SAN DIEGO (AP) – Edward Snowden says that Oliver Stone’s dramatization of his story is a “pretty accurate portrayal.”
Snowden appeared live from Moscow via Google Hangouts Thursday night at Comic-Con following the first public screening of Stone’s film, “Snowden,” to answer audience questions and interact with the cast, including star Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Speaking to a small audience comprised mostly of journalists, Snowden said there wasn’t a lot of fictionalization in the film, which chronicles his life from 2004 to 2013, when he leaked classified security documents to the press.
“I don’t think anybody looks forward to having a movie made about themselves, particularly someone who is a privacy advocate,” Snowden laughed, but said that there was a “kind of magic” to the film and its potential ability to reach a large audience through narrative storytelling.
“I’m not an actor. I don’t think anyone in politics is really charismatic enough to connect with people on issues that are so abstract,” Snowden said. “But (actors) can reach new audiences in new ways and get people talking about things that they don’t have time to read (or) to look for in the academic setting. By watching the lived experiences … and tying it back in that magic Oliver Stone moment, it was something that made me really nervous but I think it worked.”