|
His next project after that, is a paen to homicide-bombing
expert and all-round piece of work: Yasser Arafat.
(Yasser Arafat won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994.)
Those who have seen the Castro eulogy and have some
vague idea of the many atrocities committed by Castro
- from mass killings to holding of political prisoners
to sponsorship of terrorism - say it is a one-sided
propaganda piece that portrays the Cuban dictator
as an international cultural and political hero.
Clearly unaware of the tin-pot dictator comic undertones
to a title like 'Commandante, Stone culled three days
of intimate conversations with the Cuban dictator
into the documentary.
Castro has long been a favourite of deluded Hollywood
actorvists - from Stone to Robert Redford and even
Steven Spielberg, who recently returned from a trip
to Cuba urging the embargo be lifted.
Eventually, 'Comandante' will be headed for some of
America's living rooms through the auspices of HBO.
Presumably Channel 4 in the UK is salivating for the
rights as we speak.
While 'Comandante' is sure to make them stand up and
cheer at Sundance, even many in Hollywood are wondering
if Stone may go over the top in 'Persona Non Grata',
a potentially explosive movie project glorifying the
creator of the worldwide rats-nest of terrorists...
Yasser Arafat.
Stone reportedly shot more than 80 hours of material
in Israel and the West Bank, interviewing Shimon Peres,
Ariel Sharon, Ehud Barak, Benjamin Netanyahu as well
as Arafat and leader of Hamas in what he described
as an effort 'to provide materials for the broadest
possible overview of the conflict'.
'If Hollywood director Oliver Stone's upcoming documentary
on Yasser Arafat is as close to reality as were his
movies on John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon, Israel
has real reason for concern', said Herb Keinon in
the Jerusalem Post.
Stone interviewed Arafat last March in Arafat's Ramallah
compound and was photographed at the time with Portuguese
Nobel Prize-winning author Jose Samargo. On that same
trip, Samarago accused Israel of employing 'Nazi tactics'
against Palestinian Arabs.
The film has been commissioned by French and Spanish
television companies. There is a possibility PBS may
buy rights to air it in the U.S.
'The power of name appeal in the film industry is
unbelievable', said Zvi Vapni, deputy counsel at Israel's
consulate in Los Angeles. 'People who might not sit
and watch a documentary on Arafat for a minute, will
sit and watch if Oliver Stone's name is on it. That
is our concern. It will have a strong impact for many
people'.
Stone, 56, won the Best Director Oscar for 'Born on
the Fourth of July' and 'Platoon'. Among his other
well-known works are 'JFK', 'Nixon', 'Wall Street',
'Natural Born Killers', 'The Doors', and 'Any Given
Sunday'.
Following his trip to the Middle east last year, Stone
was quoted in Daily Variety as saying he 'understands
why they, the suicide bombers, feel the way they do'.
'He also reminded', the entertainment paper continued,
''I'm against violence in these matters. I'm against
suicide bombers - they kill innocent people'. Well
that's nice to know Ollie.
Stone added, however, 'The settlements - they are
something else. The Israelis have no business in the
West Bank. The settlements have to be gotten out of
the West Bank'. Whether he agrees with Irish poet
slash racist Tom Paulin's assertions that he hates
Jews and that they should be shot dead, remains unclear
at this point.
|
