Director Oliver Stone with Jason O'Brien

Friday, October 20, 2006. Los Angeles, California. This was the day I finally got the opportunity to sit down and meet the man himself, a director whose powerful filmmaking style influenced me in my own attempt at a screenwriting and directing career, and whose films have moved me and inspired me for so many years. When I first sat down to create this website on Oliver Stone back in 1995, when the internet was just starting to flourish, I really was looking for a way to bring together all the various resources that existed at the time on the internet about Oliver Stone, and to provide a place for my own reviews and discussions on Stone and his films. I never could have dreamed that 11 years later, I would finally be able to meet with Oliver one on one, and at a time after I had finally become a filmmaker myself.

Over the years, as the Stone website became more popular and became the ultimate place to go to discuss and read about all things concerning Oliver Stone and his films, it eventually led to me making a number of contacts in Hollywood and Stone's office, but until that weekend in October, I had never found the opportunity to be able to meet him. I had been hoping to attend the annual Screenwriting Expo one of these years in Los Angeles, the big yearly event where aspiring and industry screenwriters would meet to learn more about the craft of screenwriting, network, and hear advice from some of the biggest names in screenwriting and filmmaking (www.screenwriting.expo for more information). I couldn't quite make it to Expo 4 in 2005, but did finally make plans to attend Expo 5 in October of 2006, especially once I saw that Oliver Stone would be one of the guests of honor at that year's Expo. Having been in contact with his office for a number of years by this time, I contacted them that I would be in town and to see if Oliver would be interesting in meeting sometime. They graciously set up the meeting, and I was off to L.A.!

Having been such a fan of Oliver's work for so long, I had long hoped one day to be able to meet him, but I was much more excited to meet him this time, as I would not just be a fan of his work meeting him. Having directed my first feature film in 2004 (completing it in 2005), Killing Christian, (www.killingchristian.com for more info), I could now meet him as a fellow filmmaker. During this past year, I had sent him a copy of my film, and he had watched it, sending me a very nice letter in return with his feedback and words of advice.

So with the Expo set for the weekend of October 19-22, 2006, I planned to arrive the day before, Wednesday October 18. I hit Hollywood Boulevard that first day to do the tourist thing, and attended the first day of the Expo on Thursday, October 19. While in L.A., I also wanted to catch up with the lead actress from my film, Abbi Butler, who had moved out there shortly after filming Killing Christian, so I met her and her sister on Thursday night to catch up on things. Then on Friday afternoon, I made my way to Oliver Stone's office (they had recently moved to a new office building) for our scheduled 3 PM meeting. Oliver surprised me first off by giving me three gifts which I hadn't expected. One was an autographed copy of a poster for World Trade Center (click here to view), the second was an autographed copy of the soundtrack for that film, (click here to view), and a really unexpected surprise, one of the actual prison shirts worn by Woody Harrelson during the filming of Natural Born Killers (click here to view). It was an incredibly gracious gesture and very much appreciated.

For the next 25 minutes or so, we discussed a number of things which I won't go into detail here, although it ranged from discussing my film and where we were with trying to get the film sold, his films, projects for the future (including the upcoming director's cut of Alexander), a little bit of politics, the future of the website, etc. What I can tell you is that it was a very relaxed conversation. Oliver was very approachable and very real, a fellow filmmaker who I could clearly see was incredibly passionate about all of his films, and who was clearly tired of being labeled the "conspiracy director" that so many in the press have labeled him ever since JFK. I could clearly see that the criticisms do hurt, as they would any filmmaker who puts their heart out there and puts so much of themselves, literally through hell, into making a motion picture, especially on the scale that Oliver tends to make his films. I knew our time was limited, but I soaked up every minute of it ... how often does one get the opportunity to sit down one-on-one with a legendary director of his stature? One of the most interesting discussions we had was about the nature of the film industry today, and he related to me how in the 70's, it was a much different industry for aspiring writer/directors like himself to enter. We talked about how today there's more opportunities to get your vision on film, as the technology has made it possible for anyone to pick up a camera and make a film, but that also has created much more competition, with so much product getting out there for attention. I told Oliver that one of the big projects that I would next like to write/direct was initially inspired by a powerful image from one of Stone's films, in fact, probably my choice for the most powerful singular image of any Oliver Stone film. It's the scene towards the end of Platoon, when Dale Dye is standing over a large pit where so many dead American soldiers' bodies are being rolled into it. As the camera gives us a look at his face and closes in, the expression on his face and the sadness and the pain and the emptiness of the soul represented in that one quiet moment, it tells you everything you need to know about the film's theme of the fruitless conflict that was the Vietnam War, and for me, represents the sadness of Oliver Stone's own eyes as he has seen the tragedy of the world through so many different time periods and events, whether it be in Vietnam, on 9/11, on November 22 1963, or the sadness of a country lost on a media glorification of violence. In any case, that image inspired me in so many ways for the project I'm currently writing, so we discussed that a bit, and discussed the future for Oliver himself, and also what I hope to accomplish with my next film projects, as I attempt to fully enter this industry and build upon the many lessons learned during the filming of my first movie. For his willingness to listen to my goals and discuss the opportunities and the difficulties, I thank him so very much.

With the meeting concluded, I asked Oliver if he wouldn't mind posing for a couple of pictures, and he graciously accepted, and thanks to Suzie for taking some great pictures. She asked me to pick my favorite Stone film to stand next to that poster (posters from all of Oliver's films line the walls), and of course I picked JFK. With that, I was on my way back to the LAX Marriott for the evening's Expo guest of honor session where Oliver would be receiving a special Filmmaker of the Year award from the Screenwriting Expo, and be interviewed to discuss his career. The line to get in to see Oliver that night was long, and many people got turned away. David O. Russell, a skilled director in his own right, was there to present the award and conduct the interview with Oliver. The majority of the discussion centered on his most recent film, World Trade Center, as Oliver offered up a great deal of information on the making of the film, the concerns in handling one of the first major studio films on 9/11, etc, etc. Some of his other work was briefly touched on, but again, it was fascinating to listen to Oliver discussing his craft.

For the rest of the weekend, it was one helpful session after another that I attended at the Expo, as I went back and forth attending classes on directing and writing, and learned a great deal. On Sunday night, the night before I was set to leave L.A., Oliver's office had graciously invited me to attend a special Hollywood Film Festival screening of World Trade Center at the beautiful Arclight Theater in Hollywood. This was my third time seeing the film, and following the film, Oliver was there for a Q&A session where we learned more about the making of the film, and Oliver delved a bit more into more recent politics. With my trip concluded, I was back on an early Monday morning flight leaving L.A., but left a much more confident filmmaker with clear ideas and dedication to the next two projects I wanted to write and direct. It was an absolutely amazing opportunity to be able to meet Oliver Stone finally, and just be able to talk and hear from the man whose filmmaking genius and comprehension of the inherent power of cinema has been a true inspiration to me for so many years.

Having this web site on the internet for so long, it has become the main place that most people find when they search for Oliver Stone on the internet, which had been my initial goal so long ago when I started this whole web site. The message board has given people an outlet to come together to discuss Stone, and also has been the place for people to vent when Oliver makes some political comment that gets reported in the news, and as I told Oliver, whenever that happens, a bunch of people immediately must search for Oliver Stone on the web, find my site, and shoot off an e-mail to express their distaste for what Stone said and to insult him. I've never understood people who do that in the first place, getting so angry about something a filmmaker said, and finds a fan site for him, and then shoots off an e-mail to that site's creator. Guess they figure they can't get a contact directly to Oliver, so they send it to me. Of course, the majority of the e-mails I get and the discussions that take place on our message board are more positive than they are negative, but the feeling I've always had that got reinforced even more after meeting with Oliver, is that he is a dramatist, first and foremost, he's a filmmaker who wants to tackle important issues and to present fascinating stories. He is a very intelligent filmmaker who has strong political opinions of course, but at the end of a day, he's still a storyteller. That's why it was disheartening to hear all the critics who came out saying Oliver would be making some 9/11 conspiracy film when he decided to make World Trade Center and all the negative e-mail I got about it, only to find out he would be embraced by so many people who a few years ago would want nothing to do with him for his riskier films. One of the things that I could truly connect with and understand about Oliver that I might not have fully appreciated had I met him a few years earlier before I had directed a film myself and struggled to get a film funded and made, was how much that making a feature length motion picture takes out of a person, how much of an artist's soul is poured into every effort when directing a film, especially one that comes from a very deep personal place. Some may dismiss some of Stone's work, when I could see in his eyes and could hear him say how much every one of his films means to him ... as he said during his Expo session, he remembers events in the world and events in his life based on what he was doing when he was making a film, his filmography is a biography of his own life in essence, as it is for any film director I imagine. Most people who criticize never look deeper into what it takes to make a film, how many people are working so hard to express that artistic and creative side of themselves, who are sacrificing their own time and money in some cases to see a dream come true. It was an absolute honor and a privilege to be able to finally meet Oliver Stone, and I thank him and his office for arranging this meeting, and I look forward to the day when just possibly I can say I now get the opportunity to work with Oliver Stone.

--- November 1, 2006

This Page Last Updated: 11/7/2006

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