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Make no mistake, writer-director Scott Z. Burns The Report is one of the most important movies you’ll see this year. The brilliant political thriller is based on actual events and it’s led by an Oscar-worthy performance from Adam Driver. In the film, Driver plays Daniel J. Jones, an unwavering staffer that is tasked by his boss Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening) to lead an investigation into the CIA’s Detention and Interrogation Program, which was created in the aftermath of 9/11. His explosive findings uncover a conspiracy by top government officials to destroy evidence, subvert the law, and hide a brutal secret from the American public.

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While everyone has heard about the CIA’s “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques”, The Report shines a bright light on what our country was willing to do, and how many were willing to lie to keep the program going. Trust me, you don’t know the whole story and Burns does an amazing job explaining what actually happened without it ever feeling “Hollywoodized”. The Report also stars Sarah Goldberg, Michael C. Hall, Douglas Hodge, Fajer Kaisi, Ted Levine, Jennifer Morrison, Tim Blake Nelson, Linda Powell, Matthew Rhys, T. Ryder Smith, Corey Stoll, Maura Tierney and Jon Hamm. For more on the film read Matt Goldberg's glowing review.

With the film arriving in theaters this weekend and streaming on Amazon Prime starting November 29th, I recently sat down with Scott Z. Burns and Daniel Jones for an exclusive interview. They talked about the way they worked together, the challenge of making this movie in twenty-six shooting days, how the script never dumbs itself down for the audience, and what it was like for Jones to watch the movie for the first time.

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Image via Sundance

Check out what they had to say in the player above and below is exactly what we talked about. Finally, if you missed my interview with Adam Driver, click here to check it out.

Scott Z. Burns and Daniel Jones:

  • The process of writing the script.
  • What was it like for Jones to watch the film for the first time?
  • How the script never dumbs itself down for the audience.
  • How did the pull off making The Report in 26 shooting days?