Oppenheimer Adjacent: Filmmaker Steve James episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 4, 2023 · 45 MIN

Oppenheimer Adjacent: Filmmaker Steve James

from The Takeout with Major Garrett · host CBS News

In search of an 'Oppenheimer' companion piece? The new documentary, 'A Compassionate Spy,' is our focus on this week's episode, with the film's writer/director, Steve James, joining Major over Zoom. James' film tells the story of Ted Hall, the controversial Manhattan Project physicist who after just a year working at Los Alamos decided to pass secrets about the bomb to the Soviet Union. It's a real-life spy thriller that most Americans have never heard of, with a central character who James believes "acted on principle...[Hall] was not one of those spies that did it for money or glory."Be sure to stick around for the Outtake Especiale where James, a filmmaker with over a dozen documentaries on his resume (including producer Jamie Benson's top-five-film-of-all-time, 1994's 'Hoop Dreams'), shares a few of his personal film favorites.

In search of an 'Oppenheimer' companion piece? The new documentary, 'A Compassionate Spy,' is our focus on this week's episode, with the film's writer/director, Steve James, joining Major over Zoom. James' film tells the story of Ted Hall, the controversial Manhattan Project physicist who after just a year working at Los Alamos decided to pass secrets about the bomb to the Soviet Union. It's a real-life spy thriller that most Americans have never heard of, with a central character who James believes "acted on principle...[Hall] was not one of those spies that did it for money or glory."Be sure to stick around for the Outtake Especiale where James, a filmmaker with over a dozen documentaries on his resume (including producer Jamie Benson's top-five-film-of-all-time, 1994's 'Hoop Dreams'), shares a few of his personal film favorites.

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Oppenheimer Adjacent: Filmmaker Steve James

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This episode was published on August 4, 2023.

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In search of an 'Oppenheimer' companion piece? The new documentary, 'A Compassionate Spy,' is our focus on this week's episode, with the film's writer/director, Steve James, joining Major over Zoom. James' film tells the story of Ted Hall, the...

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