Snowden

[The Ultimate Nullifier]

variety.com/2014/film/news/oliver-stone-edward-snowden-movie-open-road-distribution-1201327154/


Oliver Stone’s Edward Snowden Film Acquired by Open Road

After a heated bidding war that had most of the majors vying for it over the weekend, Open Road has won the U.S. rights to the untitled spec revolving around the Edward Snowden story that has Oliver Stone directing and Joseph Gordon-Levitt starring.

As Deadline Hollywood reported earlier in the week, studio execs first received the script Friday afternoon with the first offers coming in sometime that evening. Wild Bunch has nabbed the international rights.

Stone is writing and directing and will produce with Eric Kopeloff and Moritz Borman.

Snowden’s story is now familiar to most: the former U.S. intelligence analyst released more classified documents than anyone since Daniel Ellsberg’s leaking of the Pentagon Papers during the Vietnam War. He has been on the run ever since.

Stone acquired the rights to the book “Time of the Octopus” by Snowden’s lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, which is considered the closest thing to a documented account of the events since Snowden first released the documents.

Production would likely begin at the end of the year or in the early first quarter of 2015, which is a good thing given that this isn’t the only Snowden project in town. Sony already has the rights to “No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State” with the James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions producing the pic.

Deadline first broke the Open Road news.

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variety.com/2015/film/news/timothy-olyphant-joins-oliver-stones-edward-snowden-movie-1201437419/

Timothy Olyphant Joins Oliver Stone’s Edward Snowden Movie

“Justified” star Timothy Olyphant has joined Oliver Stone’s untitled movie about whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Melissa Leo are also signed up for the project with Open Road Films and Endgame Entertainment teaming on the U.S. release.

Stone and longtime 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.

Olyphant has been cast as a CIA agent who befriended Snowden after Snowden released the classified documents. Leo will portray Laura Poitras, whose Snowden documentary “Citizenfour” is the frontrunner in the category at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

Olyphant starred in “This Is Where I Leave You.” He’s managed by Brillstein Entertainment Partners.

The news was first reported by Deadline.com.

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variety.com/2015/film/news/oliver-stones-snowden-set-for-christmas-release-in-u-s-1201437889/


Oliver Stone’s ‘Snowden’ Set for Christmas Release in U.S.

Open Road Films has set a Christmas release in the U.S. for “Snowden” with Rhys Ifans and Joely Richardson joining the cast.

Production launched Friday in Munich. Shooting will take place until mid-May.

As previously announced, Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars in the title role as whistleblower Edward Snowden, alongside Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson and Timothy Olyphant.

Pathé Films, which developed the project with Stone’s longtime producing partner Moritz Borman, has retained distribution rights for France and Benelux. Wild Bunch is handling international sales in all other territories while Open Road has U.S. rights.

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.

Borman is producing with Eric Kopeloff and Philip Schulz-Deyle. Stone is directing from a script he co-wrote with Kieran Fitzgerald, based on Luke Harding’s “The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man” and “Time of the Octopus,” by Snowden’s Russian lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena.

Pathe will open “Snowden” in France on Dec. 30. Universum will launch it in Germany on Jan. 8.

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deadline.com/2015/02/nicolas-cage-oliver-stone-edward-snowden-joseph-gordon-levitt-shailene-woodley-1201379489/

Nicolas Cage Joins Oliver Stone’s ‘Snowden’

Nicolas Cage has joined the cast of Oliver Stone’s Snowden in the role of a former U.S. Intelligence official. Cage joins a cast that includes, as previously revealed exclusively by Deadline, Joseph Gorden-Levitt in the title role of whistleblower Edward Snowden,

Also in the cast is Shailene Woodley (Divergent), Melissa Leo (The Fighter), Zachary Quinto (Star Trek: Into Darkness), Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton), Rhys Ifans (Notting Hill), Joely Richardson (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Timothy Olyphant (This Is Where I Leave You).

Pathé Films developed the project with Stone’s long-time producing partner Moritz Borman and have retained distribution rights for France and Benelux. Wild Bunch is handling international sales in all other territories, with Open Road Films and Endgame Entertainment partnering for the U.S. release. The film is being produced by Moritz Borman, Eric Kopeloff and Philip Schulz-Deyle.

Principal photography is currently underway in Munich.