TORONTO -- When your film is the WikiLeaks thriller "The Fifth Estate," consider your marketing and promotions budget taken care of by the 6 o'clock news.

Hollywood's take on the secret-spilling website's rise and fall couldn't be more timely thanks to ongoing investigations into mastermind Julian Assange, National Security Agency hacker Edward Snowden, and the recent sentencing of military whistleblower Chelsea Manning, previously known as Bradley Manning.

In a fickle film market where even slick A-list vehicles barely dent the box office, such headline-grabbing exploits give "The Fifth Estate" an edge that can't be manufactured, agrees director Bill Condon as he prepares to debut in the opening slot at the Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday.

"The rumour that Snowden was actually hired by DreamWorks -- it's not true," Condon jokes, noting that the journey of the famed information leaker closely mirrors the Assange experience detailed in the film.

"There are U.S. government officials who came out and used the exact same words that they've used against Bradley Manning or Julian Assange, you know. The story (is) unfolding in eerily parallel ways.... The challenge (is) to make a movie that takes this very, very complicated issue, which is the kind of 'catch' in between privacy and transparency in the Internet age, and hopefully live up to the complexity of the subject (and) present all sides with conviction and hopefully lead people to discuss it."

Discussion hasn't been a problem so far.

The "Dreamgirls" director can thank Assange for a good portion of early media coverage, which saw the embattled website founder declaring the film "anti-WikiLeaks" and a massive "propaganda attack" on himself.

"The Fifth Estate" is no hatchet job, Condon counters in a recent phone interview from New York, adding later that he's proud "the movie doesn't tell you what to think."

"I was always sympathetic and I remain that way," Condon says of Assange, who remains holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since being offered asylum last year.

The 42-year-old Assange is trying to avoid extradition to Sweden on sex assault allegations and possible extradition to the United States over Manning's WikiLeaks disclosures. In the meantime, he's campaigning for a Senate seat in Australia as part of the WikiLeaks Party.

"I'm still kind of in awe of what Assange was able to create and build so quickly," Condon says of the free-speech warrior's website. "And I also remain heartbroken by the flaws that, I won't say brought it down, it still exists in some form, but led to some ... basic mistakes."

All of Assange's complaints were based on an early version of the script, and none of those elements have survived to the finished film, says the director, whose other films include "Kinsey" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn."

He notes that Assange also disapproved of the two books used as source material: "Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website" by disillusioned former partner Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and "WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy" by Guardian journalists David Leigh and Luke Harding.

"You don't go into a movie wanting to do a hit job on somebody, or, as he said, create some work of propaganda or any character assassination. Both for me and for Benedict Cumberbatch who plays him, it was a question of figuring out what makes him tick and trying to make as complete and deep a portrait as we could," he says.

"People will come out and say, 'Boy, it was strange how I changed my mind about him every five minutes,' and that is kind of what we were intending. Just when you think you've kind of pinned him down and think something is either extremely kind of inspiring or something seems morally compromised then he'll do something that changes your view on him again."

From the get-go, Condon and Cumberbatch discussed the delicate touch required in sketching the highly intelligent but controversial figure -- considered a hero by some, a dangerous radical by others.

Cumberbatch, who also arrives at the fest with the period drama "12 Years a Slave" and the family saga "August: Osage County," tried hard to contact Assange directly, says Condon. Assange refused to meet.

The British "Sherlock" star, who appears poised for a career breakthrough thanks to a slew of intriguing projects, is especially mindful that Assange's story is far from over, adds Condon.

"He wanted be as truthful and complete and paint as complete a portrait as possible but never do anything that would in any way affect negatively Assange's life. And I had the same absolute intent. It's been a little frustrating because I think Julian is trying to do something different (in suggesting) there is a kind of vendetta, which there isn't remotely. I entered this and leave it as a fan of WikiLeaks and as someone who's completely fascinated by him."

Much of the film concerns Assange's relationship with Domscheit-Berg, an early supporter who joins Assange's mission to give whistleblowers a way to anonymously reveal government secrets and corporate crimes.

Their collaboration ended bitterly, with Domscheit-Berg claiming to have destroyed thousands of the site's unpublished submissions in the wake of their split.

Condon notes that Domscheit-Berg comes across a relatively "sympathetic" character.

"Daniel is the everyman that kind of leads you into the story. He's the person through whose eyes you see Assange," he says.

"In a way, it's the harder role both to cast and to play.... He's got to be sort of the steady force through it all and has choir moments. But I'm incredibly grateful that we were able to cast Daniel Bruhl, who is, for one thing German, and the character really captures some essential quality of German progressive thought."

Condon says he's blown away to snag TIFF's opening slot, a high-profile platform that favours high-energy and buzz-laden titles chosen for their ability to get audiences talking.

Toronto audiences are especially receptive to timely films, says Condon, who has attended the festival three times before, once as simply a film fan.

"The audience is always so generous but more than that for a film like this you kind of crave, especially in early days, that you'll have an audience that comes in with some knowledge and interest," Condon says.

"And I feel very lucky to have a such a smart group to share it with for the first time."

"The Fifth Estate" hits theatres Oct. 18.