Though Oliver Stone is reviled and sometimes revered for his political opinions, those who love the movies of the last three decades know him (or should) as the screenwriter mostly likely to understand — and bring to life — villains. In Platoon, it was the alcoholic sergeant Wall Street, Sgt. Barnes, played by Tom Berenger,Continue reading “Don Blankenship: A coal-black villain worthy of Oliver Stone”
Tag Archives: Oliver Stone
Why “W” Went to Baghdad: Oliver Stone Tells All
A new movie blogger on the scene is Patrick Goldstein, who writes "The
Big Picture" for the LA Times (here). For some reason, nobody in the
blogosphere seems to like Goldstein at all. Near as I can tell, it’s
became he writes for a real newspaper and they don’t. But be that as it
may, his opening post last week was a scene from the screenplay for the movie biography of George W. Bush that Stone is directing, called "W." It’s the movie that everyone
in Hollywood wants to see, but no one in Hollywood wanted to fund (as
Goldstein put it).
Oliver Stone is a living mess, but when he’s on, no film writer alive
puts better bad guys down on paper. (Takes one to know one?) Remember Gordon Gekko? Platoon?
Nixon? I question Stone’s ability to direct — he can’t seem to settle on a single film stock, far less a single POV — but not his ability to write. Maybe this story will focus him. If so — and the cast is promising — could be something to remember.
The scene is below the fold. You won’t regret reading it, I promise.
Kit Stolz 