Stone Doing Stoners: Director Oliver Stone talks about upcoming Marihuana Movie “Savages”

Doing press work during the Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, Italy, Director Oliver Stone (Wall Street, Natural Born Killers, Platoon, JFK) gave some interesting background on his new movie “Savages”. With shooting to start in three and a half weeks, the movie features a top cast including Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Salma Hayek, Blake Lively and Benicio Del Toro.

“California has legalized marihuana for medical purposes. As a result very high grade weed is grown in southern California, some of the best in the world in my personal opinion, Very fine quality. They really work at it. They’re good at it.”

“To have a nice brand O.G. LA (original gangster LA) is hard work. It’s also expensive, very expensive. It’s like creating a fine wine. We learned how to do that from other countries, now we make great marihuana. We have great marihuana, better than anywhere in the world. It used to be Thai weed, or afghan, now it’s Southern California.”

“The movie is about those people and people from Mexico who sell their weed everywhere. The Mexican cartels are very aggressive, and competitive with southern Californians. It seems there would be a coming conflict between the two groups, The Mexicans trying to take over the Californian business.”

 

Oliver Stone: "I’m not just a filmmaker"

Some directors specialize in sequels to create movie franchises. Oliver Stone has developed another angle: he does new cuts of “Alexander”.
At the Taormina Film Festival, he presented the third cut, entitled somewhat geeky but certainly precise “Alexander Revisited: The Final Unrated Cut”. In the master class, he talks about the movie, his ongoing Marihuana film project and why he’s not making political films.


Q: Can you say more about the first version of “Alexander”?

Oliver Stone: It cost a lot of money. We did manage to do break even in foreign countries, but not in the UK and the US. We ended up in the list of top 20 top grossing films of the year.

It wasn’t what I wanted it to be. People made it sound like it was the worst film of time. It was horrible for me. I knew Alexander well, and I assumed the audience knew what I know.

Q: When seeing “Alexander”, I saw certain parallels with Jesus.

Oliver Stone: I never thought of Alexander with the reference to Jesus. I see Alexander as a model for myself. He admired the Indian philosophy. He brought philosophers with him on this journey. His was a world of survival and strength.
It is interesting they both died at 33, but a lot of people die at or before 33.

I think of him as a pre-Jesus. Jesus is the guy who turned the other check. And that’s not at all Alexander.

Most of the Greek stories come from the east. Greek heroes go to the east, and they bring something to the west. The truth is Alexander never came home. He wanted to become more and more eastern. He made 500 of his officers intermarry. He goes beyond most Greek mythology.

The Christians didn’t like Alexander. The Christians destroyed a lot of Alexander literature. A lot of what we know about Alexander came from the east.

Q: What are your next projects?

Oliver Stone: I am finishing a documentary for television, which I’ve been working on for three to four years. I’m trying to make history entertaining for young people to see it. It is really the untold history of the US. We have been brainwashed. America is a closed society in many ways, even though we are a free society. We are not as educated about history; there is s certain uniformity of thought. We see ourselves as the good guy.

I will start a new movie in three and a half weeks. It’s about the Marihuana production in Southern California. In that area, southern California rules. The do the most advance work in genetics. So it’s an interesting time. In our movie we are proposing that the Mexican cartels have a big influence. They come after our young people. It becomes an interesting story like a western, the good and the bad.

Q: When JFK came out it sent shock waves trough the US. How do you see it now?

Oliver Stone: The movie was a shock at the time. There was lots of editorializing about it. They ignored fact it was a movie. I was using new techniques. We did a lot of revolutionary stuff. It got all politicized. We did a lot of research.

I continue to defend this film. I continue to think JFK was murdered. I continue to follow the case. JFK was going to do a peaceful coexistence, but the American military didn’t want to go down this path.

Q: I am surprised you are surprised that critics focus on political issues. Very few directors pick political subjects. I think you are the only one who picks political subjects for every film. Is every film a political one as Godard said?

Oliver Stone: Politics is very confusing to people in America. I think political film is impossible in that sense. I try to make my films entertaining. I’m a dramatist primarily.

When I speak sometimes extremely, I speak as private citizen. It doesn’t affect the work. I think you have to separate. I’m a citizen; I’m not just a filmmaker. 

Jack Black On the Meaning of Kung Fu Panda, Life and the Rest of theUniverse

In town for the screening of “Kung Fu Panda 2” in 3D in the Greek theatre, Jack Black opened this year’s series of master classes at the Taormina Film Festival 2011. Somewhat struggling in his role as professor with questions on destiny, quantum theory and God, Black managed to kept it light and funny, repeatedly interrupting his lecture bellowing out (yes, that’s the word) songs covering a repertoire from AC/DC to – would you believe it? – Vivaldi.

Q: Kung Fu Panda has a lot to do with destiny. Do you believe in destiny?

Jack Black: I’m not the smartest man in the world but I do believe in destiny … I like the way this lecture is going, I feel like a professor. Are there any more questions about life and the rest of the universe?

Q: What’s your take on quantum theory?

Jack Black: I love science fiction – I better get some easier questions, or this is going to end very soon!

Q: Does the Kung Fu Panda character resemble you? Is it your inner part?

Jack Black: Yeah, I think we have a lot in common. The panda is like a boy who loves Kung-fu with all his heart. He has his heroes, the Kung Fu idols. That’s how I was when I was a kid – I had my comedian heroes, my rock heroes. We’re both bumbling innocent buffoons but in the end we achieved our dreams.

Q: Is it true that the Director of the movie, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, taught you Kung Fu?

Jack Black: No, she is not a practitioner herself.

Q: Tell us about your favorite directors.

Jack Black: “School of Rock” was a great job of directing by Robert Linklater. I just did another movie with him called “Bernie”. The best directors are the ones that get the best performances out of me. Those who not just tell actors what to do, but work with them. They don’t go: I am the genius, and you are the puppet!

Steven Frears from High Fidelity is also brilliant.

Q: Did you have fun working on “Tropic Thunder”?

Jack Black: I did. Ben Stiller is a friend of mine from long ago - here’s what’s amazing about him: he gets an idea and then work on it for twenty years. He got the idea for “Tropic Thunder” when he was an extra in “Empire of the Sun” by Steven Spielberg. I don’t have the kind of patience that directors have.

Q: What was it like working for the Beastie Boys? And do you believe in God?

Jack Black: It was awesome. When I got the call that they were working on a music video it was an automatic yes. They have been the coolest band for so long.

Do I believe in God? I don’t know, maybe. Every moment that we are alive is a miracle – it’s impossible – how does any of this work? I don’t believe in organized religion. I don’t believe there’s any chosen people.

It’s getting pretty important again – I need some dumb questions.

Q: Would you agree your wife has three kids at home?

Jack Black: Not sure I understand – oh, of course! You mean I am the third – hm, yes, yes and yes. I love my work, its’ all about staying a child. When you are a kid, you are pretending to be a space warrior – I love to pretend. Acting is a trick to hold on to it.

Q: Would you like to play in a movie with Monica Bellucci?

Jack Black: Was she in the Matrix part 2 or 3? She was really good in that … I like Monica Bellucci … we don’t have anything in development now. But I’m sure she can contact my agent … we could be like Mr. and Ms. Smith – Black, Belucci, Beauty and the Beast.

Q: How is your music career coming along?

Jack Black: We are just recording an album. We have seven really good songs, and three really bad songs. I don’t want to rush any album – everyone needs to be a masterpiece. There’s a song called “Seniorita”. There’s also a song called “Rise of the Phoenix part 1, 2 3” which is about how we are rising from the failure of our last album.

Q: Where do you love being in your free time?

Jack Black: I have a favorite movie theatre. The Arclight … I love LA – I was born and raised there. I had an incredible time in New Zealand, when I worked on King Kong. I’m not a great vacationer. I haven’t learned how to relax just yet. I like to ski. I like to eat.

Q: What’s on your ipod at the moment?

Jack Black: I’ve been listening to a lot of Zeppelin. They are the best band in the history of rock’n roll. I think they’re even better than The Beatles. I like anything that Jack White ever puts out. I was sad when they said the White Stripes was over. I love The Strokes. The new Beastie Boys is really good, not just because I’m in the video.

Q: What kind of advice do you have for someone who wants to get into comedy these days?

Jack Black: Just go out and do it – I’ve never done much stand-up comedy myself – it’s so scary. There are some good clubs in New York and LA. To get started, I just sort of wandered around, and just got invited. Just do what you love to do. I wish I had some better advice for you. I think people who want to get into entertainment should do a little bit of everything – do a little bit of acting, a little bit of writing, a little bit of directing. If you’re just going to perform, you need other people to give you a break. If you write your own ticket, that’s usually better.

Q: What’s your relationship with videogames?

Jack Black: “Brutal Legend” came along because the author called me when I had just finished his other game. I love videogames, and I wanted to act in a videogame. I think it’s the next frontier. There’s some really fantastic acting in them. It’s the future.

Q: One could argue you’re not in the movie we’re going to see here tonight because there’s voice over in Italian. What’s your opinion of voiceover?

Jack Black: I feel an ownership in the role because I was there when the role was created. I shaped the character. It was a collaborative effort with me and the director and the writers. So I still think it’s part of me up there. I feel they stole all my faces and body movements as well.

Q: What were you like when you were little?

Jack Black: When I was little, I loved to make people laugh. It was like a drug. I would do anything for a laugh

Cannes Film Festival 2012 Dates: May 16 to May 27

The next Cannes Film Festival will take place from May 16 to May 27 2012 - a few days later than 2011.
And yes, Christina, in case you are still not quite sure, it will be in Cannes, as usual!