Oliver Stone's Snowden Biopic Casts 3 New Actors

Oliver Stone is filming the controversial biopic Snowden, based on the life of Edward Snowden, the American NSA whistleblower. Stone is a great director for two types of films, big-budget blockbusters or Oscar fodder. There is no report on the budget yet, but the Snowden plot will probably be packed with more suspense than action. This put the movie into the latter category. Technologically driven movies are resonating with the audiences of today. David Fincher's The Social Network proved that a technologial biopic could stand on its own during Oscar season.

The titular character will be played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt of Batman and Looper fame, also known for his up and coming multiplatform TV project Hit Record. Actress Shailene Woodley will play Snowden's girlfriend, Lindsay Mills. Oscar-winning actress Melissa Leo is set to play a documentary filmmaker. Zach Quinto and Tom Wilkinson have also been cast. The latest casting is for Timothy Olyphant, Rhys Ifans, and Joely Richardson. Olyphant is fresh from the last season of Justified and will play a CIA agent in the new film. Ifans's and Richardson's characters have yet to be named.

Oliver Stone is well-known for his delight in controversial subject matter. You have to remember, this is the same director that brought us JFK, Nixon, W. and World Trade Center. He has his own way of retelling the stories that have shaped our history as Americans citizens. If it's anything like JFK it will be heavily fictionalized and more than three hours long. With filming already underway in Germany, three new actors have just been cast.

Stone's Snowden biopic just secured a release date in theaters for Christmas Day 2015. It is right in the middle of the holiday blockbuster season and just in time for the next year's Academy Award considerations. Its biggest competition may stem from the fact that it comes out only one week after the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Source: Slash Film