One person briefed on U.S. intelligence said that reports focused on two main motives for the attack: inspiration from the violent protest that day at the U.S. embassy in Cairo, and the exhortation of al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri to avenge the death of his second in command.

WSJ: FBI Agent in Petraeus Case Under Scrutiny

The movie also stars a sullen, stolid Leonardo DiCaprio as a young Irish immigrant eager to avenge the death of his father, Cameron Diaz as a prostitute and pickpocket, Liam Neeson as a fallen Irish leader, and Jim Broadbent as the corrupt political boss William Tweed.

NEWYORKER: Gangs of New York

He was filmed next to the leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Hakimullah Mehsud, saying he wanted to avenge the death (in a drone attack) of the Pakistani Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud.

ECONOMIST: The resurgence of al-Qaeda

Jackson reduces his "Lovely Bones", in the end, to the dramatic contrast between the menace of a hateful killer (will he be caught?) and the grief of a loving father (can he avenge his daughter's death?).

CNN: Review: 'The Lovely Bones'