Movie on Wikileaks has worldwide release

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

Benedict Cumberbatch is seen as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in a scene from ‘The Fifth Estate.’ AP photo

“The Fifth Estate,” recounting how WikiLeaks rocked the US administration, has its worldwide release in Britain today, but the website’s creator Julian Assange has slammed the film as “cowardly.”

Prime Minister David Cameron praised the performance of Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays Assange complete with platinum-blonde hair, but the British actor was on the end of a stinging rebuke from the man he portrays.

“I believe you are a good person, but I do not believe that this film is a good film,” Assange said, according to an email released by WikiLeaks. “It is a work of political opportunism, influence, revenge and, above all, cowardice. “It seeks to ride on the back of our work, our reputation and our struggles.” “The Fifth Estate” follows the WikiLeaks story between 2007 and 2010, from the publication of “War Logs,” which revealed abuses by the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan and through “Cablegate,” the massive release of US diplomatic memos which embarrassed governments around the world.