'Snowden' at Comic-Con: 'He's still a mystery'

SAN DIEGO -- "I'm sitting next to one of the most patriotic filmmakers in the history of American cinema," said Joseph Gordon-Levitt, in a white T-shirt with an American flag.

To his right: Oliver Stone, the guy who directed JFK and Born on the Fourth of July, at Comic-Con for the first time Thursday.

Stone, Gordon-Levitt and co-stars Shailene Woodley were in San Diego to promote Snowden, which was set to screen later Thursday night for the first time. And the theme of the film -- of Edward Snowden, and everything surrounding his life -- became the theme of the Hall H panel: What does it mean to be a patriot?

Stone started out the panel solo, talking about his experiences with Snowden himself, and the courtship of the elusive whistleblower still living in exile. Though the filmmaker spent months researching and getting to know the man, Stone says there's a lot yet to learn.

"He's still a mystery," Stone said. "He cooperated with us, we went over there as many times as we could ... we got as far as we could. We leave it to the realm of dramatization. There are things we don't know, and there are hopefully things he will reveal someday in a book of his own."

Gordon-Levitt -- who said he knew very little about Snowden before working on the film -- said he was staggered by the complexity of the story, and the issue of privacy in general.

"I know some people don't really care if they have moments of privacy ... some people post all day long about where they are and what they are doing," Gordon-Levitt said. But even for them, there is a fundamental expectation: "We were promised privacy in the Constitution, and if the government was going to change that ... they need to make those changes out in the open."

Gordon-Levitt talked quite a bit about getting Snowden's voice and mannerisms just right -- and still hasn't had a chance to ask the man himself how well he pulled it off.

"I went to Moscow ... and I got to sit with Ed for four hours," Gordon-Levitt said. "Most people who are sitting and talking to him are talking about his politics; I wanted to find out more about who he is. I can read about his politics.

"He's very polite -- he's from South Carolina -- he's very much kind of an old-fashioned gentleman in that way. Really warm. And an optimist. He's really known for raising his hand about what technology can be; he's actually really optimistic about what technology can do to improve the human race."

Stone said he struggled to get the film made because of "self-censorship" at studios -- he made it very clear that no one, certainly not the NSA, interfered with the process -- but it seemed like getting buy-in from Snowden himself was the biggest hurdle to clear.

"He's a man who's covert," Stone said. "He keeps to himself. He's very 'inner.' Lives on the computer. I met him all the time under conditions of secrecy. I found him, going through a very painful period, to be very resolute. Very strong. ... He's paid for it in a big way. I've seen him over a period of almost two years now, and he's never wilted in the face of the opposition.

Opposition: something Stone is used to by now. And not necessarily used to.

"I have been through too much," Stone said. "You get beat up, sued ... there's all kinds of expectations. It's a very difficult thing. Sometimes it's the protagonist themselves that [gives you problems] especially in rock music movies. The egos are amazing!"

What sort of blowback is in store for Stone from Snowden, we won't know until its release in September.

"This story is not over yet -- we'll see when it comes out. I hope it's smooth, and the story works on dramatic terms."

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