LOS ANGELES - Principal photography is under way on "The Fifth Estate," a drama about the controversial WikiLeaks website, DreamWorks Studios announced Tuesday.

The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and Daniel Brhl as Assange's early supporter and eventual colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg.

Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Peter Capaldi, Dan Stevens, Alicia Vikander and Carice van Houten round out the cast.

Bill Condon ("Kinsey," "Dreamgirls," "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn") will direct. The screenplay by Josh Singer (TV's "Fringe," "The West Wing") is based on "Inside WikiLeaks: My Time with Julian Assange at the World's Most Dangerous Website" by Domscheit-Berg and "WikiLeaks: Inside Julian Assange's War on Secrecy" by David Leigh and Luke Harding.

"It may be decades before we understand the full impact of WikiLeaks and how it's revolutionized the spread of information, so this film won't claim any long view authority on its subject, or attempt any final judgment," Condon said.

"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," the director said.

"The Fifth Estate" is scheduled to open in U.S. theaters on Nov. 15 and will be distributed domestically by Disney's Touchstone label. Distribution internationally will be split among Disney, DreamWorks partner Reliance, and deals made through the studio's partnership with Mister Smith Entertainment.