Late last month, the first image from Oliver Stone’s upcoming biopic Snowden found its way online, which sees Joesph-Gordon Levitt step into the shoes of the controversial figure. Now, with filming well underway in Washington, D.C., a new still from the production has surfaced that shows the leading actor walk the streets of the capital alongside Insurgent star Shailene Woodley.
Treading the line between whistleblower and traitor, depending on your own personal perspective on the events, Edward Snowden was an NSA contractor who published a string of classified information from the company relating to Internet security, the controversial PRISM program and much more. Before this debacle, though, he was a solider serving his country, and it’s understood Stone’s feature will spin out the divisive topic by first focusing on his own personal background.
Currently, Snowden has been granted political asylum in Russia, and no matter what side of the fence you stand, his story and the overarching theme of public information is as fascinating as it is pressing. Plus, given the meaty subject matter, don’t be too surprised if both Stone and Levitt’s names are mentioned in conversation when deliberating this year’s Oscar nominations.
Before toeing the line of the law as Edward Snowden, Joesph-Gordon Levitt can be next seen in Robert Zemeckis’ ambitious biographical drama The Walk, which will see him scale the Twin Towers as daredevil Philippe Petit. As for Snowden, Open Road Films is gearing up to release the film into the thick of Oscar season with a limited release planned for December 25, 2015. Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Olyphant, Nicolas Cage and The Amazing Spider-Man‘s Rhys Ifans all co-star in the film.