Former CIA intelligence officer and defector, Edward Snowden, is now the subject of a major Hollywood film directed by the late Hugo Chavez’s best pal, Oliver Stone. Click above for the trailer which is wall to wall with recognizable faces including Nicolas Cage, Joseph Gorden-Levitt, and Spock (aka Zachary Quinto.)
Snowden, who currently resides in an undisclosed location in Russia under Vladimir Putin’s protection, was forced to leave the U.S. after leaking classified NSA documents in 2013 to a reporter revealing the extent to which the government is spying on its own citizens.
Here’s a description of the film:
“Academy Award®-winning director Oliver Stone, who brought Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, Wall Street and JFK to the big screen, tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, the epic story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off makes for one of the most compelling films of the year.”
The Sydney Morning Herald, who recently interviewed America’s most wanted fugitive, described Snowden’s current situation, which, as they note, is not “truly free”:
“Few people, if any, would call Edward Snowden ‘truly free’, even given his oddly utopian assertion in a previous exchange in which he said his physical location was unimportant because he ‘lives on the internet’. He relies on the largesse of Vladimir Putin for continued asylum. He has no US passport. Most countries to which he has applied for permanent asylum have refused. The charges he faces under the US Espionage Act carry prison sentences of up to three decades. The trial would be held in secret.”
In regards to his own safety, Snowden told the Australian news outlet that, “If something happens to me tomorrow, if I get hit by a bus, or mysteriously fall downstairs, or simply disappear, that’s obviously not something I’m hoping for but it’s something I’m prepared to accept. The nature of liberty, of being truly free, is founded on a willingness to accept risk. Of course there could be a backlash. Of course, there could be some crazy person, or government, who tries to take direct action – but all they’ll do is prove my own point.”
Snowden was previously the subject of a 2014 film called “Citizenfour” which took home the Oscar for best documentary at the Academy Awards. It features Snowden being filmed in a secret Hong Kong hotel room as he tells investigative journalist Glenn Greenwald and The Guardian intelligence reporter Ewen MacAskill the details of what he did and what he learned. Click below for the trailer…
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