Saturday March 16. It is 1 p.m. In a little over an hour, we have a meeting with Oliver Stone. The American director kindly agreed to answer our questions. The instructions are clear: three questions maximum. At 1:40 p.m., five of us are shown to a small room filled with chairs right next to room 5 of Flagey. In an atmosphere intended to be as informal as possible, Mr. Stone spoke to us about his latest documentary, Nuclear Now, his relationship with documentaries, journalism and above all, the Original Soundtrack!
The BO: Hello Mr. Stone, thank you for agreeing to answer our questions
Oliver Stone: Hello.
In short, we are a media that deals with music and Cinema. Sometimes we try to make connections between the two. We have prepared 3 questions for you. Our first question is related to your coming to this festival, why is it important for you to be there at a festival like Millenium?
Why is it important that I'm here? Because I want to sell the idea of nuclear energy in Europe, particularly in France, Belgium and Holland. France is committed, and Holland and Belgium are favorable, but I would like to see a little more and for it to go faster. You are important countries. Small, perhaps, but you have a mind. You have a big impact on the world. It is important for the world to have nuclear energy. We don't have enough. This is really a problem. People don't think about nuclear power, they have, in a way, forgotten its existence. It's interesting, the Americans say: "Yes, nuclear power, we tried that." Saying that somehow implies that we missed. But we didn't fail, it worked. This is what I'm trying to correct: the impression that nuclear power is a failure. This is very important work, scientific work. But scientists can't do that job, so I do it, as a filmmaker, as a writer. You know, people probably don't care, a lot of people actually don't care but so what? It's important! This is what having a conscience is. If you have a conscience, sometimes you do the right things because you have to do them, right? Like going to your grandmother's funeral, for example. [Laughs] Just kidding, I loved my grandmother very much.
It's interesting that you talk to us about that, we notice that in many of your films there is this documentary aspect. What do you think is the role of documentaries? Why do them? Why are they important to you?
That's a question that would require a very long and complicated answer. I'll give you a short answer. When I make a film, I have to create everything. I have to hire actors, I have to create the set, I have to hire extras, I have to write the dialogue to some degree, light the room, shoot it, etc. Look at us now, we're talking. This is a documentary! Basically, it's much simpler. I don't have to do any of the things I mentioned. I just need to find a real person and talk to them. A documentary gets straight to the point. It goes faster. For a film, it's a minimum of a year, or even two years of time. People don't understand that.
Film critics know nothing about current events. Very few of them are aware of what is happening in the world because they never leave their cinemas! Therefore, they're stupid [laughs] when it comes to what is happening in the world. If you're doing something that requires being a little politically sensitive, they often don't understand it. They can't understand it, because they don't read anything. For example, there was a film - I won't mention the name - which came out a few years ago, which had great reviews, an Oscar nomination, everything! And it was a fraud! Everything was wrong. It was a lie from start to finish, about this certain woman. [I suspect he's referring to The Post here, Spielberg's movie about Katherine Graham].
This is something that's also true for documentaries, you know. People see 20 Days in Mariupol and say, "That must be reality." That's not how it works. That's the problem. I've never had a documentary that wasn't controversial, because I go out there and try to tell the fucking truth. It goes against the established order in my country, what we call the mass media or corporate media. Call it corporate media because corporations are the most influential. Be careful with them. You're journalists and you'll all join this type of media because that's where the money is, which I can understand. Being a freelance journalist is much harder, and even harder when you're young. So become corporate journalists for a few years. They'll try to brainwash you but don't get fooled. That's the best advice I can give you.
Finally, I've already told you a little about the concept of our site and how we deal with cinema and music. So we wanted to know what, for you, is the role of music in a film?
You asked me three good questions and they're all extremely important. They deserve very detailed answers. I could talk about this one for hours. It's a fascinating subject.
What is the role of music in films? Obviously, some directors don't want music and therefore use it minimally. Film criticism at the moment likes minimalism. People like Ken Russell come to mind. He exploded his films with music, revealing himself. Baz Luhrman too, and there are many others who like to use a lot of music. I honestly have to admit that sometimes I'm like that too.
Music is a vital part of the lives of men and women. It's really an important part of our life. I see music as another camera, a sort of secondary entry point. There's music all the time. Now that we're talking, I hear some. Although we're having a very prosaic conversation. It doesn't really seem like there is any music. Perhaps, in the third question, the idea arises: how would Beethoven have answered this question? Ta da da da da dum [laughs] Do you know what I mean? It makes a huge difference!
I can't precisely tell you how music affects a scene. Without music, of course a scene is drier, but maybe some people prefer it that way. They want it to be honest, too honest. I think a film is partly manipulation. We're trying to influence the audience to think a certain way. That's what a film is all about, influencing the audience to believe it. To achieve that, I see no problem in cheating as much as you want. I really don't see a problem there. Either way, we still cheat.
I've had the chance to work with five or six composers in my career, some of them very good. I think I was very lucky to come across them. The last one I worked with, Vangelis, was excellent. He did the music for Alexander for me and also for my latest film Nuclear Now. This is his last work, I believe. He's deceased now. It’s a very subtle soundtrack. Maybe if you see the movie, you can hear it!
While Matteo explains to Stone where the Manneken Pis is, Sam tries to speak English and Ethan greets the director's wife. So an interview ends that we won't soon forget.
-"Ten Minutes with Oliver Stone," La Bande Originale, March 25 2024 (translated from French)
