THE LONG READ: The Edward Snowden movie nobody wanted became film everybody wants to see

Hollywood director Oliver Stone wanted a hit - and the chance to put America’s most famous dissadent on screen. The subject wanted veto power. The Russian lawyer wanted someone to option the novel he’d written. The American lawyer just wanted the whole insane project to go away. Somehow the film got made.

The summer light was fading to gold near Red Square as Oliver Stone manoeuvred through the lobby bar of a five-star Moscow hotel last year. He walked past the marble staircase and the grand piano to a table in the back. A group of businessmen in suits lingered nearby. Stone grimaced.

“I think we should move,” he said. His producer, Moritz Borman, led the way to another corner. “How’s this?” Borman asked.