OLIVER STONE! a genious or just another asshole?

[john_doe]

in my opinion he is the genious in hollywood. he has the guts to do what he wants and his movies are beyong good, even the recent ones. he also is going to make a great biopic of ALexander the Great

[Scarface98.9]

he's more like a mix of a giant asshole and pretty smart filmmaker, not genius

[Cyclonus]

He has a pretty big ego, alright, and sometimes overdoes it, but I still contend that he is a gifted and daring filmmaker who often does not get the respect he deserves.

[Favourite end]

He`s one of the few really genious directors in Hollywood.

[CrowTRobot]

He has a distinct style, and he does take risks (if by risk, you mean using paranoia and conspiracy theory for the sake of appearing "liberal" and "rebellious")but he isn't the intellectual he makes himself out to be. He's gifted with visuals and editing, but ultimately overrated.

[AnnoyingQuestionAsker]

One of my friends was on the set of Any Given Sunday and he told me that he couldn't tell which there was more of good-looking women going into his trailer or "smoke" coming out of it.

[arto_j]

As a filmmaker, he's rather talented.

As a person...well, i wouldn't necessarily want to know him.

[Moviefan1234]

I think he can be one of the best if he uses the right material. Some of his movies are outstanding while others barely average. It's all in the material for Mr. Stone.

[Psychocandy]

Hmmm...let's see...

U-Turn - 4/5
Natural Born Killers - 4/5
JFK - 5/5
Born On The Fourth Of July - 4/5
Talk Radio - 4/5
Wall Street - 4/5
Platoon - 5/5
Salvador - 5/5

I haven't seen Nixon, Any Given Sunday, Heaven & Earth or The Doors but my opinion of those I have seen certainly suggests he is a genius.

[Reigh Kaufman]

How does a person go through life without having seen The Doors?

Anyway, Oliver Stone is a genius who just happens to be an asshole. It's a flaw that a lot of talented men have. Still, I would have loved to have seen the spats between him and Val Kilmer/James Woods/Willem Dafoe...

[Bullet Tooth Tony]

I think most of ya'll have hit the nail on the head in that he's a little bit of both. I recently purchased Platoon on DVD and watched the documentary.

Most of the actors, Sheen, Defoe, Depp and McGinley say that they hated the man when he was directing that film and gave them a harsh introduction to making movies. They laugh about it but secretly I bet they hated him.

He is an ego-maniac who happens to make great films, I wouldnt want him to direct me. He's like that teacher who was always pushing you around at school thinking it would better you but you want to smack him one.

And for the record, I too havent seen The Doors.

[Psychocandy]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Reigh Kaufman:
How does a person go through life without having seen The Doors?

Anyway, Oliver Stone is a genius who just happens to be an asshole. It's a flaw that a lot of talented men have. Still, I would have loved to have seen the spats between him and Val Kilmer/James Woods/Willem Dafoe...</font>


The problem is that I think Jim Morrison was a talentless asshole. This kind of puts me off seeing a movie about his life despite the fact that it is directed by Oliver Stone. I don't think I could get a kick out of a movie celebrating The Doors music when I think the music sucks. I'll likely see it someday though. Just to be a completist (although I think i'll give Seizure and The Hand a miss).

[eric-draven]

I say check out Oliver Stone's America to hear the man himself talk about life the universe and everything. After seeing that and listening to his audio commentaries(espesially JFK and Natural Born Killers), you realise that he wants to make you think when you leave the theatre/switch of the dvd, unlike alot of Hollywood. This is the mark of a true filmmaking god

[Alan Idol]

Both. I think Stone has a great ability to grasp the dark side of society. The side we forget exists.

[Scarface98.9]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by AnnoyingQuestionAsker:
One of my friends was on the set of Any Given Sunday and he told me that he couldn't tell which there was more of good-looking women going into his trailer or "smoke" coming out of it.</font>
so goes the urban legend that he always has many Asian whores in his trailer between takes http://www.joblo.com/ubb/wink.gif

[BloodiedCelticVengeance]

Stone is certainly both, in my eyes. Which is not altogether surprising...as most gifted, passionate people who qualify as genius are.
The man is a compelling film maker. There is no denying that. True, he can easily be consumed by excess and ego in certain projects...and sometimes his message is bogged down with contrived, murky surrealism.
I disagree with his politics, and his ham-fisted delivery of said dogma (sometimes he is about as subtle as a wrecking ball), but...I still find him to be a bold, daring, and innovative soul.
Stone is one of a handful of director's whose presence supercedes those of any actor/actress in the film...his projects are just that...HIS projects...which wraps this up nicely:
He is genius enough to create the sublime, perverse slices of Americana...and asshole enough to behave in a manner which necessitates a topic such as this.

[JoBlo]

BUMP! (for new forum purposes)

[Tom Samborski]

Stone is probably America's most controversial director, but that doesn't mean he's an asshole. It's the controversy that makes him a genius, mainly because his films are very different from other directors. His explianation of the bad side of society makes his films brilliant.

[CriticalBill6966]

I would say neither.

He's an overratted dumb fuck in my book. A complet hack, who turned into everything I hate in a person.

At one point he was good, I just hate what he's become.

[Cyclonus]

Where do you think he started turning bad?

Anyways I have to admit he's been in a slump lately, with his last two films being mediocre, and toiling in developement hell to get his own projects financed.

[Grebdron]

I wouldn't necessarily say both, because I don't know if he's an asshole. But I do know that he's not a genious. What an overused word. Einstein was a genious. Stone makes movies. I'd rather have been Einstein.

[BubbaStrangelove]

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Psychocandy:

The problem is that I think Jim Morrison was a talentless asshole.....I don't think I could get a kick out of a movie celebrating The Doors music when I think the music sucks. </font>

the movie celebrates The Doors the same way Shindler's List celebrates the war

[Gigolo Jay]

Jim Morrison a talentless asshole?
Back up the bus chachi...

A man who was influenced by Nietzsche, Rimbaud, Sophocles, Brecht, Stroheim, Fellini, Godard et al is certainly not talentless.
I think anyone who dismisses Morrison has not even looked at what he accomplished in print or records. I have supeme contempt for those who write off this brillant man.

Although I will say that the Stone film is NOT the story of the Doors or Morrison, and Oliver said as much: "Maybe I failed with The Doors". Forming an opinion of the Lizard King based on the movie would be a serious mistake.....

[meltingman]

Very good director and several excellent films. I think his work is significant. He has taken risks and I give him credit for it.

[paul calf]

i would say that oliver stone is one of the best in the buissness at the moment,he does'nt do anything by half
platoon
the doors
natural born killers
u turn
talk radio
salvador
are all great films made in unique styles by a very original director,i would put him on a par with tarentino as the best 2 directors of the last 20 yrs.