The Untold History Of Movies

A well-known American film director working today， Oliver Stone， was invited to attend the Fourth Beijing International Film Festival （BJIFF） between April 16 and 23. During his stay in Beijing， he talked to Beijing Review on film， culture and Sino-American co-production. The following are excerpts from the interview.

Beijing Review： You are here to promote your documentary The Untold History of the United States （2012）. How is that going？ What messages do you want to send in this controversial series？

Oliver Stone： Today， we have reached an agreement with Beijing-based Foreign Language Press to release the DVD of The Untold History of the United States in China， which makes me very happy. The Chinese edition of the book of the same name was also released by Chongqing Publishing House one month ago. They did a marvelous job with the translation. I was pleased with the book. The DVD will be on sale this summer. This is my mission that I have just completed.

The book The Untold History of the United States started in 2008. It is coauthored by me and my colleague， a professor of history， Peter Kuznick at American University. The 10-part series is supplemented by the book with 750 pages. In 2008， the last year of the second term of President George Bush， I was inspired by his actions to study American history. I wondered whether his policy was the continuation of diplomatic policy in American history. So I went back to school to learn American history， because Ive never been formally educated. I went to New York University. At that time I wanted to make a documentary about American history. But my conclusion was same as Peters. We made a dark one. We told the dark side of American history， not the one that weve learnt at school. It portrays American history， especially since World War II， in which the United States achieved a decisive victory. Immediately， the world went into the Cold War， then the U.S. containment policy to communism， policies against the Soviet Union. And after the Soviet Union， the United States has been against China. After the September 11 attacks， the United States accelerated its national security strategy globally. And now it is with everyone in the world. I think it threatens the world. It breaks the harmony and intensifies the tension in the world.

Recently， it was reported that the United States is taking a containment policy against Russia for its actions in Ukraine. It is unbelievable to me. The way that we used to think just comes back. We never give up our lessons from World War II. That is the point. It brings the world into great tensions， possibly leading to tragedy. That is why I did history. I hope I can share American history with young Chinese to study in this way.endprint

You have been working on the SinoAmerican co-production Genghis Khans Treasures. How is this going？

I am working with Chinese partners with two co-productions for China now， Genghis Khans Treasures and The Art of War. I went to Inner Mongolia with Mai Lisi and her organization two months ago. Mai is the director of Genghis Khans Treasures. Weve been working on the screenplay. The film is an interesting idea. It is a time travel movie from the 13th century to present computer age. What Mai wants to cover is the memory of the great Mongolian Empire and the secret tomb of Genghis Khan. I will possibly work as a screenwriter for the film.

You said in an earlier interview you hope Americans can understand China through the movie. Can you elaborate upon your motivations for making this movie in light of this？

Two months ago when I was in Inner Mongolia， I said it is interesting to know that Genghis Khan， although his empire was built on blood conquest， once he achieved his goal， it was one of the most harmonious empires. It showed great tolerance for different religions， Buddhism， Hinduism and Islam. Actually， it was a great example for how to live in harmony. The Chinese nation impresses me with her history. As one of the oldest civilizations， Chinese have never pursued an empire. Western powers have pursued conquest， from the Crusades in the 10th century， and then the British empire， French empire and the American empire. And we must not forget the Japanese Empire， which has been very brutal in Asia. But China had no record of this. Sometimes people forget this. Some say the emerging China threatens the United States and the world. I think we need to go back to remind people of basics. We did that in the documentary The Untold History of the United States.

What is the most difficult thing about coproducing a film with a Chinese cast and crew？

I have been coming to China since the 1990s. First， I went to Guangzhou. I attended Shanghai International Film Festival as a member of the jury in 1993. So I am always interested in Chinese movies. But it is difficult to co-produce， because the ideas and languages are difficult. Using international actors in China has to make sense and there has to be realistic bases， especially for adventure movies. I think co-production is awkward sometimes， mostly because it is motivated by money， but not motivated by ideas.

I like to work with Chinese crews. But language is the most difficult thing. I could not be the director of Chinese films. If there is not a translator， how would they really understand？ I have to repeat myself in co-production， even though I know some Chinese actors can speak English well.endprint

What should Chinese and American filmmakers do to achieve success in coproduction？

Co-production should be based on good ideas. There are such different histories between China and the United States. It is very important to touch people. When we do history in movies， it is always difficult. Even in my country， there are many disagreements. For example， The Untold History of the United States shows the dark side of American history， which was ignored by many people. So history is always battleground. In China， your recent history of the last 50 years is certainly contentious， but more fascinating than anywhere else. I hope one day I could work on a film about Chinas “cultural revolution” （1966-76）， for example， which was a fascinating period in Chinese history. Many of my contemporary Chinese friends grew up in that period. Their lives were completely changed. History can be dramatic. So the more real you can treat the history， the better co-production can be. Everybody wants to know their past.

Last year， the Chinese mainland became the worlds second largest box office. However， Chinese films were not well received in the overseas market. How can the Chinese movie industry make their releases better appeal to Western cinema-goers？

I cant give the right answers. I love Chinese movies， for example， The Journey to the West. Hollywood films like Iron Man or Transformers made big money at the Chinese box office. They are commercial. People are attracted to big money investments and 3D. My first big success was about the Viet Nam war. No people wanted to make a Viet Nam war movie at that time. My films were too realistic.

To some extent， there are some things Chinese movies do better than Hollywood. They change styles too， over the years， and they give birth to new styles that inspire the West. There are so many treasures in Eastern culture， such as acrobatics， philosophy， The Art of War， classic stories like The Journey to the West， and The Dream of the Red Chamber. I learnt a lot from Chinese philosophy. The Art of War， I think， is to avoid of war. If you are trying to be No. 1， you make enemies. So you need to learn to retreat.

The history of China is 5，000 years long. Chinese filmmakers can take on classics going into the past. That was done by kungfu movies. The nature of the movie business is that everyone wants to imitate the success. The problem is that sometimes you can only make so many copies. It drives out the power of the original. Successful movies come first and then copies follow. People get bored. Movies dont get done well， and they have to go back to another type of film. What I am saying is that films are always changing and they never stay still.endprint