Leave it to Oliver Stone to stir up controversy about mass hysteria and the surveillance state we currently live in while promoting his latest film from Hall H at Comic-Con. The man has been written off as a wild conspiracy theorist and lunatic by some. Though, ten years ago he said all the data on our DVDs would slowly disappear. And sure enough, some early adaptors of the visual medium have recently started to complain about just that. So he can't be all wrong. Now, the iconic filmmaker is taking aim at the App sensation Pokemon Go, which has swept through America like a true pop phenomenon or a horrible epidemic, depending on how you look at it. Stone, in his memorable rant, is definitely against this popular game and what it means for American citizens in the long run.
Oliver Stone came to Comic-Con today as a late, last minute addition to the Thursday Hall H festivities. And his new biopic Snowden might not seem necessarily attuned to the usual fans of this big event. It's not about superheroes of the comic book sort, nor is it some massive sci-fi epic or adventure yarn. Instead, the movie follows who some consider a real-life hero.
Snowden tackles the most important and fascinating true story of the 21st century. Snowden, the politically-charged, pulse-pounding thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Shailene Woodley, reveals the incredible untold personal story of Edward Snowden, the polarizing figure who exposed shocking illegal surveillance activities by the NSA and became one of the most wanted men in the world. He is considered a hero by some, and a traitor by others. No matter which you believe, the epic story of why he did it, who he left behind, and how he pulled it off makes for one of the most compelling films of the year.
Oliver Stone debuted a new trailer for Snowden in Hall H. He also conducted a rousing discussion with the crowd about civil liberties, privacy and the way the government is being more and more embedded in the lives of the American people. This was Stone's first ever appearance in San Diego for the big event, and he brought along stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley and Zachary Quinto to help push the discussion along. And he seized the opportunity to warn those in attendance about the true dangers of Pokemon Go.
It was during the Q&A session when one fan in attendance raised the question to Stone about his thoughts on the app, and the surging popularity behind Niantic Labs' unexpected smash hit of a mobile game. Those sitting on the panel offered a few misgivings about the game, according to Deadline. But it was Oliver Stone who seemed most genuinely worried about the game, voicing some strong, very serious concerns about it. He boldly proclaimed the following.
"It's not funny. [It's] a new level of invasion. You'll see a new form of frankly a robot society. It's what they call totalitarianism. [It is] surveillance capitalism."
The director went on to say that Pokemon Go is an "enormous" search for "profits by corporations taking advantage of technology developed to spy on citizens." This idea certainly ties back into what Edward Snowden tried to warn the American populace about, and nicely segues back into the movie itself, and the ways it comes as a strong warning signal. The filmmaker went on to warn that something as popular as Pokemon is set in place to make the American people increasingly more comfortable with the nonstop surveillance of private citizens.
Whether you agree or disagree with Oliver Stone's statements, his latest movie Snowden certainly looks captivating. We have the new trailer for you to view here, just as it was shown to the people in Hall H at Comic-Con. If anything, this will surely make you think twice about what is actually going on in the world. Perhaps Oliver Stone should think about directing the recently announced Pokemon live-action movie Detective Pikachu.