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Edward Snowden is a name that should ring a bell to you, since the former NSA contractor who leaked information on the U.S. government’s massive cyber and telephonic surveillance apparatus back in the halcyon days of 2013 is pretty much the most famous whistleblower in modern history. Also, he was just the subject of a big Popular Science interview. And now the Hollywood movie about his topsy-turvy life is here: Snowden is coming to theaters September 16 and is directed by Oliver Stone — the very same Oliver Stone behind Wall Street and JFK (good!) and W and Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps (not so good).
The first trailer for the new Snowden movie debuted today on YouTube, and you know what? It doesn’t look awful. Sure, Joseph Gordon-Levitt impersonating Snowden’s deep and thoughtful tenor is a little weird at first, and there are a few cheesy network TV-style cyber graphics and voyeuristic sex scenes, but if you’re cool with a certain hamminess to your entertainment (as I am), it looks fairly enjoyable. And the casting is nice. The Cagemaster himself—Nicolas Cage—is in it. And Zachary Quinto is Glenn Greenwald! This should be fun.
Update: The real Edward Snowden (as best as we can tell, based on his verified check mark) has responded to the trailer on Twitter: