There is a movie coming out about infamous whistle blower Edward Snowden. This isn’t the Academy Award winning documentary that came out last year; this is an all-out Hollywood film with a legendary director and ensemble cast. This is Edward Snowden: The Movie.
This upcoming movie is directed by Oliver Stone. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will play Snowden, the former CIA systems administrator who told the world about the NSA spying on Americans through their computers and smartphones. In late 2013, Snowden was charged with espionage, then fled to Russia, where he’s been staying ever since. That same year, he was first runner-up to Pope Francis as Time Magazine’s Person of the Year. To this day, many debate whether Snowden is a hero or a traitor. Nicolas Cage signed on to play a US intelligence officer. This film will simply be called, ‘Snowden’. It’s currently in shooting around the world and should finish in May 2015. The film is expected to be released Christmas Day 2015. Open Door Films and Pathe Films, both independent movie houses, are backing and producing this film.
Oliver Stone is the perfect director for a movie like this. For over a quarter of a century, Stone has tacked controversial subjects like JFK, Natural Born Killers and Platoon. Joseph Gordon-Levitt has come a long way since 1990s sitcom Third Rock From The Sun. Levitt has starred in masterpieces like 500 Days of Summer, Inception, and The Dark Knight Rises. Adding Nicolas Cage to the pot and you have a great pot of gumbo brewing, and a great heap of controversy. To those who call Snowden a traitor, they’re going to be some open wounds. To those who hail Snowden as a hero, I’m sure they’re going to flock to this film. And how is the Federal government going to respond to this film? Can we expect a sudden hacking attack to delay or cancel this film, like a sudden hack attack delayed and cancelled The Interview last Christmas?