Nicolas Cage has joined the cast of “Snowden,” Oliver Stone’s version of the Edward Snowden whistleblower story.
Cage will play the role of a former U.S. Intelligence Official in the thriller, which is perfect subject for Stone’s directorial sensibility.
Laura Poitras’ “Citizenfour,” a non-fiction treatment on an episode of the Snowden story won the best documentary Academy Award on Sunday night.
Principal photography on “Snowden” is currently underway in Munich and will continue in various locations around the world until mid-May.
The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the title role alongside Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Rhys Ifans, Joely Richardson and Timothy Olyphant.
Stone, Pathe Films and producing partner Moritz Borman acquired the rights last year to two books — “Time of the Octopus,” a novel written by Snowden’s Russian lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, and Luke Harding’s “The Snowden Files, The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man” — as sources for Stone’s screenplay. Borman is producing with Eric Kopeloff.
Snowden was charged in 2013 by the U.S. Department of Justice with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property and his passport was revoked a week later by the U.S. Department of State. He was granted temporary asylum by Russia last year.
Open Road will release the film, which already benefits from Oscar buzz, on December 25, 2015.
