WikiLeaks Founder to be Leaked to Screens

WikiLeaks Founder to be Leaked to Screens

Movie News

By our guest blogger, Nick Hanover

Despite the fact that it hasn't even been published yet, the Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that producers are already looking to option the rights to the upcoming Julian Assange biography "The Most Dangerous Man in the World."

The upcoming book, written by Australian journalist Andrew Fowler from interviews with Assange, has been optioned by the production team of Barry Josephson ("Bad Boys," "Men in Black") and Michelle Krumm ("Bobby") who are hoping to make a film that they feel will be a hybrid of "All the President's Men" and Tom Clancy's work.

Assange has been a nonstop presence in headlines since his WikiLeaks organization released secret government cables back in November, raising the ire of the United States and other countries. Since then, Assange has been fighting sex attack and assault allegations stemming from an encounter he had with two women in Sweden as well as attempts by the US to extradite him to their country.

"The Most Dangerous Man in the World" is merely the first of three film portrayals of Assange and WikiLeaks announced this week, since Deadline reported today that HBO is working on an adaptation based on Raffi Khatchadourian's New Yorker piece "No Secrets: Julian Assange’s Mission for Total Transparency" from last June and that Universal will be funding a documentary on Assange by Academy Award-winner Alex Gibney ("Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room").

Perhaps the most interesting question raised by all this attention paid to Assange by Hollywood is whether it will help or diminish his chances in fending off the US's extradition claims. Since the US still hasn't come up with any real charge against Assange, it's likely that the public support that a Hollywood biopic about the highly controversial figure would stir up could at least make him too dangerous of a commodity for politicians in the states to touch.