SHORT TAKES : Stone Apologizes for Film Scene
Oscar-winning film director Oliver Stone has apologized for wrongly depicting Syracuse police clubbing college protesters in his movie “Born on the Fourth of July.”
Stone apologized in a letter that was sent to the Syracuse Police Benevolent Assn. and addressed to all city residents. The film won two Oscars at the Academy Awards on Monday night, including one for Stone for best director.
“I took creative license to make my point and sometimes sacrificed smaller truths for larger ones,” Stone wrote. “There is, I would like to point out, a disclaimer at the end of the film to this effect.”
The movie, starring Tom Cruise, is based on the life story of Ron Kovic, and his passage from patriotic soldier to anti-war activist.
Based on a book by Kovic, the movie depicts city police officers beating students during a campus protest at Syracuse University in 1970. City police officials denied that officers used violence to stop college protests.
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