Oliver Stone’s ‘Snowden’ Sets Christmas Release; Adds Timothy Olyphant And More
Every year, the studios release approximately 8 million prestige dramas between November and December, and it looks like this year’s slate is already getting crowded. The latest to join the year-end fray isOliver Stone’sSnowden, a biopic of the NSA whistleblower.
In addition toJoseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays the title character,Snowdenalso features an admirable supporting cast that now includesTimothy Olyphant,Rhys Ifans, andJoely Richardson. More on theSnowdenrelease date and casting updates after the jump.
Open Road Films has just announced that Snowden will openDecember 25, 2015. It’s already got some stiff competition on that date including three other dramas based on historical events: Will Smith’s NFL picConcussion; David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence’s Miracle Mop biopicJoy; and Alejandro González Iñárritu and Leonardo DiCaprio’s frontier sagaThe Revenant.
For moviegoers who aren’t into heavy drama, the weekend’s offerings additionally includeMonster Trucks, thePoint Breakremake, andAlvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip. And all of these films will also be up against the second weeks ofStar Wars: The Force Awakensand the Tina Fey / Amy Poehler comedySisters.
It’s not unusual for release dates to shift as they get closer, particularly for weekends as crowded as this one. But even ifSnowdenmoves around a bit, it’s probably safe to assume we’ll see it near the end of this year. The initial timing suggests producers are hoping to mount an Oscar campaign.
The very premise ofSnowdenis bound to inspire controversy, but Stone’s never been afraid of that. And public interest in Snowden remains high. The real Snowden is the subject of Poitras' documentaryCitizenfour, which is up for the Best Documentary Feature award at this weekend’s Oscars.
As previously reported,Shailene Woodleyplays Snowden’s girlfriend Lindsay Mills;Melissa Leois documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras;Zachary Quintois journalist Glenn Greenwald; andTom Wilkinsonis political reporter Ewen MacAskill. Olyphant has now been added as a CIA agent who befriends Snowden. Ifans and Richardson’s roles have not been revealed.
The script by Stone andKieran Fitzgeraldis based on the booksThe Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Manby journalistLuke HardingandTime of the Octopusby Snowden’s lawyerAnatoly Kucherena. (The latter is technically a novel, but it’s heavily inspired by Snowden’s ordeal.) Filming onSnowdenis already underway in Munich.
[Source:THR]
