Edward Snowden: Movie Mash-Up
An English 124 movie mash-up project on Edward Snowden, the most wanted man in the world. Video clips from NBC News, Vanity Fair, and The National. Music from #39;24 #39; Theme and scored by Sean ...

By: Zack Hinson

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Like Americans, most Russians have seen the TV disclaimer: "All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental" just maybe not so much in this case.

The storylineof "Where the Motherland Begins,"a Russian spy series that aired on state television this fall,opens with a hurried flight from Hong Kong to Moscow inJuly 2013.There's a skinny American dressed in what passes as DC-office casual. He's a former NSA contractor. He hasa laptop. He has exposed Americansurveillance of people across the globe. And he's wearing glasses those glasses.

Ladies and gentlemen,meet "James Snow." Remember: any resemblance to anyone real is "purely coincidental."

When I got the script, I was like 'Hey, wait. It's ... it's ... it's ... Snowden,' says ArnasFedaraviius, the 23-year-oldLithuanian actor cast in the role.

Edward Snowden the real Edward Snowden is still living in Moscow after being granted asylum in Russialast August He gives the occasional interview, but most details of his life are left to speculation.We do know he'sstill trying to raise awareness ofmass surveillance.

But for James Snow the fake Edward Snowden the Moscow adventure is just beginning.For one, that plane from Hong Kong never quite landed.The eight-part "Where the Motherland Begins"takes the storyline in another direction entirely.

Over the course of the show,we learn that James Snow is no simple ex-NSA contractor:He's the child of a Soviet molewho infiltrated his way into Reagan-era America. And now he's coming home. (No word on a crossover episode with "The Americans," sadly.)

In the real world,Fedaraviius says Moscow is nice,but it's definitely not home.And James Snow is hopefully a stepping stone to bigger things. He's already appeared alongside John Malkovich in 2012s "Siberian Education," and he's starringin his first feature film later this year,a Russian production called The Guest.

Still, for the Snow role, Fedaraviius found himself watching the early Guardian videos of Snowden, picking up on his various physical ticsand wondering about the man on the screen.You get the feeling he's very confident about everything he says in the interviews ... and very humble,"Fedaraviius says

But between the filmed moments, he wondered if the real Snowden was more fragile. He sensed some hand trembling"and tried to inject that into the role.

Link:
I'm not Edward Snowden, I just play him on TV | Public ...

In June, when President Obama was in Europe for a visit, Harald Range, Germanys top public prosecutor, toldthe German Parliament that he was undertaking an investigation. Former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden had claimed that the United States government had bugged Chancellor Angela Merkels phone, as part of the country'slarge-scale electronic espionage, and listened in, for years. In May, Obama saidthat Snowdens disclosures about spying on an ally had created strains in Americas relationship with Germany.Merkel had called him onthe phoneprobably ona landlineto seek clarification, and Obamahad apologized.Considering the leaders were about to see each other, for a summit in Brussels,the timing of Range's announcement was a little awkward.

But this week, according toReuters, Range announced that there is no proof that U.S. Intelligence had, in fact, tapped Merkels phone. He said, "The document presented in public as proof of an actual tapping of the mobile phone is not an authentic surveillance order by the NSA. It does not come from the NSA database."

"There is no proof at the moment which could lead to charges that Chancellor Merkel's phone connection data was collected or her calls tapped."

The document presented in public as proof of an actual tapping of the mobile phone is not an authentic surveillance order by the NSA.

Harald Range, German prosecutor

Range said that neither Snowden, nor Germanys foreign intelligence agency, nor Der Spiegelwhich held a document that seemed to be evidence of tappinghad offered further evidence for his prosecution.

Which leads to a whole bouquet of new questions: could Snowdens information possibly be inaccurate, or could it be some sort of disinformation? What was the Der Spiegel document that seemed so convincing a few months ago? And: if the tapping wasnt real, why did Obama rush to apologize and make nice to Merkel? If true that there was no wiretap, an entire diplomatic drama needs to be reinterpreted.

Meanwhile, Germany's Green and Left parties have rallied to bring Snowden to Berlin (from Moscow) to furnish evidence about NSA machinations. Buton Friday, according to the Guardian, Germanys constitutional court ruled against them. The German government maintained that Snowden's presence in Germany could be detrimental to relationships with the U.S.

Whats behind this sudden new friendliness? Possibly, it will require a new Snowden to find out.

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