The case of Edward Snowden is one of the most gripping and far-reaching political stories of the 21st century, with layer upon layer of intrigue, scandal, and international reverberations. It would take a patient, multilayered talent to unpack all the events in a smart, accessible manner. So naturally Oliver Stone jumped all over that, ready to apply the same nuanced and delicate touch he lent to Savages, World Trade Center, and Natural Born Killers. Luckily, he’s rounded up a terrific cast to help him out. First he got Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley to star, and now The Wrap reports that he’ll be surrounding them with the deep talent pool of Zachary Quinto, Melissa Leo, and Tom Wilkinson.
The actors will play the trio of muckrakers behind the recent documentary Citizenfour, which captures the actual events that took place during the most significant exposé of government secrets since the Pentagon Papers. (Even bigger than that scandal, really, given the scope of the information made public.) Quinto will play Glenn Greenwald, the journalist who Snowden approached to help him leak the documents; Oscar winner Leo will play Laura Poitras, director of Citizenfour; and Wilkinson will take the role of Ewen MacAskill, the defense and intelligence correspondent for The Guardian who helped break the Snowden story.
The film is scheduled to start production soon. We’d make another snide comment about Stone, but actually, this seems like the rare historical event that is just as shocking and over-the-top as Oliver Stone would make it.