Last month Anthony LaPaglia made some waves when he revealed that he exited Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained," which was pushing back his shooting schedule, in order to maintain the commitment he made to star in Robert Connolly's Julian Assange film "Underground." Financing was coming together around the actor's name, and not only that, LaPaglia had worked previously with the helmer on "Balibo." And ultimately it seems he made the right choice. With Assange in the headlines once again as his diplomatic fate is sorted out in the U.K., "Underground" is timelier than ever.
Rolling back the clock a couple of decades, the film is set in 1989 and focuses on the computer hacker-slash-activist's younger days, with LaPaglia playing a detective on his trail. This exclusive clip from the film sees LaPaglia in action as Julian (played by newcomer Alex Williams) reaches out and informs him of his participation in the group International Subversives, who don't intend to steal, but merely to expose the truth. And by the time the scene ends, it becomes clear just how much information Assage is able to dig out with an internet connection and a Commodore 64.
Co-starring Rachel Griffiths, Laura Wheelwright, Jordan Paskopoulos and Callan McAuliffe (who'll play the younger Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation), "Underground" premieres at TIFF on Saturday, September 8th. NBC Universal are selling the rights for all territories outside Australia.