FILM 1706: SNOWDEN

TRIVIA: To make sure the screenplay was not hacked or leaked, Oliver Stone wrote the script on a single computer with no Internet connection.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt pledged to donate his entire salary from the film to "help facilitate the conversation" about the relationship between technology and democracy.

The real Edward Snowden advised Oliver Stone that the NSA's command centers are actually run on tight budgets and are far less glamorous than they appear in movies and TV shows. 

During the film shoot in Germany, Oliver Stone's mother passed away. Due to the limited budget and time constraints, Stone was forced to miss his mother's funeral, as taking the necessary time off would have left the production unable to complete the film within the budget and schedule.

Nicolas Cage had previously played the lead in Oliver Stone's World Trade Center (2006). He agreed to a small role in this film as a favor to Stone.

Melissa Leo plays filmmaker/journalist Laura Poitras, who directed the critically acclaimed documentary Citizenfour (2014), which chronicles the aftermath and effects of Edward Snowden's actions.

The real Lindsay Mills appears in the movie entering the cafeteria, right before Snowden meets Lindsay for the first time.

In the movie, Snowden falls out of his bunk and breaks his leg during military training, earning him an administrative discharge. In real life, it isn't known how Snowden was discharged.

This is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's second consecutive feature film based on an Oscar-winning documentary (Citizenfour (2014)). He'd previously made The Walk (2015) which was based on Man on Wire (2008).

In real-life, Oliver Stone met with Laura Poitras to discuss their respective films on Edward Snowden (the filming of Poitras' documentary is depicted in Snowden). According to Poitras, Stone suggested to her that the documentary be released after the feature film, even though the documentary was completed first, because he believed the feature would reach a wider audience. Poitras claimed she took offense to that and did not meet with Stone again.

DIRECTOR CAMEO : Oliver Stone: audience member in the last scene.

FILM 1134: THE CONVERSATION

TRIVIA: As Harry refines and re-refines the recording, he interprets what he hears in different ways. In fact, the dialog was recorded multiple times with different readings to get this effect.

Gene Hackman later plays a former NSA agent who is a surveillance expert in Enemy of the State (1998), and the images of his character in his younger days are taken directly from this film.

Originally envisioned as a horror movie with Marlon Brando.

Gene Hackman was a fit, good-looking relatively young man when Francis Ford Coppola cast him as Harry Caul. In order to personify Harry's weary, aging, and unhappy existence, Hackman grew a pathetic-looking mustache, wore ill-fitting glasses, and had a wardrobe picked out that was at least 10 years out of date. Coppola specifically told Hackman he wanted Harry to look like a "nudnik", a Yiddish word referring to a person who is boring and a pest.

Gene Hackman learned to play the saxophone especially for the film.

Film 990: Déjà Vu

Trivia: Denzel Washington enjoyed a brief break during the production to congratulate his son on signing with the St. Louis Rams on May 1, 2006 as an undrafted free agent.

Near the end of the car chase, Doug originally said "Jesus" after first seeing Oerstadt's face. This caused the audience at the first preview screening to erupt into laughter, as Jim Caviezel, who played Oerstadt, is famous for playing Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. This unintentional reference had gone overlooked by director Tony Scott; he had the line removed from the film before its release.

The Lab set was built on a sound stage in Los Angeles by production designer Chris Seagers. Seagers wanted to combine a raw-edged, high-tech feel in which everything is digital and state-of-the-art; yet have exposed cables, wires, and ducts to provide a sense of reality.

Tony Scott and Val Kilmer had shirts made for the crew that said "Malcolm X, Jesus Christ, and Jim Morrison: Deja Vu. How Can We Fail?" Denzel Washington played Malcolm X in Malcolm X, Jim Caviezel played Jesus Christ in The Passion of the Christ, and Kilmer played Jim Morrison in The Doors.