'SNOWDEN' EYE-OPENING FILM OF THE DIGITAL AGE

THE DIGITAL AGE IS FOREVER UNDER SURVEILANCE... SNOWDEN IS THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO REVEALED THE TRUTH. 

Whether this story will lift eyebrows or not, it is without a doubt an eye-opening film. Like Shailene Woodley told us during press roundtables, 'it is a movie but it's also a real story.' Snowden is a story that goes beyond the life of one man; it concerns everyone living in the digital age. What do we really know about our security? Who do we turn to for answers? While questions are inevitable, especially after watching, Ed Snowden did one thing for all of us: shine some light on an issue that was buried right below our feet.

​Written and directed by Oliver Stone, Snowden tells the story of NSA contractor Edward Snowden who leaked classified documents to the media, revealing some highly "important and top secret info". While some call him a whistleblower traitor, others call him a hero. This film is based on the books The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World's Most Wanted Man, by Luke Harding and Time of the Octopus, by Anatoly Kucherena.

​Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays Ed Snowden explained his character is very patriotic as is the real Snowden. Joseph got the chance to fly to Moscow where he met with the real Snowden. "We talked for about four hours. It was actually him and his girlfriend Lindsay Mills...he's always trying to take attention off of himself 

personally and put the attention on the issues that he raises," explained Gordon. He also pointed out his observation on his physicality since becoming Ed was part of his job. "One of the things I noticed actually was, he's got really good manners. He's sort of old-fashioned in a way."

Having been there also with Lindsay Mills, he pointed out Woodley plays her "really well." In fact, it's what makes the story more human and attractive for the spectator: the relationship between Snowden and Mills. He explains, "This movie does focus on that relationship that he has with his girlfriend... In this movie, Lindsay really represents that voice of that different kind of patriotism. If one kind of 

patriotism just believes everything the country does is right and never asks any questions there's another kind of patriotism that says I love this country and I want to make sure that I  hold it accountable to be doing the right thing." Shailene Woodley was offered the role after writing a letter directed to Mr. Stone himself.  Why she was right for the part? Stone agrees it worked out perfectly. Woodley, who is very involved in her character Lindsay confessed she's been following the story since its beginning and is something that impacted her. She said, "This movie introduces another narrative that is outside of the eyes of journalists. Outside the eyes of mainstream media. But it's really from the eyes of Ed himself, so it's not asking you to think he's a hero or a traitor or asking you to think if what he did was right or wrong. It's saying here's why he did what he did."

Key characters in the story of Snowden are ​Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras played by Zachary Quinto and Melissa Leo. The two shared the awareness of media use is one they no longer take likely. In fact, Quinto said, "It's pretty troubling, but I think the troubling is not celebrities alone anymore. I think the trouble is actually the insidiousness of this kind of 

obsession that has infiltrated our regular lives in an unsettling way... It's changing the evolution of our culture." This film also stars Jaymes Butler as Drill Sergeant, Rhys Ifans as Corbin O'Brian,  Tom Wilkinson as Ewen MacAskill, and Nicolas Cage as Hank Forrester. 

"It's not only about illegal mass surveillance... but it's also about cyber warfare." 
                                                                                                        -Oliver Stone

Director Oliver Stone told us that with creating this film he was constrained by reality. "We had two books. We had the Russian fiction book and we had the Guardian book. We could've pursued the fictional course," but after meeting with Snowden and getting to know him there was a story to tell. A real one. On the issue presented in the film, which is the truth about our security, Stone expressed, "It's not only about illegal mass surveillance... but it's also about cyber warfare." 

You can catch this political/dramatic thriller when Snowden opens in theaters Friday, September 16th. 

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by Jessica G. Ferrer