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LOS ANGELES — Sunday dawned crisp and clear here, with wintry (for Southern California) temperatures lingering in the 40s and 50s. But the rhetoric was already hot, as Hollywood got ready for a Golden Globes ceremony at which the table talk — if not the stage banter — almost inevitably will turn to the political flare-up around "Zero Dark Thirty."

"I would like to condemn the movie" for making it appear that torture was effective in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Ed Asner said in a telephone interview on Sunday morning. Mr. Asner said he and fellow actor Martin Sheen planned to join in a letter, drafted by yet another actor, David Clennon, asking fellow members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to factor in matters of conscience when casting awards votes.

"We hope that 'Zero' will not be honored by Academy (or Guild) members," said a draft of the letter, which was provided by Mr. Clennon on Sunday morning.

He had already spoken publicly about the planned campaign at a Friday protest by members of the Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace.

His remarks prompted a sharp response from Amy Pascal, the co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is releasing "Zero Dark Thirty." "To punish an artist's right of expression is abhorrent," said Ms. Pascal in a statement. She also stressed, as has Kathryn Bigelow, who directed "Zero Dark Thirty," and Mark Boal, who wrote it, that the film portrays torture, but does not advocate it.