Bill Condon’s WikiLeaks Movie Gets New Title, ‘Downton Abbey’ Actor
It seems like every studio in Hollywood is rushing to get aJulian Assange/ WikiLeaks movie out there, but one of the first out of the gate will be fromBill Condon. As the film hurtles toward a January start date, it’s picked up a new title and a new star.
Downton AbbeyactorDan Stevenshas just signed on for the film, which is now going by the titleThe Man Who Sold the World. Stevens joins a hot cast that also includesAlicia Vikander(Anna Karenina),Daniel Brühl(Inglourious Basterds), andBenedict Cumberbatchas Assange. More after the jump.
The script byJosh Singer(The West Wing) draws from two primary sources:WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange’s War On Secrecyby journalistsDavid LeighandLuke Harding, andInside WikiLeaks: My Time With Julian Assange at the World’s Most Dangerous Website, by Assange’s former right-hand manDaniel Domscheit-Berg. The film will reportedly portray Assange as an idealist who becomes corrupted by power — so probably not a character assassination piece, but not exactly a love letter, either.
According toVariety, Stevens will play a hacker pal of Domscheit-Berg’s (Brühl) who joins the WikiLeaks team. While Stevens is best known for his role on ITV’sDownton Abbey, he recently revealed that he’d be sitting out the upcoming fourth season. Perhaps he has enough keeping him busy already. He currently stars opposite Jessica Chastain and David Strathairn in Broadway’sThe Heiress, and is producing and starring in the indie dramaSummer in Februarynext year.
The Man Who Sold the Worldhas not announced a release date, but we can probably look for it to hit around the end of 2013 or sometime in 2014.
