seven-year-long effort to tell the truth about the CIA’s use of torture against suspected terrorists, exposing that the CIA knew the tactics were ineffective and failed to produce meaningful intel. But Burns’ film delves into the “Kafkaesque ordeal” of endless stonewalling, manipulation and political spin that threatened to bury Jones and make all of his efforts pointless.

Even so, Jones’ report virtually evaporated within the never-ending press cycle, and “The Report” closes with text saying that many of the individuals named within the Torture Report still hold jobs or were promoted within the CIA, including the current CIA director Gina Haspel. Haspel in particular was approved by the same senators and congressmen that fought to release the report in the first place.

“It was frustrating to him that the report that he did had such a short shelf life. He hopes that the movie can put out the narrative in his work into pop culture,” Burns said.

Also Read: Adam Driver Finds Truth Is Redacted in 'The Report' Trailer (Video)

Burns is the screenwriter of four Steven Soderbergh films including “Contagion,” “Side Effects,” “The Informant!” and this year’s Panama Papers movie “The Laundromat,” but he’s making his directorial debut on “The Report.” The drama stars Adam Driver as Jones alongside Annette Bening as senator Dianne Feinstein, and the film contains the same icy tension, crisp cinematography and political intrigue of many of Soderbergh’s films.

“Because of the density of it and the amount of research, Steven was the first person to say, ‘you need to direct this, because you understand the story better than anyone else is going to,'” Burns said. “I probably spent 200 days of standing next to him. And though I don’t pretend for a moment that I can do what he can do, I did learn a lot from him of the discipline of coming up with a visual grammar for a movie.”

Burns originally started researching his film before Jones had even finished writing the Torture Report. He was focusing on the CIA psychologists featured prominently in the film, individuals who had no intelligence gathering experience but used twisted science to justify waterboarding and other abusive interrogation techniques.

Also Read: 'The Laundromat' Film Review: Steven Soderbergh's Panama Papers Tale Is a Messy Exposé

But just as Jones had to work tirelessly to keep his report airtight, Burns’ story evolved dramatically through at least 20 drafts of the screenplay to ensure the complicated subject matter would be clear enough for a general audience.

“Every time I would write a draft, I would try and arrange a table read so I could hear this thing out loud. It was always going to be very dense by design, but I didn’t want that density to get in the way of people really understanding it,” Burns said. “So I had table read after table read after table read, and I honestly don’t even know how many drafts I went through.”

“The Report” opens in theaters Friday via Amazon Studios, but it already made its premiere at Sundance earlier this year and has already been seen by Jones, Feinstein and others on Capitol Hill. Burns said that Feinstein was “grateful” for the film, but he was most moved by the researchers, military servicemen and intelligence gatherers who are still doing important work in the face of difficult circumstances.

“All of those people know the enhanced interrogation program was a bad idea that hurt our country,” Burns said. “And in speaking to people in the military this week, they echoed the sentiments in the film that this program has left a stain around the world, and it’s going to take a long time, if ever, to correct that.”

21 Hollywood Stars Who Served in the Military, From Clint Eastwood to Adam Driver (Photos)

This Veterans Day, take a moment to honor someone who took the time out to serve our country in the military. On top of that, you can check out a film or show featuring one of these Hollywood stars who served in the military. Some of the actors on this list have military careers that date back to World War II. While this list excludes celebrity veterans who have died, including people like Jimmy Stewart, Elvis Presley, Kirk Douglas and Bea Arthur, there's more than enough patriotism on this list to go around.
Courtesy Rodney Wright/Getty Images
Adam Driver

Adam Driver joined the Marines shortly after 9/11 and served for two years and eight months before being medically discharged after suffering a mountain biking accident. He was assigned to Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines. Though he was never deployed, he did get a nickname from his fellow Marines: "Ears Two." He explained to Stephen Colbert that he was one of two guys in his battalion with big ears, but that he avoided most of the verbal ridicule. Driver also told The Guardian how serving changed his outlook on life. “There’s something about going into the military and having all of your identity and possessions stripped away: that whole clarity of purpose thing. It becomes very clear to you, when you get your freedom back, that there’s stuff you want to do.”
Courtesy Rodney Wright
Morgan Freeman

Morgan Freeman turned down a partial scholarship for acting and instead opted to join the Air Force. From 1955 to 1959, he served as a radar technician and rose to the rank of Airman 1st Class. He told AARP magazine (via military.com) that he felt as though he were sitting "in the nose of a bomb" once he finally trained to fly a fighter plane. "You are not in love with this; you are in love with the idea of this," Freeman said.
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Tom Selleck

"Magnum P.I." actor Tom Selleck served in the California Army National Guard between 1967 to 1973. Selleck has previously said he's proud of his time in the military. "I am a veteran, I'm proud of it," he told military.com. "We're all brothers and sisters in that sense."

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Tony Bennett

Tony Bennett, now in his 90s, was drafted to serve in World War II in November 1944, and by March 1945, he was sent to the front line through France and into Germany as part of the 63rd Infantry Division, better known as the "Blood and Fire" division. In his autobiography "The Good Life," Bennett recalled the experience as having a "front row seat in hell."
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Rob Riggle

Comedian Rob Riggle served in the Marines for 23 years, first joining in 1990 when he said he would rather be a "Top Gun" pilot than be a waiter. He served in Kosovo, Liberia, Afghanistan and Albania during his time, becoming a decorated lieutenant colonel in the process. Though he wanted to enter into flight school, Riggle realized it would hinder his dream of one day doing comedy. "I stopped flying, became a ground officer, had a short contract, fulfilled my contract and pursued comedy and acting," he told CBS News. "I stayed in the reserves though and did the reserves for the last 14 years. And I just retired in January from the Marines. This is a great country, you can do it all."
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Clint Eastwood

Though he's more well known as a cowboy and cop, Clint Eastwood was drafted into the Korean War and served as a lifeguard while training at Fort Ord in California. He was discharged in 1953 and was able to attend acting school during his tenure thanks to the G.I. Bill.
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Robin Quivers

Robin Quivers, a co-host on Howard Stern's radio show, rose to the rank of captain while enlisted in the U.S. Air Force between 1975 and 1978. She was discharged shortly after, but remained a member of the reserve with no active duty until 1990, according to the biography "Howard Stern: King of All Media."
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Ice-T

In an effort to support his girlfriend and newly born daughter, Ice-T enlisted in the military to get off the streets and found himself stationed in Hawaii in the 25th Infantry Division between 1977 to 1979. In Hawaii, he met people who would inspire him to pursue a music career.
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Mel Brooks

The comedy legend served in World War II as a combat engineer, defusing land mines as a corporal in the 1104 Engineer Combat Division. "I was a combat engineer. Isn’t that ridiculous? The two things I hate most in the world are combat and engineering," Brooks joked to military.com. "War isn’t hell... War is loud. Much too noisy. All those shells and bombs going off all around you. Never mind death. A man could lose his hearing."
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Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris joined the U.S. Air Force as an air policeman in 1958, and was sent to Osan Air Base in South Korea. It was there where he developed his signature martial arts form, the Chun Kuk Do. He was discharged in 1962.
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Gene Hackman

On an episode of "Inside the Actors' Studio," Hackman said that when he was 16, he lied about his age and enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1946. He spent four and a half years as a field radio operator and was stationed in China for a time before being assigned to Hawaii and Japan.
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James Earl Jones

Though he was recruited during the most active time during the Korean War and eventually rose to the rank of first lieutenant, James Earl Jones was stationed at a cold-weather training command base in Leadville, Colorado beginning in 1953.
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Sinbad

The comedian Sinbad told Ebony that he nearly had a dishonorable discharge for going AWOL while he was serving in the Air Force as a boom operator. He frequently left base to perform stand-up comedy.
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Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier lied about his age to enlist during World War II and wound up in a VA hospital in Northport, New York, serving for a year before obtaining a discharge in 1944.
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Zulay Henao

Colombian-American actress Zulay Henao served three years in the U.S. Army and enlisted after high school. She immediately felt the pressure of basic training at Fort Bragg. "It was miserable. I quickly realized I’d have to change my attitude if I was going to get through it. I’ve always tried to make the most out of my experiences, but that one was tough," she told Maxim.
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Drew Carey

Drew Carey still has his crew cut and signature glasses that he first wore during his Marine Corps days. He served as a field radio operator in the 25th Marine Regiment in Ohio. The comedian served for six years and has frequently given back to the military in the form of performances for the USO.
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MC Hammer

MC Hammer served in the Navy in the early '80s and worked as an aviation storekeeper for three years before he was discharged and finally kick started his music career.
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Alan Alda

While best known as a military doctor on "M.A.S.H.," Alda completed a minimum six-month tour of duty in the Korean War as a gunnery officer.
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Oliver Stone

Director Oliver Stone's combat experience in Vietnam directly contributed to "Platoon" and "Born on the Fourth of July," which would be two of his signature films. Stone served in the Army for just over a year between 1967 and 1968 and was wounded twice in battle. He's been honored with a Bronze Star with "V" device for heroism in ground combat and a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster.
TheWrap
Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall may be known for his role in "Apocalypse Now," but he did briefly serve in the Army shortly after the Korean War. He acted in plays while stationed in Camp Gordon in Georgia. He served for two years and left as a private first class. He did have to clarify the extent of his service however, telling People in 1984 (via military.com), "Some stories have me shooting it out with the Commies from a foxhole over in Frozen Chosen. Pork Chop Hill stuff. Hell, I barely qualified with the M-1 rifle in basic training."
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Sunny Anderson

Anderson, a long time Food Network host and an Army nerd, joined the Air Force in 1993 and worked as a radio broadcaster stationed in Seoul and San Antonio, she told ABC News.
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Honor celebrities who served their country like Drew Carey, Morgan Freeman and Rob Riggle this Veterans Day

This Veterans Day, take a moment to honor someone who took the time out to serve our country in the military. On top of that, you can check out a film or show featuring one of these Hollywood stars who served in the military. Some of the actors on this list have military careers that date back to World War II. While this list excludes celebrity veterans who have died, including people like Jimmy Stewart, Elvis Presley, Kirk Douglas and Bea Arthur, there's more than enough patriotism on this list to go around.

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21 Hollywood Stars Who Served in the Military, From Clint Eastwood to Adam Driver (Photos)

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