London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 21, 2026

Oliver Stone says you need a 'sensitivity counselor' to make films now

Oliver Stone told the New York Times in an inerview that 'everything has become too fragile, too sensitive' in Hollywood and the new ways of working are 'ridiculous' amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Oliver Stone slams politically correct Hollywood and says you need a 'sensitivity counselor' or 'Covid adviser' to make a movie now and compares Academy to an 'Alice in Wonderland tea party

* Oliver Stone said 'everything has become too fragile and sensitive,' in Hollywood

* 'You can't make a film without a Covid adviser. You can't make a film without a sensitivity counselor. It's ridiculous,' he said in a new interview

* The director, 73, said he has never seen the Academy of Motion Pictures 'quite mad like this' and compared it to an 'Alice in Wonderland tea party'

* He complained about longer shoots due to social distancing for actors amid the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in increased costs

* Stone said his forthcoming film will show that J.F.K. was murdered by powerful government forces and he may release it on 'YouTube or in Transylvania'

* He admitted that his 20 or so Hollywood films have worn him out and he doesn't feel like doing another one right now

* Stone's novel Chasing the Light, which depicts his life from the Vietnam war zone to the Oscar stage, comes out July 21

Movie director Oliver Stone has criticized modern Hollywood for being 'politically correct' and and feels the industry has gone 'mad'.

Stone, 73, who won Academy Awards for his 1986 movie Platoon, feels 'worn out' after making 20 motion pictures with major studios, and the current industry standards amid the coronavirus pandemic have put him off projects that are not on his terms.

'The problem is in Hollywood. It's just so expensive — the marketing. Everything has become too fragile, too sensitive,' Stone told the New York Times Magazine in an interview. 'Hollywood now — you can't make a film without a Covid adviser. You can't make a film without a sensitivity counselor. It's ridiculous.

'The Academy changes its mind every five, 10, two months about what it's trying to keep up with. It's politically correct [expletive], and it's not a world I'm anxious to run out into. I've never seen it quite mad like this. It's like an "Alice in Wonderland" tea party.'

Stone also pointed to increased costs that are expected to come with production due to the coronavirus pandemic as he clarified the complications he was referring to.

'I just read something about how films are going to be very expensive to make now, because you need to take all these precautions, and a 50-day shoot becomes a 60-day shoot, and social distancing for actors,' he explained. 'That's what I'm talking about.'

In recent years Stone has released 2016's Snowden starring Joseph Gordon Levitt and 2012's Savages starring Blake Lively.

In his memoir Chasing the Light, out July 21, he details his life from the Vietnam war zone to the Oscar stage.

Stone - whose 1991 movie, JFK, starred Kevin Costner - said in the new interview that he's not afraid to make films that aren't necessarily going to be popular.

That includes the upcoming working title J.F.K.: Destiny Betrayed, which he says he is making because 'there's been quite a bit of new material revealed that people have basically ignored' in the last three decades since his film where he was accused of fear-mongering.

'I'm not scared of that,' Stone continued about a possible repeat of accusations. 'I'm past that age. I don't need to make a Hollywood movie. I don't need to get the approval of the bosses.'

Stone's documentary will explore how there's 'no chain of custody' to the single bullet fired by Lee Harvey Oswald that caused multiple wounds to Kennedy and Texas Governor John Connally who was riding in the same car. It also delves into how the autopsy from Bethesda, Maryland 'was completely fraudulent'.

'And there's Vietnam. No historian can now honestly say that the Vietnam War was Kennedy's child. That's crucial,' Stone continued. 'The last thing is the C.I.A. connection to Oswald. We have a stronger case, not only for post-Russia but also for pre-Russia. In other words, he was working with the C.I.A. before he went and when he came back. Those are the main points.

'Those who are interested will find it's pretty clear that J.F.K. was murdered by forces that were powerful in our government.'

Stone added that while he 'would have no problem doing another' Hollywood film, he doesn't 'feel it right now'.

'Frankly, I did 20, and I got worn out,' he admitted.

He says the J.F.K film points the finger at a 'couple of individuals' and whether or not the mainstream accepts it 'it will be out'.

'Even if it's on YouTube,' Stone added. 'Or in Transylvania.'
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
EU Imposes Record €550 Million Digital Services Fine on AliExpress
UK Publishes Updated Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions Data
English Regions Prepare for Expanded Devolution and Infrastructure Powers
Russell Group Backs New Government and Calls for Stronger University-Industry Links
Bank of England Maintains Restrictive Monetary Policy Amid Persistent Inflation
Climate Progress Report Renews Debate Over the UK's Net Zero Strategy
New UK Government Launches Drive to End Rough Sleeping and Expand Social Housing
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Appoints John Healey as Chancellor in Cabinet Reshuffle
OECD Calls for Structural Reforms as UK Economy Faces Slower Growth
International Monetary Fund Expects UK Economic Growth to Slow to One Percent in 2026
Andy Burnham Takes Office as UK Prime Minister and Unveils Decade-Long Reform Agenda
London’s Housing Starts Collapse as Planning and Building Costs Stall Development
Charlie Sheen’s Daughter: "My Dad Didn’t Buy Me a House, My Breasts Bought It"
Vivienne Westwood Casts Cicciolina, 74, in Its New Autumn Campaign
Dejavu: Germany’s Military Expansion Reshapes Europe’s Strategic Balance With France
Naturally Conceived Identical Quadruplets Born in Rare Brisbane Delivery
Tate Brothers Fight British Extradition Bid After Miami Arrests
Burnham Reshapes Britain’s Government Around Living Costs, Devolution and Security
Jingye Demands Full Compensation After Britain illegally Nationalized British Steel
Just Another Liar or a Robin Hood? Andy Burnham Pledges Cost-of-Living Help in First Speech as UK Prime Minister
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Police Block Cockroach Janta Party’s March to Parliament as Education Protests Intensify
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
Josh Kerr Breaks Twenty-Seven-Year World Mile Record at London Diamond League
Thames Water Crisis Deepens as South East Water Outages Hit Thousands in Kent
EU Ban on Destroying Unsold Clothing Forces British Fashion Brands to Change Operations
UK Government Confirms Existing North Sea Oil and Gas Licences Will Be Honoured
UK Covid Inquiry Finds Nearly Ten Billion Pounds Lost in Pandemic Protective Equipment Procurement
Thames Water Moves Toward Possible Temporary Nationalisation Amid Rescue Plan Dispute
Andy Burnham Cancels One Point Eight Billion Pound Digital ID Programme After Taking Office
UK Government Takes British Steel Into Full Public Ownership to Protect Jobs and Supply Chains
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister and Pledges Focus on Living Costs and Public Services
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Singapore Considers Lower Taxes for Fund Managers as Hong Kong Intensifies Talent Contest
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Bank of Asia BVI Enters Court-Supervised Liquidation After Regulators Find It Insolvent
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate Who Turned "Toxic Masculinity" Into a Brand Arrested in Miami as Britain Seeks Their Extradition
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
×