Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play Edward Snowden in a biopic by Oliver Stone
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 33, might be roped in by Oliver Stone to play the lead role for his forthcoming biopic of Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower. The upcoming movie is titled as The Snowden Files. The story is based on the book Time of the Octopus written by whistleblower’s Anatoly Kucherena. Stone is writing as well as directing the film. He has bought screen rights of book The Snowden Files: The Inside Story Of the World’s Most Wanted Man. It is penned down by Guardian journalist Luke Harding which is published by Guardian Faber. The Production is expected to start by the end of this year or in the start of 2015. Shooting location is expected to be Munich.
Eric Kopeloff and Moritz Borman are producing the film. However, official negotiations have not started as of now. Stone and Gordon-Levitt both are on the board and keen on the idea to work out. Pairing of the director and actor is interesting to look forward to. They “want to deal to happen”. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Hollywood’s versatile actor. He is well known for the roles played in Inceptionand The Dark Knight Rises.
He can juggle from action to comedy and serious drama. He is through with the production of Robert Zemeckis film “The Walk”. It is a biopic and he is playing the high-wire artist, Philippe Petit who popularly crossed World Trade Center Towers. Recently, he was seen in crime thriller sequel, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For”. Currently, he is shooting untitled Christmas themed film with Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie.
Snowden’s revealing dropped the veil on the culture of mass government surveillance that ignited sudden outburst across the globe. The former NSA employee has been allotted a temporary asylum in Russia. If he returns to the US, he will face jail time for long 30 years.
Stone’s film will give competition to a rival film titled as No Place to Hide. It is based on the book by freelance journalist, Glenn Greenwald. To him, Snowden leaked thousands of classified documents in June 2013. James Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli are producing the film. Stone’s film will hit the screens first though.
Expectations are high with Stone, since he is well experienced with political biopic. Previously he has directed movies like JF Kennedy assassination, the Watergate break in, the Vietnam conflict and Bush’s administration war on terror.
Last year at “Shanghai International Film Festival”, Stone was all praises about Snowden. Following the initial leaks, he said he is a “hero”.
Let’s see what happens next. It would be a treat to watch Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing CIA whistleblower.
