Oliver Stone's 'W' sells out at Singapore film festival

DESPITE short notice, tickets for critically acclaimed American director Oliver Stone's latest film W sold out within four hours after they went on sale at 9 am on Wednesday.

The director, who is in Singapore to teach at the Tisch School of The Arts Asia, showed up at the screening on Wednesday evening for a question-and-answer session with an enthusiastic crowd who filled the 149-seat cinema at Film Garde Cineplex at Iluma Bugis.

The movie, based on the life and presidency of George W Bush, was part of the Singapore International Film Festival (SIFF), which is on till April 25.

For about half an hour after the screening, the outspoken director enthralled the crowd with responses to questions from the floor.

The 63-year-old, who has won Oscars for films such as Platoon (1986) and Born On The Fourth Of July (1989), was pleased with the response. "It's good that all of you turned up today but it is a pity that the show has only one screening in Singapore."

The movie, which made over US$25.5 million ($38.2m) in the United States, was not released commercially in Singapore.

Stone said he faced multiple challenges when making this film. "This is a story about the ex-President and I get hit by both sides - the media and the Americans. It hurt us at the box office as well because some people did not want to watch it as Bush provokes so much emotions from Americans."

The famously outspoken and political director added, "But I am glad we documented it because I felt that it was necessary."

He had to work on a tight budget of US$25.1 million as it was difficult for him to get funding. Most of the financing eventually came from foreign sources, including Hong Kong.

The film also faced a last-minute hiccup when actor Christian Bale, originally cast as Bush, dropped out as he was not satisfied with the makeup tests and felt that he could not portray Bush. Actor Josh Brolin stepped in.

Stone said, "I saw Josh's performance in the movie No Country For Old Men (2007) and I thought he was very good. I knew he could portray the role well, because unlike Bush, Josh has brains."

Bush is evidently a subject Stone feels deeply about and his lengthy responses to the audience's questions included plenty of barbs directed at the ex-President.

"The story of Bush is just outrageous and the movie just brings out the ridiculousness of the entire situation.

"I didn't make this script up. Bush really exists and he really reacted and behaved in this ridiculous way, making him a great character for a movie,' he explained in response to an audience member's question on why he made the film.

Asked about his reaction to reviewers' criticism that he was too kind to Bush in the movie, Stone said he was showing empathy, but not sympathy, towards the ex-President.

"There was a movie review which said that the most radical thing about the film was that I was fair towards Bush.

"For the movie, I tried to walk in Bush's shoes and just show it like it was."

Other big news for movie buffs during the SIFF is that Indian superstar Akshay Kumar, together with Katrina Kaif, Kumar's co-star in the superhit film Singh Is Kinng (2008), are in Singapore this week to shoot popular Indian director Priyadarshan's upcoming film, De Dana Dan.

The month-long shoot kicks off April 18 and in an exclusive interview with Life!, the prolific film director says that about 70 per cent of the film will be filmed in the city-state.

Priyadarshan, who has made hits such as Billu Barber (2009), Bhool Bhulaiyaa (The Maze, 2007) and Garam Masala (Hot Spice, 2005) says he picked Singapore because he finds it visually exciting.

"I feel London and various parts of Europe have been over-used as locations for Bollywood films. I have been visiting Singapore for the past 20 years and I have never seen a country grow so fast. Each time I visit this place, it looks totally different," he says.

His lens is going to be trained on locations such as the Padang, Sentosa, Clarke Quay, VivoCity, Raffles Place, the East Coast and a hotel which will allow him to capture the city's skyline.

The 52-year-old director adds, "The idea is to show the vastness of Singapore. There are so many visual possibilities here, you'll be surprised how much there is to show."

Apart from the two superstars, there will be 27 other actors in town for the shoot, including Sunil Shetty, Paresh Raval, Sameera Reddy and Neha Dhupia.

ANN