Underground: The Julian Assange Story (2012)

A look at the early career of Wikileaks founder, Julian Assange.

Director:

Robert Connolly

Writers:

Suelette Dreyfus (book), Robert Connolly (adaptation)

Stars:

Rachel Griffiths, Anthony LaPaglia, Alex Williams

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Rachel Griffiths	...	Christine Assange
Anthony LaPaglia	...	Detective Ken Roberts
Alex Williams	...	Julian Assange
Laura Wheelwright	...	Electra
Callan McAuliffe	...	Prime Suspect
Jordan Raskopoulos	...	Trax
Benedict Samuel	...	Jonah
Ben Crundwell	...	Adam
Doug Bowles	...	Fred
Daniel Frederiksen	...	Wayne
Ben Keller	...	Young Julian Assange
Simon Maiden	...	Journalist
Ian Bliss	...	Vince
Dean Cartmel	...	Technician
Nick Mitchell	...	Matthew Stewart

Storyline

Julian Assange is one of the most significant figures of the twenty first century. But before he was famous, before WikiLeaks, before the internet even existed, he was a teenage computer hacker in Melbourne. This is his story. In 1989, known as 'Mendax', Assange and two friends formed a group called the 'International Subversives'. Using early home computers and defining themselves as 'white hat hackers' - those who look but don't steal - they broke into some of the world's most powerful and secretive organisations. They were young, brilliant, and in the eyes of the US Government, a major threat to national security. At the urging of the FBI, the Australian Federal Police set up a special taskforce to catch them. But at a time when most Australian police had never seen a computer, let alone used one, they had to figure out just where to begin. Police ingenuity and old-fashioned detective work are pitted against nimble, highly skilled young men in this new crime frontier. What follows,...

---

Plot Keywords:

hacker | subject name in title | based on book

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama

---

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2012 (Australia)

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Matchbox Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

The modems are shown dialing 8 digit telephone numbers using tone dialing in 1989. At the time Australia still largely used decadic pulse dialing and 8 digit telephone numbers were not introduced until 1994.

User Reviews

What makes Assange tick? The screen writer does not know.

The purpose of this movie should have been to show "what makes Assange tick". The producer/director and screen writer failed in this area because they do not know the answer.

Assange's nomadic lifestyle does not explain what makes him tick, nor does Assange's father, nor does his girlfriend. These are certainly external factors in Assange's childhood, but they do not explain what makes him tick. Also, the superfluous details about his girlfriend and his child were absolutely ridiculous and should have been excluded as non-essential details.

The film should have focused on Assange's motive that he has held and still holds. I should have seen more about his love for freedom of speech, his ability of using the internet; and his long days and nights in front of the computer (for which he is know). The "why" was left unanswered.

It is not the external factors of a nomadic lifestyle that made him what he is today. It was not because his father or step-father was strange that Assange is what he is today. It is not because of his girlfriend. But it is because he holds certain ideas. Those ideas were buried throughout the movie.

What made him risk his life? What made him follow certain principles that he is known for today? What are his principles?