‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Being Boycotted for Torture Scenes [VIDEO]

If you don't want to believe something happened, boycott it and it will go away. That is the aim of actors like Martin Sheen and Ed Asner who are requesting that members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences not vote for Zero Dark Thirty in any category in which it is nominated for an Academy Award.

The film, about the hunt for and capture of Osama Bin Laden, has received five Oscar nominations. But if Sheen, Asner and others get their way, the film will come up empty on Oscar night.

The nature of the protest stems from the torture scenes that are depicted in the movie. The boycott doesn't seem to be because these actors think the movie lied. On the contrary, it seems they wish to condemn the film because it portrayed what actually happened. If you're filming a true story, isn't that what you're supposed to do?

Clearly, the movement is of a political nature. That's fine. It's their right, and it's what we've come to expect. They are absolutely allowed to ask voters to refrain from honoring Zero Dark Thirty.

I just wonder if this will lead to a larger-scale boycott--one that involves attempts to get the movie removed from theaters. I hope not. That would be crossing the line, to the say the very least.

I've seen Zero Dark Thirty. It's a good, not a great film. It's very talky until we close in on the actual operation in which Osama Bin Laden's compound was breached and the mass murderer was taken out. That last half hour is quite compelling. Zero Dark Thirty was also the top moneymaker last weekend, raking in more than $24 million.

People like it. And they may not care if it comes up short at the big dance. Or they might be offended that, yet again, a small group of people is trying to pressure a large group of people into doing something they might not otherwise want to do.

We shall see.