EP 178: WAR MACHINE Director David Michod

Filmmaker David Michod discusses his new film WAR MACHINE starring Brad Pitt. He talks about adapting Michael Hasting's book The Operators for film and his decision to fictionalize the character based on General Stanley McChrystal. He discusses the flawed thinking behind counter-insurgency and the danger of leaders making decisions within a bubble. Plus we talk about about Sir Ben Kingsley’s fopish portrayal of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Brad Pitt’s power walk, and why no one grows cotton in Afghanistan.

WAR MACHINE is available on Netflix and in theatres starting Friday, May 26. For more information, visit www.netflix.com.

Today’s episode is sponsored by On the Media. On the Media is the weekly podcast hosted by Brooke Gladstone and Bob Garfield that investigates how the media shapes our world view. Subscribe to On the Media on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.