Legendary film director Oliver Stone has signed on to direct another book-to-film adaptation dramatizing former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden’s historic intelligence leak.
Stone will bring Guardian journalist Luke Harding’s 2014 book “The Snowden Files” to the silver screen, which has been described as a John le Carré/Kafka-esque telling of the leaks detailing NSA’s most secret, sensitive bulk surveillance programs, minus the complexity and nuance of real intelligence work.
“This is one of the greatest stories of our time,” the 67-year-old filmmaker told The Guardian. “A real challenge. I’m glad to have the Guardian working with us.”
“The story of Edward Snowden is truly extraordinary, and the unprecedented revelations he brought to light have forever transformed our understanding of – and relationship with – government and technology,”Guardian Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger added. “We’re delighted to be working with Oliver Stone and Moritz Borman on the film.”
The other adaptation picked up by Sony will be based off former Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald’s 2014 book “No Place To Hide: Edward Snowden, The NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State,” a more in-depth telling and analysis of the Snowden leaks by one of the foremost journalists that initially met and maintains contact with Snowden.
Greenwald has described Harding’s telling as a “bullshit book” from a writer who has never even met or spoken with Snowden.
“Luke came here and talked to me for half a day without [my] realizing that he was trying to get me to write his book for him. I cut the interview off when I realized what he was up to,” Greenwald told Financial Times.
Producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, whose previous works include multiple James Bond films, have signed on to Greenwald’s project, though no director has been announced. Stone’s directing credits already include multiple blockbuster films depicting some of America’s most-storied political dramas including “Nixon” and “JFK” – a reputation that will likely add to the film’s weight at the box office.