"I think that Oliver Stone is the only filmmaker who could have made Snowden," stated Joseph Gordon-Levitt during the press junket to promote the release of the film which is in theaters everywhere and in which he plays the divide real life titular figure. "He is the only director in American Cinema and by that I mean mainstream, big studio films; who is willing to directly criticize the government," explains the actor who in the film plays a man who famously broke government protocol by exposing the surveillance tactics of the NSA and CIA on other governments and all civilians who made a telephone call in the United States during the last decade.

"His leak revealed that every single phone call made in the United States was being recorded by the NSA. Something that has now been deemed unconstitutional," stated Gordon Levitt before adding, "which I know he's very satisfied with. He does not want to live in exile for the rest of his life, but he's grateful for the progress that has been made."  During the junket interviews with the cast and the director of the film, it becomes clear that they all believe that getting his story on the big screen is part of that process.

Even though the marketing for the movie hinges on the dichotomy of a man who some might consider a traitor, while others believe he is a hero, the film makes clear that Stone and his leading man belong to the group who clearly admire Edward Snowden and what he did. "I definitely think he is a patriot," said Oliver  Stone. "He is right now in exile of his country because he decided to take action on something that he knew to be wrong."

For the man playing Snowden, the label of patriot also extends to the director who cast him in the role. "To be able to hold the government accountable on any issue is the type of patriotism that I admire the most. To be able to say 'I love this country and what it stands for, but the government is going against that and everyone should be paying attention.' There really isn't another filmmaker who has done that so pointedly and with such courage," reaffirmed Gordon-Levitt on the subject of his director. "So if you are going to tell the Edward Snowden story,  Oliver Stone is really the only guy to do it."

While Joseph Gordon Levitt has various hot button films (everything from Platoon to Natural Born Killers) from Stone's filmography to back his point, one of the biggest surprises in talking to Stone about taking Snowden's life to the big screen is that he initially did not want to do it. "It's a risky proposition doing contemporary story that is still playing out in real time," explains the filmmaker who jokes that "at least I waited for Nixon to die before I made a movie about him." But the "potential lawsuits" from all the parties involved in this particular story was not the only concern for Stone. "Making a movie takes a lot of time. This one took two years and a half. Which meant that at one point or another the story we were trying to tell could very well change before we got it to the movie theaters."

With that in mind, Stone and Sony Pictures briefly considered adapting a fictional account that Snowden had written. It is a book that Stone describes as "a fiction book about an american defector who comes to Russia in exile while he is being chased by the intelligence community. It was a very fanciful and interesting novel. Filled with long conversations about the Orwellian state of the world."  While wary of this Trojan Horse version of the story, the director does admit that  he "saw that he could make the same points that interested him in this story in a big James Bond action type film." But as his filmography has proven time and again, Oliver Stone does not like to play it safe. After three meetings in Russia with Snowden, both men agreed to tackle the real events that lead to his exile was the way to go.

While some in Hollywood might have thought that it was a typical challenge for Stone to take, actress Shailene Woodley, who plays Snowden's real life girlfriend Lindsey Mills, had a more visceral reaction.  "When I found out that Oliver Stone was making a movie about Edward Snowden, I wrote him a letter. At that point I did not even know if there was a part for me. So the point of the letter was not to be part of the movie. It was just to say thank you for making a movie about this subject matter," assures Woodley. "To me, making this movie was a way to enhance it's impact on the world through the power of storytelling. We are quick to judge in our society and in regards to Snowden we were only being given one narrative, which is the one of mainstream media and independent journalism. So this was an opportunity to explore the events that led him to do what he did. Not just a labeling of the aftermath. Which is what had happened. He was either a patriot or a traitor. I knew that Oliver would capture something more complex than that."

In tackling such a complex subject, Stone drew on his experiences on adapting Ron Kovic's life to the big screen in Born on the Fourth of July,  which won him his second Oscar for Best Director. "It did occur to me that this was fairly similar to Born on the Fourth of July. But that was a very complicated book. Which required his story to be told in a linear way. Beginning in his youth and ending in his protests as an adult," explained Stone. "But with this the key was to make it a parallel story. Show what led up to him to do what did and always cut to that room in Hong Kong where the tension is whether he will ever get to publish what he knows."

The next step in getting this version of Snowden made was finding the right actor, which Stone "was always convinced that it was Joseph Gordon Levitt." When the offer was made, the actor could not resist. "This movie is a drama and a good drama hinges on how much the protagonist changes," explained Gordon-Levitt. "So I think that is what the movie captures. The evolution of his life, what led up to him blowing the whistle. This captures nine years of his life leading up to that. One of the things that I did not know before taking on this project was that he was someone who had enlisted in the army. He is the kind of guy who always wanted to defend his country.  So much so that he was willing to risk his life to fight for what he believes in. So what I like about this movie is that it speaks about two kinds of patriotisms. For me there is no question, Edward Snowden is very much a patriot. He is someone who believes and loves what the country stands for. And he was willing to hold the government accountable, if and when the government deviates away from those principles. So he took them to task, which to me is what so beautiful about the United States. That we are born with that privilege. Not everyone in the world has that."

Snowden is now playing in theaters.