OLIVER STONE ON INTERVIEWING PUTIN, REPRESENTING SNOWDEN AND MAKING CONTROVERSIAL CHOICES

From “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July” to “Snowden,” director Oliver Stone’s film projects have zoomed in on some tough topics and larger-than-life figures. In this week’s edition of “Scheer Intelligence,” Stone—who is not one to shy away from challenges or controversies—tells Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer what has motivated him to choose the subjects he has brought to screens big and small.

“I’ve always managed—miraculously—to do what I wanted to do,” Stone says. “I never did a movie because it was good for my career.”

Scheer recalls Stone’s dogged determination to make sure that author Ron Kovic’s book “Born on the Fourth of July” became a film with Stone at the helm. Scheer also engages the director on other topics, including Stone’s upcoming documentary that features lengthy interviews with Vladimir Putin. “The Putin Interviews” will screen on Showtime beginning June 12.

Stone has conducted filmed interviews with other “unpopular figures,” as he puts it, such as Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez. (Foreign Policy magazine deemed the latter interview “disgraceful.”). But the filmmaker says his work, which involves getting out into the world and interacting with real people, gives him a “tremendous sense of satisfaction” and keeps him grounded.

Below, via KCRW, listen to Stone and Scheer’s discussion about filmmaking, America’s military exploits, surveillance, Russia and other far-reaching topics:

—Posted by Kasia Anderson