Snowden (Oliver Stone, 2016)

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flyonthewall2983 · #1 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:25 pm

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Department of Justice with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property, and his passport was revoked a week later by the U.S. Department of State.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.

source

aox · #2 Post by **aox** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:45 pm

Coincidentally, I rewatched W. this past weekend for the first time since I saw it in the theater. I enjoyed it much more than I remembered it (besides Thandie Newton's dreadful SNL-esque performance). However, it felt rushed and incomplete (hardly a mention of the 2000 election/SCOTUS case). I easily could have sat through another hour had the film given a more meticulous examination of Bush and his life. And while I enjoyed it, W. is nowhere near the caliber of JFK or Nixon IMO. I really think Stone shouldn't be diving into making films about stories that aren't finished yet. W. might be a much better film if it was made today after the dust had settled, and I am a little worried about this project about Snowden for similar reasons. I think there are still some unknowns and the story isn't finished. Any compelling narrative IMO was already handled by Citizenfour. A documentary well lauded that I was left underwhelmed with.

warren oates · #3 Post by **warren oates** » Fri Feb 20, 2015 6:34 pm

I'm a big fan of Stone in general and probably one of the only W. apologists around here. For me, a better way to think of the film is something on the order of the best network TV movie you've ever seen, a first-draft ripped from the headlines docudrama (or in W.'s case docudramedy). Stone has actually produced (but not directed) a number of real TV movies. My favorite, The Day Reagan Was Shot, is totally worth watching (for Richard Dreyfuss' Alexander Haig alone) even if it's nowhere near the level of Stone's own films about American political history.

As for Snowden, I like Citizenfour more than you, but I agree that the only parts of the story worth dramatizing are the ones that lead up to what Poitras covers. How did he become the person who contacted those journalists and met them in Hong Kong? The trajectory of an idealistic recruit or a civil servant, a super-patriot becoming utterly disillusioned by the way things actually work in his government is one that Stone's no stranger to and that's yielded interesting results for him in the past. I can't picture JGL with blond hair, but who knows. He's a strong and serious actor and will likely find the right energy for his character.

flyonthewall2983 · #4 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:57 pm

Nicolas Cage joins the cast.

flyonthewall2983 · #5 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:26 pm

Opens September 16th

Professor Wagstaff · #6 Post by **Professor Wagstaff** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 2:50 pm

Trailer

tenia · #7 Post by **tenia** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 3:34 pm

I'm quite eager to know if a fiction can actually beat Poitras' Citizenfour documentary as being tense and suspenseful.

flyonthewall2983 · #8 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 3:55 pm

Switching to digital has done Oliver Stone no favors

Professor Wagstaff · #9 Post by **Professor Wagstaff** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:27 pm

I sorely miss the days in which Robert Richardson was his go-to DP. I feel like Richardson and producer A. Kitman Ho did a lot towards making Stone's best films what they are.

Soothsayer · #10 Post by **Soothsayer** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 4:39 pm

Professor Wagstaff wrote:I sorely miss the days in which Robert Richardson was his go-to DP. I feel like Richardson and producer A. Kitman Ho did a lot towards making Stone's best films what they are.

Agreed 100%. The cinematography of Natural Born Killers is the best thing about any Oliver Stone film, imo.

The Narrator Returns · #11 Post by **The Narrator Returns** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 5:04 pm

See, I actually really like the cinematography in the trailer (courtesy of Anthony Dod Mantle). What I don't like is JGL's Snowden impression by way of Barney Rubble.

nosy lena · #12 Post by **nosy lena** » Wed Apr 27, 2016 8:38 pm

All I can think of while watching that trailer is how bad Joseph Gordon-Levitt sounds when he's trying to speak like Snowden...

Luke M · #13 Post by **Luke M** » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:12 pm

I like JGL's Snowden impression. He sounds intelligent without sounding obnoxious - something I think the real Snowden doesn't balance well.

It looks far better than I would've ever guessed. So far, I'm in.

Trees · #14 Post by **Trees** » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:19 pm

Could be good. It's an interesting subject matter, for sure, and one that deserves serious public consideration. The trailer seems a little cheesy, but that doesn't necessarily mean the actual film will be. We'll see.

Ribs · #15 Post by **Ribs** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 5:17 pm

Comic-Con Trailer

Warning: In a year full of terrible slow piano versions of innocent music being used in trailers, this may have the silliest.

Brian C · #16 Post by **Brian C** » Fri Jul 22, 2016 10:40 pm

Ribs wrote:Comic-Con Trailer

Warning: In a year full of terrible slow piano versions of innocent music being used in trailers, this may have the silliest.

It's too bad - they could have made the full circle and used an even slower, darker version of "Every Breath You Take".

Luke M · #17 Post by **Luke M** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 12:15 am

Brian C wrote:
Ribs wrote:Comic-Con Trailer

Warning: In a year full of terrible slow piano versions of innocent music being used in trailers, this may have the silliest.
It's too bad - they could have made the full circle and used an even slower, darker version of "Every Breath You Take".

This Homeland teaser still works four years later.

#18 Post by **mfunk9786** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 2:44 am

Wow, essentially zero actors in that trailer give the impression that they've been well cast.

tarpilot · #19 Post by **tarpilot** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 3:26 pm

JGL's Snowden sounds like Dana Carvey doing the turtle thing

Roger Ryan · #20 Post by **Roger Ryan** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 8:32 am

Luke M wrote:
Brian C wrote:
Ribs wrote:Comic-Con Trailer

Warning: In a year full of terrible slow piano versions of innocent music being used in trailers, this may have the silliest.
It's too bad - they could have made the full circle and used an even slower, darker version of "Every Breath You Take".
This Homeland teaser still works four years later.

And again in the recent trailer for The Woods!

#21 Post by **DarkImbecile** » Wed Sep 07, 2016 11:28 am

Stone missed his mother's funeral in favor of keeping the film going.

#22 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 4:13 pm

And conversely, if someone invites me to go see this, I will tell them I have to go to my mother's funeral

#23 Post by **swo17** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 4:14 pm

And actually kill her if they ask for proof

#24 Post by **domino harvey** » Fri Sep 09, 2016 4:17 pm

My local art house theatre is showing the film early with a live simulcast chat from Stone. Like, can you imagine the stench of Axe body spray coming from that auditorium?

Luke M · #25 Post by **Luke M** » Sat Sep 17, 2016 8:55 pm

I think if you support what Snowden did, you'll probably like this film. Stone plays it like pure hero worship almost like an American Sniper for the left. The movie is sloppy at times. There are times you wish the camera would just stay still and some of the edits may leave you scratching your head. Also, one of the more unfortunate aspects of the film, is that despite the subject matter, it doesn't have a strong sense of seriousness and immediacy - that kind of dramatic weight Stone's other films achieved. JGL carries the film on his back. It's not exactly an award winning performance but he shows enough chops that it's not hard to envision him holding an Oscar one day. Overall, I enjoyed it.