Stone explained to Reuters that initially he was hesitant and not seeking trouble when considering making a film about Snowden. However, after meeting with Snowden in Russia, the veteran director, famous for movies like "JFK", "Natural Born Killers" and "Wall Street", changed his mind. Stone was concerned that a documentary-style film about Snowden might be uninteresting, but he ultimately viewed it as a thrilling drama that would appeal to a wider audience. The film "Snowden", which premiered in theatres on Friday, follows Snowden's transformation from a conservative CIA agent to a disillusioned NSA operative who eventually fled the United States in 2013 and exposed the government's mass surveillance programmes targeting ordinary citizens. He currently resides in Russia and is being sought by the US government for espionage. Amnesty International and two other organizations have recently started a campaign to seek a pardon for him. Stone and Snowden had a few meetings in Russia where they agreed that the film would be a dramatization. However, the film's progress was halted when Stone approached studios for funding, though he did not disclose which studios he had contacted. "We are currently in a climate where self-censorship is prevalent," Stone stated. "I don't think the NSA directly told anyone not to make this film, but the reality is that you either conform to the norms or risk being marginalized." Eventually, Open Road Films, a partnership between Regal Entertainment Group and AMC Entertainment, contributed to financing "Snowden", which had a budget of around $40 million. The movie, which features Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Snowden and Shailene Woodley as his girlfriend Lindsay Mills, was primarily filmed in Europe. Germany provided production subsidies and served as a stand-in for Maryland, Snowden's hometown. Despite challenges in making a storyline about computer coding and programmers engaging for audiences due to lack of violence, chases, and guns, director Stone shot key scenes in Washington DC and Hawaii. Additionally, Gordon-Levitt and Woodley acted out a date scene in front of the White House. The director chuckled as he suggested that if one were to take a risk in the US, they should go all out.