This week, director Oliver Stone may have found the lead for his upcoming Edward Snowden biopic, as he has offered the role to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Although negotiations are yet to be settled, it has been reported that both parties are eager to get the ball rolling. Ed Snowden made news headlines back in 2013, when he leaked confidential NSA files revealing mass government surveillance. Snowden has since fled from America, and was recently granted a three year stay in Russia.
Having recently acquired the rights to two literary texts that detail Snowden’s story, Stone will base his film on Time of the Octopus, written by Snowden’s lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, and The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man by Guardian journalist Luke Harding. Clearly this story is one of wide spread media attention, and it seems Stone is not the only filmmaker interested in the topic. Later this year, Laura Poitras will premiere her highly anticipated Snowden documentary Citizenfour at the New York Film Festival.
Levitt’s filmography has grown substantially over the last few years. He has recently starred in Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and has just wrapped filming on Robert Zemecki’s The Walk which is set for release in 2015. There is no doubt that Stone’s film would be a great addition to his versatile list of character portrayals. Filming for The Snowden Files will begin in December in Munich, with Stone taking writing and directing credits, and Eric Kopeloff and Moritz Borman producing the film.
#Peace.Love.JosephGordonLevitt
