'Snowden' Cast on Why Oliver Stone Was the Perfect Director
With Snowden, his new film about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, director Oliver Stone continues in his career-long trajectory of telling controversial stories about America, its politics, and its history. Naturally, Stone’s collaborators, including star Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the real Snowden, trusted the director of Born on the Fourth of July and JFK to bring his unique touch to the biographical drama. In a conversation with Yahoo Movies’ Kevin Polowy, the film’s stars, including Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, discussed their uniquely qualified director — and Stone himself weighed in. Watch it above.
“I can’t think of another Hollywood film maker… that is so willing to stand up and say, hey, I love my country, and this thing that the government is doing goes against what my country stands for,” says Gordon-Levitt, who plays Snowden.
Related: 5 Unfiltered Facts About Oliver Stone, Courtesy of Oliver Stone
“I can’t really imagine any filmmaker more suited to this story, considering his filmography,” Zachary Quinto, who plays journalist Glenn Greenwald, says of Stone. “You could really tell this was a story that resonated for him on a lot of levels.”
As for why Snowden (who is living in exile in Moscow) trusted Stone with the story of his life, the director has a simple answer: “He understood that I really cared about history… and he knows my movies.”
Snowden opens in theaters on Friday.
