Oliver Stone: Softbellied Bootlicking Asshat Moron
An interview in Slate with Oliver Stone about his work with Fidel Castro. Stone has already filmed one dictator lovefest, Commandante. HBO forced him to go back down to Cuba and film more balanced footage for broadcast, so now he has Looking for Fidel. (Is anyone else tired of the "Looking for..." trope? I am.)
Ann Bardach interviews Stone, and he manages in a few short questions to look like he's never really thought about the implications of his filmmaking:
ALB: But Cuba's leader for life is sitting in front of these guys who are facing life in prison, and you're asking them, "Are you well treated in prison?" Did you think they could honestly answer that question?
OS: If they were being horribly mistreated, then I don't know that they could be worse mistreated [afterward].
ALB: So in other words, you think they thought this was their best shot to air grievances? Rather than that if they did speak candidly, there'd be hell to pay when they got back to prison?
OS: I must say, you're really picturing a Stalinist state. It doesn't feel that way. You can always find horrible prisons if you go to any country in Central America.
ALB: Did you go to the prisons in Cuba?
OS: No, I didn't.
Yikes. The more I learn about Stone, the more reasons I have to abhor his work--which is funny, because he was already very nearly my least favorite American filmmaker after NATURAL BORN KILLERS and JFK.
11:14 AM
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