Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Oliver Stone claims ‘cancel culture’ would see him attacked if classic films came out today

Director of films including ‘Wall Street’ and ‘Natural Born Killers’ says you have to be ‘rude and bad’ to make a movie

Roisin O'Connor
Friday 31 July 2020 04:29 EDT
(Michael Campanella/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Director Oliver Stone has lashed out at “cancel culture“ and said he believes he would be “attacked” if his films were released in today’s climate.

During an interview on Sirius XM, the filmmaker claimed he would be cast out of Hollywood over movies such as Platoon, Natural Born Killers, and Wall Street.

“I’m really out of touch. I can tell you that if I made any of my films, I don’t think I’d last. I’d be vilified. I’d be attacked. Shamed. Whatever you want to call that … culture, cancel f***ing culture,” he said.

“I mean, it’s just impossible. I would have had to step on so many sensitivities,” he continued. ”You have to have some freedom to make a movie, unfortunately.

“You have to be rude. You can be bad. And you’re going to have do to these things like step on toes. Holy cow. Do you think I could have made any one of those films?”

In 2017, former Playboy model Carrie Stevens and actors Patricia Arquette and Melissa Gilbert accused Stone of sexual misconduct.

Stone did not respond to Stevens and Arquette’s claims, but issued a comment to Deadline regarding Gilbert’s accusations of a “humiliating and horrid” audition process for 1991’s The Doors.

“We auditioned dozens of actors for roles in The Doors and it was made clear from the outset that our film was going to be a raunchy, no-holds-barred rock ‘n’ roll movie,” Stone said in a statement.

“Anyone auditioning was told the scenes would be rehearsed and performed from a script, with my casting director, Risa Bramon Garcia, present throughout the process to ensure a safe environment for all actors who auditioned.”

“I would have had to step on so many sensitivities,” Stone continued on SiriusXM, of contemporary culture.

“You have to have some freedom to make a movie, unfortunately. You have to be rude. You can be bad. And you’re going to have to do these things like step on toes. Holy cow. Do you think I could have made any one of those films?”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in