Oliver Stone

After meeting (Doctor) Oliver Stone last Wednesday, I think I'll take up Andy's prediction that it might warrant a resurrection of my blog -which has admittedly fallen by the wayside since the end of our classes with Andy.

As this is a blog for the Academy course I shall respect it and not tell a lie and be completely honest. It was totally awesome to meet Oliver Stone -the man made my favourite film..Awesome!!!...

...Now that that is out of my system I'll continue on a more restrained note.

I had seen interviews of Oliver Stone before, on DVDs and internet etc. and he always struck me as a very intelligent and opinionated person, with very open and firm principles. It was this aspect of the man that really impressed and held my attention throughout his conversation with Andy. I found it exceptionally interesting and refreshing to see just how reflective and (for lack of a better word) Philosophical Dr Stone was in discussion of his life and past works.

I was of course quietly ecstatic that Alexander Revisited was mentioned as much as it was and that it's poor critical reception was explored rather than uncomfortably skipped over -so thank you Andy for that.

However, there was one thing in particular that Oliver Stone touched on that got me thinking more than anything else. The idea that films these days are increasingly lacking in a note-worthy message. You can see what he means if you compare the underlying messages and themes of say 'Platoon' and 'Wall street' with that of 'Transformers' and (as Stone put it) "Clash of my balls" -i.e 'Clash of the Titans'. It does indeed appear as if modern directors value style and technique over story, themes, character and message. Now, I do not like every one of Oliver Stone's pictures but I respect the fact that he always has something to say about the subject he is handling. I for one will endeavour to strive for a more meaningful message in my future projects -without losing the entertainment factor of course.

I'm not usually one to get star struck and I'm certainly not the type of person to go up to a celebrity and ask for a photo or autograph -I think you should just leave them be. However, even I have to admit that having Oliver Stone thank me for liking his film was a pretty major high point of my year.