The 7 Post Reports: Kathryn Bigelow on ‘A House of Dynamite’ and the nuclear ‘elephant in the room’
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Nov 28, 2025 
Kathryn Bigelow, an Academy Award-winning director known for intense thrillers, joins Noah Oppenheim, a screenwriter and former NBC News president. They explore Bigelow’s lifelong fascination with nuclear threats, sparked by her childhood experiences with ‘duck and cover.’ The duo discusses the alarming normalization of nuclear dangers and how their film, A House of Dynamite, aims to mix realism with storytelling. They analyze the Pentagon's pushback on their film’s accuracy and reflect on rising concerns regarding potential U.S. nuclear testing and the overarching question of how to make the world safer.
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Normalization Of Nuclear Threats
- Kathryn Bigelow warns nuclear weapons have become normalized and under-discussed by the public.
- She finds the global count and distribution of warheads "heart-stopping" and terrifying.
Duck-and-Cover Childhood Memory
- Kathryn Bigelow grew up in the "duck and cover" era and hid under desks as a child during atomic-bomb drills.
- That childhood experience sustained her long interest in nuclear catastrophe and national security stories.
Use Reporting Methods For Accuracy
- Noah and Kathryn used a journalistic method: interview real officials to build credible scenes.
- They recommend asking who else to talk to until you cover all institutional perspectives.