Oliver Stone, eager to be on the pulse of current events even if he doesn't know how the pulse is beating, is set to write and direct a movie based on NSA leaker Edward Snowden.  The film will be based on the book Time of the Octopus, which was written by Snowden's lawyer, Anatoly Kucherena, and "is considered the closest thing to a documented account of the events since Snowden first released the documents."  Americans were shocked at the news that their communications were being "monitored" (even though the news was widely misconstrued), and then went back to putting their every thought on Facebook and Twitter.

According to Variety, Stone has offered the role of Snowden to Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and while the actor has agreed to do it, negotiations have yet to begin.  If the deal is made, production would likely begin at the end of this year or early 2015.  Gordon-Levitt just wrapped production on Robert Zemeckis' The Wire, and is currently filming an untitled Christmas comedy with Seth Rogen and Anthony Mackie.  He's also trying to crack the script for a movie based on Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.