Joseph Gorden-Levitt and Shailene Woodley Star in First Trailer for Snowden

Posted on April 27, 2016

The first trailer for Oliver North's highly anticipated film Snowden is out. Joseph Gordeon-Levitt plays Edward Snowden the real life former CIA employee who blew the whistle on the NSA's global surveillance initiatives and its unauthorized collection of private information on American citizens.

Stone wrote and directed the film which shows how Snowden got to the highest levels in the government. He wanted to be in the Special Forces, but a training accident left him with two broken legs. He has an IQ of around 145 and is a genius at computers, according to former NSA employees. He worked for the CIA and later with government contractors, rising to gain top secret clearance.

Snowden says he was appalled by all the unconstitutional surveillance going on and reported his concerns many time to management, who told him to keep quiet. The government denies that he is a whistleblower. Snowden finally decided to leak the information about the global surveillance program to journalists Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto) and Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson). The incendiary documents were revealed by The Guardian and The New York Times. The leaks blew the lid off the NSA's surveillance activities, infuriating many countries who found out the U.S. was spying on them. Snowden was charged with espionage, but managed to make it to Russia, where he is living while he negotiates a deal for asylum in another country. Some think Snowden is a hero, some think he is a traitor. From the trailer it appears that Stone is firmly in the hero camp.

The film also stars Melissa Leo, Timothy Olyphant, Nicolas Cage, Rhys Ifans and Shailene Woodley as Snowden's girlfriend. The film hits theaters on September 16, 2016, just in time for the November presidential election, which should make for some very interesting debates about privacy. It looks like Gordon-Levitt has nailed the role of Snowden. Take a look:

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