Deepwater Horizon' Film Poses Fresh Woes for BP

By Erich Schwartzel in Los Angeles and Sarah Kent in London 

Director Peter Berg was prepared for just about any response to his new movie "Deepwater Horizon."

He went to "oil school" to learn engineering intricacies so he could direct extended depictions of the offshore drilling process and pored over footage of worker testimony that followed the 2010 accident. The script, to put it lightly, was subject to close scrutiny.

"I've never had to deal with so many attorneys on a movie," said Mr. Berg.

The nationwide release Friday of "Deepwater Horizon" follows in the Hollywood tradition of dramatizing real-life corporate debacles, from "A Civil Action" to "Erin Brockovich." Such films have often helped shape public perception of events, even after companies spend millions on public-relations campaigns of their own.

If that proves to be the case with "Deepwater," British energy giant BP PLC could be in for a rough ride. The new movie, a $100 million-plus production from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., stars Mark Wahlberg and Kate Hudson and doesn't shy away from unflattering portrayals of BP executives, who are depicted as more concerned about budgets and schedules than safety.

No one wants the Hollywood treatment less than BP, which has struggled to move on from the 2010 blowout that killed 11 workers and spewed more than 3 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over the course of 87 days. Even into this year its financial results continued to be dragged down by still-unfolding costs. This summer, BP signaled an end to the mounting costs and estimated the total to deal with the blowout and its aftermath at more than $61 billion.

"We have a strong and clear plan to move forward" from the disaster, BP Chief Executive Bob Dudley told analysts in July.

One rig manager, Donald Vidrine, is played by John Malkovich as a snarling know-it-all whose clothing always features a BP logo. At one point the character is shown correcting a rig worker's pronunciation of a kind of wine.

"You're a $180 billion company, and you're cheap," another character tells Mr. Vidrine after an argument about what safety tests to run.

BP disputes the characterization. "Deepwater Horizon" is "not an accurate portrayal of the events that led to the accident, our people, or the character of our company," said Geoff Morrell, BP's senior vice president of U.S. communications and external affairs. "In fact, it ignores the conclusions reached by every official investigation: that the accident was the result of multiple errors made by a number of companies."

BP's role in the disaster continues to reverberate. In Australia, where BP is seeking permission for a plan to explore for oil off the southern coast, many of its opponents have used the disaster as an argument against the company's involvement.

"Allowing the company responsible for the Gulf of Mexico spill to drill in the Great Australian Bight is a disaster waiting to happen," South Australian Greens Sen. Sarah Hanson-Young said in a statement on the political party's website. BP had no comment.

BP won its Australian licenses in 2011 after extensive consultation with Australia's regulators over the lessons the company had learned from the spill. The company has yet to receive final approval for its plans.

"Deepwater Horizon" is a rarity in today's Hollywood: an expensive, adult-oriented movie with no chance for a sequel.

It remains to be seen whether the big bet will pay off. Box-office analysts expect the movie to gross close to $20 million this weekend, a weak figure for a movie with such a large budget. The studio hopes to pull in moviegoers over the coming weeks, as previous releases with similar demographic appeal like "Captain Phillips" did. Working in their favor, "Deepwater Horizon" is attracting strong critical praise and can expect solid word-of-mouth.

Lions Gate has so far avoided the kind of energy-industry pushback seen by the producers of "Promised Land," a 2012 drama about shale-gas drilling that inspired gas companies to hand out fliers at some multiplexes and launch fact-checking websites that disputed parts of the film.

Parts of "Deepwater Horizon" have a docudrama feel, and the production brought on real-life oil workers, welders and U.S. Coast Guard members.

Earlier this month, Lions Gate held the "Deepwater Horizon" premiere in New Orleans, and stars including Mr. Wahlberg and Ms. Hudson walked a black carpet instead of the traditional red.

Write to Erich Schwartzel at [e-mail] and Sarah Kent at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2016 05:44 ET (09:44 GMT)

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