South of the Border

[MacGuffin]

Oliver Stone heads 'South of the Border' to chat up Chavez and others
The director's new documentary seeks to change U.S. perceptions of South America's leftist leaders.
By Reed Johnson; Los Angeles Times

In his new documentary "South of the Border," Oliver Stone is shown warmly embracing Hugo Chávez, nibbling coca leaves with Evo Morales and gently teasing Cristina Elizabeth Fernández de Kirchner about how many pairs of shoes she owns.

These amiable, off-the-cuff snapshots of the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, respectively, contrast with the way these left-leaning leaders often are depicted in U.S. political and mass media circles. That's especially true of Chávez, the former military officer turned democratically elected socialist leader, who has become the ideological heir apparent to Fidel Castro and the bête noire of Bush administration foreign policy officials.

In setting out to make "South of the Border," which is scheduled to have its world premiere this week at the Venice Film Festival, Stone, a lightning-rod figure himself for the better part of three decades, says that he wanted to supply a counterpoint to the prevailing U.S. image of Chávez, who's frequently represented in stateside op-ed pieces and political cartoons as a bellicose dictator-cum-comic opera figure.

"I think he's an extremely dynamic and charismatic figure. He's open and warmhearted and big, and a fascinating character," says the director of "JFK" and "Wall Street," speaking by phone from New York, where he's working on a much-publicized "Wall Street" sequel. "But when I go back to the States I keep hearing these horror stories about 'dictator,' 'bad guy,' 'menace to American society.' I think the project started as something about the American media demonizing Latin leaders. It became more than that as we got more involved."

In addition to Chávez, Stone sought to flesh out several other South American leaders whose policies and personalities generally get scant media attention in the United States and Europe: Morales; Cristina Kirchner and her husband, Argentine former president Néstor Kirchner; Rafael Correa of Ecuador; Raúl Castro of Cuba; Fernando Lugo Méndez of Paraguay; and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil.

"The press in America, I think you're aware, has divided the Latin continent into the 'bad Left' and the 'good Left,' " Stone says. "They've now listed Correa as the bad Left, along with Morales and with Chávez. They call . . . Lula, the good Left. I don't know what they make of Kirchner yet, because they go back and forth, but I think they're turning against Kirchner more and more. You get this distinction, and I think it's a false distinction."

Both Stone and the film's writer, the Pakistani-British historian, novelist and commentator Tariq Ali, say that the roughly 90-minute documentary isn't intended to be a comprehensive analysis of current South American political trends. It doesn't try to parse the radically divergent views of a figure as polarizing as Chávez. Nor does it substantially address the ongoing criticisms of his incendiary rhetoric (he once called Bush the devil), his frequent dust-ups with Venezuela's opposition media (which supported a 2002 coup against him), or his disputed role in aiding leftist rebels fighting the government of neighboring Colombia.

"We had not set out in the spirit of, like, making this a contentious debate," says Stone, who first met the Venezuelan president in 2007. "When you try to get into every single rightist argument against Chávez, you're never going to win. You're going to bore the audience."

Instead, the filmmakers decided to make what Ali calls "a political road movie" by visiting Chávez's peers throughout the hemisphere and asking what they think of him. Stone and his crew travel from the Caribbean down the spine of the Andes trying to explain the Chávez phenomenon and account for the continent's recent leftward tilt.

A big part of the explanation the film advances is that the free-market economic policies pushed by the U.S. and the International Monetary Fund over the last several years largely have failed to alleviate Latin America's chronic income inequality. The film suggests that financial calamities such as the Argentine peso collapse of 2001, combined with Latin suspicions of U.S. drug-eradication efforts and resentment over the selling off of natural resources through multinational companies, also have contributed to the rise of socialist and social-democratic leaders across the region.

Ali believes that many United States foreign policy officials still are operating on a Cold War paradigm that prevents them from grasping the changing social realities that have brought a new generation of politicians to power.

"These changes that are taking place are not coming about through armed struggle or guerrilla warfare or Che Guevara," Ali says, speaking from London. "All these changes have come about through democratic elections. And that makes it a very, very significant development in that continent."

For some viewers and critics, the political nuances in "South of the Border" may register less than the sight of Stone playfully kicking a soccer ball with Morales or listening empathetically as Chávez articulates his dream of spreading what he calls his "Bolivarian Revolution" across the continent. Stone was roundly criticized for taking too chummy a tone with Fidel Castro in his 2003 documentary "Comandante." He then produced a harder-edged follow-up, "Looking for Fidel," in which he pressed the Cuban leader about his treatment of dissidents and other sensitive matters.

In an era when few Hollywood directors bother to deal with historical or political topics at all, Stone frequently has been targeted for playing loose with historical facts in movies including "JFK" and "Alexander," about Alexander the Great. On this score, he vigorously defends his record.

"You do your homework, you do your research, we always did, whatever you think of my work," he says. "Even going back to 'JFK,' I've always done as much research as we could. And there's mistakes made, but there's a lot of truth, you know, as much as we can put into these movies."

He's alert to accusations of "being soft-hearted or human-hearted" to politicians with whom he sympathizes. But he freely acknowledges where his sympathies lie in "South of the Border."

"I'm rooting for this Bolivarian movement," he says. "I'm rooting for their independence because I think that America has a new role to play in this world, and that's not of an oppressor, but that of a cooperative and, let's call it equal, partner."

The director says that the broader theme behind "South of the Border," and much of his other film work, is the question of "why does America reach out to make enemies." He plans to develop this theme in a 10-part cable TV documentary series "The Secret History of America" that is scheduled to premiere in 2010.

"I'm fascinated by that subject, whether it's the Taliban or whether it's Iran or whether it's South Vietnam, going back to those days," Stone says. "As a young man I [was] brainwashed into believing we had enemies left and right. And now that I've traveled the world, I mean you have to wonder why. Why do we constantly do this? Where is this paranoia born in us?"

[Gold Trumpet]

Word is that Albert Maysles is the second DP on this film. Unconfirmed, but would be interesting if true.

I like the project because it has balls and an aim beyond the personal portrait of Chavez. Stone limited himself with the Castro documentaries because it allowed critics to maintain all the disagreements with Castro and assume Stone had little interest in the man besides to promote him. The Bolivarian revolution is a fascinating modern political subject.

[Gold Trumpet]

Oliver Stone heads 'South of the Border' to chat up Chavez and others
The director's new documentary seeks to change U.S. perceptions of South America's leftist leaders.
By Reed Johnson; Los Angeles Times

In his new documentary "South of the Border," Oliver Stone is shown warmly embracing Hugo Chávez, nibbling coca leaves with Evo Morales and gently teasing Cristina Elizabeth Fernández de Kirchner about how many pairs of shoes she owns.

These amiable, off-the-cuff snapshots of the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina, respectively, contrast with the way these left-leaning leaders often are depicted in U.S. political and mass media circles. That's especially true of Chávez, the former military officer turned democratically elected socialist leader, who has become the ideological heir apparent to Fidel Castro and the bête noire of Bush administration foreign policy officials.

In setting out to make "South of the Border," which is scheduled to have its world premiere this week at the Venice Film Festival, Stone, a lightning-rod figure himself for the better part of three decades, says that he wanted to supply a counterpoint to the prevailing U.S. image of Chávez, who's frequently represented in stateside op-ed pieces and political cartoons as a bellicose dictator-cum-comic opera figure.

"I think he's an extremely dynamic and charismatic figure. He's open and warmhearted and big, and a fascinating character," says the director of "JFK" and "Wall Street," speaking by phone from New York, where he's working on a much-publicized "Wall Street" sequel. "But when I go back to the States I keep hearing these horror stories about 'dictator,' 'bad guy,' 'menace to American society.' I think the project started as something about the American media demonizing Latin leaders. It became more than that as we got more involved."

In addition to Chávez, Stone sought to flesh out several other South American leaders whose policies and personalities generally get scant media attention in the United States and Europe: Morales; Cristina Kirchner and her husband, Argentine former president Néstor Kirchner; Rafael Correa of Ecuador; Raúl Castro of Cuba; Fernando Lugo Méndez of Paraguay; and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil.

"The press in America, I think you're aware, has divided the Latin continent into the 'bad Left' and the 'good Left,' " Stone says. "They've now listed Correa as the bad Left, along with Morales and with Chávez. They call . . . Lula, the good Left. I don't know what they make of Kirchner yet, because they go back and forth, but I think they're turning against Kirchner more and more. You get this distinction, and I think it's a false distinction."

Both Stone and the film's writer, the Pakistani-British historian, novelist and commentator Tariq Ali, say that the roughly 90-minute documentary isn't intended to be a comprehensive analysis of current South American political trends. It doesn't try to parse the radically divergent views of a figure as polarizing as Chávez. Nor does it substantially address the ongoing criticisms of his incendiary rhetoric (he once called Bush the devil), his frequent dust-ups with Venezuela's opposition media (which supported a 2002 coup against him), or his disputed role in aiding leftist rebels fighting the government of neighboring Colombia.

"We had not set out in the spirit of, like, making this a contentious debate," says Stone, who first met the Venezuelan president in 2007. "When you try to get into every single rightist argument against Chávez, you're never going to win. You're going to bore the audience."

Instead, the filmmakers decided to make what Ali calls "a political road movie" by visiting Chávez's peers throughout the hemisphere and asking what they think of him. Stone and his crew travel from the Caribbean down the spine of the Andes trying to explain the Chávez phenomenon and account for the continent's recent leftward tilt.

A big part of the explanation the film advances is that the free-market economic policies pushed by the U.S. and the International Monetary Fund over the last several years largely have failed to alleviate Latin America's chronic income inequality. The film suggests that financial calamities such as the Argentine peso collapse of 2001, combined with Latin suspicions of U.S. drug-eradication efforts and resentment over the selling off of natural resources through multinational companies, also have contributed to the rise of socialist and social-democratic leaders across the region.

Ali believes that many United States foreign policy officials still are operating on a Cold War paradigm that prevents them from grasping the changing social realities that have brought a new generation of politicians to power.

"These changes that are taking place are not coming about through armed struggle or guerrilla warfare or Che Guevara," Ali says, speaking from London. "All these changes have come about through democratic elections. And that makes it a very, very significant development in that continent."

For some viewers and critics, the political nuances in "South of the Border" may register less than the sight of Stone playfully kicking a soccer ball with Morales or listening empathetically as Chávez articulates his dream of spreading what he calls his "Bolivarian Revolution" across the continent. Stone was roundly criticized for taking too chummy a tone with Fidel Castro in his 2003 documentary "Comandante." He then produced a harder-edged follow-up, "Looking for Fidel," in which he pressed the Cuban leader about his treatment of dissidents and other sensitive matters.

In an era when few Hollywood directors bother to deal with historical or political topics at all, Stone frequently has been targeted for playing loose with historical facts in movies including "JFK" and "Alexander," about Alexander the Great. On this score, he vigorously defends his record.

"You do your homework, you do your research, we always did, whatever you think of my work," he says. "Even going back to 'JFK,' I've always done as much research as we could. And there's mistakes made, but there's a lot of truth, you know, as much as we can put into these movies."

He's alert to accusations of "being soft-hearted or human-hearted" to politicians with whom he sympathizes. But he freely acknowledges where his sympathies lie in "South of the Border."

"I'm rooting for this Bolivarian movement," he says. "I'm rooting for their independence because I think that America has a new role to play in this world, and that's not of an oppressor, but that of a cooperative and, let's call it equal, partner."

The director says that the broader theme behind "South of the Border," and much of his other film work, is the question of "why does America reach out to make enemies." He plans to develop this theme in a 10-part cable TV documentary series "The Secret History of America" that is scheduled to premiere in 2010.

"I'm fascinated by that subject, whether it's the Taliban or whether it's Iran or whether it's South Vietnam, going back to those days," Stone says. "As a young man I [was] brainwashed into believing we had enemies left and right. And now that I've traveled the world, I mean you have to wonder why. Why do we constantly do this? Where is this paranoia born in us?"

Trailer: http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/sep/03/oliver-stone-south-of-the-border-hugo-chavez

[pete]

Either Oliver Stone is retarded or Oliver Stone thinks the American left is retarded.
or both.

[hedwig]

please explain.

[pete]

obviously chavez is not a controversial figure just because the American newspeople say he is.  Ask your Venezuelan friends how they feel about him.  His presence is a lot more complex than some misunderstood lovable man.  And the Brazilian guy's even worse.

[Fernando]

oh my, just saw the trailer and I completely agree with pete.

Chavez is plain and simple a lunatic, even if the guy was 'elected' he uses his power as a dictator and is seeking to retain his power by changing the constitution to be president for 30 years or til he dies, he continually expropriates companies (among them, tv/radio stations that criticize him) and doesn't care who it affects (his ppl or other countries).

Chavez often sticks his nose wherever he can and loves to steer up controversy to create an environment of confrontation, also loves to listen to himself, he has this radio show that lasts several hours where he gives boring populist speeches about fairness and the equality of classes.

As for Brazil, even if Lula belongs to the worker's party I have the perception he isn't as populist and harmful to his country as Chavez, our president recently had a meeting with him that could create a great collaboration between México and Brazil, that can't be said about Chavez, our past president had huge problems with him and our current one hasn't fell to his derogatory comments, so right now there's almost no bilateral relationship.

About Cristina Kirchner(Argentina), I remember when the wall street collapse happened last year, she gloated how capitalism didn't work and how her country was in better shape and blah blah blah, months later Argentina has HUGE financial problems because of that collapse.

Soooo, Stone's portrait of latinamerica seems (judging only for that trailer) like it doesn't reflect the reality of that part of the continent.

[Pedro]

This does a pretty good job of showing just how fucked up Hugo Chavez is

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/hugochavez/view/

[Gold Trumpet]

So far this movie is getting good reviews and good applause at the Vienna Film Festival. Variety seems to be the one publication to go a little negative, but all other outlets seem to be wholly recommending the movie. It's said the portrait of Chavez is sympathetic, but Stone still retains some of his sinister edges.

[Alexandro]

well he just made a sympathetic george w. bush portrait, he's obviously into finding sympathy for the devil.

[MacGuffin]

Oliver Stone rolls into Venice
Director drawn to people who go against the grain
Source: Variety

Oliver Stone is always drawn to people who go against the grain.

The director has spent the past year juggling preparations for his "Wall Street" sequel, which starts lensing on Wednesday in New York, and finishing "South of the Border," his feature-length documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, which world preems in Venice today. Stone began work on the Chavez project in January when he traveled to Venezuela to interview the controversial leader. What began as an attempt to challenge the negative portrayal of Chavez in the American media grew into a pan-South American journey with Stone speaking to a number of leaders in the region.

"I didn't just want to do a denigration of what the American media says about him. I wanted to take it further and go to seven or eight presidents and ask their views on Chavez," Stone told Variety. "That's how it became a bit more of a road movie, going from country to country. All these leaders end up coming down favor of Chavez."

The resulting doc, a U.S.-Spanish co-production with a $2.5 million budget, arrives at Venice without a distribution deal.

Producer Fernando Sulichin has held negotiations with buyers in Latin America and Europe, where doc is likely to appeal to auds interested in Chavez and the wave of leftist pols elected to office in Latin America.

Stone, however, is more skeptical about the pic's chances in the U.S.

"You can't get a fair hearing for Chavez. It's an outrageous caricature they've drawn of him in the Western press," said Stone. "Will this movie ever make it on to American TV? You wonder. It's going to be a tough one. I always seem to go for characters who are vilified, I don't know why. Can you imagine I went for Nixon? I didn't defend him but I humanized him. It was the same thing with 'W.' I think I like people who go against the grain and provoke an outcry."

Stone's previous docs include "Commandante," about Cuban President Fidel Castro, and "Persona Non Grata," which began as a project about Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat but became a wider-reaching primer on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

The director is also looking forward to revisiting arguably his most iconic creation -- Gordon Gekko -- in "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," the sequel to his 1987 "Wall Street."

Stone passed on the project before the economic meltdown in September, but a new draft of the script by Allan Loeb this March piqued his interest.

"I wouldn't have done it without the economic meltdown," said Stone. "The 1987 version created that myth about these people. I thought the bubble would burst then but it didn't end. It was amazing it went on into the 1990s and 2000s and the whole thing just got worse. It's worth it 23 years later to go back and revisit the character of Gekko."

Stone is also preparing what he describes as his life's work, the 10-part Showtime documentary series "Secret History of America" set to bow in 2010. Stone is exec producing and narrating the series, which will offer new insights into critical moments in American history.

"It doesn't have Lee Harvey Oswald killing John F. Kennedy," quipped Stone.

[MacGuffin]

Film Society to unspool 'Border'
Oliver Stone to attend exclusive screening
Source: Variety

The Film Society of Lincoln Center will unspool Oliver Stone's "South of the Border" on Wednesday in Gotham to coincide with the U.S. visit of Bolivian President Evo Morales, who is featured in the doc.

Stone and pic producer Fernando Sulichin will attend the exclusive screening at the Walter Reade Theater. A Q&A, moderated by film society program director Richard Pena, follows.

Pic preemed at the Venice Film Festival, where its subject, Hugo Chavez, created a stir walking on the Lido red carpet.

[MacGuffin]

Chavez tubthumps for Stone's 'Border'
Venezuelan leader, Bolivian president at screening
Source: Variety

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez and Bolivian president Evo Morales were both in the house Wednesday evening for the New York Film Festival pre-fest screening of Oliver Stone's "South of the Border."

As red beret-wearing soldiers flanked the doorway to Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, the aud was quiet until Chavez broke the silence with a shoutout to one of his assembled supporters.

"Hey, Danny Glover!" said the controversial president of Venezuela.

Chavez embraced Glover, kissed Susan Sarandon and sat down near Morales and Stone as the film rolled, pausing only to autograph a copy of "Hugo!," Bart Jones' biography.

The heightened security delayed the 9 p.m. showing by about half an hour, but no one stirred from their seats between the screening and the Q&A.

Stone and Chavez, both former soldiers, recalled their first meeting during one of Chavez's interactions with hostage-taking Colombian guerrilla group FARC in 2007. "After his work with Fidel (Castro) on 'Looking for Fidel,' when we learned that he was interested in the hostages that had been held by the FARC, we gave him the greenlight to be present during the operations," said Chavez via a translator.

During the Q&A, Stone joked, "Hugo, I think, is a buddy movie star -- he has a career in Hollywood after they remove him from the presidency."

Moderated by Film Society of Lincoln Center programming head Richard Pena (whom Chavez teased as "a dictator -- you're the only one asking any questions!"), the conversation focused on Chavez and Morales' "Bolivarian" ambitions -- the attempt to emulate South American liberator Simon Bolivar -- but eschewed any criticisms of their governing styles. In fact, the only two people criticized during the session were Stone (who fielded a question about whether the movie amounted to little more than "an infomercial"), and President Obama, whom Chavez criticized for installing military bases in Colombia.

Asked whether the film would find a U.S. distributor, producer Fernando Sulichin did not sound optimistic. "It's just corporate censorship," he charged. "They buy according to the fashion, neither with the heart nor the brain."

[MacGuffin]

Stone's "South of the Border" headed for U.S. theaters

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Cinema Libre has acquired North American rights to Oliver Stone's documentary "South of the Border," which chronicles the rise to power of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and other South American leaders.

The distributor plans to release the film June 25 in New York, followed by a July 2 opening in Los Angeles.

"Not only is it a genuine honor to work with one of the greatest American directors, but his insightful documentary shows how these leaders of Latin America are being intentionally villanized by the U.S. mass media," Philippe Diaz, founder of Cinema Libre, said, "This unique dialogue needed the eye and the courage of a director like Stone to convince us that these leaders are fighting for a more humane society, which means defending themselves against American corporate interests."

Tariq Ali, historian and author of "Pirates of the Caribbean: Axis of Hope," served as screenwriter with Mark Weisbrot on the film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.

[MacGuffin]

Stone: Film an intro to Chavez and his movement
Source: AP

CARACAS, Venezuela - American filmmaker Oliver Stone said Friday he deeply admires Hugo Chavez but suggested the Venezuelan president might consider talking a bit less on television.

Promoting his new documentary "South of the Border" in Caracas, Stone heaped praise on Chavez, saying he is leading a movement for "social transformation" in Latin American. The film features informal interviews by Stone with Chavez and six allied leftist presidents, from Bolivia's Evo Morales to Cuba's Raul Castro.

"I admire Hugo. I like him very much as a person. I can say one thing. ... He shouldn't be on television all the time," Stone said at a news conference. "As a director I say you don't want to be overpowering. And I think he is sometimes that way."

Chavez makes near-daily speeches that run for hours, often reminiscing, lecturing about history, announcing news and breaking into song. His Sunday program can last six hours or more.

"He's a soldier and he speaks from his heart," Stone said. "His vision is huge. ... And he will go down in history."

The Oscar-winning director hopes his documentary will help people better understand a leader who Stone said is wrongly ridiculed "as a strongman, as a buffoon, as a clown."

"This is a positive portrayal of a man who Americans do not have access to," Stone said. "He is demonized in the American and European press as a monster."

Chavez, who joined Stone for the premiere of the film at last year's Venice Film Festival, hosted a screening Friday night at a Caracas theater and called the director a good friend.

"They demonize us is North America, in Europe, in a good part of the world. And Oliver dove is, so to speak, seeking the truth," Chavez said. He called the movie "a splinter in the eagle's talon" — a reference to the United States.

Stone said President Barack Obama's administration, in spite of initially inspiring hope, hasn't done anything to improve U.S. relations with Chavez or his Latin American allies.

The director defended his decision not to interview Chavez's opponents, saying that people already hear those complaints and that the movie is not intended as a detailed examination of Chavez's record.

"It's an introduction to an entire movement in South America that the Americans do not know anything about," he said.

Stone is starting a Latin American tour to promote the film, with screenings planned in Ecuador, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. The documentary is being released in some cities in the United States and Europe this summer.