I
have been approached in the last few years by many great
artists/writers/filmmakers who seek to tell the story of WikiLeaks
extraordinary impact on the world at its peak in 2010/2011.
I
have accepted to be part of many of these releases because I felt my
voice in relation to the future of Freedom in Information, Expression
and Speech and of course online Privacy needs to be included. I have
often felt disappointed by how little focus is given, in the end
result, to the important vision and work on behalf of the online
tribe that is in constant struggle to ensure our online rights.
Instead the projects tend to devolve into revolving about the persons
involved, their drama and eccentric behavior. I guess that is what
producers believe gets people interested in the story. I personally
believe that people crave for a vision and some sort of solution to
the threats that projects like WikiLeaks expose. I think people need
and crave to understand what drives others to take risks in order to
improve our world and set information free, that story is not told
through ordinary personal drama.
The
reason why I got involved with the Dreamworking WikiLeaks project was
simple. I had a chance to bring more balance to it, since it is based
on two books that are focused on the personal drama, the divorce of
persons but not necessary ideology. There is a reason why I have not
written a book about my times with WikiLeaks, for as interesting it
is to expose how people behave under extreme circumstances, I find
the impact of those circumstances way more important. Everyone seems
to be wounded from collaborating together and I think that is
unimportant in the long run. What WikiLeaks achieved at its peak was
to send a ripple effect through the fabric of history and alter the
way we see our world. That happened because of the vision and courage
of many people, many whom will never have their face or name attached
to the story by their own choice.
I
chose to work with Dreamworks, because I believe there is a chance
that I could impact its final outcome by offering balance. Thus I
have suggested many changes that might or might not be included in
relation to how Assange is written into it, for I felt it was heavily
focused on eccentric and negative behavior. I was also deeply
concerned about the Iran scene and to my great delight I discovered
after various discussions with all the main stakeholders involved,
that I was not alone about my worries and in the end it was written
out. I also felt the name “The Man Who Sold the World” was iffy
but I am pleased with the new name of the film, The 5th
Estate”. This will be a fictional movie about an incredible time in
our history that will hopefully provide an inspiration.
Everyone I have talked with in relation to the making of the film respect the work of WikiLeaks but do of course have a very unbalanced view of how it was since it is based on one perspective. The perspective of those that fell out with Assange. I know that Assange has been given a chance to offer his version of accounts and that is important to me. I hope the end result will be slightly closer to the reality of everyone, not just a few players as written in the version I got to see. In regard to my own person in the film, it is fictionalized in a way that is not at all pleasing to me and does no justice to the work I did while involved with WikiLeaks. But to be perfectly honest, I don't care. What I do care about is the overall message, spirit and story. The story of a project that changed the way we see our world. A project that is still changing the way our history is unfolding and a project that will always be remembered as titling the scales of power in our world in favor of the general public and its right to be informed.
Everyone I have talked with in relation to the making of the film respect the work of WikiLeaks but do of course have a very unbalanced view of how it was since it is based on one perspective. The perspective of those that fell out with Assange. I know that Assange has been given a chance to offer his version of accounts and that is important to me. I hope the end result will be slightly closer to the reality of everyone, not just a few players as written in the version I got to see. In regard to my own person in the film, it is fictionalized in a way that is not at all pleasing to me and does no justice to the work I did while involved with WikiLeaks. But to be perfectly honest, I don't care. What I do care about is the overall message, spirit and story. The story of a project that changed the way we see our world. A project that is still changing the way our history is unfolding and a project that will always be remembered as titling the scales of power in our world in favor of the general public and its right to be informed.
