Is ‘A House of Dynamite’ Based on a True Story?

Another apocalyptic political thriller from Netflix is taking over the watercooler conversation this week. This time, it’s A House of Dynamite, the newest film from director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Noah Oppenheim that explores the moments after a missile is launched against the United States with unknown origins, and the Missile Defense Agency must scramble to determine who is responsible and how to respond to it.

The events of the film are told from three different perspectives: Capt. Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson), a senior officer in the White House’s Situation Room, STRATCOM’s Maj. Daniel Gonzales (Anthony Ramos), and the president (Idris Elba).

Bigelow is, of course, no stranger to creating disturbing films that are based on real-life accounts (see also The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty), so fans of the movie may be wondering whether A House of Dynamite is a true story.

Is A House of Dynamite based on a true story?

Not exactly. The event at the center of the action — a nuclear launch — has not happened, and all of the characters are fiction. However, Bigelow did rely on some true-to-life elements, such as the location of the missile defense system in Fort Greely, Alaska, and certain reported response methods.

Eros Hoagland / Netflix

As Bigelow explained to Netflix’s Tudum, “For me, film is an opportunity to explore worlds few people know anything about. It’s a journalistic approach to filmmaking, where the distinction between entertainment and information is fused and fluid.” Meanwhile, Oppenheim explained, “We did an extraordinary amount of research when we were preparing this film. I spoke to as many people as I could who’ve worked in these rooms, who’ve had these jobs.”

Ramos, who plays the officer in charge of the 59th Missile Battalion, said he worked with real STRATCOM officials in the making of the movie, and added, “Once we’d shown them the finished film, when they saw our scene, one of them got emotional. They haven’t been in a position where this has happened, but they said that it has come close a few times.” Indeed, the film’s technical advisor, Dan Karlber, previously served as chief of staff in STRATCOM and got the writer and director into the Nebraska-based Strategic Command headquarters as part of their research process.

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In other words, while the plot points and characters of the film are fictionalized, the writer and director aimed to make the actions taken in this hypothetical scenario as true-to-reality as possible, based on their research.

What is the government saying about A House of Dynamite?

Bloomberg reported that the film got the attention of the real-life Pentagon, with an internal memo discrediting the accuracy of certain characterizations in the film, such as Jarred Harris’ character, a defense secretary, suggesting that current defenses are effective only half of the time.

“The fictional interceptors in the movie miss their target and we understand this is intended to be a compelling part of the drama intended for the entertainment of the audience,” the memo reportedly says, before claiming 100% accuracy rate in the agency’s past tests.

A House of Dynamite, Netflix

Eros Hoagland / Netflix

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