One of the most controversial directors to emerge from the 1980s is definitely Oliver Stone. A Vietnam vet with a strong political bent, he first plied his trade as a screenwriter on movies such as 1978’s Midnight Express, 1983’s Scarface and 1985’s Year of the Dragon, before moving into directing with two masterpieces that came out within months of each other, the James Woods fact-based thriller Salvador (1986) and the stone-cold Vietnam classic Platoon.
From there, his career kicked into high gear, with him known for casting a critical eye at some of the most controversial events and personalities of modern times. His best movies include 1988’s Wall Street (which won an Oscar for star Michael Douglas), 1989’s Born of the Fourth of July (which proved to people just how outstanding an actor Tom Cruise could be), 1991’s The Doors and JFK (still perhaps his most controversial film), 1994’s Natural Born Killers, 1999’s Any Given Sunday and many, many more.
While his output has slowed in recent years, Stone’s as prolific as ever; he’s just turned his attention to documentaries such as The Putin Interviews and JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass. Join us as we take a deep dive into his remarkable career on this episode of WTF Happened to this Celebrity. This episode was written (with Brad Hamerly), edited and narrated by Taylor James Johnson, who also co-produced with Chris Bumbray. Berge Garabedian is the executive producer. Watch previous episodes below: