Earlier this year Oliver Stone decided on his next controversial project on a real-life figure, taking on a film on Edward Snowden, the infamous whistleblower/traitor who exposed the NSA's extensive surveillance program. The key was always going to be finding an actor who can play the polarizing Snowden, and it appears Stone has made his choice in Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
According to Deadline and Variety, Stone wants JGL for The Snowden Files, although no deal is in place just yet. The actor is coming off a starring role in Robert Zemeckis' The Walk, in which he plays high-wire walker Philippe Petit (of Man on Wire fame). Apparently there's a big enough window between that and his adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Sandman that he can work with Stone on a film that promises to stoke a lot of fires. After leaking the NSA documents Snowden sought asylum in Russia where he remains to this day. The film will be written and directed by Stone based on books from Snowden's lawyer and a journalist from the Guardian.
The plan is for The Snowden Files to shoot this December. Here's hoping it's more JFK and less W.
