WikiLeaks the movie: Sex, lies and government

The world’s most dangerous man is about to have his life exposed in a cinematic fashion. The saga of Wikileaks and Julian Assange, the founder of the whistle-blower site, has played out in the media with the same vigour as a fast-paced movie… so it only stands to reason that Hollywood would come calling.

Film-industry bible, “Variety“, has announced that a movie version is in the works.

Assange landed in the crosshairs of the US authorities when he published cables concerning American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in November 2010. WikiLeaks has made thousands of revelations, from details of toxic waste dumping in Africa and proceedings at Guantánamo Bay, to exposing the contents of Church of Scientology manuals online.

In a twist worthy of Hollywood, the blonde Australian was charged and arrested for sexual assualt, before being released on bail in late 2010. In order to help pay his mounting legal fees, Assange signed a US$1-million deal to write his biography. Entitled “The Most Dangerous Man in the World”, the book will be released later this year, penned by award-winning Australian writer Andrew Fowler.

The biography chronicles Assange’s life from his childhood in Australia through to his founding of Wikileaks.

Variety explains that the movie rights to the biography have been purchased by Hollywood producers Barry Josephson and Michelle Krumm and will be produced under Josephson Entertainment and MK Productions.

“As soon as I met Andrew and read a few chapters of his profound book, I knew that – with his incredibly extensive depth of knowledge – it would enable us to bring a thought-provoking thriller to the screen,” Krumm told Variety.

“Like ‘All the President’s Men‘ in its day, ‘The Most Dangerous Man in the World’ is this generation’s suspenseful drama with global impact,” said Josephson.

The biopic has all the makings of a ‘most anticipated movie’ tagline. Sexual assault and alleged rape charges, government secrets, one man’s quest to uncover the truth in a world full of lies. I am already excited about this and I haven’t seen a trailer yet.

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