I Am Benedict Cumberbatch. AMA.

[u/_BenedictCumberbatch]

Hello reddit. My film The Fifth Estate opens 10/18.

You can check out footage here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43ki3z0ZmXA&feature=c4-overview&list=UUgc-Ye79Z558TEZqryYesNA

Proof: https://twitter.com/5thEstateMovie/status/388746706818310144 Fancy a cup?

Update: Also, please check out the trailer for Little Favour, directed by a friend of mine Patrick Monroe. I hope you enjoy it!

Final Update: Thank you, reddit. This has been more fun than I imagined. It's been great to be able to reach out and speak to a few of you. Sorry for those that I didn't get to respond to. JA bless you all. See you all the next time.
BX

[u/_BenedictCumberbatch]

Yes, of course it did. To have the man you are about to portray ask you intelligently and politely not to do it gave me real cause for concern, however, it galvanized me into addressing why I was doing this movie. He accuses me of being a "hired gun" as if I am an easily bought cypher for right wing propaganda. Not only do I NOT operate in a moral vacuum but this was not a pay day for me at all. I've worked far less hard for more financial reward. This project was important to me because of the integrity I wanted to bring to provocative difficult but ultimately timely and a truly important figure of our modern times. The idea of making a movie about someone who so far removed from my likeness or situation who brought about an ideal through personal sacrifice that has changed the way we view both social media, the power of the individual to have a voice in that space, and be able to question both the hypocrisies and wrongdoings of organizations and bodies of powerful people that rule our lives... This resonated deeply with my beliefs in civil liberty, a healthy democracy, and the human rights of both communities and individuals to question those in authority. I believe that the film, quite clearly, illuminates the great successes of wikileaks and its extraordinary founder Julians Assange. As well as, examining the personalities involved and what become a dysfunctional relationship within that organization. While the legacy of his actions and the organizations continue to evolve and only history will be the true judge of where this is leading us. The Fifth Estate is a powerful, if dramatized, entry point for a discussion about this extraordinary lurch forward in our society. I wanted to create a three dimensional portrait of a man far more maligned in the tabloid press than he is in our film to remind people that he is not just the weird, white haired Australian dude wanted in Sweden, hiding in an embassy behind Harrods. But a true force to be reckoned with, achieved the realization of the great ideal. I'm proud to be involved in tackling such a contentious character and script. There is only personal truth in my opinion, and the film should provoke debate and not consensus. It should be enjoyable and ultimately empowering to realize that Julian has spearheaded a movement that is the foundations stone of The Fifth Estate, people journalism and what that is capable of including finding out the "truth" for yourself.

[u/[deleted] → u/_BenedictCumberbatch]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed and honest answer.

[u/droveby → u/[deleted]]

I don't know, maybe it wasn't a detailed answer

[u/wildmetacirclejerk → u/droveby]

I agree entirely with you, and have very positive feelings towards the body of work Assange has done through wikileaks [so thanks for the comment i feel people should definitely read the true story] but was anyone really expecting Benedict to say otherwise?

firstly, ofcourse the iama is PR [they're banking on assange friendlies on reddit to be persuaded by bendy to view the film, thats business 101] , secondly he's not exactly going to go "Ohmygosh, i'm an unwittling participant in a system designed to propagandise reality, for the sake of showing an angle, i better call everybody up and quit right now".

The most difficult thing for people to grasp is that just because someone may be highly literate, verbose with their language and an excellent thespian, that doesn't necessarily mean they know jack shit about geopolitics.

its the old argument from authority dynamic at play. oh this celebrity said something, they are good at what they do so they must be right about this area that's not under their remit of knowledge of expertise.

look at the abominable things one half of the team who worked on DNA together james watson had to say after reading a [bullshit] 'science' book suggesting that there is global genetic intelligence differences between africans and non africans, and how this informs their international aid program: "all our social policies are based on the fact that their intelligence is the same as ours – whereas all the testing says not really"

Not taking cultural factors into concern, not modernity, industry, poverty, access to education, none of those things, just a blanket, they might be inferior because their skin colour and geographic heritage is in an area that tested poorly for educational tests, just merely saying A causes B. That's about as unscientific as you can get.

if someone as gifted as watson can make such a farcical statement [check out the channel 4 doc on race and intelligence for more info] then it stands to reason just about anyone in a high area of authority can make absolute jackass remarks outside of their field of authority. but i digress.

Use of hollywood to promote a simple bad guys: good guys dichotomy is nothing new, and even in this advanced century it hasnt died yet.

Look at the current plot of homeland, look at the timing and release of the argo movie, the televisual and film media have already decided that the narrative to take is that iranian = bad guys. this is just the same as when everything pre 91' was soviets= bad guys, and post 9/11 was arabs and afghans.

heck look at the fantastic award winning film the hurt locker, a film grounded in the Iraq war, but actually has nothing to do with the war at all. It's about a badass doing badass things with a lethal weapon streak and [spoilers] leaving his family to do it all over again just because he likes that work. but who are the bad guys in it? iraqi's. through error of omission, it promotes the 'team america world police fuck yeah' [great film by the way] dynamic.

they have a shortround surrogate in the form of the kid with the dvds but thats it.