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Pepperdine Hosts Academy Award-Winning Director Oliver Stone

Director Oliver Stone

The acclaimed director of JFK, Any Given Sunday, Wall Street, and World Trade Center will visit Pepperdine to answer questions following a screening of his recent documentary film, South of the Border. The Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture and the Latino Student Association at Pepperdine will partner to host the event beginning at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20, in Elkins Auditorium, Malibu.

The event will culminate a two-part series at Pepperdine examining works by Stone. On Thursday, Jan. 13, his 2006 film World Trade Center will be screened at 6 p.m. in Elkins Auditorium, followed by a discussion. The film tells the story of real-life firefighters John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno—played by Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena—and their experiences of 9/11.

After the screening of South of the Border on January 20, Stone will engage the student audience in a discussion about the issues raised in the film and his experiences making it. The film follows Stone as he set out on a road trip across five countries in South America to explore the social and political movements taking place south of the border. The director and his crew gained unprecedented access to seven elected presidents: Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Nėstor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raúl Castro (Cuba).

"Oliver Stone has used his fearless talent in movie making to shed light on a group of seven revolutionary leaders in Latin America today,” says Octavio Hernandez, president of the Latino Student Association (LSA). "The region is changing radically due to an overarching insistence on democracy. Latin America has elected women presidents, ex-Bishops, agricultural trade unionists, and members of the ever-oppressed Indigenous tribes. I hope that those in attendance will take away with them a sense of the change that is occurring in their world."

Throughout his filmmaking career, Stone has made a number of films that portray political events—such as the Vietnam War in Platoon (1986) and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in JFK (1991)—or political figures such as the President Richard Nixon (Nixon, 1995) and President George W. Bush (W., 2008). Stone also explored ancient history in Alexander (2004), the 1980s financial boom in Wall Street (1987) and its recent sequel Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), crime and fame in Natural Born Killers (1994), and the rock and roll story of singer Jim Morrison in The Doors (1991).

Since opening in fall 2009, the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture (EMC) has drawn filmmakers to campus each week for popular film screenings to explore the impact and influence of film on culture and society. EMC events give students the opportunity to discuss the industry with directors, producers, and stars, including Universal Studios president Ron Meyer, The Blind Side director John Lee Hancock, and Oscar-nominated actor Gary Sinise and his documentary The Lt. Dan Band: For the Common Good.

As well as bringing high-quality entertainment and top-class filmmakers to Pepperdine, the events exemplify EMC’s mission to “create entertainment for the (un)common good.” "We’ve partnered with local organizations committed to human rights," says EMC director Craig Detweiler. "Our screening of The Stoning of Soraya M focused on women in Iran, but also highlighted the local work of Northridge Hospital Medical Center’s Center for Assault Treatment Services. In addition, we screened White Rainbow, an award-winning film from Pepperdine grads Dharan (‘83, MBA ‘86) and Linda Mandrayar (‘84) that spotlights the plight of widows in India."

Upcoming events at the EMC include the second annual REELSTORIES Film Festival on Friday, Jan. 21, featuring award-winning Pepperdine student films followed by screenings of two documentary finalists for the 2011 Academy Award: Waste Land, about Brazilian artist Vik Muniz, and Exit Through the Gift Shop, directed by Banksy, the prominent British graffiti artist.

On February 3, the EMC will screen Something the Lord Made, about pioneering heart surgeons, which will be followed by a conversation with four-time Emmy Award-winning director Joseph Sargent. On February 10, a panel of Hollywood writers will discuss “Screenwriting Unwrapped: the Serious Business of Writing Comedy in Hollywood,” featuring writers from That 70s Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Saturday Night Live, Mork & Mindy, and Hot in Cleveland, among others. To close out the month on February 24, Pepperdine will host an evening with multi award-winning composer Michael Giacchino, who has scored Up!, The Incredibles, Star Trek, and Ratatouille.

The evening with Oliver Stone is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Center for Entertainment, Media, and Culture at (310) 506-6314.