http://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/oliver-stone-says-every-studio-turned-down-snowden/ar-BBuCYZn?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartandhpOliver Stone says every studio turned down 'Snowden'7/22/16
Despite a good cast, a good budget, and a good script, veteran filmmaker Oliver Stone says every studio turned down the opportunity to make Snowden, the story of Edward Snowden, the famed CIA contract employee who famously leaked classified information about secret global surveillance programs being run by the NSA.
Stone, who made his first-ever appearance at Comic-Con on Thursday, ultimately found his financing from France and Germany, where he shot the majority of the movie (which Open Road Films will debut on Sept. 16). Joining Stone on the first official day of Comic-Con were his film's stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who plays the titular character, Shailene Woodley, who plays Snowden's girlfriend Lindsay Mills, and Zachary Quinto, who portrays Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald.
Despite the rousing applause for the filmmaker behind such iconic films as Platoon, Wall Street, and The Doors, among many others, the panel conversation turned pretty serious pretty fast with Stone lamenting the fact that today's society is "feeling the 1984 Big Brother vibe" and all the cast members urging the primarily young audience to educate themselves on the level of surveillance currently in their lives.
Stone met Snowden three times in 2014 before eventually deciding to make the movie, and said he was initially reluctant to do so. "I didn't want to do this at the beginning," he said. "You get beat up, current [event movies] get you killed. Protagonists often turn on you, especially in rock movies."
But Stone was compelled by Snowden's personal story and the impact of his actions on both his personal and professional life. "He's going through a painful, personal story," said Stone. "He was only 29 when he did this enormous thing. And in our two years together, he's never wilted in the face of opposition."
Gordon-Levitt, who spent a lot of time with Snowden's voice in his ears to nail his unique speech, was relieved to find the activist didn't carry any ego with him after the pair met. Rather, Gordon-Levitt found Snowden to be humble and polite.
"I was trying to get to know him on a different level," says Gordon-Levitt, who donned a T-shirt with an American flag for Thursday's panel. "He's like an old-fashioned gentleman, really warm and an optimist about the future of technology. I've been dying to ask him if he's cool with [what I've done] with my voice."
Stone also added that Snowden's relationship with Mills provided the soul to the movie and wouldn't have worked without her. "He doesn't have any friends. He's not close to his sister, mother or father. He lives in the computer world. It's one of the main reasons he did this radical action."
Added Woodley, who Stone wanted for his film after seeing her in The Fault in Our Stars, "I felt the opportunity to know him as a human being was crucial. It's easy to forget that people who make these decisions are still human with an emotional life."
