Assange slates WikiLeaks film

Julian Assange has slated the forthcoming WikiLeaks film 'The Fifth Estate', calling it a 'massive propaganda attack'.

The first picture from the film, with Benedict Cumberbatch playing the founder of the whistle-blowing website, emerged online yesterday.

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But it seems Assange is less than happy with the script, accusing filmmakers of 'fanning the flames of war' against Iran.

In a speech to the Oxford Union, which was delivered via video link from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, he spoke about a section of the script, a copy of which he was holding, which suggests that Iran is working on an atomic weapon.

“How does this have anything to do with us?” he said. “It is a lie upon lie. The movie is a massive propaganda attack on WikiLeaks and the character of my staff.”

Assange is currently being given political asylum in the embassy, to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he faces allegations of sexual assault and rape, which he denies.

The film, being made by Steven Spielberg's Dreamworks and directed by Bill Condon, also stars 'Inglorious Basterds' star Daniel Bruhl as Daniel Domscheit-Berg, Assange's spokesman, Laura Linney, David Thewlis and Peter Capaldi.

It is due out in November in the US.

“It may be decades before we understand the full impact of WikiLeaks and how it’s revolutionised the spread of information,” said Condon of the project.

“So this film won’t claim any long view authority on its subject, or attempt any final judgment. We want to explore the complexities and challenges of transparency in the information age and, we hope, enliven and enrich the conversations WikiLeaks has already provoked.”