On Monday, Stone and one of his screenwriters, political activist, author and journalist Tariq Ali, appeared on Democracy Now to discuss the documentary. At the very beginning, Juan Gonzales kicked things off with a brief intro to the film's trailer:
JUAN GONZALEZ: Academy Award-winning filmmaker Oliver Stone has taken on three American presidents in JFK, Nixon and W. A Vietnam War veteran, he was decorated with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. As a filmmaker, he's tackled the most controversial aspects of the war in his classics Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July. He looked at the greed of the financial industry in the Hollywood hit Wall Street, and the sequel, Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last month.
Well, now the acclaimed director of films like Salvador, Comandante and Looking for Fidel, returns to Latin America. In his latest film, releasing this week in the United States, Oliver Stone takes a road trip across South America, meeting with seven presidents from the continent. Here's the trailer. It includes Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, Argentine president Cristina Kirchner and her husband, former president Néstor Kirchner, Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa.
OLIVER STONE: Who is Hugo Chávez? Some believe he is the enemy
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN: He's more dangerous than bin Laden. And the effects of Chávez's war against America could eclipse those of 9/11.
OLIVER STONE: Some believe he is the answer.
MAN ON THE STREET 1: [translated] I am with you, Chávez.
MAN ON THE STREET 2: [translated] Hello, President.
OLIVER STONE: But no matter what you believe, in South America he is just the beginning.
GEORGE TENET: Venezuela is important because they're the third largest supplier of petroleum.
PRESIDENT HUGO CHÁVEZ: [translated] Bush made a plan: first, Chávez, oil; second, Saddam, Iraq, oil.
PRESIDENT CRISTINA KIRCHNER: [translated] For the first time in the region, the leaders look like the people they govern. If you go to Bolivia and look at the face of Evo, the face of Evo is the face of a Bolivian.
OLIVER STONE: Could we say the goal of presidents of the region would be to own their own natural resources?
PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA: [translated] The only thing I want is to be treated as equals. I personally have no interest in fighting with the United States.
OLIVER STONE: Rafael Correa is now being cast as one of the bad left.
PRESIDENT RAFAEL CORREA: [translated] With all due respect, knowing the North American media, I would be more worried if they spoke well of me.
REPORTER: Today, the Argentinian president, with concern about US trade policy, seemed in no hurry to embrace his American counterpart.
NÉSTOR KIRCHNER: [translated] Bush told me the best way to revitalize the economy is war and that the United States has grown stronger with war. Those were his exact words.
NARRATOR: This summer, take an incredible look at an extraordinary movement.
PRESIDENT LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA: [translated] For the first time, the poor are treated like human beings.
PRESIDENT HUGO CHÁVEZ: [translated] And perhaps this is one of the things that keeps us going-the optimism, faith and hope, and the concrete evidence that we can change the course of history. It's possible, Oliver.
NARRATOR: South of the Border.
OLIVER STONE: I'm just curious. How many sets of shoes do you have?
PRESIDENT CRISTINA KIRCHNER: [translated] They always ask questions like this to women. I don't get it. They never ask a man how many pairs of shoes he has.
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