Oliver Stone

William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946 in New York City) known simply as Oliver Stone is an Academy Award-winning American film director.

Biography

Stone's father was Jewish and his mother a Roman Catholic of French birth, and he was raised an Episcopalian as a compromise. He attended The Hill School, Yale and the New York University.

Related Topics:
Jew - Roman Catholic - French - Episcopalian - The Hill School - Yale - New York University

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His parents divorced when he was in high school, and only then did Stone learn of his father's extramarital affairs with the wives of several family friends. Stone attended Yale a year before dropping out. He then taught English at the Free Pacific Institute in South Vietnam for six months after which he worked as a merchant marine, and traveled to Oregon and Mexico, before returning to Yale, where he dropped out a second time.

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A veteran of the Vietnam conflict, Stone served with the United States Army from April 1967 to November 1968. He specifically requested combat duty and was assigned to the 25th Infantry Regiment, and was wounded twice in action. His personal awards include the Bronze Star with "V" device for valor for "extraordinary acts of courage under fire", and the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Related Topics:
Vietnam conflict - United States Army - 1967 - 1968 - Bronze Star - "V" device - Purple Heart - Oak Leaf Cluster

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He has made three films about Vietnam —Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), and Heaven & Earth (1993). He has called these films a trilogy, though they each deal with different aspects of the war. Platoon is a semi-autobiographical film about Stone's experience in combat. Born on the Fourth of July is a biography of Ron Kovic, a veteran of the war who was paralyzed in Vietnam and subsequently became a political activist against the war. Heaven and Earth is a true story of a Vietnamese girl whose life is drastically affected by the war.

Related Topics:
Vietnam - Platoon - 1986 - Born on the Fourth of July - 1989 - Heaven & Earth - 1993 - Trilogy - Ron Kovic - Against the war - Heaven and Earth

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Stone has won two Academy Awards for Directing for Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July, as well as a best adapted screenplay Oscar for Midnight Express (1978), which he wrote but did not direct. Other films he had a hand in the screenplays for are Conan the Barbarian (1982), Scarface (1983), Year of the Dragon (1985), 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) and Evita (1996). He has also written or taken part in the writing of every film he has directed, except for U Turn (1997). The very first film that he directed professionally was the obscure horror picture Seizure (1974).

Related Topics:
Academy Awards for Directing - Midnight Express - 1978 - Conan the Barbarian - 1982 - Scarface - 1983 - 1985 - 1986 - Evita - 1996 - 1997 - Seizure - 1974

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A distinct feature in Oliver Stone's movies is the use of a multitude of different cameras and film formats, from VHS to 8mm film to 70mm film. He sometimes uses several formats in a single scene, as in JFK (1991) and Natural Born Killers (1994).

Related Topics:
Movie - VHS - 8mm film - 70mm film - JFK - 1991 - Natural Born Killers - 1994

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