Filmmaker Oliver Stone, who has gained fame and notoriety for iconic films based on real life persons and events, is reportedly in talks with the versatile actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt to play NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in a new film.
The director is seeking to adapt Guardian journalist Luke Harding’s non-fiction novel The Snowden Files to the silver screen, which comes as no surprise, since Stone is no stranger to controversial subject matter.
Snowden, the former NSA contractor and infamous document leaker, has been on the run from the federal government since July 2013 and is currently in Russia, where he has been given temporary asylum.
The computer analyst has polarized many with his actions, as people view him as both a patriot and a traitor.
Stone has an extensive track record of portraying those on the left in a positive light in film, so there is little doubt that Snowden will be hailed as a hero with the project now green-lighted.
Gordon-Levitt, who has become a dynamic and rising star since his Third Rock days, has yet to accept the role, but both parties are engaged in serious talks.