The entire debacle was certainly nothing short of a thriller. A former CIA technical analyst working for a military contractor walks out the door with highly classified documents on a thumb drive. He then flies to Hong Kong before handing over some of the documents to journalists who break the story about the most widespread electronic spying programs launched by the U.S. government. Glenn Greenwald, a journalist who has been in Edward Snowden’s corner through and through, recently told his story in a book. Sony Pictures has picked up the film rights.
Actually Hollywood has reportedly been considering this story since fall last year, but potential buyers weren’t sure how to tell the story that’s pretty much still alive in real life. Snowden is in Russia and wanted on criminal charges in the U.S. and so far there have been no hints that he will be offered a plea deal by federal prosecutors.
Glenn Greenwald’s book “No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA and the U.S. Surveillance State” describes in length the early meetings between the journalist and Snowden. It even includes detailed commentary on surveillance practices of the National Security Agency.
Sony Pictures has confirmed that it has acquired rights for producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Both have ample experience with spy films, given their work on James Bond films like Skyfall and Quantum of Solace. Just don’t expect a dapper Daniel Craig to introduce himself as “Snowden, Edward Snowden.”
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