First trailer for Code Name: Geronimo now retitled Seal Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden

October 5th 2012, 1:44pm

Director John Stockwell’s CODE NAME: GERONIMO, starring Cam Gigandit, Freddy Rodriguez, Anson Mount, Xzibit, and William Fichtner has gotten a name change and a release venue switch. Now titled SEAL TEAM SIX: THE RAID ON OSAMA BIN LADEN and premiereing on NatGeo (National Geographic channel), the film will debut November 4th, just two days before the U.S. Presidential election.

Here’s the trailer:

“We wanted to be first to bring this story to viewers,” said National Geographic Channel president Howard T. Owens, who won the film in a bidding “situation” from Harvey Weinstein. Weinstein acquired the film at Cannes earlier this year, as well as the documentary, THE OATH OF TOBRUK, which highlights the eight-month conflict that led to the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. Weinstien is an outspoken supporter for President Obama and has held multiple fundraisers for him, making a clear case for his acquisition and distribution of these films in time for the upcoming election.

Owens disagrees, saying, “We’re not trying for this to be political film. We have a fall schedule coming out and we want to be able to promote that schedule.” Certainly, Weinstein is not in charge of NatGeo’s programming, but this may well be a case where things simply worked out in his favor. President Obama has touted the death of Bin Laden as one of the crowning achievements of his presidency, so it’s no surprise that this would be timed before the election.

The switch also foregoes the competition of Kathryn Bigelow’s ZERO DARK THIRTY, the other death of Bin Laden film, which had much more access and involvement with the key players of the operation than CODE NAME: GERONIMO. It was always going to be a tough sell, but perhaps NatGeo is a better venue.

“Our audience has a real passion for U.S. militaristic history,” Owens says. “This is a great opportunity to attract new viewers to our fall schedule.”

Originally planned for a theatrical release, CODE NAME: GERONIMO SEAL TEAM SIX: THE RAID ON OSAMA BIN LADEN will debut on November 4, 2012 on NatGeo and will then be available on Netflix the following day.