Oliver Stone

History Through Film

Mr. Clark

Stone was born in NYC on September 15, 1946

• entered Trinity School in 1957, and the Hill School in 1960.

• attended Yale and dropped out in 1965 after one year

• 1965: moved to Vietnam to teach English

• 1966: wrote an unpublished novel and lived in Mexico for a brief time.

Vietnam

• April 1967: Stone joined the Army and trained at Fort Jackson, SC

• 1967 to 1968: Stone would return to Vietnam and serve 15 months in the 2nd Platoon of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry Division

Stone

• Stone was awarded the Bronze Star for “extraordinary acts of courage under fire” and the Purple Heart for his service in the war

• Stone completed his tour of duty and was discharged in November 1968

• Stone returned to NY and entered NYU where he studied film under Martin Scorsese

Films

• 1973: directed his very first film called Seizure, which was a horror film

• 1976: Stone was asked to adapt Midnight Express for film; he won his first Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

• 1986: the release of Platoon catapulted him into the spotlight.

• He had originally written Platoon in 1976 to tell a story about the Vietnam War like no one had done before him

• hailed as one of the greatest films ever made about the Vietnam War

• grossed $250 million worldwide

• the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences named the film Best Picture of the Year, and awarded Stone his first ever Best Director award.

• 1989: Stone returned to the Vietnam War with Born on the Fourth of July, which brought him his second Best Director Academy Award.

• Tom Cruise portrayed Ron Kovic in the true story of Kovic’s service in Vietnam, his permanent handicap after being wounded, his return to the United States and his involvement in the anti-war movement.

• In 1991, Oliver Stone made The Doors, which explored the story of one of the most popular and unique bands of the 60's and 70's - The Doors and Jim Morrison.

• Also in 1991, Stone released JFK (dealing with the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy) which caused a national controversy, because it mixed history with conjecture; questioning the lone assassin theory

• In 1994, Stone released another controversial film for its violence, Natural Born Killers (about the media and its glorification of violence and murder)

Awards and NominationsWinner 1978 Best Adapted Screenplay --

MIDNIGHT EXPRESSWinner 1986 Best Director – PLATOONNomination 1986 Best Original Screenplay –

PLATOONNomination 1986 Best Original Screenplay –

SALVADORWinner 1989 Best Director -- BORN ON THE

FOURTH OF JULY

Awards and NominationsNomination 1989 Best Picture (Producer) --

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULYNomination 1989 Best Adapted Screenplay --

BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULYNomination 1991 Best Picture (Producer) -- JFKNomination 1991 Best Director – JFKNomination 1991 Best Adapted Screenplay – JFKNomination 1995 Best Original Screenplay --

NIXON

Filmography1971 - BATTLE OF LOVE'S RETURN (Actor) 1974 - SEIZURE (Co-writer, film editor, and

director) 1978 - MIDNIGHT EXPRESS (Writer and

actor) 1981 - THE HAND (Writer, actor, and director) 1982 - CONAN THE BARBARIAN (Co-writer)

Filmography1983 - SCARFACE (Writer and Actor) 1985 - YEAR OF THE DRAGON (Co-

writer) 1985 - 8 MILLION WAYS TO DIE (Co-

Writer) 1986 - SALVADOR (Co-writer, Director,

and Co-Producer) 1986 - PLATOON (Writer, Actor, and

Director)

Filmography1987 - WALL STREET (Co-writer, Actor,

and Director) 1988 - TALK RADIO (Co-Writer and

Director) 1989 - BORN ON THE FOURTH OF

JULY (Co-Writer, Director, Actor, and Co-Producer)

1990 - REVERSAL OF FORTUNE (Co-Producer)

Filmography1990 - BLUE STEEL (Co-Producer) 1991 - IRON MAZE (Executive Producer) 1991 - THE DOORS (Co-Writer, Actor,

and Director)

1991 - JFK (Co-Writer, Director, and Producer)

1992 - SOUTH CENTRAL (Producer) 1992 - ZEBRAHEAD (Executive

Producer)1992 - PATRIOT GAMES (Actor)

Filmography1993 - THE JOY LUCK CLUB (Executive

Producer) 1993 - THE NEW AGE (Executive

Producer) 1993 - DAVE (Actor) 1993 - LAST PARTY (Actor) 1993 - WILD PALMS (TV miniseries)

(Executive Producer, Actor)

Filmography1993 - HEAVEN AND EARTH (Writer,

Director, and Producer) 1994 - NATURAL BORN KILLERS (Co-

Writer, Producer, and Director) 1995 - NIXON (Co-Writer, Director, Actor,

and Producer) 1995 - KILLER : A JOURNAL OF

MURDER (Executive Producer) 1996 - EVITA (Co-Writer)

Filmography1996 - FREEWAY (Executive Producer) 1996 - THE PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT

(Producer) 1997 - U-TURN (Director) 1999 - ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (Director,

Actor, Co-Writer, Co-Producer)2000- MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (Actor)2001- THE DAY REAGAN WAS SHOT

(Executive Producer)

Filmography2004- ALEXANDER (Producer, Director,

Actor, Writer)2006- WORLD TRADE CENTER

(Producer)2008- W. (Director, Producer)