WASHINGTON • Did the administration of President Barack Obama release classified information to Hollywood notables for a film about the operation that killed Osama bin Laden, Sony Pictures movie slated for release during the fall election campaign?

That's a question Rep. Peter T. King, R-N.Y., wants answered. And in response, the Pentagon's inspector general has launched an investigation, King disclosed Thursday. "We plan to begin subject investigation immediately," Patricia Brannin, deputy inspector general for intelligence and special program assessments, wrote in a memo that King emailed to reporters.

At issue is whether the filmmakers — director Kathryn Bigelow and screenwriter Mark Boal, who both won Oscars for their 2009 Iraq war movie "The Hurt Locker" — were given access to classified information about a mission that remains shrouded in secrecy.